Hanazakarino Kimitachihe (traditional Chinese: 花樣少年少女; simplified Chinese: 花样少年少女; pinyin: Huāyàng Shàonián Shàonǚ; lit. 'The tricks of boys and girls'), is a 2006 Taiwanese drama starring Ella Chen of S.H.E, Wu Chun and Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, and Danson Tang. It was based on Japanese shōjo manga series Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo.
| Hanazakarino Kimitachihe | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Hanazakarino Kimitachihe | |||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 花樣少年少女 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 花样少年少女 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | The tricks of boys and girls | ||||||
| |||||||
| Genre | Romance, comedy | ||||||
| Based on | Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo | ||||||
| Developed by | Gao Wu Song | ||||||
| Screenplay by | Qi Xi Lin | ||||||
| Directed by | Mingtai Wang (王明台) | ||||||
| Starring | Ella Chen Wu Chun Jiro Wang Danson Tang | ||||||
| Opening theme | "怎麼辦" (What Should I Do?) by S.H.E | ||||||
| Ending theme | "專屬天使" (Personal Angel) by Tank | ||||||
| Country of origin | Taiwan | ||||||
| Original language | Chinese | ||||||
| No. of episodes | 15 | ||||||
| Production | |||||||
| Production locations | National Chi Nan University, Puli, Nantou County | ||||||
| Running time | 90 minutes (Sundays at 21:30) | ||||||
| Production company | Comic Productions | ||||||
| Original release | |||||||
| Network | Chinese Television System (CTS) | ||||||
| Release | November 19, 2006 – March 4, 2007 | ||||||
| Related | |||||||
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The series was first broadcast in Taiwan on free-to-air Chinese Television System (CTS) (華視) from November 19, 2006, to March 4, 2007, every Sunday at 21:30 and cable TV Gala Television (GTV) Variety Show/CH 28 (八大綜合台) on November 25, 2006, every Saturday at 21:00.
Hanazakarino Kimitachihe was nominated for Best Marketing Programme of the Year at the 42nd Golden Bell Awards in 2007.[1]
Production
The series is the first live-action television adaptation of the manga, followed by the Japanese version Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, starring Shun Oguri as Izumi Sano, Maki Horikita as Mizuki Ashiya, and Toma Ikuta as Shuichi Nakatsu, broadcast on Fuji Television in 2007; its remake Hanazakari no Kimitachi e 2011; and the South Korean adaptation To the Beautiful You in 2012.
This drama was produced by Comic Productions (可米製作股份有限公司)[2] and directed by Mingtai Wang (王明台). It was filmed on location at National Chi Nan University in Puli, Nantou County.
Although the Chinese title adopted same Han characters as the original manga's Japanese title, they have different meanings in the two languages. In Japanese, it means For You in Full Blossom, but in Chinese, it means "The tricks of boys and girls," referring to student life within the drama. The official Roman-character name of the drama series is an alternative romanization of the manga's Japanese title (the Hepburn romanization of the same title is 'Hanazakari no Kimitachi e). The drama's Chinese title is also the name used in the Chinese translation of the manga by Tong Li Publishing.
Synopsis
In America, Lu Rui Xi (Ella Chen) watches a documentary on Taiwanese high jumper Zuo Yi Quan (Wu Chun). Inspired by his jumps, Rui Xi decides that she wants to meet her idol and therefore transfers to Ying Kai University which he attends in Taiwan. However, the school is an all-boys school and thus Rui Xi cuts all her hair off and dresses up as a boy in order to attend the school. There she befriends Jin Xiu Yi (Jiro Wang). During a friendly soccer match between the two, Rui Xi gets knocks unconscious and so Quan aids by taking her to the school's doctor, Mei Tian. Mei Tian, being gay, detects that Rui Xi is a girl. As Quan grabs Rui Xi to carry her to the sick bay, he also discovers that she is in fact a girl. He keeps her identity a secret from everyone, including Rui Xi. Unbeknown to Rui Xi, before her arrival Quan had given up high jumping after a road accident whilst trying to save his high school friend from being run over. Their relationship begins to blossom when Rui Xi convinces Quan to return to high jumping.
