Hana Yori Dango: Final Movie to End Live-Action Drama

Manga creator Kamio developing the story with drama writer Satake

After two television series, the live-action adaptation of Yoko Kamio's Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) manga will end with the Hana Yori Dango: Final theatrical movie, which will screen in summer of 2008 in Japan. The romantic comedy centers on a girl named Tsukushi who struggles with life in a clique-filled private academy and her feelings for the boys in the most elite clique, F4. The movie will take place one year after Tsukushi's graduation ceremony (which was the last scene of the second television series) as a major incident brings the five main characters together.

The series stars Mao Inoue, Jun Matsumoto, Shota Matsuda, Shun Oguri, and Tsuyoshi Abe will all reprise their roles as Tsukushi, Tsukasa, Sojiro, Rui, and Akira, respectively. The movie will also feature special guest stars. The series' chief director Yasuhara Ishii will start the two-month shoot in January and include overseas locations. Kamio is currently developing the story with the series scriptwriter, Mikio Satake (the penname of actor Takayuki Takuma).

Hana Yori Dango: Final will actually be the second live-action film for Hana Yori Dango. A stand-alone movie featuring Yuki Uchida and the music group TRF screened in 1995, before the 2005 television drama series and even before the 1996 animated series. There was also a 1997 animated movie whose story is separate from all the other versions.