Hanazakari no Kimitachi e 2007 JDrama Review

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e or simply known as Hana Kimi is the 2007 drama adaptation based on a popular manga series by Hisaya Nakajo. The drama stars Maki Horikata as Mizuki Ashiya, Shun Oguri as Izumi Sano and Toma Ikuta as Shuichi Nakatsu.

Hana Kimi is about Mizuki Ashiya, a student from America who just transferred to Osaka Academy, a school that only accepts handsome men. The reason why he entered this school is to encourage Izumi Sano, a man who saved his life back in America and he wants to repay his kindness by encouraging him to do what he loves, to do a professional high jump. The only problem is that Mizuki is a girl and once the school discovers that he is actually a she, she will be expelled! Can she encourage Sano to jump again, also, will the school find out her true gender before she can convince Sano to jump?

If there is one drama series that I regretted watching when it was available in free TV, it would be the 2007 Hana Kimi drama. If you read my rant in my review of the 2011 drama, I think you have the idea. Anyway, as for the series itself, if there is one thing I learned from drama titles that are adapted from a single source, it would be the make some changes to make it different from the original source material or the previous drama adaptations the source material had. In the case of the 2007 Hana Kimi drama, the Taiwanese version aired before it and based on the episodes I watched, it has the proper balance between comedy and drama.

In the case of the 2007 drama, comedy dominated over the drama. There are some instances that I forgot the plot for this episode and just have fun watching the comedic scenes! What made the comedy fun is all thanks to the secondary characters of the series that there are times that they are more interesting that the main cast. I mean seriously, the three dorm heads, Hibari Four and the other Osaka Academy students always steal the spotlight of the main cast if there is the opportunity to steal it.

The comedy is made more memorable thanks to the running gags this series has. Running gags such as the Hibari Four shutting Komari out, people forgetting about Sekime's name, Nakatsu's internal monologue, the useless inventions of one student and other gags that I will not talk about. The side characters also have their own set of shenanigans that often times overpowers the main drama plot of the episode. Granted, these shenanigans are fun to watch but they are times that these shenanigans didn't complement well with the drama. There are times that I wish that the drama didn't exist and just focus more on the comedy, but nope, this is a drama series and this show must have drama in it.

The show's drama aspect is sometimes weak thanks to the comedy and sometimes strong when the plot demands it to be strong. To be honest, remove the drama in some episodes and nothing of value is lost, because at the end of the episode, it is about handsome men doing fun and random things. Anyway, the strongest point of the show's drama aspect has something to do with the camaraderie of the entire school. You can feel like everybody knows everyone inside Osaka Academy, like they are one big community. This aspect is something that I feel missing in the 2011 drama as it focused more on the students from Dorm 2.

The Ashiya, Sano and Nakatsu love triangle plot is fun to watch. Nakatsu's internal monologue and him wondering if he is gay or not because of Ashiya. His interactions with Ashiya feel like I am watching two guys having fun with each other's company. So yeah, at the end, Ashiya only thinks of Nakatsu as a friend even after he confessed his love for Ashiya during the time she is still pretending to be a boy. The way Nakatsu took it is admirable, he just acted that he is joking around when he did the confession.

The Sano and Ashiya love story is the main material in this series. The way it started is something that I like, from Ashiya admiring Sano's skills as an athlete until the day he lost his will to jump because Sano saved Ashiya one time. Thinking that it is her fault that he injured Sano, Ashiya decides to repay the debt by encouraging Sano to jump again by entering his school. The fact that he entered an all-boys school just to encourage the man who saved his life is quite admirable. I mean, only a few people have the guts to do such thing, especially with Sano's case. Everyone tried to encourage him to jump but it was Ashiya who made him want to jump. This then leads us to more drama involving Kagurazaka and his family.

Kagurazaka is Sano's main rival and he is one good rival character. But what added the drama in this series is Sano's determination to jump again thanks to Ashiya. After the introduction of Sano's younger brother, the series becomes more complicated because bits of Sano’s past are being revealed one by one. It gets more complicated after the introduction of Sano's father. I will not spoil much with the details but this is one of those times that it feels like Hana Kimi is a drama series not a sitcom set in a high school.

Ashiya has been there during the times Sano is struggling with his high jump and during the times Sano is in his weakest. It is no surprise that from admiration, Ashiya's emotions for Sano evolved into love. This progression feels natural and I really like it. Speaking of Sano, after he learned that Ashiya is a she after overhearing her conversion with her brother, their interactions felt a bit more awkward in some times, and I love this kind of awkwardness. Though Sano is not honest with it, it is obvious that he likes Ashiya, he just don't want to admit it. That is why I like how the series ended, it is basically Sano admitting his feelings for Ashiya in matter I least expect to see.