Many events passed, including a visit by Rui Xi's half brother Lu Jing Xi (JJ Lin), who threatens to take Rui Xi back to America, their summer break working at a vacation house, owned by Mei Tian's sister, since Dorm 2 needed some construction done, the school's festival where the three dormitories compete with each other in various games and Rui Xi being entered into the beauty pageant and a school trip to hot springs resort to Quan's home town, where Rui Xi helps Quan to deal with his family. Meanwhile, Rui Xi's manliness cannot pass Xiu Yi's girl radar and so Xiu Yi begins to develop feelings for Rui Xi. However, since Xiu Yi is unaware that Rui Xi is a girl, he begins to question his own sexuality. He even announced to the whole school that he is, in fact, gay.
In the end, Rui Xi was talking to herself inside her and Quan's room thinking about the past two years she spent with Quan, Xiu Yi and the others. Eventually, she thought about leaving Ying Kai secretly, but unbeknownst to Rui Xi, Quan was quietly listening to every word she was saying. Thus, Quan gathered up their group to stop Rui Xi from leaving, reasoning that Rui Xi has gone back to America to have a double eyelid surgery to stop his comrades from asking her secret.
Episode 1: Lu Rui Xi from America decided to go to Taiwan and go to Ying Kai university which is a boy school for her idol. Lu Rui Xi chops all her hair off and wears boy clothes to look like a boy to be admitted to an all boys school to be with Zuo Yi Quan, a high jumper she admires. After being admitted to the school, Rui Xi makes friends with Jin Xiu Yi and even becomes roommates with Quan! Xiu Yi is a soccer prodigy and wanted to play a game with Rui Xi and Xiu Ti accidentally hit Rui Xi it the head leading her to faint. When Xiu Yi went to get gelp, Quan decided to take Rui Xi to the doctors office but while picking her up he finds out something unusual for a guy to have, breasts! Ge finds out Rui Xis secret and also the gay doctor (Dr. Mei Tian).
Episode 2:Jin Xiy Yi questions his sexuality because he likes Rui Xi. Rui Xi begins to annoy Quan about high jumping. Later Quan made her cry and Xiu Yi sees her. It made Xiu Yi angry at Quan so he went to confront him
Episode 3: Shen Le is another high jumper but is more talented at it than Quan. Rui Xi and Shen Le build up hatred for each other after roasting each other at a soccer game. Rui Ci often goes to the gay doctor's office for life advice since they both know about her secret. Quan iver hears Rui xi talking to Yu Ci Lang (Quan's dog) about her personal life and Quan hears about it and starts to like her.
Episode 4: Rui Xi starts receiving hate notes from Le Cheng Yang (Yang Yang) and is secretly sad/mad. Rui Xi's became instantly harder after she received a letter from he half brother saying that he is coming the next day. The terrible thing us that her brother doesn't know she attends a boy school. Quan starts being cautious of Rui Xi and is spying on what she was doing and found she was just seeing her brother. After finding out who made hate notes, Rui Xi had a talk with Yang Yang and made friends. But moments after talking to him, her brother who is staying in Taiwan for two weeks, saw her dressed up and walking around campus and found out everything. He would let Rui Xi stay under one condition, within the two weeks he's staying, Quan needs to high jump like he used to.
Characters
Most characters in the series have names which are close approximations of the Chinese transliterations of the names found in the original manga.
Major characters
| Drama character | Actor | Manga character | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lu Rui Xi (盧瑞希) | Ella Chen | Mizuki Ashiya (芦屋瑞稀) | Female protagonist who masquerades as a boy to attend Quan's school |
| Zuo Yi Quan (左以泉) | Wu Chun | Izumi Sano (佐野泉) | Male protagonist who is an athlete, Major in High Jumping. He is usually quiet but defends those he cares about. When Rui Xi (Ella Chen) comes to Ying Kai, every person notices that Quan changes due to her influence. He had given up high jumping at the beginning of the series but was persuaded to return by Rui Xi. |
| Jin Xiu Yi (金秀伊) | Jiro Wang | Shuichi Nakatsu (中津秀一) | Ying Kai's self-declared soccer star. He begins to question his sexuality when Rui Xi arrives. |
Minor characters
