Boys Over Flowers: Hana Yori Dango, Vol. 8

花より男子 [Hana Yori Dango] #8

by Yōko Kamio, 神尾葉子

Just as Tsukushi thinks she can attend school unnoticed, the entire school starts bullying her and she finds herself in a love triangle with the two most popular boys, that's when the real trouble begins! Mysterious men have knocked out Tsukushi and her on-and-off boyfriend Tsukasa. The two awake to find themselves alone on a boat, a situation that reeks of the diabolical handiwork of Tuskasa's maniacal mother Kaede. Will the two of them survive this insane twist of fate?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Young Adult, Comics, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 1994

About the author

Yōko Kamio (神尾葉子) is a popular Japanese manga artist and writer. She is most famous for Boys Over Flowers (花より男子, Hana Yori Dango?), for which she received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1996. Her work has been translated and distributed in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Yōko Kamio readily admits that she had no intention of becoming a professional manga artist when she was young. Kamio originally went to secretarial school, but her love of drawing soon led her astray. She then eventually entered the professional mangaka field in 1989. In the following years, Kamio published Suki Suki Daisuki, Ano Hi ni Aitai, and Meri-san no Hijitsu in Margaret before she finally created Hana Yori Dango in 1992.

The Hana Yori Dango manga became established relatively quickly in Japan. Many people commended Kamio for her realistic portrayal of high school life and everyday violence through the Hana Yori Dango series. Although Kamio was initially surprised by the confessions of high school violence stated in fan letters, she realized that Tsukushi's fiery character served as a role model for much of Japan's youth and helped others cope with school violence.

Kamio watched as the success of Hana Yori Dango's 1992 début followed through with many more months on the best-sellers list. Voice CDs by SMAP and a live action movie about Hanadan charted the series success in the mid-1990s. By 1995, an animated series for Hana Yori Dango was already in progress and Kamio had also helped pick main leads for the anime show.

Hana Yori Dango ran in the Japanese Margaret magazine as well as the Korean Wink. The series has also been published in Japanese, Chinese, Cantonese, Thai, Korean, French, and English. The anime series has been broadcasted in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Italy, and has also been licensed and released in the United States. Additionally, it was also recreated in a Game Boy Color game (only released in Japan) during the summer of 2001. With its ever-increasing popularity, Hana Yori Dango was then made into a popular live action TV series in Taiwan titled Meteor Garden. The manga series finally ended in Margaret's August 2003 issue, and the 36th tankōbon which included the Akira special "Night of the Crescent Moon" was released in January 2004 as the manga's final volume.

While Yoko Kamio initially wanted Hanazawa Rui to be the main hero of Hana Yori Dango, due to the outstanding personality of Domyoji Tsukasa (and Domyoji also becoming more popular than Rui) she changed the hero role to Domyoji.

Despite Hana Yori Dango's success, Kamio had originally planned to end the series by Spring 2000. However, in February 2000, at a mangaka conference in Taipei, Taiwan Kamio announced that she would continue writing Hana Yori Dango. At one point, she got so wrapped up in the Hana Yori Dango storyline, that she confessed to having dreams about Doumyouji. Of course, she said that "Falling in love with a character that I created is just disgusting..."

Reviews

[Annie♡]

Me pareció divertido, hilarante. Me encantan los personajes, y los dibujos van mejorando bastante.
Bien, vamos bien :)

[Michelle Buvoir d'Encre]

ARGH RUI WHY???!! I can't even figure out wither to kick your ass or comfort you. Like, you broke up what could have been a very strong (but unhealthy) relationship just to try to forget your own inadequacy??? But then before it gets too far you admit it and stop leading her on.... no wait, I still want to kick your ass.....but you're so young and just got dumped by your life long love.... Darn you for giving so many emotions.

[Florence Mullot]

Toujours aucune amélioration et ça commence à être agaçant et long. On tourne en boucle depuis plusieurs tomes déjà, et les mêmes problèmes persistent. On s'enfonce de plus en plus, et même la présence de la soeur de Domyoki n'apporte pas le souffle d'air que j'espérais.

Donc toujours au choix : Domyoji, gosse de riche dans toute sa splendeur, décide de faire virer deux élèves, va voir le directeur et ce dernier valide la demande… Encore une agression sexuelle de la part de Domyoji et Tsukushi visiblement ne voit pas trop le problème… Et si on forçait une lycéenne encore vierge à coucher avec son pseudo petit copain sans lui demander son avis, parce que bon, c'est normal de coucher, hein !