Since this show has something to do with a girl entering an all-boy's school as a boy, I'll first talk about her looks. Comparing it to the Taiwanese Hana Kimi drama, Ashiya in the 2007 drama looks like a boy in when she is wearing boy's uniform. Granted his voice sounds a bit high for a boy in that age, it doesn't sound chirpy like the 2011 drama. Now comes the fun part, when Ashiya starts wearing women's clothes. She looks so beautiful in it that the ones around him thought that he is actually a she even if he is actually a she... or something like that.

Because this kind of thing is get to be discovered soon, there are some people who discovered it first before the entire school discovers it. One of those characters is the school doctor, Umeda who happens to be gay. He served as his secret keeper and sometimes, adviser in several occasions. One thing that I like about Umeda is that he is there every step in Ashiya's journey in Osaka Academy, which makes him a pseudo father figure for Ashiya. During the show's last episode, the school learned about it and the way Ashiya's classmates accepted it kinda expected but after learning the reason why she is in an all-boy's school, they accepted it and remembered that Ashiya is still Ashiya.

This is probably the biggest lesson this show can offer. Even if you cross dress just to repay someone for what he or she did, overall, you are still you and nothing will change it, and that includes the view of others about you. That is why I love the final episode of the series; it basically sums up what this show is all about. It is more than just a love story between Ashiya and Sano, it about the camaraderie of the students of Osaka Academy.

Yep. It is not yet over, we still have a drama special!

Overall, Hana Kimi is one entertaining drama series. Just like the 2011 drama, the only reason I watched this drama is because of the tokusatsu actors that this drama has but at the end, I love the drama not because of the actors, but because of the story and the camaraderie between the characters. Another thing that I like about the drama is the soundtrack, it gives you this fun peppy feeling while listening to it that I often end up humming to it for days! Lastly, if you ask me which is better, the 2007 or the 2011 drama, I can easily say that the 2007 drama is probably, the best Hana Kimi drama in my opinion.

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e ~Ikemen Paradise~ 2011 Drama Review

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e or simply known as Hana Kimi by fans is a remake of the original 2007 drama based on popular manga series of the same name. The show stars then AKB48 member Atsuko Maeda as the lead character Mizuki Ashiya. The question is will this drama just be a rehash of the 2007 drama?

Before reviewing the series, here's the plot of the series. Mizuki Ashiya (Maeda) transferred to an all-boys school called Osaka Academy just to meet Izumi Sano (played by Aoi Nakamura), a high jump athlete and dreams to see him jump. But there are three problems, the school is about to close after three months, Sano lost his drive to jump and lastly, Mizuki here is a girl. Can she give Sano the drive to jump again while trying her best to hide her identity as a girl studying in an all-boys school?

I watched a couple of episodes of the 2007 drama during the time it is airing on free TV. What's funny is that the Taiwanese version of the drama is also airing in the opposite channel. What's fun about it is that the station that is airing the 2007 drama promoted the show as "Newest and the Best", while the opposite channel promote the Taiwanese drama as "The Original". Obviously, I will try to watch the so-called "first" Hana Kimi drama, only to end up dropping it at the end because it is too serious. I tried watching the 2007 drama but also ended up dropping it because it looks like I am already in the middle of the series and I find it too ridiculous. So yeah, I ended up regretting up at the end.

Anyway, how is the 2011 drama, all I can say is, it has this proper balance of drama and comedy. When the show is serious, it's serious, when the show goes comedic, it is comedic. But what dominated the comedy or the drama? Not surprising, the drama aspect dominated. It makes sense for reasons that the 2007 drama is too ridiculous and you might even say, a bit over the top when it comes to comedy. If 2011 drama will follow the same route, fans will tend to compare the two! It's a good decision for the production staff to go on a serious route in this drama and just focus on the three plot elements of the series.

First is the plot about the school's closure, it is I guess the thing that keeps the characters of the series going or in simple terms, the plot device. Without this plot, Mizuki will not be determined to help Sano get his drive back. Without this plot, the three dorms will not be united just to prevent the school's closure and stop the attempts of the administration to demolish the school. Heck, there is one point in the series that the students lost all hope that they can save the school and let it die a natural death! This is when Mizuki comes in as her enthusiasm to save the school and to enjoy their school life influenced the students a lot that they were able to do things that even adults didn't expect them to do in the first place.

