Conclusion

All right. I sort of finished watching Boys Over Flowers (BOF). My conclusion is...I still prefer the Japanese's Hana Yori Dango. It is a personal preference, I suppose. I've never quite fancied Korean dramas 'cos I find them impossibly draggy. So people like draggy dramas, some people don't; I happen to be one of those who don't. I like my dramas to the point and although I have to admit that the Japanese's take of the manga is not perfect and that some scenes could have been better explored, the overall pacing of the series is more comfortable for me.

Some main observations from BOF:

• Korean Makino became less irritating as the series developed
  
• Korean Doumyouji is damn handsome, despite his ugly hairstyle
  
• Korean Rui has 死魚眼
• Korean Shigeru is a class-one bitch

It is apparent in the earlier episodes that the Korean lead actress OVERACTED...but thankfully she toned down her act in later episodes and was able to deliver some decent acting, not totally killing off the wonderful character Makino (altho' I have an issue with some parts of the script, which I will go into soon). I still prefer Japanese Makino by Inoue Mao, whom I find very ordinary-looking. I actually wondered initially how come the Japanese production chose such a Plain Jane to play Makino (but again, manga Makino is supposed to be a Plain Jane). After watching Inoue's acting, I finally understood. She is perfect for this role lah. My favourite Makino, definitely. I have a very vague memory of Big S's Makino so I shall not add her in this comparison.

The Korean Doumyouji is hot! Haha. I'm not sure which Doumyouji I like better. I like Jerry Yen's Doumyouji too. :) Oh gosh, I left the Japanese Doumyouji completely out of the picture! Haha. What can I say. I never really quite liked Matsumoto Jun and frankly, I was appalled when I found out he was acting as Doumyouji. Isn't Doumyouji supposed to be hunky and tall? 1.85m in stature, with broad shoulders to boast of? Matsumoti Jun is what...1.73m tall and super scrawny- he totally doesn't fit the Doumyouji image lah! In terms of physical looks, he is a total misfit. HOWEVER, he has one redeeming quality: he gave life to Doumyouji. His interpretation of the character was quite accurate. I especially like the scenes when he showed his rage, never quite losing it totally even as the series developed. He did grow a certain kind of "softness" whenever he was with Makino and indeed, transformed into a better man. Kudos to Matsumoto for this. :)

I'm sorry to say but the despite my strongest attempts to like the Korean Rui, he failed to grow on me. His eyes seem to always to stare into space and I can't detect any emotions in them (not that I observed lah). He is my least favourite Rui. Even Zai zai's Rui is better and that is despite my disliking of how Zai zai made Rui appear like a weakling. Japanese Rui wins here! Without a doubt~

I HATE the Korean Shigeru. Why did they make her such a bitch? Shigeru is NOT supposed to be a dislikeable character! Asking Makino to be her bridesmaid for her wedding even when she has knowledge that Makino and Doumyouji are still very much in love with each other? So cruel. BITCH. I dislike this interpretation of Shigeru and I really don't understand why Korean dramas always have to make their 3rd party characters so bitchy. What is even more unbelievable is her abrupt change from an evil bitch to a kind lady, choosing to annul the wedding ceremony and bringing the two love birds together. I watched this drama with Chinese subs and according to the subs, her reason for her "kind" decision was, in her words: "我本來就是個很酷的女人。" UNBELIEVABLE. I'm sorry but I failed to see any coolness in her character at all. Oh man, BOF really destroyed this character. Sobs. You know, I actually really really like the Japanese Shigeru? The scenes that show her in solitude and crying- absolutely heartbreaking. I thought Japanese Shigeru showed a lot of heart.

Add on on 20th July, 1:08am: Okay, I've been trying to figure out how come I hate the Korean Shigeru so much and I think I know why. Korean Shigeru didn't manage to convey to the audience her mixed feelings and partial guilt (for hurting a friend) adequately; it all boils down to poor execution/bad acting. Korean Shigeru sucks! Haha.

