Boys Over Flowers is a Japanese shōjomanga series written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio. The story is set in Tokyo, Japan. It centers on students at the fictional "Eitoku Academy", an elite school for children from rich families. It tells the story of Tsukushi Makino, a girl from a middle class family, whose mother enrolled her in an elite high school to compete with the families from her husband's company. While at Eitoku, she encounters the F4, a gang of fouryoung men who are children of Japan's wealthiest families, and who bully anyone that gets in their way. Boys Over Flowers was released in Japan as the anime television series and film Hana Yori Dango from 1996–1997. It has also been adapted into official live-action dramas. The first multiple-episode television series was produced in Taiwan. It was later followed by versions produced in Japan, South Korea, and finally mainland China. It was adapted into two live-action films in Japan and the other, Hana Yori Dango Final.
Plot
Eitoku Academy in Yamanote, Japan is a prestigious school that caters to children from upper class families. Hence, Tsukushi Makino, who comes from a middle-class family, fulfills the literal meaning of her name, as she is initially considered to be the "weed" of the school. The school is ruled by the F4, four young men from Japan's wealthiest families. Tsukasa Domyouji, the son of the wealthiest, most powerful family in Japan, takes an interest in Tsukushi because she is the only girl at Eitoku who does not like him, and in fact beats him up. Tsukushi, however, is repulsed by his hot-headed nature and bullying demeanor, falling instead for soft-spoken and sensitive Rui Hanazawa. This love triangle forms the basis of the entire series. The other two members of the F4 are Akira Mimasaka, the laid-back peacemaker of the group, and Sojirou Nishikado, an unrepentant playboy. They both usually have at least one girlfriend at any one time; Akira prefers older women because the women of his household are quite childish. Sojirou is happy to be in casual relationships with many women, although we later discover that at one time he was in love with a childhood friend. Over time, Tsukushi's feelings towards Tsukasa evolve, as she begins to appreciate the degree of change that occurred in Tsukasa once he fell in love with her. However, because of the difference in social class, Tsukushi and Tsukasa's relationship is blocked by Tsukasa's mother, Kaede.
Characters
Manga
Boys Over Flowers was serialized in Shueisha's bi-weekly Japanese-language magazine Margaret magazine from October 1992 to September 2003. It was also serialized into 36 stand-alone volumes between 1992 and 2004, with an epilogue that came out in 2008. English translations of all 37 volumes were released between 2003–2009. It has also been published by Glénat in France and by Planeta DeAgostini in Spain. Boys Over Flowers won the 41st Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo manga. With 61 million copies sold as of 2015, it is one of the best-selling manga series of all time and the best-selling shōjo manga of all time. Kamio began a sequel, titled Boys Over Flowers Season 2, in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ online magazine on February 15, 2015. In July 2006, a short story based on the manga was published in issue 15 of Margaret magazine. Another two-installment short story was published in January 2007. Both short stories were done by Yoko Kamio.
