The End of Hana Yori Dango Season 2

It's always bittersweet when a TV series I love ends. Somehow, you've been building yourself for this moment, waiting for it at its particular time slot and day, getting mad with anticipation for what is to come next. Are so and so gonna end up together? Is that damn antagonist gonna stop creating so much trouble? Why the hell is he suddenly so cold to her?

Today marks another bittersweet day for me in my TV life. Hana Yori Dango Live Action (HYD), one of the best JDoramas I've watched thus far, finally ended its second season and tied all its loose knots. No more conflicts, b****es who come between Makino and Domyouji. No more of the hurt, those very teary moments, the goodbyes.

Backtrack to few months ago during the first episode of HYD. The show revolves around an elite school called Eitoku Gakuen, where some of the richest and the most well-known families send their children to school. Among the most popular are Domyouji, heir to a huge financial corporation, Hanazawa Rui, owner of trading companies, Nishikado, heir to a tea ceremony school, and Mimasaka, king of the underworld. They are collectively known as the F4 and they are at the top of the school's food chain.

Domyouji, the leader of the F4, played by the great Matsumoto Jun, is the most notorious, being responsible for sending red notices to sutdents who have wronged him in any way, even by just causing some pulp from an orange go to his eyes.

Amidst all the rich snobs is Makino Tsukushi. Her family does not earn anywhere near the millions that her peers' families do. In fact, she hardly gets by and must get a part-time job to survive the tuition fees. She wonders constantly why her family puts her there but they all believe that her future will be much brighter by graduating fr Eitoku.

Knowing that her family puts a lot of effort to making sure she gets good education, she does all that she could to stand all the taunts that her rich peers give and to how they disgustingly worship the cruel F4. She bites her tongue whenever she feels like shouting at these unbelievable people, hoping she could graduate without being noticed.

A chance situation, however, changes all this, when she is forced to stand up to the despicable Domyouji to protect a friend of hers. Now, she must prove that she is the "tough weed" she claims she is (Tsukushi means tough weed) and face the F4 brats. However, is her idea of F4 going to change when she develops a crush on her knight in shining armor, Hanazawa Rui (played by another great actor Oguri Shun), and she spurs romantic feelings in her worst enemy, Domyouji?

The plot in general is "been there, done that", but rather than focusing on the uniqueness of the premise, you will realize how hilarious, heartwrenching, inspiring, interesting, and tearjerking the situations they show are, and how much chemistry exists among the characters. With such great acting and direction, this show will certainly not disappoint.

Please come back soon because I'll be posting screenshots for all the episodes of HYD season 1 and 2 :)