Boys Over Flowers/꽃보다 男子

The classic Asian drama story of a poor girl,

who falls in love with a rich boy

...or two....or three...

Genre: Romance/Drama
Language: Korean

Geum Jan Di ends up attending an expensive, upper-class school, after saving a boy from committing suicide. While there she meets the F4 (flower 4) a.k.a the leaders of the school. They are known for giving anyone they don't like a "red card" which spells out ostracization and bullying from the rest of the school. She revolts against the strange system, and in doing so she stands again Gu Joon Pyo, the prince of princes. Oddly it causes him to fall in love with her, but her heart is unsure.,..

Will they be able to overcome their problems such as his evil mother?

Or will they be separated forever?

And who does her heart truly belong to?

Review:
Note: This will not be a comparison between the Japanese and Korean versions. They are too different, and it would take up too much space....and I haven't yet seen the Taiwanese version.

The cast as a whole did well. To be honest, in the beginning I wasn't very impressed, with Kim Hyun Joong *though I've loved him since "We Got Married"* but he improved significantly. As his character evolved, so did he, and became my favorite character.
His looks improved too, wait for the hair-cut, it's worth it.....
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I though Goo Hye Sun really portrayed her character well, although I found her character a little...바보-ish...but not her fault, the scripts.
I remember commenting,
"I could be the actress for Geum JanDi, I'd just flop over and close my eyes"
...she faints/collapses/is drugged/drunk(ed?)/...etc for half the show :P.
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Lee Min Ho pulled off the character of arrogant/stupid/loveable prince perfectly. Enough said.
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The rest supported well enough. I found Lee Min Jeong a little annoying, but that was her character... I wasn't sold on the whole Kim Bum/Kim So Eun love story....
I also wasn't very impressed with Kim Bum, nor Kim Joon. One part in particular was when Kim Bum plays the Saxophone...knowing the basics of a reed instruments means you have to fold your bottom lip under... seems easy enough, but when he played it was like he had a sucker in his mouth....
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..I have to say this, "I hate the amnesia story-line!"
I didn't like it in the Japanese version, nor this one. *sigh* I guess they were just trying to follow the manga....

Drama, drama and drama again. What girl couldn't like this drama? 3 good-looking guys(won't mention the 4th of the F4...) and a story every girl wishes she was a part of. Of course I was sucked in, it's nature. However I'm not going to lie, it's repetitive, and it gets to be a bit much. But I digress, it's a good watch,
Chickflicky? Over-the-top? Maybe...Love Triangles/Squares? Happy Endings? Evil Friends? Romantic? Of course!

This is a favorite and a classic.

ヒミツの花園/Hanazono's Secret

Genre:Romance/Comedy
Language: Japanese

Tsukiyama Kayo is a magazine editor, or at least that's her title. In reality she is stuck being a "gopher" (go for this, go for that). One day she gets the chance to interview a famous manga artist. However, she once again is stuck doing errands for the assistants, to the artist. Finally she reaches her wits end, and discovers that they aren't really assistants at all! The famous mangaka is comprised of four brothers. As she keeps their secret, and helps them, she discovers more about herself and who she loves.

Review:
Wow...I watched this one awhile ago. I'll try to remember ;).
Basically it's not bad for a Japanese drama. Obviously there is the predictable predictability, but there were some good times too. I didn't recognize any of the actors at the time. I recognized the youngest brother, but I haven't watched any other series with him. I did remember Maya Miki, from "Attention Please"...I should do a review on that....A "maa-maa" movie, as in that it won't make anyone's top 10 list probably.

Final word: if you're looking for a drama that has some typical elements, but with new actors, try this out. I enjoyed watching it; I just don't remember anything special from it really, proving it to be rather forgetful.