Et on essaye encore de nous faire passer ça sous le couvert de l'humour. Spoiler alert : ça n'a rien de drôle ! C'est ultra problématique, point barre… Franchement, si je n'avais pas racheté la saga dans son intégralité… j'aurais abandonné…

Et c'est bien beau de confier aux meilleurs potes de son frère son éducation mais là encore… juste non. On voit aussi combien l'éducation des parents est un gros souci ici. En fait, c'est tout ce que l'on essaye de régler dans notre société actuelle qui est mis en avant (violence, agression sexuelle, manque d'éducation, maltraitance…) mais tourné de façon à ce qu'on trouve ça normal… ou comique au choix. Bah non, désolée.

Et je ne vais même pas parler de la « romance » qui est ridicule. Même notre héroïne perd de sa superbe au fur et à mesure des tomes.

A quand l'électrochoc ?

[daph pink ♡]

Volume 8 keeps the emotional turbulence alive as Tsukushi navigates growing feelings for Tsukasa while outside pressures mount. There’s a blend of romantic progress and frustrating setbacks, with misunderstandings continuing to be a central device. The humor lands well in certain moments, lightening the mood between the heavier conflicts. While some plot beats feel familiar, the expressive character art and strong emotional framing make the volume engaging enough to hold interest.

[Nidhi Bhatt]

Poor cute guy friend of Tsukasi!

[Yura Lasari]

Pertama baca manga ini waktu umurku 10 tahunan - ikut membaca waktu kakakku sewa dari taman bacaan komik di dekat SMA-nya. Sebetulnya ini terlalu dewasa, sih, untuk anak SD haha. But anyway, dulu rasanya cukup menikmati karena karakternya goodlooking dan stylish. Alur ceritanya juga banyak yang membuat ngakak. Sekarang, umurku 30 tahun dan membaca ini cukup merasa terganggu di banyak hal: romantisasi abuse, violence, sexual harassment, institutionalized bullying, dan membangun mindset 'I can fix him' untuk remaja perempuan. Memang, sih, manga ini 'kan dibuatnya tahun 1992 - mungkin society memang belum seprogresif sekarang. Tapi jadinya menurut saya manga ini lebih cocok ditujukan untuk orang dewasa, ya, ketimbang remaja putri seperti shoujo pada umumnya.
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Volume #8
Semakin panas melihat kedekatan Tsukushi Makino (FL) dan Rui Hanazawa (ML 2), Tsukasa Doumyouji (ML 1) meminta Eitoku Gakuen untuk mengeluarkan mereka berdua. Hal ini bisa saja terjadi mengingat Doumyouji adalah pendana terbesar Eitoku Gakuen ini. Namun, ketika Tsubaki Doumyouji mengetahui hal ini, Ia memarahi Tsukasa habis-habisan karena merasa Tsukasa sangat kekanak-kanakan. Tsubaki menawarkan solusi untuk melakukan pertandingan basket saja, agar lebih sportif: yang kalah mengikuti kemauan apapun yang menang. Pertandingan 3on3 ini dibagi menjadi dua kubu: F4 (tiga orang) vs Rui, Tsukushi, dan Kazuya. Celakanya, semua anggota F4 (termasuk Rui) memang sangat jago basket - tidak seperti Tsukushi dan Kazuya. Pertandingan ini terjadi dengan begitu mudah, sampai akhirnya di detik-detik kemenangan F4, Tsukasa keluar dari lapangan dan berkata bahwa Ia sudah tidak peduli.
Keesokan harinya, Tsukasa memutuskan bahwa Ia akan pindah ke New York.

[Narumi]

Then these characters are drawn by using many screen tones, therefore their costumes are very complex. Actually, they always wear different clothes and these are very detailed. Also, the type of artwork is rounded and kind of line is Bold. I think these works make this manga more realistic. However, I think this manga is not used many onomatopoeia. I don’t know the actual reason but probably the reason is this manga is old manga.

[Alicia]

First Tsukasa is being gross again with nearly forcing a kiss. Then a weird pointless basketball game> Ending with Rui confessing his feelings. But not the most flattering kind.

