I remember trying to read this tones of times, but the art was awful. I just couldnt.
Years later, I read the entired thing and while I enjoyed it, and the srt certainly got much better, I cant believe this is the best selling manga.

This is basically the ultimate shoujo. It has everything expected of a shoujo. I watched the anime many years ago and decided to come back and devour the manga in three days. I thought it was a fun ride.

Some haphazard thoughts:


... Last updated on May 15th, 2021, 12:41am

Can't help but to love it. Others have stated but it does start off rough (all characters, plot, and art) but it's also an easy and engaging read that gets a whole lot better the further it goes. Everything gets better development (and in terms of characters, not just the main couple, but even the side characters get their development and story told) and it completes itself well. I love the resolution the FMC comes to when she finally establishes her relationship and how much she both develops but never loses the core of herself (even when it looked like it was going to be too much, she still managed to find her strength again and in a way that felt realistic and inspiring).

There are a lot of what would be shoujo clichés today though, so any new reader should be prepared for those (but it's an old story that probably codified some of these clichés in the first place, so keep that in mind).

I do want to add, and others have pointed this out as well, that a lot of the negative issues with the story are probably bc of how dated the views of these content are. The worst of the violence is resolved a little too casually, especially by today's standards and can be uncomfortable to read.

I'd touch on the absurdity of it, but tbh, after reading up on school violence and power imbalances/abuse in SK, I'm not sure if some of this wasn't inspired by real life events. I remember reading and thinking, 'where are the teachers?' or 'this is too much.' But then I saw the clips of teachers beating up students or hear from Koreans about how often they don't see teachers get involved in student conflict out of fear of losing their jobs or worse bc of rich students and their rich parents and it makes me wonder.

... Last updated on December 4th, 2023, 6:52pm

Hana Yori Dango despite being a shoujo isn't just some fluffy sugar coated fairytale where the heroine has her way, if that's what your looking for, then this isn't for you.

This is about a adolescent girl trying not to make trouble but trouble comes right to her, and you know why because she stands up for herself the best she can.


Also the bullying can be pretty brutal for those who can't stomach it, not the worst, but it's nothing too simple either and that turns a lot of people off but I read this twice and am about to go in for a third read.



Update:
So yeah I read it again and still enjoyed it. It was a whirlpool of emotions. One thing I forgot to mention is that the art improves over time so be a bit patient with it. The improvement shows in just a few chapters so you don't have to wait forever. You may not enjoy it for it's romance alone but you will enjoy the story itself. It refuses to be a dark manga despite having dark themes, so nothing too tragic just incase you're worried.
4/13/21
I read it for a forth time and went out of my way to find special chapters and chapters of Hana Nichi Hare with makino (chapters 100-107). Do I plan to read this sequel in full, no but I will come for chapters that continue Makino's life. 9/20/22

... Last updated on September 20th, 2022, 6:33pm

Never have i read a manga have been more conflicted on whether or not i should recommend it.

https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=371863 Anime review Which adapts the first 18 volumes. I'm writing this review presuming that you have read anime review.

Boys over flowers is a reverse harem romance comedy series about this heroine who is really poor who attends this really super duper rich school. In this school there is 4 top dogs. Known as the F4. As well as the really poor FMC who has some of the worst parents ever. The story is about her appearance and how it changes not just the F4 but the people around her too.

The beginning part of the story sucks. Like hard. In my anime review i talk about how complete piece of shit the characters and this is still true. The first 15 volumes this series is trash. Though there are some light hearted moments and enjoyment to be had its just too little compared the absolute garbage the characters usually do in the series.

So imagine my surprise when this series just goes uphill and keeps going albeit with some bumps on the road. The series takes a massive turn as the MMC's mom shows up. This woman is easily the best character in the series. She pulls such massive plots to make sure that her son doesn't date the FMC but she has such a dominating presence that i just cannot wait for her show up. She easily carries the series and is responsible for many many femdom fetishes that is to come.

But its not just her the characters grow evidently but not like ridiculously. They mature and grow in a reasonable rate to the point that you would notice but the author wouldn't dump 1000 words of exposition to make sure you know that they have changed and this is one my favorite parts about this series. The character change in both of the main characters is astounding yet subtle. It is incredibly well done.

Its hard however for me to recommend this series however. The FMC actually starts making rape jokes... WHEN SHE WAS THE VICTIM. Maybe the comedy is too high for my brain to truly understand. Some of the other issues include the amnesia arc which seemed entirely pointless. Even the new character that was introduced was just.... weird. She practically served no purpose. Also how the amnesia arc is resolved is pretty damn stupid too.

2 more things I'd like to talk about is the fact that how important it is for a series to pick itself back up again rather than start strong but lose steam. Its harder to get hooked on this manga because of its weak start but the overall experience feels better. Another thing I want to add is the fact that an age of the series does not matter. Berserk, Hajime no ippo, Lone wolf and the cub. These are all series i hear are phenomenal yet I've never heard anyone use the term "you have to cater in the fact it was released in the 80's". When i reviewed Love Hina the whole catering in cuz its old is something i heard a lot. which is weird because when people say that its practically admitting the fact thats its a piece of shit if you read it now. So if you have reached this far in the review i would like to you know that I'm reviewing Boys over flowers not as if it was released in the 80's but rather im reviewing based on the quality of the manga now.

