Boys over Flowers (2009)

Not great

I like Hana Yori Dango even though certain plot lines are problematic. It's a little disappointing that a live-action remake has yet to show any kind of romantic chemistry between the characters, including this one.

This drama is supposed to have a great love story, except the characters have no chemistry. She is already in love with him but acts like she wants to run for the hills every time he comes near her. I understand the story is about teenagers, so the writers have to be careful about how much sexual tension they put into it. But dear god, their romance is just so dry. This is one thing I hate about Asian dramas - so many of them have very little romantic/sexual chemistry between couples who are supposed to be madly in love with each other.

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Now this one I would call a true classic of drama world. If you are a true kdrama fan you probably know this one or have watched this one already, if not you are in for a treat. Every Korean drama watcher should watch this drama. Not only is this a textbook drama it has a great cast starring Lee Min Ho, who is the IT boy of drama land. There is really nothing to say. The cast is awesome, the story is excellent, of course, inspired by Japanese manga. Lee Min Ho makes a fantastic Goo Jun Pyo. The music is also great. I watched this drama twice now and I'll probably watch it again. I love it. It was my first love and the drama that attracted me to this world that I am now kinda obsessed with. I may not be a big fan of Lee Min Ho anymore, but his Goo Jun Pyo made me a part of this world. You simply must watch it, whether you are a drama beginner or a drama veteran. It may be a bit cheesy but hey this is drama land and a drama simply must be a bit cheesy.

Saruman approves! Watch it!!! Watch it now!!!

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This series has some promise as it tells the story of ordinary Jan Di becoming a students at an exclusive private school. There she clashes with wealthy bully gang F4, who are viewed by the rest of the student body as their leaders. Wherever F4 goes, crowds of screaming girls follow. Jan Di challenges F4 when they try to bully her classmates and she soon becomes a target for their ire. She also attracts the attention of their spoiled leader Jun Pyo and mysterious violinist Ji Hoo. As Jan Di tries to navigate this new world of super wealthy teenagers and glitzy parties, she finds herself constantly overwhelmed.

This is a remake of Japanese TV series "Hana Yori Dango" and  it definitely suffers by comparison. Jan Di, bless her heart, is Too Dumb To Live and constantly finds herself stupidly blundering into dangerous situations that one or more members of F4 must rescue her from. She apparently attends a school with no adult supervision, and her main romantic interest just straight up kidnaps her to his enormous mansion. Yeah, that's not creepy at all. Affection seems to be demonstrated in this weird universe by 1. Dreamily mooning over people from behind the bushes or 2. Yelling at them and calling them names. There is no in between. Lee Min Ho sports a fantastically ridiculous hairstyle and a series of oddball wardrobe selections in the role that made him a star. Sadly, it's tough to see the appeal of the pasty Min Ho whose bland face is surpassed only by the tediousness of his acting. With a whiny heroine who alternates between crying and yelling, I would definitely give this one a pass. It may have seemed cool to 13- year-olds 10 years ago, but frankly it is tough to see the appeal.  

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Boys over flowers is probably the most overrated K-Dramas of all times. I enjoyed watching it but there was nothing extraordinary about it that would make me understand why some people are at awe with this.

First of all, Gu Hye Seon looks too old to be a student and Lee Min Ho looks more like her nephew than her boyfriend.
Secondly, the acting was OKAY and just OKAY.

There are some good layers to the story especially the friendship that stood the test of time and space but apart from that, there is nothing new or particularly something that we haven't seen before.

The numbers of cliches are nauseating and at one point, I could predict scene by scene what was about to happen.

Kim Hyun Joong's acting is commendable and Lee Min Ho is pretty good too.

The number of episodes are a little too much and the story could have easily wrapped up in 20 episodes.

The show has some great comic scenes and some emotional scenes (especially the one shot in the basketball court).

Overall, it is a passable show that can definitely be watched once and enjoyed. I wouldn't watch it again though.

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jan di, you got two options!
- the first is rich! (he's also a bully who made your life hell and caused a kid to want to commit suicide and has rage issues and awful hair and tried to forcefully kiss you knowing you hated him and will use his power over the other kids at school to make them try to kill you if you make even the slightest mistake and the only good thing about him is his sister)
- the second is also rich! (he's also stood by as his friends bullied kids brutally and thinks restraining his attraction for a taken girl is a redeeming quality that should be praised and has horrible emo hair and thinks playing the violin with melancholic expression is a personality trait and the only good thing about him is his chilhood crush)
yay! who will you choose?

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Likes:
- Characters and relationships were great and lovable. Easy to care about the characters, and get invested.
- The music really hits you hard at the emotional parts of the series.
- Cinematography is mesmerizing and shot well. Everything is framed great, allowing you to enter their world.
- Jan Di and Ga Eul are both adorable and beautiful throughout.

Dislikes
- Story is a bit stretched. With things happening and not being addressed until and episode or two later.
- Woo Bin wasn't very fleshed out as a character. I wanted to see more of him than what we got.
- Although the music was awesome, the overuse of the main theme got a bit annoying by the end.
- The ridiculous ending arc was unnecessary and did nothing other than make the series a couple episodes longer.

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I'm a little late to write this review for this drama as people have already wriiten so many amazing and good reviews. But I will always consider this drama special because this is what started my journey as drama addict.

When I started this drama, I was fairly new to the K-drama world. But I was still annoyed at all the soap cliches that this story had used. What made this story stick to me even today is the emotional quotient. I have a soft spot for cinderella-esqe stories. Arrogant boy falling for the feisty newbie? Yup I'm sold. Again it was hilarious in some parts, frustating at many others. It was a ride watching the two kids finally be together.

Because of this drama, I referred the original source material. I even saw the anime, Hana Yori Dango. The Korean drama pretty much dumbed down many things for family viewing. I actually like the anime. If they could have showed that kind of maturity for this one as well, I believe the drama could have been better.

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