Happy Aloha~♥ Friday (*´∀｀*) ♪♪！
Again I apologize for not having a better translated version of this drama as my box set only includes Japanese subtitles so I needed to borrow this imported set from a friend for its English subtitles which sometimes leave a bit to be desired I know. Still this drama’s so great that I bet it blows right through all of that! ^^*
So it’s just the second episode however things get really intense with some very sticky situations, I hope you enjoy!…
~Reminiscing an all-time favorite drama series continued…
~Hana yori dango (episode 2)~
(English subtitled)
(note: there is a bit of “EnGrish” happening in the translation where a phrase like “I don’t know” may read something like “I’m don’t know”… however rest assured that the dialogue throughout is completely understandable in its context. Just a tiny hitch in the translation here. ^^*)
So once again I’ll be posting each episode singly, one episode per week every Friday …all 11 episodes here thereby emulating a “live” week to week drama watching experience ^^.
This time I’m going for a drama series which strikes all the highs, lows and in between(s) of one’s heartstrings, however this time anticipate a laugh out loud to cry like crazy “dramedy” where its inevitable spell will cause jaw dropping, your heart thumping and your funny bone tickled to an extreme of at times surreal measures. Now for the IDOL connection we’ve got both guy~candy and girl~candy all covered in the most YUM~♥ imaginable!! For the girls you’ve got ARASHI’s Matsujun and Oguri Shun leading the cast while for the guys it’s all about the main lead of our story played by the uber~adorable Inoue Mao… and yet it’s all about great storytelling, acting and the never to be forgotten experience of the “Hana yori dango” world. And when it comes to drama theme songs, “WISH” stands pretty high atop that special tier and it’s performed by the incomparable ARASHI!!! And trust me, if you’re not already familiar and head over heels with this song, you soon will be after just a couple of episodes or sooner =).
~Spoiler-free synopsis~
Makino Tsukushi is the only poor student at Eitoku Gakuen, a school of the ridiculously rich and privileged that is ruled by “Flower 4” or “F4”… a group of four boys who come from extremely powerful families: Domyoji Tsukasa- the leader and heir to the Domyoji World Finance Group/ Hanazawa Rui- the introverted son of a large company/ Nishikado Sojiro- a “player” who is the heir of a tea ceremony school/ and Mimasaka Akira-a playboy with ties to the underground. If a student gets on “F4’s” bad side, he gets a red notice and is bullied and driven out of school. Makino Tsukushi hopes to pass her days quietly without drawing any attention to herself however one day…
So I got the idea to watch and comment along with each episode before actually publishing each post publicly, as my thoughts/reactions came to me in “real time”, so hopefully this acts like a conversation starter if you reply to any of the comments below and add new ones of your own thoughts if you’d like, as this great drama series rolls along =).
モーニングBerryz48...the morning after..... "Always wear protection before reading…(^q^)." 
And there’s that eerie/fantasy Tim Burton inspired music again…. really is representative of Tsukasa’s “home” or um castle like fortress thing he lives in. He’s got her all dressed up and glamoured to the max here and how creepy to wake up in an unknown place and with the guy you just punched out not to long ago XD.
LikeLike
A deep chasm of Tsukasa’s misled heart is revealed perfectly in this opening scene as he seems to totally believe that everyone can be bought for the right price, love how Tsukushi 100% defies his words and thinking!! And there’s that dumbfounded look upon his face once again, very reminiscent of him getting sucker punched. =D
LikeLike
Ahhh, so this episode certainly thickens the plot, doesn’t it? I like how the roles get expanded pretty fast with each character, well, I mean with Maki, Rui, and Domyoji san. Very omoshiroi. That was also a great ending scene for this one too. For me, the part at around 28 minutes or so with the gorgeous piano and female singing… that was so perfectly timed for that scene and also just a great song. I started to feel the heartstrings get tugged….
Anyways, I’m kind of hooked now. See? Didn’t take more than two episodes lol. I’m a sucker for a good story I guess, and this Cinderella-like story I feel is going to head off in perhaps very interesting directions! Very cool second episode!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tsukasa has be brought up a conceded and spoiled brat all of his life! He’s like a total different sort of “villain” and villain’s not really the appropriate word to use here and you can just tell by the look of shock on his face that he’s never in his life been spoken to in this manner as Tsukushi has just done to him. Ah those photos of the gorgeous woman in those frames makes you wonder whom else may live here as we’ve only been introduced to Tsukasa and his “something else” mother! In real life she’s Matsushima Nanako who’s a very popular actress or really was back then at least as I haven’t seen her lately and in real life she’s married to someone else very famous!! And handsome!!
