Fridae

Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) is Japan's bestselling manga for girls, with 58 million copies sold in paperback and a TV show to boot. No surprise then that the manga has been turned into a movie, which did splendidly at Japan's box-office.

But non-Japanese viewers may wonder what the fuss is all about. The problem with Boys Over Flowers The Movie is that the story unfolds not at the beginning, but four years after Tsukushi (Mao Inoue) meets Tsukasa (Jun Matsumoto). Since the start of their romance has already been shown in the TV series, the movie begins when they are just about to marry.

In other words, we're missing out on all the fun when humble Tsukushi had just met arrogant Tsukasa and given him a piece of her mind � and her fist. We're missing all the juicy bits when Tsukushi and Tsukasa change their hearts about each other and fall headlong into love.

As a result, it's hard for non-fans and non-Japanese to get into Boys Over Flowers the Movie since much of the backstory and references are completely lost on us. Of course, if you're into twinky Japanese boys, then it's a completely different story...