Hana Yori Dango 2: The Return

 

 

Cast:

Inoue Mao as Tsukushi Makino

Matsumoto Jun as Doumyouji Tsukasa

Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui

Matsuda Shota as Nishikado Soujiroh

Abe Tsuyoshi as Mimasaka Akira

Kato Natsuki as Okawahara Shigeru

Ikuta Toma as Oribe Junpei
Tsurumi Shingo as Uchida Ken
Kanjiya Shihori as Hinata Sara
Sasaki Sumie as Tama
Toda Erika as Nakashima Umi
Sato Megumi as Sanjou Sakurako
David Ito as Nishida
Kato Takako as Sengoku Sachiyo
Tomiura Satoshi as Makino Susumu
Kobayashi Susumu as Makino Haruo
Ishino Mako as Makino Chieko
Matsushima Nanako as Doumyouji Tsubaki
Kaga Mariko as Doumyouji Kaede

 

Synopsis:

This second season of Hana Yori Dango picks up right after Domyoji leaves for New York. After confessing to Domyoji, Makino has not spoken to him for a year. Rui and the other members of F4 try and help Makino meet Domyoji again by going to New York for the Christmas holidays. Though F4 and Makino meet Domyoji again, he has become a completely different person, and so they leave for Japan.

Some time later, Domyoji's mother announces that they will be returning to Japan. There, they hold a giant super-rich and classy birthday party for Domyoji and announce something very important. Domyoji, like in the first season, is engaged to a rich girl and heir. The only difference is that they are to be wed soon. What will Makino do?

On the side, Rui begins to fall in love with Makino... will this become a love... square?

Rui --> Makino --> Domyoji --> Shigeru (arranged fiancée of Domyoji)

Credits: wikipedia

 

 

What I Think:

Know it when people do second installments of a famous and successful movie, they tend to flop? Like Star Wars or Meteor Garden. Well Hana Yori Dango 2: The Return did not. HYD 2 is even better than the first season.

 

The love connection --- You can feel the resurgence of the chemistry of Mao Inoue and Jun Matsumoto! They just look good together! For the most parts of this series, I felt like Tsukushi was no longer the very very gutsy girl we knew she was in season 1, all her kick ass strength just went pufffft into thin air, I guess love would make you do that --- somehow change. She was stoic, thoughtful and sometimes a cry-baby.

 

In this season, Rui tells Tsukushi he loves her! Now Rui, I was so baffled with this guy, I am not sure if he told Tsukushi he loves her because he really does or for something else. I know there are a lot of people rooting for Rui because he was patient, kind, encouraging and loving; but I have realized that Tsukushi's personality fits more with Tsukasa, definitely does!

 

With Tsukasa and Tsukushi going crazy over a lot of things, then comes Shigeru shigery jumping into the picture as Tsukasa's fiancée! It just bothers me how she can just shrug things off and smile and go on liking Tsukasa, but she redeemed herself with her graceful exit, liked her for that.

Umi, holy clouds, what's with this girl? She is more annoying that Shigeru shigery…grrr!  *mental note: I have only seen Umi act in the ending parts of Death Note movie* this girl is crazy! When Rui told her that she will never be forgiven because of what she did to Tsukasa and Tsukushi, man, I was like "Yeah! Way to go Rui!!"  And he also tells her to get lost and not to interfere when he talks to Tsukasa, yeah Go Rui! Ganbaste!

 

The side stories, the whole "Suki Jiro" this was quite romantic but unnecessary I think. "Suki Jiro" means I Love You Jiro, I was just so sad for Sojiroh when he did not come to see what Sara wanted him to see. He should have hooked up with Tsukushi's best friend too hehe! 

I was crying when Tsukasa was helping Susumo Makino out on expressing the way he feels for his girl, he was so brave I know how difficult it is to give a girl a love letter haha! His execution was fantastic…I love Susumo! I like how stupid boys look when they are in love ^_^

 

I liked HYD from ep 1. I thought Jun Matsumoto was really good, by ep 6 I was totally in love with him, I like his wavy hair, looks so likeable unlike Dao Ming Zhi's infamously hideous pineapple hairstyle, I like the way he smiles with his mouth kinda angled and slighted. I did feel like something's falling out by episode 8, I don't know if I was just tired of Makino or Tsukasa but it does pick up from ep 10 onwards.