| Drama character | Actor | Manga character | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mei Tian (梅田) | Tang Zhi Ping | Hokuto Umeda (梅田北斗) | He is gay and is the school health official. He keeps Rui Xi's secret, and she often comes to him for advice and support. |
| Liang Si Nan (梁思南) | Danson Tang | Minami Nanba (難波南) | Flirtatious leader of the No.2 dormitory. He is Mei Ying Hua's son, and Mei Tian's nephew. Yang Yang has a crush on him. |
| Jiang Ye Shen (江野伸) | Chen Wen Xiang | Noe Shinji (野江伸二) | He is a part of Rui Xi's group of friends and is often seen together with Guan Ri Hui and is frequently seen preening his hair. |
| Guan Ri Hui (關日輝) | Xie Zheng Hao | Sekime Kyougo (関目京悟) | He is a part of Rui Xi's group of friends and is often seen together with Jiang Ye Shen. |
| Da Shu (司馬樹) | Hsie He-hsian | Taiki Kayashima (萱島大樹) | Xiu Yi's roommate, and amateur spirit-chaser. He is never seen without a chopstick in his hair. He usually is seen being scolded by his friends to stop talking about his ghosts as well as waving and speaking to imaginary beings. |
| Julia | Nissa Marion | Julia (ジュリア) | Rui Xi's best friend from America. She comes from America and speaks with sporadic English when she visits. |
| Yu Chi Lang | Yujiro | Quan's dog whom he rescued from being taken away by the local animal control. Because the people who attempted to take him away were men, Yu Chi Lang has a particular dislike for male humans, except Quan. | |
| Shen Le (申樂) | Ethan Juan | Makoto Kagurazaka (神楽坂真言) | Quan's rival. He has a superficial altercation with Quan, but casts it aside to assist him in times of trouble. |
| Lu Jing Xi (盧静希) | JJ Lin | Shizuki C. Ashiya (芦屋靜稀) | Rei Xie's older half brother. A Harvard graduate who specializes in cardiology. He is possessive of his sister and was originally unaware that she had transferred into an all-male school. |
| Mei Ying Hua (梅穎華) | Guo Chin Chun | Io Nanba (梅田伊緒) | Mei Tian's sister; Liang Si Nan's mother. She owns an inn that Rei Xie, Quan, and Xiu Yi stay and work at over the first summer. She too knows Rei Xie's secret, and helps to offer a girl's perspective on the situation. |
| Wang Tian Si (王天寺) | Zhang Hao Ming | Megumi Tennouji (天王寺惠) | Leader of the No.1 dormitory |
| Li Cheng Yang (李承央) | Yang Hao Wei | Senri Nakao (中央千里) | He is known as Yang Yang (央央) by classmates. He is a cynical and girlish student. He's also Ying Kai's token "Sweetheart" and has a huge crush on Liang Si Nan . |
| Chi Jun Li (池君莉) | Vivienne Lee | Komari Imaike (今池駒里) | She was Xiu Yi's girlfriend until he admitted that he loved someone else. |
| Ri Ben Qiao (日本喬)[3] | Fu Tou | Wataru Nihonbashi | School photographer who freely harasses and stalks other students |
| Oscar/ Chen Jin Tu | Andy Gong | Masao Himejima (オスカー·M·姫島／姫島正夫) | Leader of the No.3 dormitory |
| Yuan Qiu Ye (元秋葉) | Duncan Chow | Akiha Hara (原秋葉) | A photographer, former classmate of Mei Tian at Ying Kai and appear to have a crush on him |
| Wu Wan Juan (吳琬絹) | Alexia Gao | Kinuko Karasuma (烏丸絹子) | A sports reporter who wrote most, if not all, of the articles on Zuo Yi Quan throughout his days as a high jump champion under the pen name of KK. She was Mei Tian's junior during their days at university and is unaware that he is gay; she believes they had a one-night stand. |
| Abby(錢 琪) | Joelle Lu | Ebi Kotobuki(惠比壽) | Yuan Qiu Ye's assistant and ex-wife. She initially thought that Rei Xie was a girl. |
| Ke Yu Xiang (柯語湘) | Chen Xiang Ling | Rika(山科理香) | Quan's high school friend. One day, she inadvertently found herself in the middle of a road, prompting Quan to save her. Quan would end up suffering a knee injury from the incident, and would pull out of high jumping for the next two years. She harbors a crush on Quan, which she confronts Rei Xie over (resulting in the first fight between Rei Xie and Quan). |
| Jiu Duan (九段) | Kao Chi Hung | Itsuki Kujou(九條威月) | Taekwondo master, and one of Wang Tian Si's henchmen |
| Bei Hua Ke (貝華克) | Yuan Ming Zhe | One of Wang Tian Si's henchmen. His loyalty to Wang Tian Si leads him to take drastic measures against Rei Xie. | |
| Jiang Men Zhen (江門真) | Zhang Yong Zheng | Shoutaro Kadoma(門真將太郎) | Freshman who lives in the No.1 dormitor |
| Ah Shen | Chen Wen Xiang | Shin Sano | Zuo Yi Quan's younger brother |
Soundtrack
The Hanazakarino Kimitachihe Original Soundtrack was released on December 1, 2006, by HIM International Music.
