Thursday, June 18, 2009

Hana Yori Dango vs Boys Over Flowers

Meteor Garden was the in thing back then. Being the non-conformist that I was (and still am), I didn't join the bandwagon. I did give it a chance by watching one or two episodes, but the actors' acting abilities (or lack thereof) turned me off.

Then came Hana Yori Dango.
The Japanese doing their adaptation of their own manga was a welcome treat for me. Maybe I am just being partial because I've always been more of a JDrama fan than a Taiwan or Korean series fan. I enjoyed watching Hana Yori Dango so much, I even had the gall to recommend it to Rai (and this is Rai who would rather have his eyebrows shaved than waste his time on an Asian series).

Now, here comes Boys Over Flowers.
Not surprisingly, I didn't like it. This will teach me not to give in to my sister's cajoling next time she asks me to watch something.

Maybe I am still being biased but HYD still rules over BOF. Here's why:

- HYD is funny and touching while BOF tends to be too melodramatic at times.
- The chemistry of HYD's Domyouji and Makino is incomparable.
- HYD's Inoue Mao as Makino is cute and adorable as opposed to BOF's Koo Hye-Seon as Jan Di who looks old as a high school student.
- HYD's F4 aren't as good-looking as BOF's but I learned to love their characters just the same. Maybe because the Japanese actors were able to carry their roles well.
- HYD's Oguri Shun as Rui fits the role to the T. Plus he looks cool when he's wearing that white suit. I admit that BOF's Kim Hyun-Joong as Ji Hoon is really pretty but his eyes, most of the time, looked empty and blank. Acting-wise, I won't compare because I know that Hyun-Joong is a first-timer.
- First season of HYD included 9 episodes only while BOF had 25 episodes.
- I didn't appreciate BOF's soundtrack being boybandy.

I'd say the only redeeming factors of BOF are Kim Bum playing the role of Yi Jung and Kim So Eun as Jan Di's best friend, Ga Eul. In fact, it was their love story that I was able to see it through.

That being said, how about a Filipino adaptation, anyone?

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