If there is one drama series that I regretted watching when it was available in free TV, it would be the 2007 Hana Kimi drama. If you read my rant in my review of the 2011 drama, I think you have the idea. Anyway, as for the series itself, if there is one thing I learned from drama titles that are adapted from a single source, it would be the make some changes to make it different from the original source material or the previous drama adaptations the source material had. In the case of the 2007 Hana Kimi drama, the Taiwanese version aired before it and based on the episodes I watched, it has the proper balance between comedy and drama.
The comedy is made more memorable thanks to the running gags this series has. Running gags such as the Hibari Four shutting Komari out, people forgetting about Sekime's name, Nakatsu's internal monologue, the useless inventions of one student and other gags that I will not talk about. The side characters also have their own set of shenanigans that often times overpowers the main drama plot of the episode. Granted, these shenanigans are fun to watch but they are times that these shenanigans didn't complement well with the drama. There are times that I wish that the drama didn't exist and just focus more on the comedy, but nope, this is a drama series and this show must have drama in it.
The Ashiya, Sano and Nakatsu love triangle plot is fun to watch. Nakatsu's internal monologue and him wondering if he is gay or not because of Ashiya. His interactions with Ashiya feel like I am watching two guys having fun with each other's company. So yeah, at the end, Ashiya only thinks of Nakatsu as a friend even after he confessed his love for Ashiya during the time she is still pretending to be a boy. The way Nakatsu took it is admirable, he just acted that he is joking around when he did the confession.
Kagurazaka is Sano's main rival and he is one good rival character. But what added the drama in this series is Sano's determination to jump again thanks to Ashiya. After the introduction of Sano's younger brother, the series becomes more complicated because bits of Sano’s past are being revealed one by one. It gets more complicated after the introduction of Sano's father. I will not spoil much with the details but this is one of those times that it feels like Hana Kimi is a drama series not a sitcom set in a high school.
Since this show has something to do with a girl entering an all-boy's school as a boy, I'll first talk about her looks. Comparing it to the Taiwanese Hana Kimi drama, Ashiya in the 2007 drama looks like a boy in when she is wearing boy's uniform. Granted his voice sounds a bit high for a boy in that age, it doesn't sound chirpy like the 2011 drama. Now comes the fun part, when Ashiya starts wearing women's clothes. She looks so beautiful in it that the ones around him thought that he is actually a she even if he is actually a she... or something like that.
This is probably the biggest lesson this show can offer. Even if you cross dress just to repay someone for what he or she did, overall, you are still you and nothing will change it, and that includes the view of others about you. That is why I love the final episode of the series; it basically sums up what this show is all about. It is more than just a love story between Ashiya and Sano, it about the camaraderie of the students of Osaka Academy.