LikeLike
I can only wonder if a really, really rich boy has this kind of experience, where everyone literally waits on him hand and foot, and then comes along somebody not rich and spoiled, hits him in the face, tells him off to his face, tells him money isn’t all that’s important in life, and then this causes the rich boy to first be shocked, but later, maybe fall for the girl? Tsukasa certainly feels like a villain, but his reason for being one is what’s interesting right now to me. And I feel this dorama can really explore his motivation to be bad in all kinds of ways that discuss social hierarchy and wage class while giving us a good story. Tsukasa’s character arc will be key here for this to be done well, but so far, so good!
LikeLike
I consider it be the punch that woke him up from his fairy tale land where he gets whatever he wants always. Well it is said that a person may want most that which they cannot “have.” Of course just an analogy of sorts here as there’s much more at play. I think it’s possible for a person who is born into wealth never knowing of its worth because they never had to earn any of it to develop a blurry interpretation of the world and friendships and the meaning of it. Matsujun does his character so well, almost too well as at times it’s his overwhelming hotness which is in battle with myself and many other fangirls thinking what a jackass!! =P
LikeLike
I sooooo loved Tsukushi”s “Harry Potter” reference when seeing just how massive this home is! =P It did have a striking resemblance to that massive dining room at Hogwarts! Tsukasa’s flashbacks of being hit by someone… is a bit mysterious as of yet. Not a house Tsukushi, it’s a castle of some sort! =O
LikeLike
Never liked Harry Potter and only read the first book before getting bored with it, but honestly, this comment made me laugh out loud. Perfectly timed!
LikeLike
Tsukushi’s comment really a nod towards just how worldwide the appeal of Harry Potter is, I was totally engulfed by all of the her novels running out with all of the children and adults when each new novel hit its street date! =) The story of JK Rowling in itself if remarkable, going from homeless to millionaire I dunno billionaire by now all due to her beloved series =)!
LikeLike
And the theme song begins…. btw just got ARASHI’s♥ new single in the post!! =D Here this song “WISH” is cutely whimsical,matches the opening so so perfectly~*!
LikeLike
Happy you got their new single!
LikeLike
It’s epic~♥ good!
LikeLike
Gotta love a girl whom doesn’t take cra% from anyone!! Did you see “Mean Girls?” There’s a whole bunch of those in this school and particularly the “three witches” are most abrasive and loose with their words XD. The lowest slander written there! It was hilarious when Tsukushi screamed out in defiance that she’s still a virgin and then quickly realized that Rui may be in the stairwell…! And he is not whew! However he was just behind her =O. I thought what an odd question to randomly ask out of the blue about the time zone difference…? I
LikeLike
I thought the time zone question was odd too, and of course, later on in this episode it made total sense.
The leader of the three witches is so hot. The other two, not so much now that I’ve got a good look at them. But the leader… phew!!! I wish she wasn’t so mean! These girls really are witches though… my goodness the end of this episode!
LikeLike
No no no no! you shouldn’t fall for the witch! Just kidding! =D
LikeLike
And whether she admits it or not, Tsukushi soooooo has it bad for Rui~♥!!! Going all out to find out that time zone difference says it all =).
LikeLike
And i don’t blame her one single bit! Rui = ♥!
And once again a kiss is “just a kiss…” =O.
The dialogue around “a kiss may not be enough….” is a bit EnGrished here but I’m sure you know what was just implied there and it does hold water in being true I believe =P.
LikeLike
hahahaha, well it’s Rui san… this ikemen who has taken a liking to her… makes total sense.
LikeLike
He’s so distinctly different from the other members of F4, like he’s just there to be there and actually isn’t interested in any of their red card giving ways. =)
LikeLike
Tsukushi’s “friend” Sakurako~chan remains a bit strange I thought….. she’s like this timid girl and yet sometimes she appears to be hiding something or another.
