[jdrama: hana yori dango]
I laughed, I cried, I cringed, I ... I really enjoyed this show! ♥
I'm a bit tired so this won't be as comprehensive a review as I would have preferred, but here are my thoughts on yaoi Hana Yori Dango.
Makino kicked butt! Literally! I love her -- she's absolutely fearless, while also honest & caring. Her family was absolutely adorable. I about died when her mum dumped all that salt on Domyoji's mother's head! XD Way to go, Mrs. Makino!
F4 -- I wonder what my feelings about them would have been if I had gone into this completely unawares. I knew that Domyoji & Makino ended up together, so I felt more charitiable about his early despicable actions because I knew that he would smarten up at some point. And Rui! Oguri Shun smiling & talking? I was instantly sold; see? Everything relates to Hana-Kimi one way or another. :P I also liked Nishikado & Akira, especially once they started to interact with Yuki & Sachiyo (Okami-san).
Sakurako & Nishida surprised me! They both can't be trusted; Sakurako will stab a person in the back with a smile & Nishida helped Domyoji when it really mattered.
Hmm, what else...
I don't know if I've mentioned it before but I have a serious, serious embarrassment squick which made certain parts of this show incredibly uncomfortable to watch. It took me several tries to watch the last few minutes of the fourth episode & then I instantly had to watch the fifth because that cliffhanger was just -- gah. (I've been trying to be better at getting through things; I tell myself that what has happened has happened & it's better to just get past the uncomfortable bits but IDK. I've tried to read Hot Gimmick a few times & I have to give up after only a few chapters because it is simply that stressful. I'm weird.)
One element of HYD that I am torn between loving & hating is the Domyoji/Makino/Rui triangle. I love all three of them & I think that each of the boys would make a great partner for her but damn! You do not want to make Domyoji angry. D:
Even if I didn't know that there was a second series to watch, I would have found that ending satisfying. Of course it wasn't some grand 'ride off into the sunset' shoujo ending, but it was full of hope & potential. That said, I cannot wait to see what happens next! XD
Before I started watching HYD, I had seen a few LJ users rant about how the show portrays violence against women. And I don't know what it says about me, but that barely blipped on my radar. Having seen what they were outraged about (F4's treatment of Makino in the first few episodes + the attempted rape, I-- I still can't muster up any anger as a woman.
I have no clue why. I mean, I had to quit watching Veronica Mars very early on because I simply hated Logan & his treatment of Veronica & anyone who was around here during my Buffy the Vampire Slayer obsession knows how I feel about Spike & Spuffy in the later seasons -- rage, rage, & more rage. A few people, like hiddenw, have mentioned that Domyoji = Logan & I definitely agree but I felt something for Domyoji that I couldn't feel for Logan. Pity or sympathy, I really enjoyed seeing Domyoji mature & open his heart up. I loved seeing all of F4 develop as the show went on; that also goes for Sakurako &, heck, even Domyoji's mother surprised me a bit.
Anyways, I went a bit off-point there.
I had this same issue with Nodame Cantabile, knowing that I should be upset about something but just not caring. It's a joke with fans of Nodame Cantabile that Chiaki is abusive. Violence against women was pretty much played for laughs in that series. I knew that & I still laughed.
This isn't to say that I've gone 'soft' on violence against women. I think I just take fictional representations of it at face value. If I were to get upset over every instance of violence I came across, I would probably have very few things to enjoy. And if I watched a show expecting all the characters to be wholesome & perfect at the very beginning, what's the point? A great part of HYD was seeing every single character develop into a better version of themselves.
I'm a bit tired so this won't be as comprehensive a review as I would have preferred, but here are my thoughts on yaoi Hana Yori Dango.
Makino kicked butt! Literally! I love her -- she's absolutely fearless, while also honest & caring. Her family was absolutely adorable. I about died when her mum dumped all that salt on Domyoji's mother's head! XD Way to go, Mrs. Makino!
F4 -- I wonder what my feelings about them would have been if I had gone into this completely unawares. I knew that Domyoji & Makino ended up together, so I felt more charitiable about his early despicable actions because I knew that he would smarten up at some point. And Rui! Oguri Shun smiling & talking? I was instantly sold; see? Everything relates to Hana-Kimi one way or another. :P I also liked Nishikado & Akira, especially once they started to interact with Yuki & Sachiyo (Okami-san).
Sakurako & Nishida surprised me! They both can't be trusted; Sakurako will stab a person in the back with a smile & Nishida helped Domyoji when it really mattered.
Hmm, what else...
I don't know if I've mentioned it before but I have a serious, serious embarrassment squick which made certain parts of this show incredibly uncomfortable to watch. It took me several tries to watch the last few minutes of the fourth episode & then I instantly had to watch the fifth because that cliffhanger was just -- gah. (I've been trying to be better at getting through things; I tell myself that what has happened has happened & it's better to just get past the uncomfortable bits but IDK. I've tried to read Hot Gimmick a few times & I have to give up after only a few chapters because it is simply that stressful. I'm weird.)
One element of HYD that I am torn between loving & hating is the Domyoji/Makino/Rui triangle. I love all three of them & I think that each of the boys would make a great partner for her but damn! You do not want to make Domyoji angry. D:
Even if I didn't know that there was a second series to watch, I would have found that ending satisfying. Of course it wasn't some grand 'ride off into the sunset' shoujo ending, but it was full of hope & potential. That said, I cannot wait to see what happens next! XD
Before I started watching HYD, I had seen a few LJ users rant about how the show portrays violence against women. And I don't know what it says about me, but that barely blipped on my radar. Having seen what they were outraged about (F4's treatment of Makino in the first few episodes + the attempted rape, I-- I still can't muster up any anger as a woman.
I have no clue why. I mean, I had to quit watching Veronica Mars very early on because I simply hated Logan & his treatment of Veronica & anyone who was around here during my Buffy the Vampire Slayer obsession knows how I feel about Spike & Spuffy in the later seasons -- rage, rage, & more rage. A few people, like hiddenw, have mentioned that Domyoji = Logan & I definitely agree but I felt something for Domyoji that I couldn't feel for Logan. Pity or sympathy, I really enjoyed seeing Domyoji mature & open his heart up. I loved seeing all of F4 develop as the show went on; that also goes for Sakurako &, heck, even Domyoji's mother surprised me a bit.
Anyways, I went a bit off-point there.
I had this same issue with Nodame Cantabile, knowing that I should be upset about something but just not caring. It's a joke with fans of Nodame Cantabile that Chiaki is abusive. Violence against women was pretty much played for laughs in that series. I knew that & I still laughed.
This isn't to say that I've gone 'soft' on violence against women. I think I just take fictional representations of it at face value. If I were to get upset over every instance of violence I came across, I would probably have very few things to enjoy. And if I watched a show expecting all the characters to be wholesome & perfect at the very beginning, what's the point? A great part of HYD was seeing every single character develop into a better version of themselves.