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| 5. Cross
Scars  
Hana Yori Dango is a fairly simple, shoujo romance anime.
Throughout the series our heroine Makino Tsukushi has to battle her way through
the elitist Eitoukou High school where certain students look down on her poor
family background and make no secret of it. To complicate things there's naturally
a romantic interest, which among others just happens to involve two members of
the all powerful student group, the F4. Although
lacking depth Hana Yori Dango's greatest asset is probably its plot. The
series manages to sow a huge amount of doubt in your mind as to just who, if anyone,
Tsukushi will end up with and it's impressive that the series keeps this up right
until the very end. Having said that, the plot isn't always handled well. By the
40 episode mark I was beginning to get extremely tired of waiting for romantic
issue to be sorted out (Tsukushi must be by far the most indecisive anime character
ever created). Although the situations were different, ultimately the feelings
and themes behind the episodes were exactly the same as they had been 20 episodes
before and that started to get on my nerves. It may have helped if the series
had lost some rather contrived, almost filler, episodes in the middle. Other
deficiencies appear in the series despite its long length which you wouldn't have
expected. Aside from the main two or three characters a lot of the cast remain
very one dimensional and are given extremely little development over the course
of the series. Mimasaka and Nishikado, two members of the F4, are prime examples
of this. Despite being such large figures in the cast they never really change
from being the stereotypical playboy type and in a series of 50 plus episodes
I would have expected a bit more. Given this situation it's really Tsukushi who
holds the series together. Despite the trouble with her feelings she come across
as an extremely likable heroine who we can't help but cheer given the kind of
horrid situation she's stuck in as she battles it out. But that's not to say that
even if most of the cast doesn't develop much they're not at all interesting and
amusing. Kazuya never changes from being the 'chump' of the series but he's still
fun to watch none the less and that kind of attitude holds true for a lot of the
series - not everything's perfect but that doesn't mean it's not good to watch. Similarly
given the number of episodes I felt as if other aspects of the Tsukushi's situation,
such as her economic plight, could have been pushed slightly more than they were.
Although admittedly perhaps it was wise not to get more melodramatic than was
necessary - the hugely over the top, but very nice, classical soundtrack does
that enough for the series. Although I've largely
concentrated on the parts of HYD that I thought were lacking this is by
no means a bad series. It may be a typical shoujo romance, albeit with weighty
class issues thrown in, but the series is great at the basic things it does. I
personally found Hana Yori Dango like a sort of soap opera. It's not the
most perfect romance series ever made but I was hooked on finding out what happened
next and had to keep watching episode after episode. Flawed, but still very much
worth watching if relationship anime are your thing. |
| 3. Olmanek
It is another particularly long series, however, this one does
stand out in its own way, this series, quite happily reduced you to the level
of an infant and leaves you there hoping for something more, for something to
help you understand, and to become aware of some never before noticed God
power
so that you can decide where the series is going because you can't bear the utterly
random, yet for some reason plausible, plot twists, which are so manic and so
powerful they often leave you feeling terribly anxious or in pain or in some absurd
happiness. Apart from that, this is one of the few series where I developed a
favourite character, but that is no surprise with the characters in this series
being so strong and so diverse, you'd have to be a sociopath to not be able to
find a character you enjoy, the voice acting was notably brilliant, I rarely reflect
on this, but I found the voices truly suited the characters, Hanazawa Rui being
a particular standout. I should mention, there were some despicable moments in
this series though, where I was genuinely enraged, I think it was episode 16 or
17, perhaps the animators did it to prove a point, or stay true to the manga should
it be based off of that, but it was hard to sit through, it wasn't lewd or dull,
it is something one could reflect on as a strong point of the series, to help
bring about great empathy for the characters, and to show their strength and power
and influence, and show the reality of the world created in this series, it doesn't
make it any less disturbing though. Brilliant characters, excellent unpredictable
and plausible storyline, genuinely heart wrenching moments accompanied by hilarious
and enlightening ones, and perhaps most unusually, some truly happy moments, makes
this series one of the best I've ever encountered. |
| 2. Iodine
 
Working class girl, Tsukushi Makino, is determined to make
it through through the prestigious Eitoukou High, but didn't count on getting
into tumultuous relationships with two of the richest and most powerful boys in
school. This is a simple, and often very corny romantic comedy that depends completely
upon the strength of its characters to work. Fortunately, this isn't a problem.
Tsukushi is a strong-willed underdog and easy to root for, and her counterpart
Doumyoji, for all his arrogance and bullheadedness, is her perfect match. The
numerous and persistant roadblocks in their path drag the series out to its sizable
length, but it is a lot of fun getting to the ending. Most of the secondary characters
are just as strong as the central pair, and are arguably even more entertaining.
This helps bolster the repetitive plot and the miniscule budget, where flashbacks
seem to be necessary at least once an episode to save money. The animation is
static, rudimentary stuff, where Tsukushi only seems to have about five expressions
and all the designs are variations of each other. The music is similarly repetitive,
using only a few central themes, including the same one for really dramatic moments
in every single episode. Still, considering that quite a few episodes involve
sudden trips to Canada and Paris and the like, the technical elements do keep
up rather nicely once you get used to the style and pacing. The vocal performances
are what really keep the whole production together, particularly Tsukushi's internal
monologues. So, while there isn't anything in the series that we haven't seen
before, it's well put together and manages to outshine its weaknesses. |
| 1. Dreamer
To think of this one in basic terms, it would mean thinking
of something weird. The name is a kind of pun to
the actual meaning. Hana Yori Dango means "Food before Flowers."
The phrase originates from the Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) viewing festival. Odango
(a Japanese dish) is offered there and some people comes for that only. Hence,
it refers to gluttony. The series uses the wrong
kanji for 'dango', making the title mean "Boys before Flowers". The
show is starring Tsukushi Makino who wishes to finish high school ASAP. She is
poor, yes, but she have enough wits to get a scholarship in such a high-class
private school such as Eitouko. She doesn't have much of friends considering the
kind of school and thus fights hard the loneliness to survive another day. Much
to her dismay, she stumbled across the F4 (The 4 Flowery students -- pretty lame,
huh?) and stood on their way. The F4 are the sons of insanely rich families and
hence, do whatever suits them. Whoever stands in their way is a goner. She did.
The next day she got a red card in her shoes box. A declaration of war. The peaceful
life she wished to have until she graduates flew out the window. Well, at least
she fights back, rather aggressively. The series
is awesome but it is filled with lots of twists and turns. Just when you think
"That is it, there is no other way the plot can divert to", it does.
It is pretty unexpected and this is one of the things I like about it. It grabbed
me to a degree I watched the 51 episodes in a day and a half; a record time for
me. The show is not old but the style of the images and coloring plus the classical
music gives it a bit of older shows, sort of a soap opera. The opening of the
show is another story. There are some OVAs, an animated movie and a live action
one for the show but I haven't been able to lay my hands on these. In any case,
romance and shoujo fans; go chase this - quick! |
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