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Overall, I find there are a lot of unnecessary scenes in the Korean version because I was almost constantly fast-forwarding through scenes. They can film the same scene for like 10 mins or something. I don't know...it just feels damn long. If the length is supposed to create some sentimental "feel"...it didn't work on me. The background music for BOF isn't good. There are too many different songs playing inside this serial and the end result is none left a strong impression. I find some of the background music inappropriate for the scenes but that's just me lah.

I was anticipating the final swimming pool scene that Limei raved about. Well, I can understand her feelings (I'm sure a lot of others adore that scene) but let's just say it is not my kind of scene lah. I find it a little too cheesy for me. Makino deliberately falling into the water after telling Doumyouji her intention for him to shout out her name. Okay, if she merely jumped into the water to retrieve the necklace then it would be quite all right...but she purposely fell backwards and remained underwater with her eyes closed (totally dramatic) just waiting in anticipation for Doumyouji to miraculously recover his memory and save her. Why in the world didn't the other people attempt save her? No, because this is a drama, Doumyouji had to be the one who saves her. Finally he remembered and jumped in to save the love of his life! Then...for maximum drama effect, Makino had to request for Doumyouji to call out her name again. OH MY GOSH. My goosepimples appeared!

I think this scene is not reflective of Makino's character. It just made her seem so weak and a slave to love. I know, it's supposed to be all romantic and all but this scene really made me think this way. Assuming Doumyouji doesn't get his memory back and nobody bothers to jump in the water to save her then what? She dies from drowning? Makino isn't like that. In HYD, Makino went out into the blizzard SEARCHING for Yuki, not because she was so affected that Doumyouji has forgotten her that she wanted to die in the cold. And NOT once did Makino gave up on her life. Even as she laid frozen in the snow, she still held on to her dreams for the future. She didn't express any intention of dying but instead showed her will to live. Both are dramatic lah...but the Japanese dramatic is more believable, in this case.

I did a simple calculation of the length of BOF: approx 60mins x 24 episodes = 1440mins.

And for HYD:
approx 47 mins x 9 = 423min
+ 110min (1st ep of HYD2)
+ 60mins (last ep of HYD2)
+ 47min x 8 = 376min
+ 60min (last ep of HYD 1)
= 1029 (~1030min)

1440 - 1030 = 410min
410/60 = 6.83 hours

Meaning, BOF is approx. 6.83hr longer than the HYD series. Actually each ep of BOF is slightly more than 1 hour but I rounded down. Each ep for HYD is slightly less than 47mins but I rounded up. Therefore the accurate figure should be higher than 6.83. I didn't count the lousy HYD Final movie 'cos that was rubbish and a complete waste of time. Yeah, so the extra hours in BOF were spent on their walking and staring into space and what have you. How bloated. Perhaps I'm just impatient lah. Too used to Japanese dramas already. Average 11 episodes. Snap snap, finish.

There are more poignant scenes in HYD (for me) even though they are comparatively shorter in length. Some of the conversations inside...damn sad. I like the scene when Doumyouji compared love to a fig - slice the fruit in the middle and you'll get a heart shaped interior, which tastes a little sweet and a little sour. And then he went on to say how the flavour of love to him is the cookie that Makino had once made for him. Inoue's gradual change in expression here is wonderful- her eyes managed to convey her mixed feelings. Ahhh. Very sad leh. I find that scene very sad. I mean, it's sweet and all, with Doumyouji professing his love for Makino once again but there is also this element of sadness. At that point in time, Makino had taken courage and decided to let go of the relationship...but then Doumyouji came back and claimed that he still loved her. Then Shigeru entered the room and saw the two of them together. Her eyes looked so damn sad! My heart broke when Shigeru said, "I am not a monkey" (Doumyouji calls her Monkey) with tears in her eyes before leaving the room. And throughout this scene, Utada Hikaru's song, Flavour of Life was playing in the background. SO SAD! Yeah. This is one HYD scene I particularly like just 'cos it's so sad. Haha.

This ends my review for BOF. Ultimately, it doesn't matter which version of HYD you like 'cos you like what you like and everyone has their own preference. :) Those who like the Kdrama pacing can give BOF a try. A lot of romantic fluff and hotties to look at. For sure, the Korean F4 looks really good. Korean Doumyouji!~!~