LikeLike
Mahjong freaks me out, I don’t understand it and I’m afraid to understand it otherwise I may play it and I don’t want to XD. Tsukasa had this mad temperament about him, a guy who’s never lived with resistance and always gets what he wants…. how spoiled!!! And yet he can’t control Tsukushi and it’s eating him up inside. I laugh every time here when he refers to Rui as being a “duck”… Eh? =O
LikeLike
I don’t get the duck reference, but Mahjong does look rather scary. I have no interest in it either, or with “Go” the Japanese game that I think a lot of people have played at some point in their lives.
Tsukasa being mad makes sense…there’s nobody to really check his anger in his life, is there?
LikeLike
Nope, like that time he just punches out those guys at that street corner for no valid reason, sure they weren’t the most pleasant people either but to go all violent on them was a true sign of just that. Rui is the one F4 fellow member whom can get under Tsukasa’s skin and the duck reference sounded as to aim a bit of disrespect/ looking down on him in a sort of Domyoji-way.
LikeLike
Spoiled and yet the others in F4 aren’t anything like Domyoji. It’s an odd and yet interesting group dynamic that they have.
LikeLike
What a wonderful coincidence that the “duck” I mean Rui is there staring at those billboards… a happy coincidence for sure for Tsukushi. Placing two together it’s got to be this model whom is currently in France, and so the time difference question. For a second there I so thought that somehow Rui was going to give her an innocent peck upon her cheek! =P Of course not though! And the ever jealous looking Tsukasa is still stalking Tsukushi or I guess he was looking for “his duck” after all XD.
LikeLike
And there was this ominous feeling just then and another F4 Red Card “love” note meant to destroy a life is in Sakurako’s locker, not surprised as Tsukasa holds grudges like no one else =(.
LikeLike
Yeah, the card given to her I didn’t see coming. I mean, I figured with Tsukasa in the car looking all mad from the previous night he was going to do something, but I thought to Makino, not Sakurako. Also, is Sakurako a common name? Sounds like it should just be Sakura or something? Yeah, I can see where this is going…time for Makino to stand up for Sakurako!
LikeLike
Mmmmm … one very awesomely talented Sakurako~chan has been written and gushed over time and time again here! =) Adding the “child” KO suffix had its heyday awhile back with girl’s given names, still has its popularity but nothing like before where it was used so so so often.
LikeLike
Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!! A not so big squirt upon Tsukasa’s one shoe and you just know that he’s going to lose his mind over it… and that one other kid threw that bottle in the first place XD. I say it was his fault and yet you just know Tsukasa won’t see it that way at all.
LikeLike
This was heartbreaking to see Makino get beat at her own game, so to speak, as she wanted to fight Tsukasa, and he found her weak spot super fast. I really thought she was going to lick the shoe for a moment there. Thank God for RUI!
LikeLike
Oh yeah I believe if Rui didn’t suddenly appear, Tsukushi would have done whatever it took to save her friend, she’s one whom was born caring @ heart. ^^
LikeLike
For a split second or two I actually believed that Tsukasa’s yelling “stop it” and “that’s enough” was his way of protecting Tsukushi….? Of course not though, that would have been more shocking than anything else! =O
But to give Tsukushi the ultimatum in order to save her friend Sakurako~chan was beyond anything my mind could ever fathom. How nasty…. and yet Tsukushi being the protective and loving girl that she is was actually going to do it…. the unspeakable.
LikeLike
And Rui to the rescue once again! Appearing at the most opportune time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He’s always saving Tsukushi to Tsukasa’s displeasure. You gotta love him~♥!
LikeLike
It’s amazing how that seemingly unimportant “time difference” question was the savior just now, and in hindsight how Tsukushi went out of her way to find out the answer comes full circle so to speak. =)
LikeLike
This was extremely clever writing on the dorama script writer’s parts. Sorry, now that I’m writing for movies and stuff, I notice little plot points like this much more for what they are. It was a great way to utilize the time reference not just to show me who Rui san is really thinking about, but also to save Makino from being mortally embarrassed and defeated by Tsukasa. You can kind of also feel the tension between Rui san and Tsukasa start to fester here, since Tsukasa doesn’t seem to want to show anyone around him that Rui san can get the better of him. So Tsukasa was all like “Forget it,” but what he really was doing there, I thought, was just trying to play it off like what Rui san did was so unimportant to him that he could care less that Rui san stepped in. It was a good way to save face too.
Already the games have begun even among the F4! I love it! And all because of Makino he he he!
