I Finally Made a Hana Yori Dango FMV After Loving the Series for 20 Years

I’m not at all sure what got into me last week. All I know is that I stumbled across some old Boys Over Flowers (2005) videos on Thursday night — while I was sifting through my old hard drives (looking for my collection of James Stewart – Margaret Sullavan films) — and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the Japanese drama since.

Did you know that I was eight (maybe even seven) when I first discovered the series? I’m turning 28 this year, and yet this drama managed to consume the last four days of my life. I’m not sure what that says about me, but it certainly says a lot about how the series has held up over the years.

Am I just as enthralled by Makino and Domyoji’s relationship in 2026? Well, I was definitely sceptical of Matsumoto Jun’s portrayal of Domyoji Tsukasa in 2005. The lack of height, the less-than-stellar build, the PERM (without an undercut to balance the whole look out) — it was a lot.

But their scene definitely did make me cry back then. The goodbye kiss on the tarmac and the tearful farewell in the rain, paired with “ARI – GA – TOU ~” had me absolutely weeping in front of the TV. That was it for me, I’d have an absolute ‘sob-fest’ over these two fictitious characters and their melodramatic woes.

Today, in 2026, I sit through their sappy scenes, and I’m not sure if a combination of maturity and logic has worn me down, or if I’m just too jaded for the series, but I just immediately get possessed by Candace Owens. Seriously!

So your credit cards get declined because mummy hates you for letting your hormones dictate whether Japan’s economy collapses? “Boo-hoo. Life’s tough, get a helmet.”

Meanwhile, you’ve got Hanazawa Rui on the other hand, just making sure his schedule’s clear so that he can rush to Makino’s side at a moment’s notice whenever she decides to faint or just cold-call him.

This orange-haired giant is just over here paying her medical bills, protecting her family, and making sure that he only has eyes for her. He turned down his first love (Shizuka), ignored every single floozy who threw herself at him, and even iced out the small — but unnerving — final villain of this drama before we even had an inkling of her true antagonistic nature.

He saved our female protagonist from two — nearly three — sexual violations, was the first to notice her LONG BEFORE she did her signature four little jumps and jab number on Domyoji, and he never failed to protect her. I’m talking New York to Tokyo, this man had it all covered on a global scale.

It’s no wonder that he’s been my number one choice for 20 years now.

And just as I was struck with the realisation that I am still deeply attracted to the same fictional man my eight-year-old self fell in love with, as well as the fact that I am now technically older than said man, I finally decided to go a step further than create a mere edit for Hanazawa Rui.

I resolved to put together something that honoured both him and the person he decided to dedicate his whole life to. (Spoiler: Manga Rui legit resigns to just watching over his best friend and the woman of all of his desires for the rest of his life, and he bought some vineyard too; just so they’d all have a place to hang out)

Behold:

Now, some of you all may be wondering (nobody’s wondering) … ‘did you strategically plan to drop this video in the height of everyone’s nostalgic rush to honour ARASHI’s final concert (WE ARE ARASHI) by consuming all things Hana Yori Dango?’

And to that, I say “No, didn’t you read the start of this blog post?”

The truth is, the Hana Yori Dango — specifically, the Hanazawa Rui-loving — bug bit me on Thursday, and I proceeded to devote my entire Sunday night and (public holiday) Monday earnestly editing together this FMV, just to get everything out of my system.

It wasn’t until this morning (Tuesday) that I found out that ARASHI took to the stage for the final time on the 31st (Saturday).

True, I was deeply considering attending one of their final concerts earlier this year — but with all of the fan club priorities, I knew that my chances were slim to none and just ended up going on a lovely two-week holiday around the Osaka-Wakayama region with my boo (AKA real-life Hanazawa Rui) instead.

However, I honestly hadn’t the faintest clue that ARASHI was holding their absolute final live concert over the past weekend. I guess the universe aligned and didn’t want me to miss out on what formed an integral part of my childhood. Call it silly, but ARASHI and Hana Yori Dango (more specifically, Oguri Shun’s Hanazawa Rui) have had a huge impact on my life. The songs, the members, the stories and the performances, everything has shaped, entertained, and even saved me through my darkest days.

And so, I hope that I can give a little back with this little edited video of mine. Just a little something for those of us who rooted for our little fire-escape napper to get the girl.

I honestly don’t believe that I’m reaching too far for the stars with this video. Hanazawa Rui was Makino Tsukushi’s first love after all. So in this FMV, I did try to craft a little storyline. Paired with Bol4’s ‘Some’, this video details Makino’s initial crush on Rui. It begins with quick glances and prolonged stares, but soon fleshes out into comfortable conversations, a few dates here and there, but Makino lets her overthinking and lack of confidence get the better of her.

She simply cannot fathom that Hanazawa Rui could ever return the same feelings towards her, despite his gentle smiles, constant care, and earnest flirtations. So we see her run away, shed a few tears — purely from her completely misguided blindness towards Rui’s affections — until she frustratingly begins to lose hope in her ‘one-sided crush’. And that’s when Rui decides to pull out all the stops and just go in for the kill, sending Makino the clearest message by kissing her on the lips, undeniably spelling out to Makino — “I like you too.”