Coffee Prince VS Hana-Kimi

My comparison bug is acting up again. I am just itching to do one for Hana-Kimi and Coffee Prince, for the obvious reason that they all featured a cross-dressing lead (yes, and the dog). Oh, and I’ll put a little filler advert in this post before my official announcement. I’m looking for contributers for all kinds of reviews/ comparisons/ write-ups. I’m not sure whether this will get any response, but I’m giving it a shot.

Best Actress:
Yoon Eun Hye. Maki is natural but her acting is still one notch below Eun Hye. Ella’s acting is kind of stiff and the least natural out of all 3. I didn’t like Eun Hye’s image in Goong contrary to a lot of fans, but she totally redeemed herself for me in Coffee Prince. Her performance was so natural, so perfect, so realistic, her emotions and expressions so real, I can’t imagine her as anything other than lovable Eun-chan.

Best Supporting Actor:
Ikuta Toma. That was a really close match between Ikuta Toma and Lee Sun Gyun. I totally fell in love with the mature, supportive, always smiley, gentle, slightly mysterious Han Sung of Coffee Prince. “By the time I realised she’s pretty, she’s already in love with someone else” – he is the essence of Hanazawa Rui. Ikuta’s performance in Hana-Kimi however, just shines so strongly that he’s simply unforgettable.

Best Plot and Pacing:
Hana-Kimi. Hana-Kimi’s main plot and various subplots (e.g. Sano’s family problems) are better woven into the storyline and the conclusion of Hana-Kimi’s main plot (romance) wraps up the entire drama nicely. Coffee Prince has a mature and meaningful storyline but races ahead with the main plot (romance), leaving the subplots (e.g. Han Kyul’s parentage) for the finale. Hence, it kind of loses steam towards the end.

Best Production Values:
This is hard. It’s a toss up between Hana-Kimi (Taiwan) and Coffee Prince. Probably Hana-Kimi (Taiwan) because it features lots more hot uniforms. If Han Kyul wore uniform XD, I’d pick Coffee Prince.

Best Soundtrack:
Hana-Kimi (Japan). The rest are not bad, but Ikemen Boogie and Ikenai Taiyou has the edge over all others. It is just too fun, upbeat and cheery to be ignored.

Best Humour:
Hana-Kimi (Japan). The tensions of cross-dressing is a source of humour for all 3 shows, but no one made me laugh as hard as Ikuta Toma did. Hana-Kimi (Japan) wins by a clear width, although the other two dramas are not too bad either.

Best Romance:
Coffee Prince. Or rather, I should say, the most realistic romance. Surprising lack of melodrama or sacharine sweetness, possibly due to Eun-chan’s ‘manliness’ and Han Kyul’s crusty character. In fact, although I hate Han Kyul’s pettiness and lack of consideration towards Eun-chan, I thought his hurt and anger upon discovering her secret was commendably realistic.

Best Princes:
Kim Jae Wook (Coffee Prince), Danson Tang (Hana-Kimi, Taiwan), Wu Chun (Hana-Kimi, Taiwan), Lee Sun Gyun (Coffee Prince), Ikuta Toma (Hana-Kimi, Japan).

Best Dog:
You simply can’t forget this one ^_^. My vote goes to the big white fluffy (I dunno what breed) of Coffee Prince. The one in Hana Kimi (Japan) has more expressions, but you just can’t resist all the fluff and shagginess.

Related Post: Anime-to-film: Hana-Kimi