Boys Over Flowers tells the story of poor, yet hardworking high -schooler Jan- Di ( Ku Hye- Sun) , who attends on a scholarship, a place at a prestigious high school for the rich and famous of Korean society . After angering the leader of the F4( a group of boys consisting of the school’s most notorious heirs) , Gu Jun- Pyo ( Lee Min- Ho) , Jan- Di finds herself cornered by Jun Pyo’s bullying tactics and , in frustration, declares war against the F4. Despite the mayhem around Jun- Pyo’s attempts to make her yield her declaration and give-in, Jan- Di finds comfort within the presence of taciturn and mysterious F4 member , Yoon Ji- Hoo ( Kim Hyun- Joong), however, her comfort may be short lasting when Jun Pyo begins to develop a complicated crush on Jan- Di.

First of all, I will give this adaptation upon reflection one praise; the amount of hours it must have taken the stylists to do Lee Min Ho’s stylists to do that perm. All joking aside, Boys Over Flowers isn’t an entirely dire drama, but, it never ceases to surprise me even now, how many drama watchers overrate this version as the “ best” , with most never having fully watched the original Taiwanese, Japanese ( as well as the unofficial Chinese version ) or even the more recent official Chinese adaptation, to draw this indecisive conclusion together .

Though, let’s not sugarcoat something about any of the adaptations( including some of the more critically - appraised versions such as the original Meteor Garden and Hana Yori Dango) . Boys Over Flowers ( like all the adaptations ) is sourced from the original 90s / 00s romance( or “ shoujo” )manga called Hana Yori Dango ; accounting the romantic cliches seen in all the versions of a poor girl and a rich and spoilt kid who turn from enemies to friends , to of course, eventual lovers. As you can imagine, Boys Over Flowers regurgitates all of the cliches from the original manga ( whether for better or for worse) with natural added changes for Korean audiences ( such as Gun Pyo’s name in the original manga/ Japanese drama , is Domyouji Tsukasa as well as several culture changes such as the “ Puppy Date” in the Japanese version, being updated with a Korean Sauna scene between Jan Di’s brother and father).

Whilst I don’t typically compare original versions or adaptations in my reviews out of respect for the culture or story, I think it is intriguing (especially as it’s not often drawn together when reviewers consider this drama), to particularly compare some differences between the acting choices, plot and characters across some of the adaptations / manga. The first comparison undeniably comes from the choice of Hye- Sun as our female lead. Unlike a lot of adaptations, it took me awhile to find what truly annoyed me about Hye- Sun’s portrayal. It was nothing to do with her physical appearance as some drama watchers have pointed out ( if anything, this made her role seem a little more realistic, as even in the original manga, she’s described as an ‘ everyday girl’) , but, rather the lack of emotional appeal which was put into her portrayal of a supposedly ‘ relatable and ordinary’ female lead, as well as of course, moments of overreacting within emotionally angst- ridden scenes . Naturally, it can’t be said that Hye- Sun was entirely at fault here, as the scriptwriters also played a part as well within her character. To put if simply, there was nothing intrinsically driving about Jan- Di as a character. She was not independent or fierce as shown in the first episode by crumpling too soon rather than progressively over Gun Pyo’s influence, or even the seemingly ‘ kind- hearted’ girl suggested earlier on in the show ( whilst I appreciate she may have been in a state of shock, note the scene in Episode 5 when Gun- Pyo fires a normal and everyday working sales assistant in front of her, she doesn’t even bat an eyelid). In the other adaptations, there is always something driving about the female lead which makes her likeable or at least an approachable character. Consider Inoue Mao’s portrayal as Jan- Di’s earlier counterpart in the Japanese version , Tsukishi Makoto. Love or loathe her portrayal, Mao truly captured Makoto as a fiercely hardworking, and equal to Tsukasa, putting her foot down even when Tsukasa raises his voice at his friends. In a similar manner Barbie Hsu’s version as Shancai had her moments, but, she was still a fiercely strong female lead. Therefore, it’s hard to truly evaluate especially as a seemingly apparent ‘ strong and independent’ female lead, that Hye Sun’s appearance is truly comparable to some of the other versions ( such as the Japanese version).