 

The songs: The opening song was once again sung by the J-pop group Arashi, and Matsujun is a part of this group, which gives it more meaning, I guess. The song is entitled, "Love So Sweet" and was the eighteenth single they released. Like "Wish", the single debuted at number one on the Oricon chart, initially selling 204,000 copies. It was the best selling single of the group since "A Day in Our Life" in 2002.

The insert song was sung by the ever-so-famous Utada Hikaru. Entitled, "Flavor of Life", it's Hikki's eighteenth Japanese single. It is Utada's first single since 2003 to sell over 200,000 copies in it's first week, the first single to sell over two million downloads before release and the first song to sell over three million downloads total. These sales, along with the single's chart success, have made this one of Hikki's most successful single in years.

- Credits: spcnet

 

I like Utada Hikaru's Flavor of Life Ballad Version so much, but you know when you hear it over and over every time in each episode, you just kinda like "mehn…" wince.  The acting was superbly brilliant especially Jun Matsumoto's. The supporting cast's acting was reinforcing everything, oh and Junpei was really gorgeous too, this is an awesome sequel!

 

Rating: 10 Japanese Tempura out of 10

 

Other Stuff:

 

Flavor of Life – Utada Hikaru

Lyrics & Music: Utada Hikaru

 

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayonara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de
shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furu-tsu
ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de
jirettai no nan notte? baby~

arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

amai dake no sasoi monku ajike no nai doku
sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wa sosorarenai
omoitoori ni ikanai toki datte
jinsei suteta mon janai tte

doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to "uun. nandemo nai"
sayounara no ato ni kieru egao watashi rashikunai
sinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nandaka setsunai
"aishiteru yo" yori mo "daisuki" no hou ga kimi rashii janai?
The flavor of life

wasurekakete ita hito no omoi wo totsuzen omoidasu koro
furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo omou to sunao ni yorokobitai yo

daiyamondo yorimo yawarakakute atatakana mirai
teni shitai yo kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai
"arigatou" to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

 

 

 

Love so Sweet

Arashi

Kagayaita no wa kagami demo Taiyou demo nakute Kimi dato kizuita toki kara
Ano namidagumu kumo no zutto ue ni wa Hohoemu tsuki Love story Mata hitotsu

Kizutsuita yume wa Kinou no kanata e
Sora ni hibike Ai no uta

Omoide zutto zutto Wasurenai sora Futari ga hanarete ittemo
Konna sukina hito ni Deau kisetsu Nido to nai
Hikatte motto Saikou no lady Kitto sotto omoi todoku
Shinjiru koto ga subete Love so sweet

Sokokara itsumo mieru youni
Kono te wo sora ni muke Hirogaru Kimi to no omoide
Ano takakunade ijippari na
Boku wo kaeta kimi no te Love story Aruki dasu

Magari kunetteta Futatsu no tabiji wa
Koko de hitotsu Niji ni nare

Omoide zutto zutto Oikaketa yume Futari ga tooku e ittemo
Donna tsurai yoru mo Kujikesouna Chikai demo
Waratte motto Saigo no lady Kitto sotto negai todoku
Akenai yoru wa naiyo Love so sweet

Tsutae kirenu itoshisa wa
Hana ni natte machi ni futte
Doko ni itemo kimi wo "koko" ni kanjiteru

Omoide zutto zutto Wasurenai sora Futari ga hanarete ittemo
Konna sukina hito ni Deau kisetsu Nido to nai
Hikatte motto Saikou no lady Kitto sotto omoi todoku
Shinjiru koto ga subete
Akenai yoru wa naiyo
Shinjiru koto ga subete Love so sweet

Download Arashi – Love so Sweet here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8gtgzs

 

 

Download Utada Hikaru – Flavor of Life Ballad Version here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/yf8o2q

 

Hana Yori Dango's F4 on the cover looking so hot: 

 

 

The oh-so-gorgeous Ikuta Toma plays bad boy, Junpei-kun!

 

 

Tsukasa's fiancee, Shigeru:

 

Found this while surfing yahoo images looking so cute together:

 

credits: wikipedia, spcent, yahoo images