Boys over Flowers (花より男子)

Boys over Flowers (花より男子)

Boys over Flowers is a television drama series that can be viewed as the single most Asian-known drama of all time. The main reason for its fame is that the story itself is adapted to several different versions: Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese (twice), and Korean. The plot is driven by the contrivances of Japanese shojo manga, in which the storyline highly depends on emotions and fateful coincidences that aim to fulfill the imagination of young girls. Therefore, the melodramatic elements of Boys over Flowers attract and entertain the audience, mainly young Asian female, and construct the television series, no matter which adaptation, into a drama classic.

Plot

Boys over Flowers starts with an unfashionable dry cleaner’s daughter accidentally attending a fancy private high school, filled with the richest kids in the city. She fails to connect with the rest of her schoolmates who all tend to be rich and arrogant. The four good-looking heirs, the most popular boys of the school, are called F4 (Flower Four). They have divine power over the school, and each group member has distinctive personalities and appearance. After the poor protagonist accidentally spills juice on the shirt of the leader of the group, our male protagonist, he gives out a red tag that means a divine order for the rest of the school to bully a target at no matter what cause. Soon the girl becomes the most despised student. But her later resistance and strong attitude surprisingly attract the leader of F4. They begin a love-hate romantic relationship that soon surprises the whole school.

Adaptations

The first version of Boys over Flowers came out in 2001, as a Taiwanese “idol drama” and soon became a hit. Its success encourages the adaptations in other regions, and it is now viewed as a drama classic that people would still talk about.

In 2005, Japan released the second version of Boys over Flowers (花より男子) that received great attention all over Asia. Compare to the Taiwanese version, which has an emphasis on presenting “the rich”, 花より男子 tends to be more about teenage romance and shojo imagination.

The 2009 Korean version also has a fantasy approach, that dresses the F4 as Western aristocrats and illustrates a modern Korean tale of Cinderella.

The latest version, a mainland Chinese version, came out only a year ago but did not receive as much attention as the previous versions, mainly because the audience thinks that the actress selected to play the female protagonist is not suitable for the role. Chinese fans view the two mainland versions as truly absurd adaptations and constantly make fun of the scenes.

Fans still debate over which version is the best among all. As a girl who grew up watching all the versions of Boys over Flowers, I personally think that the Korean version is the best, for its emphasis on high school teenage problems and social class conflicts. In addition, I also love the Japanese version for Oguri Shun, my favorite Japanese actor.

Melodramatic Elements

Numerous melodramatic archetypes are presented throughout the television series. 

First, the sense of an “impossible” romance between two characters coming from two distinctive worlds contains a melodramatic statement. The theme of social difference is heightened in Boys over Flowers where the social pressure is directly presented through the school bullying and gossiping environment. In addition, an arranged marriage in the later part of the storyline that aims to impede the romance increases the sense of restricted love that often appears in melodrama. 

Second, highly plausible coincidences heighten drama and tension throughout every adaptation of Boys over Flowers. For instance, the fateful spill, when the two protagonists first encounter, is highly shojo characteristic and fairy-tale like. 

Third, the television series depicts the reality of high school bullying phenomenon that causes serious problems in Japanese and Korean society. During the first few episodes of Boys over Flowers, the female protagonist is presented as the innocent and good side while the rest of the school is presented as evil. The extreme morality exemplifies Ken K. Ito's statement on the moral duality in melodrama. 

Overall, Boys over Flowers is such a successful melodrama television series for its approach to high school realities through a highly fantastic and shojo fashion. The "impossible" romance and the Cinderella cliché are universally effective on teenage girls.