Kamio Yoko

Kamio Yoko’s Hana Yori Dango (English title: Boys Over Flowers) was a massively successful manga that ran for ELEVEN YEARS. (The author once said that toward the end of the series she found herself dreaming about the characters.) This wildly entertaining soap opera of a story is well over thirty volumes long and was turned into an anime, a movie, a Taiwanese live-action drama called Meteor Garden (which in turned spawned a popular idol group called F4, after the four main male characters in the story), and a Gameboy game, which I would verrrrry much like to play.

Note: The title of this series translates into “Boys over flowers”, which is a play on the Japanese saying “Food (specifically dumplings) before blossoms”. Apparently the kanji for “Boys” and “Dumplings” are pretty similar.

UPDATE: Apparently, thirty-six volumes just wasn't enough! Yes, there is to be a SEQUEL!

Aftertaste:
The anime is soooooo booooooring, with about fifty million scenes with people doing nothing but staring off into space. I haven't been able to force myself to watch the movie (which has the same characters and themes but a completely different setting), but it looks like it blows, too.

Availability:
Everywhere.

Other Recommendations:
See our Wordcandy Recommended Manga Page!