I've recently started writing reviews for dramas I've seen on this site and I remembered Hana Yori Dango. I knew I could never pass this up, given that it's such an iconic, well-loved love story that basically started the rich boy/poor girl romance trend in high school Asian dramas. So here it goes. Hana Yori Dango is the best adaptation of the Boys Over Flowers manga even though it wasn't the first that I saw. I watched Meteor Garden sporadically since it came out in 2001 and then the Korean Boys Over Flowers. I was halfway through BOF when I decided, out of curiosity, to watch the Japanese dorama. At first, I must admit, I didn't find anything remotely impressive because let's face it, the guys are not really that good-looking (and as a rule, the F4 bullies are supposed to be hot, drop dead gorgeous or something). Matsumoto Jun, Oguri Shun and the others just seemed so ordinary, you know? But as I continued watching the dorama (and abandoned the Korean one without regrets), I became enamored by Matsujun's acting. Seriously, can this guy get even more adorable? He was hilarious, I could imagine Domyouji Tsukasa in the manga coming to life! But he could also be fierce, violent and downright irrational with serious anger management issues. We all know Lee Min Ho is very good-looking and a pretty decent actor but strangely though, Matsujun's performance alone eclipsed Min Ho and eventually, I couldn't imagine anybody else play Domyouji except the latter despite his "imperfections". Matsujun really endeared himself to me. Moreover, his chemistry with Inoue Mao was amazing. You know how in other versions, you'd rather root for the Makino-Rui pairing because Domyouji's character seemed too crazy? In this drama, I was for Makino and Domyouji all the way! They looked lovely together that I tended to overlook his unreasonableness and fiery temper simply because the guy portraying him was so good at it! Inoue Mao was also perfect for the role. She was steely and determined. Her strength was apparent yet there was still that naivete and delicate feminine quality to her that made her loveable as well. And whenever they interacted together onscreen, this amazing connection forms and you get pulled right in. Their chemistry made HYD a huge hit despite the fact that the original storyline was utterly ludicrous, cliche and soap opera-like. The limited number of episodes was an advantage too because it prevented the story from becoming too draggy, unlike its Taiwanese and Korean counterparts. The bromance in this version was also very convincing and you can tell that even if they were shallow spoiled brats, they still treated each other like brothers. The guys could count on each other through thick and thin. Hana Yori Dango definitely had been my guilty pleasure in the past. Out of the 3 versions I've seen, this is the only one that made me a bit obsessed XD (blame it on Matsujun and Inoue's chemistry!). I won't recommend it anymore because I'm sure most if not all watched it already. Rewatch value? A resounding 10 of course because I enjoyed re-watching it myself back then. Their silly banter and sweet, toe-curling moments (even if some were cheesy) brought out all those warm fuzzy feelings and well, who wouldn't want that? LOL.