Reception
Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu's pilot episode started off strong, posting a rating of 3.05[4] The show encountered little competition until the premiere of Show Lo and Barbie Shu's Corner With Love. Before Corner With Love's pilot episode was aired, Hsu bet that Corner's highest rating would hover around 2.9, while Chai Zhiping bet on ratings of around 3.3. Corner would end up posting a final average of 2.81, with a peak at around 3.25, but it was no match for Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu's average rating of 3.91 that week.[5] The Corner With Love threat would be held off for yet another episode, as Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu's 8th episode posted ratings of 3.88, compared to Corner's 3.17 - a difference of nearly 150,000 viewers per minute.[6] As both series fought for viewership, Hanazakarino never relinquished its weekly ratings crown.[7] By the 12th episode, the series had already cracked 5.0.[8] The final episode achieved a rating of 5.98.[9] The ratings for Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu were so high that television channels in Japan and South Korea dished out over 30,000,000 NTD for the rights to broadcast the drama.[10] The drama's ratings performance resulted in a nomination at the 2007 Seoul International Drama Awards in the Best Juvenile Drama category.[11] Gala Television had originally placed Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu in the Best Drama Series category, alongside Beijing dramas Tang Dynasty and The Great Revival, but changed their mind at the last minute.[11] Following the drama's 15-episode run, media sources speculated that Ella, Wu and Wang will all sign on to star in the drama's sequel.[12] In September 2007, Producer Huang Wang Bo officially denied this claim.[13]
The single episode ratings are as follows:[14]
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Average | Ranking | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | November 19, 2006 | 32.5% | 2.39 | 1 | |
| 02 | November 26, 2006 | 30.5% | 3.05 | 1 | 3.54 |
| 03 | December 3, 2006 | 34.6% | 3.46 | 1 | 3.86 |
| 04 | December 10, 2006 | 38.8% | 3.88 | 1 | 4.35 |
| 05 | December 17, 2006 | 36.8% | 3.68 | 1 | 3.98 |
| 06 | December 24, 2006 | 42.4% | 4.24 | 1 | 4.71 |
| 07 | December 31, 2006 | 31.1% | 3.11 | 1 | 3.83 |
| 08 | January 7, 2007 | 39.1% | 3.91 | 1 | 4.30 |
| 09 | January 14, 2007 | 38.8% | 3.88 | 1 | 4.30 |
| 10 | January 21, 2007 | 43.9% | 4.39 | 1 | 4.48 |
| 11 | January 28, 2007 | 42.9% | 4.29 | 1 | 4.69 |
| 12 | February 4, 2007 | 50.9% | 5.09 | 1 | 7.15 |
| 13 | February 11, 2007 | 48.3% | 4.83 | 1 | 5.67 |
| 14 | February 25, 2007 | 36.7% | 3.67 | 1 | 4.13 |
| 15 | March 4, 2007 | 36.3% | 3.63 | 1 | 4.68 |
| average | 38.9% | 3.83 | |||
- Special episode: 5.98% [15]
International broadcast
The show was later re-broadcast on Singapore's Channel U as well as Hong Kong's TVB network.
- Malaysia - May 24, 2007 - channel 8TV
- Canada - August 3, 2007 - Talentvision
- Philippines - March 24 – May 30, 2008; re-broadcast - June 7 at 10 am - ABS-CBN 2. In 2013, it was re-broadcast again in a Filipino cable channel Fox Filipino.
- In Indonesia, the series was broadcast by Indosiar in June to August 2011.
Trivia
- One of Wu Chun's other dramas, Tokyo Juliet, was mentioned by Rui Xi. Quan denied that he ever watched the show.
- Rui Xi was watching It Started with a Kiss at one of the scenes.
- Senior Nan always makes the comment, "What do you think I'm filming an Idol Series?"
- Occasionally, songs from boyband Fahrenheit (Taiwanese band) were played in the dormitory.
- Jin Xui Yi (Jiro Wang) and Zuo Yi Quan (Wu Chun) are in the same boy band (Fahrenheit)
Personnel
- Producer: Gao Wu Song
- Director: Niu Cheng Ze / Wang Ming Tai
- Screenwriter: Qi Xi Lin
References
External links
- (in Chinese) CTS Hanazakarino Kimitachihe official homepage
- (in Chinese) GTV Hanazakarino Kimitachihe official homepage