First I want to ask a question 'Why remake a great drama 4 years after it's production?' I still don't understand the reason.
Next, I would like to ask anybody who discovers in the drama an ikemen to let me know, cause I didn't find one, we~ll Nakatsu was a really cute guy (maybe I'm biased, as I'm crazy about his character), sometimes Sano's actor seemed OK, but...OMG... I didn't find anyone appealing enough to call them ikemen...whatever, that's not the problem.
If they were going to remake the great drama, I thought their goal was to make it closer to the manga, I'd be crazy about it and undoubtedly, they added some features that covered the manga, but...the characters just didn't fit, I still can't believe I was watching Hana Kimi, my favourite manga and drama... the feeling was whole another one... I didn't even feel serious about watching it, just curious...
The director polished Sano's character, which I actually liked, as in the earlier version Sano at first got on my nerves by his always moody expression and not taking part in school activities, this Sano was more sensual...I'm talking about the character, not the actor, as till the last moments I couldn't see him as my fvourite character ever. I just fell in love with him during the last scene with Mizuki, when he came to US to see her, he was gorgeous!
Mizuki... didn't like her... though she had some awesome lines throughout the drama, script writes, gambarimashita!
Nakatsu...great fella...liked his acting (then again, I might be biased :P)... His character was one the closest to the Nakatsu I remember from the last version, Toma Ikuta's genius! I really like this guy!
Whatever you decide 'watch' or 'not to watch', remember, this peace of work, I mean the story, is one of the greatest works in the manga history, please, spare some time, read the manga, you won't regret the time you spent, I promise! When you have read the manga, watch the original version, it has a whole another feeling about it, but it's gorgeous, funny and lovable...after you've done these, you can watch this version and judge for yourself.