Second is about Sano's drive to jump, without Sano, Mizuki will not be inspired about life and ended up idolizing Sano. After learning that Sano got injured and lost his drive to jump after his injury healed, Mizuki becomes worried and did something risky, entering an all-boys school. Without Sano, this series will not exist in the first place. Mizuki is grateful to Sano and thus, she will do everything to repay him. This is how the love story aspect of the series comes in. Their love story is kinda cute. It's cute seeing Mizuki act like a boy even though Sano is aware that Mizuki is a girl after accidentally discovering it.

There are some instances that Mizuki is kinda nosy about Sano's life that it is sometimes irritating. But it is because of her concern that Sano slowly falls for her that he sort of lets her get involved about his family problems. The sub plot about Sano's family expanded his character a bit and how he wants to get out of his father's shadow. Another sub plot has something to do with his so-called "rival", which after episodes of build-up, it was resolved for like, 2-5 minutes and didn't leave much impact unlike the one with Sano's family.

Third is about Mizuki entering an all-boy's school, to be honest, unlike the actress of the 2007 drama, who really looks like those visual kei guys less the make-up or the actress in the Taiwanese drama that looks too manly, Acchan didn't convince me that she is actually a he. It is not because I watched her music videos and concerts during the time she is part of AKB48, but because of her voice. It is like she barely made any effort to sound like a guy. In addition, her short haircut doesn't look that convincing to be honest.

But because this is a drama, it is best to suspend disbelief that the students of this school are having a hard time discovering that Mizuki is a chick all this time. Anyway, only a handful of characters in this series are aware about her true gender and when her school mates discovered the truth, as expected, they feel betrayed about it. I mean, they are hanging out with someone who is not honest to them about her true gender! But thanks to one dorm B student who accidentally played the tape recording of Mizuki's conversation with the school doctor, they realized that whatever gender, Mizuki is still Mizuki. To put it simply, the lesson here folks that she is just being herself all this time and that they are just blinded about the fact that he is actually a she all this time.

At the end, they were able to accept Mizuki for what she is. Heck, they were able to give her one awesome send of party that saved their school! So what about the characters in this show? They are fine I guess, the Kayashima (played by Tomo Yanagishita), Nakatsu (played by Shohei Miura), Nakao (played by Yuikto Nishii) and Nanba (played by Renn Kiriyama) are probably, my favorites in the male cast. As for the other two heads, their actors did a good job when it comes to acting their character. Finally, the rest of the male cast, they are just there just for the girls to ogle upon and for the school to have students. The other female casts coming from St. Blossom are just there for us guys to ogle upon. I blame this drama for turning me into a Yukirin fan. She is so adorable in this drama and her determination to show how much she loves Sano is so cute!

The school administration who are facilitating the three schools in this show are siblings and to be honest, the head of Osaka Academy's rival school is really despicable. I mean, why the heck he is so determined to get the school closed? It didn't help that he is basically bullying the head of Osaka Academy even though he is basically older than him! Oh well, at least at the end, Osaka Academy stayed thanks to the students impressing the administration.

Overall, the 2011 Hana Kimi drama is quite entertaining, and this is coming from the guy who got into this drama because of the tokusatsu actors that are part in this drama! I mean, this drama features Kamen Rider Double/Kamen Rider Joker, Go-On Gold/Kamen Rider KickHopper, Red Buster, Kamen Rider Gatack, Chairman Gamou/Sagittarius Zodiarts, Narutaki and that chick from the Kyoto arc of Kamen Rider Fourze! If the 2007 drama has thought me something, is that aside from Gokusen and the Prince of Tennis musicals, Hana Kami is one of those shows that has this high rate of actors getting into tokusatsu.

Tokusatsu aside, like I said, this drama is quite serious compared to the 2007 drama. If you love the comedy of the 2007 drama, expect that you will either love or hate the seriousness of this drama as it takes the material in a different manner. Another thing that I like about this drama is the soundtrack less that annoying "Halleluiah" track that they use on scenes that this song doesn't fit in, like in cheer dancing. What's annoying is that they give this song a techno remix! Annoying "Halleluiah" track aside, the show's ending theme "Flying Get" by AKB48 is really darn catchy and much to my surprise, they have an instrumental track of the song for this drama. I think I now have an idea where AKB0048 got the idea of using instrumental piano versions of AKB48 songs.