LikeLike
U~n in hindsight Tsukushi could also thank herself for falling for Rui that way and having taken his time zone question to heart as it later came to save her! I totally agree that that dynamic between Tsukasa and Rui is strongly at play here as Tsukasa acts to blow the whole thing off. You just can’t imagine him ever backing down this way and yet in this awkward and timely moment created by Rui’s sudden appearance you’re totally reading into his character. ^^
LikeLike
Now this is mysterious…. everyone’s suddenly being overly kind to Tsukushi at school. It’s like she’s having an out of body experience and she even has a new nickname now. =O The three witches being kind?? Ehh???? What gives, something’s up, something’s gotta be up right? The sudden party invitation feels so much like a trap! =/ Has trap written all over it. =/
LikeLike
Yeah, I couldn’t believe Makino didn’t sniff this one out right away. People don’t just change their attitudes like that over night.
LikeLike
Mischief at it’s worst here and the pure heart of Tsukushi totally fell for it in hindsight! XD
LikeLike
And Tsukushi’s cute and wonderfully aloof and loving family is back on screen! They don’t show them enough… they’re all so adoring of Tsukushi~♥, it’s cute!
LikeLike
Difficult to attend one of those high class parties without the “right” wardrobe. =/
LikeLike
Hahah Tsukasa’s such a pouter! =P He won’t even sit next to his buddy LOL.
And Rui’s “love” has returned…. somehow it appears to be one sided just by the nuances of their seeing each other just now at the airport. And it is as she asks if he’s found a girlfriend. =/ She seems a bit too mature for him and I’m not speaking age wise.
LikeLike
The dynamic between Rui’s “Love” and Rui was interesting because he turned into, like, a pouty little kid for a moment. I couldn’t tell if she actually was interested in him or not, in terms of maybe wanting a relationship, because she also seemed close to the other three F4 members as well? I’m a bit perplexed where her intentions are placed, and I guess we’ll see, but so far, I like her attitude and her kindness. I hope she’s for real with it.
LikeLike
You will not be disappointed…. haha that being said in hindsight now =P. Or actually I don’t know as I’ve yet to reach those comment as of yet XD. It’s like he was expecting total adoration towards himself just then and when it didn’t happen like he had imagined it…. a quick personality change there but just for a bit. =)
LikeLike
I have a bad feeling about this! …as Tsukushi enters the party. =/ And sure enough she’s already being eyeballed and ridiculed by the lying three witches who did say that she could dress as she pleases with no dress “code.” =/ They’re so bad that they’re three I love to “hate” for sure!
LikeLike
That was so mean of them. And they only got more ignorant towards Makino as the party went on. Glad they got what was coming to them!
LikeLike
Characters/ witches you LOVE to HATE!~!! All of the great ones have them in some form or another and here it’s the rich and snobby exerting their worst. =/
LikeLike
Funny how Tsukushi’s the only one not fangirling over F4, and it’s only “F3” here… where’s Rui~♥?
LikeLike
And there it is…. the three witches set her up in order to embarrass her to the limit if there is one. =/ And that guy was interested in Tsukushi just then, until the lies about her being a slu# began. Grrrr =(!
LikeLike
I can say confidently that Hanazawa Rui would have NOTHING to do with the three witches!!!!!! They’re terrible humans…. the worst kind really.
LikeLike
Would you have done something to help Makino in this situation? Honestly? I’m curious to know if you were part of this dorama what role you see yourself as having or playing?
LikeLike
Hm ideally I would be Tsukushi’s best friend but I would then not have been invited to this party most likely…… so could I have been one of the rich there but with an actual heart and soul as to not be such a bad person and snobby? Tell the witches to stop behaving like evil brats and then both Tsukushi and I would be ridiculed and banished for life… =O! I don’t know how to fight so I could never be strong like Tsukushi in this sense, otherwise they would all deserve a knuckle!~sandwich!! =) Okay I get it, a character in the drama…. then it would have to be Shizuka’s character as I would totally be on Tsukushi’s side and better yet, the love interest of Rui~♥!! =P That way everyone wins! =D Okay that second part was a “bit” shallow of me…. XD.
LikeLike
You being Rui’s love interest? Nice!
I appreciate you answering my hypothetical. I am not sure I would be as brave as Makino, but I think it’s admirable to see how she has been developing so far. I’m impressed for sure.
And yeah, if you were Rui san’s love interest, everybody would win, but I don’t think you’re shallow for wanting that. Like you said earlier, we all want what we can’t have, it would seem, as that is the nature of all us humans. You and me are no exceptions, ne?