I used to like Rui more, but after he came back from France, not as much. Maybe Tsukasa grew on me? He's done some pretty awful things, but I'm being influenced by how he's written in other scenes. :/

[V]

The basketball competition against F3 and Rui, Makino and Kazuya went well. It was obvious Tsukasa really liked Makino since he bargained for her before tha game started. I am not sure if he really is letting go of Makino as he was saying on the end chapter, we will see on the next volume.

[Jessica]

Udah baca sepanjang 8 volume, sejauh ini yang paling mendekati komik malah drama versi Taiwan-nya X))

*sayup sayup terdengar... ai shang ni shi wo qing fei de yi~~*

[Amera Amer]

2.3 stars

[Project August]

I have no words.
I have fallen in love again.
Goodbye.
Stop reading this and let me cry in peace.
This was beautiful.

[Nadina]

I wish the pacing of the series were a little clearer, in terms of how much time has passed in the world, but otherwise it's quite good. Not too fast.

[Kristin ✨]

Welp I really thought my ship was good ng steady but here we are. Have to say, total downgrade.

[✨Sky✨ ♏]

4,5 stars

[Esther Carretero]

Aquí se muestra un poco de sinceridad por parte de algunos personajes. Hay momentos muy tensos y emotivos. Es imposible no querer a ninguno.

[Mafer]

Kazuya se ha convertido en uno de mis personajes favoritos, y no puedo evitarlo.

[h]

I literally hate how invested I am in this. I might have given it 3 stars if it weren’t for all the weird sex/rapey elements. That being said, I’m in way too deep to quit now.

[Taya]

Boooo why does she keep going back to the guy that continually says he doesn’t like her

[leigheas ✞ ✰ ⚢]

des fois tsukishi il faut faire DES CHOIX
on peut pas avoir le beurre, l'argent du beurre et le cul de la fermière

[tiffany paige]

this was one of my fav volumes so far, I liked the friendship development between rui and tsukushi even more and how they released they were both better of as friends

[Heidi Burkhart]

Such a wonderful series!

[Sen]

its weird that you all talking about healthy relationship, girl, this is manga. get out.

[Brenna Greene]

5/5

[vampolina]

I hate Rui. The protagonist needs to get her original audacity back and stop simping.

[Lily Sherman]

He used her to get over the girl from Paris, why couldn’t you have used any other fucking girl dawg.

[♡Kayla♡]

2nd Read: 2025 - 3.5 ⭐️

This series is so melodramatic! We're settling things with a basketball game??? I love how random that is. I have to acknowledge how great it was of Rui to fight so hard for Tsukushi to not be expelled. He has some pretty awful moments (basically every guy in this series does though), so it's just nice to see him do something kind. I hate that he calls Tsukushi ugly though! Pissed me off so bad.

Tsukasa is still irritating me, even if I do feel bad for him and his desperate heartbroken self. He just goes from zero to one hundred with Tsukushi all the time! She does not deserve his bully behavior. Good thing his sister can at least put him in his place occasionally.

1st Read: 2018 - 3 ⭐️

[Miss Ryoko]

I cannot put my finger on it, I'm not sure what it is about this series that makes me want more and more. This volume, for example, compared to the others, was rather dull and not that interesting. Yet for some reason, when I finished it, I immediately wanted to pick up the next volume and start reading it right away. I find that's how I feel every time I read one of these volumes... I can't wait to pick up the next one.

Having said that, nothing real exciting or interesting in this volume. The basketball thing was kind of stupid, in my opinion. *sigh* Oh well!

♥ Kazuya!! So great!! ♥

On to volume 9!! Woot woot!!

[Lauren]

There was something in the way all of the characters came together that I found irresistibly compelling about this series. It did remind me a lot of Ouran while I was reading it and maybe that is why I liked it so much. Tsukushi is an interesting protagonist, I loved when she started taking action and sticking up for herself.

While I wasn’t overly fond of the artwork style I was able to get past it because I my love for the storyline. This is an honest story with twists and turns, ups and downs, but then again that is real life.

I would really recommend watching the anime too!

[Diana Lynn]

Eh...this volume was just okay. I thought the basketball match was kind of boring and a stupid way to decide something so huge. I think the fact that I want Tsukasa to be with her makes me feel a little less excited about Rui and Tsukushi. The end of the volume and finding out some things about Rui were interesting and sad though. Onto the next...