----------
Genre:
Drama - The anime was full of emotions. One episode I'd be ecstatic, another angry, another sad. There were a lot of things going on. There were episodes which I wanted the protagonist to just disappear, all the while, another episode makes me root for her.
Romance - It's the kind of romance that happens in most novels. Overpowering, brutal, mean, wealthy, handsome (not in the anime) guy falls for the MC. Episode 50 made me shed tears.
Comedy - Although it wasn't tagged as one, there were funny moments. That's high school, and it's expected there will be funny moments, most especially with the MC's love interest. MC's family was fun to watch too.
----------
Before I begin, the animation style sucks. I do have a bias because Crayon Shin Chan (under Shin-Ei) isn't as great as well, but Toei Studios just didn't put much effort into Hana Yori Dango. Given that it was aired 1996, Sailor Moon under Toei also was not well made, but Dragon Ball GT was aired in the same year but looked better. The visuals will discourage anyone, which almost made me give up before finishing Episode 1. The intro music isn't good but I like the beat so it's still playing in my head for weeks now.
Going back to the plot, this is a Shoujo anime where the MC (Tsukushi Makino) is entirely different from the typical Shoujo heroines. She comes from a lower middle class family who was sent by her parents to an elite school, for wealthy students, just so she can marry one - Funny. She's headstrong and practical which made her stay in the school entertaining. Well, it wasn't easy for her but let's cut this to what made it great and awful. I can't do justice providing a review to the 51-episode series as I would rather have you watch it because it is good. However, I hated how bullying was shown here but it depicts how it was back then. Since this is a romance/drama, I'll focus on the romance piece.
She has 2 love interests who had opposing feelings towards her. This is where I have mixed feelings with. One, Tsukasa Domyoji isn't someone I'd admire due to his extremely menacing character. His violent altercations with the MC and the terror everyone feels in his presence still makes me boil, but his character development was great. Two, Rui Hanazawa is just aloof and although treated the MC better, obviously wasn't in love with her. His personality was quite appealing at first but became rather boring. The MC wasn't perfect either. I hate how she would jump from one love interest to another which would have been acceptable if she cut ties with one before kissing another. She would go after someone who didn't want her and disregard someone who is into her - well, in most cases, it's realistic.
For me, it was a good watch. It will inspire you to love someone wholly. Overall, it's a great romance anime. The advances, I can disregard given how things were in 1996 and how extreme students are. The bullying, it was just bad, really awful scenes to watch. But I fell in love with Domyoji. I fell in love with Tsukushi. I fell in love with Hana Yori Dango.
No comments:
Post a Comment