Gooood stuff! Can’t wait for this week’s upcoming episode!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A very fun question you proposed here and I’m happy that you totally got my choice and reasoning =). Dramas really are conversation starters and it’s always a joy to revisit those which touched and moved so deeply whether they be of humor or much heavier emotions we can all relate to ^^.
BTW I’ve already a wonderful choice for our next as I’m going all the way back to the very first Japanese drama I watched, the one that originally got me hooked~♡ for life. It’s on a VHS as I had taped this ages ago so I’ll be prepping by recording the episodes onto discs first and then the encoding begins before I can upload them. It was a local broadcast but I’ll write more about that later. =)
LikeLike
I felt so sad for Tsukushi, seeing Rui that way there…. she was so liking him~♥.
Catching a glimpse of Tsukasa in the background… I totally thought that he’d come to rescue Tsukushi…. my naive thinking. And Rui♥ of course is there to protect her…! And right in front of the three witches too… love that even more!
LikeLike
Now I totally didn’t seen this coming as the three witches are doused by Rui’s love interest!~!! Most awesome moment!!!!! And I have to believe that she somehow remembers Tsukushi from her attending her speech awhile back?? Proves otherwise though, but nonetheless it’s a magical~* and redeeming moment where justice wins! =D And Tsukasa’s two dimes short of helping Tsukushi of course and I guess why would he? I mean you get this feeling that somewhere deep down in the depths of all of that pent up selfishness and living away from reality that he somehow actually likes her….?
LikeLike
YUP best moment~*!
And learning that Rui~♥ had a say in what just transpired with the three witches is wonderful! It makes me hope that maybe Rui likes Tsukushi? Hmm? What a lovely gift, those pretty shoes!~! ♥! And to make-up Tsukushi too… how sweet she is!
LikeLike
I found it interesting the parallel between how earlier in the episode Makino was almost going to lick stuff off an expensive shoe and by the end of the episode, she’s wearing expensive shoes. Like, she’s ascended from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high..even if it was only for a quick second before she was back down on the ground again, nearly kissing something…er, I mean, SOMEBODY else this time!
LikeLike
LOL! hey Matsujun’s character is nasty but he’s still 200% HOT!!!!!! =P! Seriously though that’s a very observant connection between those shoes and Tsukushi’s situation. =) I like that!
LikeLike
And now everyone sees that Tsukushi so beautiful, the shallow people just realizing it due to her hair, make-up and wardrobe….. those with clear hearts knew it already… Rui of course! And the jealous Tsukasa’s got to be feeling something or another now.
LikeLike
Tsukasa’s closed up mind cannot comprehend the difference of how he “made up” Tsukushi by kidnapping her and forcing her to dress for him and how it’s 100% not the same here…. it’s deliciously amusing just reading his facial expressions. =)
LikeLike
OH this was jaw dropping! As Rui doesn’t back down to Tsukasa and instead stands directly up to him…. LOVE that!
The punch not so much =(.
The inadvertent “kiss” infinitely amusing and it feels like divine justice for Tsukasa to fall that way in some strange and unworldly kind of way! =D Huh? How will his inner demons react?? He’s landed most amusingly upon the girl he so acts to despise and yet he dressed her up earlier and thought he could buy her…. this is going to drive him nuts and I CANNOT WAIT!! =)!~!
Till next Friday! O~tanoshimi ni kudasai! ^^
LikeLike
The punch was hysterical! Maybe if Tsuskas and Makino end up together, she can teach him how to properly throw a punch, eh? That could be, like, their bonding point lol.
This ending was awesome. Another cliffhanger to keep me in excitement until this coming weekend, where I will be watching this lovely Japanese dorama in Japan itself! Yatta!
Thanks again as usual MB! Much obliged!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahah that is a perfectly awesome way of imagining them! =D Tsukushi does pack a mean punch doesn’t she!! And a most unimaginable cliffhanger at that! =)
Have the best time in Japan!! Mmm I wonder if you’ll have time though? And to be on a special visit to Japan, the last thing you’ll probably want to be doing is watching a drama in your room I would think? If you do, then you’ll be commenting from Japan which would be pretty amazing in itself! I’ll be there next year but it’s for a wedding I’ll be a part of so there’ll be no wandering around for me. ^^*
LikeLike