Smitten with Hana Yori Dango

     Some people know about Hana Yori Dango as Boys Over Flowers and this thing about all the HYD franchise has made the whole world go crazy! Isn't that enough proof how this manga is so good and totally awesome? I don't wanna go into a hot debate about manga vs. anime vs. the 4 or 5 different live action versions all over asia but what I want to tell you is how this story has captured the hearts of oh so many people not just in asia but the WHOLE WORLD! You got that right! The whole world!
     If anyone asks though, that is if anyone is curious on where I stand, but nevermind I am still gonna tell you where I stand... THE MANGA IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone who loves HYD shouldn't miss reading the manga because it has everything in detail! Well, that's not really surprising, is it? Hmmm... let's see why it isn't... because I am a CERTIFIED SHOUJO MANGA ADDICT!!!! THAT'S WHY! :-)
     First of all, the story revolves around Makino Tsukushi who comes from a poor family but her parents want her to attend a school for rich kids, Eitoku Gakuen. Yup! Rich kids... the usual... spoiled brats who only knows how to spend their parents' money for just about anything they want... kids of prominent people. In Eitoku, there are 4 guys who stands out from the rest. From these 4 people, their leader Domyoji Tsukasa has the most popularity because of his family who literally is the richest in Japan. How do Makino's and Domyoji's paths cross? That's a story everyone knows but I am not gonna tell you since you'll be missing out on all the fun!
I just want to tell you that this is a classic manga made in the 90's so don't expect the art to be similar to those we have today but you could actually see how the art improves as the story goes along especially since I find Domyoji so handsome especially in the last volumes! This is, by the way, a 36-volume manga so feast your eyes to all the drama you can read and, don't forget, the laughter. I just love this manga so much ever since I read the first volume back in 2002 – 2 months before the Meteor Garden (Taiwan version) made its way to the Philippines. I was like... hey that looks familiar and “HEY! I read that!” At that time, there weren't any online manga stuff that I looked for it but unfortunately I read until around volume 18 and I had to give up since I couldn't find any more of HYD. I actually finished reading the manga last October when I had bought my laptop. I had an HYD marathon for 3 days. I read the whole thing from the first to the thirty-sixth! I felt so happy that I read the whole story. I do. Believe me, you shouldn't miss out on this read especially if you loved HYD – for whatever version you love. The manga is awesome. I actually watched HYD movie live action and I also loved it! Yeah. I love the Jap version of the live action the most because they are the ones who got the whole jist of the story and they portrayed the story well based on how the manga was since I loved the manga so much! I love Domyoji. I just do. If you watched the live actions, you might choose Rui but when you read the manga, you get to love Domyoji more... Believe me... Well, that is in my own perspective though.
There it is... The eternal Hana Yori Dango. The whole is still going crazy for this even after more than a decade of its existence.
     Note: I was planning to make a detailed comparative review bout the HYD franchises in my animerevz blog but I never had the time... maybe in the future. Just check out some updates.