SM's remake of Hana Kimi.

WARNING!
A VERY LONG POST THAT GOES NOWHERE.
IT'S ABOUT A MANGA AND IT'S LIVE ADAPTIONS.
It'll probably confuse you.

For anyone unfamiliar with Hana Kimi, it's a manga about a girl cross-dressing as a boy to meet her idol and learns that he has stopped high jumping. All sorts of hijinks ensues since she's attending an all boys school and living in an all boys dormitory. Here's a better summary:

Japanese-American Mizuki has gotten herself into a high school in Japan... but not just any school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she's going to an all-guys' high school... and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they're more than classmates... they're roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates--and the school doctor--must cope with a new transfer student who may make them question their own orientation.

- Mangaupdates

This manga has been adapted as a drama 3 times. Once in 2006 by Taiwan, another in 2007 by Japan and remade in Japan again in 2011. I watched all three and my favourite by far is the Japanese version in 2007. I thought the 2011 remake was really unnecessary, but whatever, that drama introduced me to more awesome actors. Needless to say, I love this manga and the dramas its given birth to. Which is why when SM Entertainment announced they would be producing the Korean remake, I was a bit weary.

At first, I was weary of how many idols would be in it. Sure, Hana Kimi (2007 version) focused on pretty looking guys and Korean idols are definitely pretty, but most could act. From my experience of Koren idols, I would rather have them in supporting roles than main roles. Some are just so bad. I cringe when it's blatantly obvious that they're trying to act, and that's coming from someone who doesn't really set the acting bar that high. But in all honesty, I can live with bad acting, as long as the drama isn't full of it.

When the casting came out, I was alright with most of it. The deal breaker was who played Nakatsu, the guy who announces he is gay to the world after realising he has feelings for Mizuki. He embraces these feelings and watching him go through his conflict was satisfying. Since he's being played by an actor, the adorable Lee Hyunwoo, I was actually quite happy. However, I started dreading about the plot when character descriptions came out.

I was so stupid. The plot should've been my case for worry, not the casting. Another would be how the Korean adaption would change it to fit the Korean audience and how their drama story telling works.

[The portion below is a comment I posted on a site, just re-worded a bit]

I liked the Taiwanese adaptions because they tend to follow the original source as closely as possible. I like knowing what happens and the extra scenes they add in serve as a little surprise that I welcome. On the other hand, the Japanese adaption was a lot more comedic. It didn't always focus on our main trio, opting to show the bromance between the different dorms and how they were essentially at the whims of the principal as they competed for whatever the prize happened to be for that episode.

Despite any changes that these adaptions made, Hana Kimi was only changed to suit its target audience in its country. Taiwanese idol dramas are in abundance with overacting with exaggerated facial expressions, and that was the case for Hana Kimi. People who aren't accustomed to Taiwanese idol dramas will be turned off, but for those who are, it's just another manga adaption.

As for the Japanese adaption, it had the dorms competing for something in every episode because that's how Japanese dramas tend to be - episodic. Anyone remember Gokusen or G.T.O? One problem at a time. And well, the drama was pretty crazy which is characteristic with a lot of other Japanese dramas out there. Despite these changes, these dramas can still be recognised and considered as "Hana Kimi" because they are still true to the characters that make up the Hana Kimi world.

Overall, I understand that certain aspects need to be changed so that the source can suit the audience of its country, but only if it's still in the realms of the Hana Kimi world. This is clearly not the case for the Korean adaption, especially with the information we've been given.

Firstly, changing some important characteristics of Nakatsu, one of our leads, will without a doubt change the Hana Kimi story. The characteristics that belong to Nakatsu define him as well as the choices he makes and his reactions. If something so elementary is changed, then the Nakatsu presented to us in this Korean adaption is not the same. He will not be one of the first friends Mizuki makes who offers her his umbilical cord as a sign of friendship (Jiro), nor will he have nose-bleeding fantasies of her (Ikuta Toma).

Secondly, I'm guessing a lot of the homosexual relationships and elements will be removed for the benefit of the Korean audience[1]. This is an integral core of the manga. Removing it will lose a lot of what makes Hana Kimi what it is. Not only that but we can expect a lot of the sexual innuendos or pervy jokes to be scraped too. Also, the angst

By the looks of it, Hana Kimi will be changed to be any other rom-com out there in Korea. Like Boys Over Flowers, it will become a drama that will just happen to share some very shallow similarities to its original source.

The final verdict: I will watch it, but with very low expectations. I'm going to go into this and forget that it's even an adaption of a manga that I love.




The "semi-final" casting has been released (with teasers) and I would like to make some final comments.

• The character of Yamashina Rina plays a very minor role in the manga. If I remember correctly, she arouses the jealously of Mizuki but is never a threat to our OTP. Well, Korea has decided to upgrade her to second female lead. Typical of most Korean second female leads, she'll be the "crazy bitch" and come in between our OTP. This change is like a double edged sword. Second lead females are all "evil bitches" in dramaland in Korea, but it may actually play out well in this drama. Rina is a female who can easily be direct about her feelings for Sano, but Mizuki can't because she is cross-dressing. But Sano will spend more time with Mizuki because they're roomates and go to the same school...
• Can't believe they cast Kwanghee as Nakao. He's a homosexual that is short and effiminite looking. Kwanghee looks nothing like Nakao. Doubt he'll be gay. 
• DR. UMEDA WON'T BE GAY!
• Two additional characters have been added. Hm..
• Some very important side characters are no where to be seen. What happened to Kayashima (ghost guy)!?!?!? And Sekime!
• The teaser where I could see Nakatsu tells me he isn't acting like a jerk. YES YES YES YES YES YES!!! He really was the deal breaker for me.

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[1] South Korea don't believe in homosexuality. To them, it is non-existent. Possibly one of the reasons why you can see guys touching each other and no one cares.