So back to the review would i recommend Boys over flowers? I don't know. Is it worth wading through 15 volumes of shit for 22 volumes of fun? 2/5ths of the manga sucks. But the question is, is 3/5ths of the manga good enough to forgive the 2/5ths.

I have no idea.

I did enjoy the manga. I did start liking the characters. The romance made more and more sense as the series progressed. The ending is a bit disappointing but nothing majorly upsetting. The series still has its downs but goddamn i could not stop reading this manga. I tried to put it down but i just wanted to know what happens. What keeps its going. I could not wait for what happens which is such a massive difference between the first 15 volumes.

TLDR: if you are willing to wade through garbage..... 15 volumes. Then your in for a solid albeit a bit of a broken series. 6/10

Fuck me.

... Last updated on January 18th, 2021, 7:57am

i still remember the scene hangin upside lololol, but still this is so good bring back memories and me myself, i love all drama adaption, really i love thisss

Makinos personality is very annoying and irritating. Shes always in denial and in defensive mode. I just wish she wasn't such a b-@ch all the time to Domyouji. For someone to be in that type of relationship is just nasty and toxic.
To read the whole thing with her aggressive personality was annoying.
I loved the live action, but I knew I just had to read the manga to understand what Im missing for the past 10 years lol. I love discovering new things about Hanayori Dango, but Makino needs to chill and stop running away. It was getting getting old and hella tiresome.

One thing I really enjoy about longer manga like this one is that there is a chance to develop side characters, and this manga really shines in that aspect. The few arcs dedicated to the character development, especially to Nishikado and Yuki, were especially satisfying. That said, the character development for Domyouji was excruciatingly underwhelming, and Makino seemed to have gone in a backwards direction. I would have liked to have seen more organic/drastic character growth for the mains instead of constantly stunting that growth with the same fight/drama routine that consistently derailed the plot.

There were various problematic elements highlighted by other reviews, including the abuse directed towards women and downplaying/excusing of assault. This especially bothered me since .

I may be scoring lower than others considering I was rooting for a different ending, but in my eyes . It's such a damn shame considering if things had turned out differently, I feel like this manga could have been so much more empowering and showcased some amazing themes that just fell so flat with the ending it was given.

I'll first start by saying that I know a lot of people love this manga and consider it a classic, and I bet a good amount of fans read this when they were younger and thus have a nostalgic love for it. I can appreciate that. I just picked this up, wanting to read one of the shojo "classics", and got to around chapter 87 before I just had to give up.

I'm actually typically a fan of romances that begin with the two leads hating each other and than later falling in love. But there is just no way to get around all the crap Tsukasa put Tsukushi through. [spoiler] He hired people to rape her and at one point attempts to assault her himself, and only stops when she cries. And then he later leaves her to be dragged behind a car by her ridiculous classmates because he finds a (fake) photo of her "having an affair," even though they're not dating and she has never expressed an inkling of love towards him. On that subject, he gets pissed at her for "dumping him" for Rui during their time at his family's private island. And then she even feels remorse for "betraying him." But, again, they're not even dating and she didn't owe him anything just because he told her he loved her, especially given their history. [\spoiler]

Again, being a shojo fan, I can often overlook unrealistic plots and relationships for the sake of drama, because it's sort of just part of the genre. I was hoping to see Tsukasa go through a redemption arc where he sincerely regrets and feels remorse for his actions and then develop their relationship from there. And he does get better and is not AS mean; he's even cute when he's being nice. But he never once admits his wrongdoings or even gives an inkling of regret. And don't get me wrong, I actually like the character of Tsukasa; I appreciate that the author went all in on his spoiled, violent brat (but not evil) personality. I just hate that (in the chapters I've read) he never seems to move past that tears down anyone who upsets him. And Tsukushi, whom I like for her don't-take-no-crap personality, seems to break down as the series goes on and loses that spunk. I honestly don't know how she could fall for either Rui or Tsukasa, the former was never really that nice to her and the latter is her former bully and a selfish brute.

I really wanted to like this, and I probably would've liked it if I were back in my teens, but it's just so unrealistic and I find most of the characters to be tolerable at best.

I first know Hana Yori Dango from its Taiwanese adaptation. It was good and entertaining, I watched it times and again. I never interested in reading the manga because I am never really into shoujo romance, until recently that I finally decided to give it a try. Surprisingly, Hana Yori Dango is among the very few of its kind that I can read for over a dozen of volumes. It was entertaining, its comedic aspect is probably the one that got me hooked and the romance does not make me cringe somehow. Now I understand why this manga has been adapted into screenplay in so many countries. Putting into account its publication year, this manga is a masterpiece for its genre.

I, however, would have given it a much higher rating if not for a few things that have been bugging me.



Anyway, I still find this manga entertaining, and is up for a second read when I have time.

... Last updated on December 9th, 2017, 1:27am