This of course, moves us onto Lee Min Ho’s portrayal as Gu Jun- Pyo, the Male lead and the leader of the F4. In all honesty, there was a certain essence that Min Ho captured as Jun- Pyo (/ Tsukasa Domyouji) as the lovelorn lead through his comical lines, actions and tender moments towards Jan- Di. In a similar manner to Hye- Sun, however, Min Ho’s role wasn’t particularly profound. In fact whilst Min Ho’s career did kick off after this drama, there was no real approach to depth or apparent seriousness within both Min Ho and the scriptwriters ‘ approach to Gu Jun- Pyo’s character both behaviour-wise and psychologically . Whilst the drama did take the typical ‘ he’s not that bad, after all ’ trope ( as shown in all versions ) and explore a more complex version between Jun- Pyo and his mother ( as seen during his childhood) and his sister , there was still little put together about how this truly impacted upon Gu Jun- Pyo to explore some more vulnerable and challenging moments again his ‘ Macho’ persona. One of the more profound portrayals of the Male lead undeniably goes to the lesser- talked about role by Jun Matsumoto as Domyouji. Whilst having some questionable acting moments in a similar manner to Min Ho, Matsumoto and the scriptwriters did reach out to exploring the Male lead in more vulnerable moments with his estranged relationship with his mother ( as shown in one of the first few episodes when his mother fires a chef on unfair grounds ) and glimpses into Domyouji’s softer side in childhood and the present to the reasons behind his character. Yet even more recent and light- hearted portrayals such as Dylan Wang’s portrayal as Dao Ming Si in the recent version of Meteor Garden (2018), have provided a more realistic approach to this character, highlighting both the fault of Min Ho and the scriptwriting in comparison to some of the other adaptations.

Before talking about Hye- Sun and Min Ho’s chemistry, it is wrong to leave out Hyun- Joong’s portrayal as Ji- Hoo, as the second lead of the drama( let’s ignore the controversies in order to evaluate Hyun Joong as an actor here) . There was nothing entirely wrong with Hyun- Joong’s portrayal of Ji- Hoo. In fact, out of the majority of the cast in this drama, Hyun- Joong probably captured his character the most in a more “boyish “ haze for Jan- Di’s feelings . To an extent, there were even some moves in this drama which I did prefer more than the original versions,( not least the complications between Ji- Hoo and his grandfather adding to some emotional scenes). Yet the Korean version did leave out a core essence of Hyun- Joong’s character compared to other versions, and that was certainly his emotional complexity between his mystery and his equally hidden feelings for the female lead. In the original manga and the Taiwanese version Meteor Garden ;2001 ( portrayed by Vic Chou) , an essence to Rui/ Ze Lei as a character, is that he is mildly autistic and ,consequently , his feelings for both his sister- figure and Makoto/ Shancai remain complex throughout the series. In the Japanese version ( and consequently in the Korean and Chinese versions as well), Oguri Shun’s portrayal of Rui Hanazawa is left out to be a consequence of learning problem, but rather his peculiarity as a character. In the case of Shun’s portrayal, Rui is portrayed in the ‘ cool, mysterious manner’ and is perhaps one of the few versions in which the character’s feelings for the female lead, remain partially open throughout the show.

On a slightly more positive note, the one thing which I must prefer slightly about the Korean Drama in comparison to most of the versions, was the sense of believable ‘ rough and and tumble ‘ bonds between the other F4 members in this version as childhood friends ; portrayed perfectly by Kim Bum and Kim Joon. Whilst there is no doubt that the Japanese version showed us this bond extending out more to Makoto as well, the Korean version did seem to highlight this friendship slightly more profoundly with Jun Pyo, with the other members teasing Gun Pyo over his feelings and Jan Di’s reactions. My other slight personal thought to the drama, was undeniably the greater chemistry between Kim Bum’s role as Yi- Jung and Jan Di’s best friend, Ga- Eul than in other versions ( particularly the Japanese drama between Nishido and Yuki), with more profound moments revealing a backstory to Yi- Jung which is often disregarded in other adaptations.

Moving on to the chemistry between our leads throughout the show, it is undeniable that there was chemistry between our leads, Hye- Sun and Min- Ho as well as the gradual development of their characters. On the other hand, there were less fresh and monumental developments which truly exposed the rocky obstacles within their relationships like other adaptations ( though there were some carried- out traits from the Taiwanese/ Japanese versions such as the visit to the female lead’s house, the ‘ Maid’ storyline from the Japanese drama and the manga as well and of course the betrayal scenes), leaving a less impressionable chemistry than other versions. In addition to this, the ending of the drama certainly hints at the possibilities, but felt a bit of a waste of time within the build- up to their relationship, even when considering with more hinted suggestions such as the walking side by side scene in Meteor Garden or more tied endings like the proposal scenes in Hana Yori Dango and Meteor Garden ( with the Japanese Movie sequel even hinting to Makoto ready to start a family with Domyouji). Overall, it’s fair to say that whilst Boys Over Flowers isn’t unbearable to watch, it’s riddled with cliches from beginning to end copied from other versions with lacking originality, characters and plot inconsistencies, questioning whether it may be better to seek out versions of this show and not waste your time watching the Korean version.