Title: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Also known as: HanaKimi Translation: For You In Full Blossom Broadcast date: 10/12/08 Genre: Romantic comedy Cast: Horikita Maki, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma Plot: Six months have passed since Mizuki has left Japan. During a Valentine's Day contest, Nakatsu tries to figure out exactly when Sano fell in love with Mizuki. What is good: More HanaKimi! What is bad: This isn't the special episode that should have been filmed. Letter rating: C Overall: I really enjoyed the HanaKimi television series. So why did the producers decide to stick us with this? Instead of a special involving the boys' trip out to California to visit Mizuki, we get a slew of flashbacks. A majority of the special is supposed to take place between episodes 7 and 8. However, someone made a decision to introduce a new character, Julia, to try to get Sano to confess his love to Mizuki. Not only is Julia unnecessary but she is also annoying. I would have preferred a special dedicated to more of the hijinks of the various dorms instead of focusing on something that was already determined in the series - Sano loves Mizuki. There is no need to try to figure out the exact moment that it dawned on him.

Title: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Also known as: HanaKimi Translation: For You In Full Blossom Broadcast date: 7/3/07 - 9/18/07 Genre: Romantic comedy Cast: Horikita Maki, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma Plot: Ashiya Mizuki (Horikita Maki) is a Japanese girl living in America. When her idol, athlete Sano Izumi (Oguri Shun), stops competing in the high jump, she moves to Japan to attend his all-boy high school in order to make him jump again. What is good: Ikuta Toma steals absolutely every scene that he is in. What is bad: It seems that Oguri Shun can only play one type of character. Letter rating: A Overall: I really enjoyed watching HanaKimi. While I started watching the show because it starred Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma stole my heart. He was able to pull off goofy yet heart-warming at the same time. I'd like to see him in a ton of other projects. I was a little disappointed in Oguri Shun's performance. I've seen a couple of his roles now and they all seem to be exactly the same - a cute yet distant loner. It would be nice if we could try something a bit different for once. Sadly, I don't have much to say about Horikita's Ashiya. Sure, the character was determined and charismatic but she just didn't seem to come together totally. It was almost as if we, the audience, were missing something about her.

I would like to see a special episode though. I won't give away the ending for the show but it definitely leaves an opening for an awesome one-shot special. This is definitely a show that everyone should check out.