All the Hana Yori Dangos...
Dec. 17th, 2008 01:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieEvery drama fan (and some long-suffering friends of said fans :D) knows the story of Hana Yori Dango, the most best-selling shoujo manga ever. Strong-willed but poor girl, pigheaded but rich guy, total animosity, then total attempts to win her over.
Now that the Korean Hana Yori Dango is about to hit the air, I thought I'd talk a little about previous adaptations and which one is my favorite.
I have seen 3: the anime; Meteor Garden (the 2001 Taiwanese adaptation), and Hana Yori Dango, the recent jdrama.
My favorite? I know it's not a popular opinion, but it's Meteor Garden hands-down.
Why?
1. Barbie Hsu as Shan Cai, that version's Makino. I thought Inoue Mao did an excellent job as Makino in the jdrama, but Barbie Hsu is my favorite drama actress. I don't mean "Taiwanese drama," I mean "any drama, period." I think she imprinted on me, really, as the first two dramas I have ever watched starred her: Mars and MG. And the characters in the two were polar opposites and yet she was convincing as both. Barbie is a force of nature really, and sorry, much as I like you Mao, you can't compare!
2. The F4 look. There is no doubt that Matsumoto Jun (Domyouji in jdrama) is a miles better actor than Jerry Yan who played the role in MG. However. When I first tried the jdrama, I had to turn it off ten minutes in because "what? This short, hideous troll is Domyouji?" Now, MatsuJun grew on me immensely, but despite it all he is so physically wrong for Domyouji it's kind of surreal. It nearly taxed my disbelief to breaking point to believe he could do serious damage to anybody. I could knock out his scrawny, nail-polish-wearing self, myself. Jerry Yan, OTOH, looks like Domyouji should look: tall and hot and like someone who can punch you out. In general, I find Taiwanese F4 hotter than the Japanese F4, none of whom were appealing in the first season and while some of them got hot in the second season (Matsuda Shota and Oguri Shun) still...Oguri Shun is hot, but can he really be compared to Vic Zhou, to me the most beautiful drama actor in Asia?
3. Longer running time = more gradual development. Especially the first season of jdrama, which was 9 eps of 45 minutes each, seemed sort of too sudden in jumping around. MG was 20+ hours of drama. Domyouji was a total idiot and jerk! He has to work long and hard to even earn Makino's tolerance, let alone love.
4. MG stuck to the manga really faithfully. Since I love the manga, that is a huge plus. They fit so much more stuff in! And don't even get me started on the whole Sakurako/Junpei conflation in the jdrama!I feel cheated there is no hot-springs scene!
5. I liked the Soujiro/Yuki subplot a lot better in MG. For one thing, the actors had more chemistry, but for another because it wasn't entirely one-sided.
6. ANGST. If you have me friended for more than 2 hours, you know my love for fictional angst. The jdrama was a sandwich, the twdrama a three-course meal.
Now, MG has plenty of flaws. The entire budget must have been $10! Also, the F4 boys are learning acting on the job (some of them mastered the art since, and some haven't). But I still prefer it.
As to the anime, it was my intro into the Hanadan world and I do like it a lot, but the artwork is probably the most horrendous I have ever seen in an anime. Bonus points for being the only version where Rui and Shizuka end up together!
Will the Korean version overtake my love for Meteor Garden? I don't know. Koreans are really good about the angst in their dramas, and the cast looks both appropriate and able to act at the same time, but the production company previously did the disaster that is Goong S, and Go Hye Sun might turn out a very good actress (though she still looks too old!) but it would take a miracle to dislodge Barbie Hsu from my heart. We will see!
Now that the Korean Hana Yori Dango is about to hit the air, I thought I'd talk a little about previous adaptations and which one is my favorite.
I have seen 3: the anime; Meteor Garden (the 2001 Taiwanese adaptation), and Hana Yori Dango, the recent jdrama.
My favorite? I know it's not a popular opinion, but it's Meteor Garden hands-down.
Why?
1. Barbie Hsu as Shan Cai, that version's Makino. I thought Inoue Mao did an excellent job as Makino in the jdrama, but Barbie Hsu is my favorite drama actress. I don't mean "Taiwanese drama," I mean "any drama, period." I think she imprinted on me, really, as the first two dramas I have ever watched starred her: Mars and MG. And the characters in the two were polar opposites and yet she was convincing as both. Barbie is a force of nature really, and sorry, much as I like you Mao, you can't compare!
2. The F4 look. There is no doubt that Matsumoto Jun (Domyouji in jdrama) is a miles better actor than Jerry Yan who played the role in MG. However. When I first tried the jdrama, I had to turn it off ten minutes in because "what? This short, hideous troll is Domyouji?" Now, MatsuJun grew on me immensely, but despite it all he is so physically wrong for Domyouji it's kind of surreal. It nearly taxed my disbelief to breaking point to believe he could do serious damage to anybody. I could knock out his scrawny, nail-polish-wearing self, myself. Jerry Yan, OTOH, looks like Domyouji should look: tall and hot and like someone who can punch you out. In general, I find Taiwanese F4 hotter than the Japanese F4, none of whom were appealing in the first season and while some of them got hot in the second season (Matsuda Shota and Oguri Shun) still...Oguri Shun is hot, but can he really be compared to Vic Zhou, to me the most beautiful drama actor in Asia?
3. Longer running time = more gradual development. Especially the first season of jdrama, which was 9 eps of 45 minutes each, seemed sort of too sudden in jumping around. MG was 20+ hours of drama. Domyouji was a total idiot and jerk! He has to work long and hard to even earn Makino's tolerance, let alone love.
4. MG stuck to the manga really faithfully. Since I love the manga, that is a huge plus. They fit so much more stuff in! And don't even get me started on the whole Sakurako/Junpei conflation in the jdrama!
5. I liked the Soujiro/Yuki subplot a lot better in MG. For one thing, the actors had more chemistry, but for another because it wasn't entirely one-sided.
6. ANGST. If you have me friended for more than 2 hours, you know my love for fictional angst. The jdrama was a sandwich, the twdrama a three-course meal.
Now, MG has plenty of flaws. The entire budget must have been $10! Also, the F4 boys are learning acting on the job (some of them mastered the art since, and some haven't). But I still prefer it.
As to the anime, it was my intro into the Hanadan world and I do like it a lot, but the artwork is probably the most horrendous I have ever seen in an anime. Bonus points for being the only version where Rui and Shizuka end up together!
Will the Korean version overtake my love for Meteor Garden? I don't know. Koreans are really good about the angst in their dramas, and the cast looks both appropriate and able to act at the same time, but the production company previously did the disaster that is Goong S, and Go Hye Sun might turn out a very good actress (though she still looks too old!) but it would take a miracle to dislodge Barbie Hsu from my heart. We will see!
