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花ざかりの君たちへ
12
TV
Finished Airing
Jan 4, 2026 to Mar 22, 2026
To most people around Mizuki Ashiya, her sudden choice to move to Japan from the United States comes as a shock. Her sole reason for the transfer is to attend the same high school as her idol Izumi Sano, who stole her heart after she saw him compete in a high jump competition. However, there is one problem—Sano attends an all-boys school! That does not stop Mizuki, though, as she is committed to getting close to Sano by changing her appearance and demeanor. Mizuki luckily ends up in the same class and dormitory room as Sano, but her ideal plan is shattered when she finds out that he has quit high jump. Nevertheless, Mizuki is determined to learn more about him and rekindle his love for the sport, all while navigating her new life in high school and keeping her true gender hidden. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
5.8/10
Average Review Score
31%
Recommend It
13
Reviews Worldwide
Hana-Kimi - Is old-school Shoujo finally back from the grave for a modern resurgence? Yes and no... The "direct but not so direct" opposite of the Shonen genre, the Shoujo genre has its fans too where the former precedes action and intensity, the latter precedes romance, rom-coms and the like. It wouldn't be fair to say that Shoujo is the way it is today without some big names throughout history, and for one such mangaka by the name of Hisaya Nakajo, the late veteran who passed away in late 2023 would become one such figure that would shake the Shoujo genre in the early 90s. Apartfrom her rather short-lived 2-volume manga series Sugar Princess which was serialized in Hakusensha's famous Hana to Yume imprint in the mid=2000s, it's her other work of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, otherwise known as Hana-Kimi from 1996 to 2004, that finally got an anime adaptation 3 decades later that's seeking to adapt the entirety of its 23 volume, 144 chapter long series. And the first result of that with the premiere season here...it has its good and bad. It's fair to say that series like mangaka Bisco Hatori's Ouran High School Host Club went viral during both its manga run and its eventual 2006 anime release, not just for what it does as a work on its own, but it's also lessons learnt from works like Hana-Kimi (that was seralized in the same publisher through its follow-up LaLa magazine imprint), which the former was released 6 years later in 2002, and went on to receive its share of fanfare...which I can't exactly say the same thing about Hana-Kimi, which is pure Shoujo romance through and through, at least in terms of 90s style of romance. As for what Hana-Kimi entails, the plot is simple: imagine being a fan of someone from overseas, and going as far as to stalk the person him/herself so much that he/she becomes a part of their life from the very first day their lives are intertwined by fate. This is the story of Mizuki Ashiya, the orange-haired girl who hails from Japan, but is living in the US after moving there with her parents, and finds one such particular figure of interest: Izumi Sano, a high jumper who has earned awards and medals for his accolades, and is set to be primetime for a future athlete in the making. Mizuki's obsession with watching him on the TV screen, envelops her into an ordeal where she becomes the Izumi Sano encylopedia on what makes him tick, alongside his great performances. There's only one issue that stands in her way: the school that the professional high jumper is attending, is the Osaka High School, which is unforuntately, an all-boys school. Regardless, this does not deteriment Mizuki to convince being brought back to Japan just to attend the same school that he does, it just takes one chest vest to hide her sizable breasts for a rather slim figure, and a haircut which perfectly disguises her as a boy, and she's immediately into the school to seek out Izumi, and the rest of the boys, which she's integrated into a dormitory that's allocated under the sports/academic scholarship for athletes and scholars. From there on, it's getting to know who the all-star professional athlete is in person, and the drama that follows the central couple in the series. And believe me, this 90s work is every bit as pure as it gets for capturing what the Shoujo genre worked at that time. There's not really any wrong with the story, at least for this premiere season which adapts the first 5 out of 23 volumes, which for some reason, the school's setting is what struck me as the first notable and interesting thing, that's surprisingly better than the story itself. Because you see, the all-boys school itself is huge enough to have dorms allocated for everyone, since most students don't stay around the school area. Even more decidedly, these 3-by-3 grade classes (which count for a total of 9 classes) have totally different cultures according to the dorms they're placed in: Dorm 1 for purely athletical students under a sports scholarship; Dorm 2 (where Mizuki and the other main support characters are) for a mix of atheltical and scholar students under the mix of sports and academic scholarship; and Dorm 3 for students being artists and scholars under a mix of academic and arts scholarships. These 3 dorms operate their own sets of rules, terms and conditions, and inter-dorm rivlary is common and intense especially during key school events like Osaka High's cultural festival (which is prominently shown in this premiere season). So, with quite the environment about Osaka High, you'd imagine a nobody like Mizuki who dares to step in by infilrating as a guy on a sports scholarship, would get the attention of the regular boys who think of her as a boy and nothing else. However, the adults would be the first to sniff her out and her reasoning for joining the school to want to see Izumi, like the school nurse Dr. Hokuto Umeda, who has the Ikemen looks of a ladies' man and a player, but that he's a true doctor in every part of the detail. Even worse, is realizing that his new roommate (which his room has always been left to by himself alone) is not the boy who he seems, and trying to live on the fact that Mizuki sometimes shed her boy-ish looks to reveal her feminine traits, which Izumi has to always be careful and avoid overstepping his borders to protect her always like a guardian. Even with the other characters in tow, you can already imagine it's like Ouran High School with the harem trope (before it was even a genre at that point) but in an all-boys where looks can be deceiving. This is exactly the case for the support cast, of which includes Shuuichi Nakatsu who's always fantasizing Mizuki with her feminine looks (despite being a true female), her form's Resident Advisory Minami Nanba, as well as her classmates of Senri Nakao and the rest, who became her close clique trying to figure out what is going behind the scenes in Osaka High. And this story and its development, it's not the prettiest picuture for modern standards of the 21st century with its tropes that seem new for the time, but kind of overstayed its welcome with how much they're being recycled on and off. At least it's a TRUE Shoujo romance story, so I'll give this a passable grade. Hana-Kimi being the first-ever anime that's produced by Hayate, the joint venture of the Sony Music Entertainment Japan-backed companies of both Aniplex and Crunchyroll, you can think of this as the NEW Crunchyroll Originals label that's at least doing a much better job that what the latter did back in its heyday, which to say it was a mess of absolute measures. Normally, any animation company backed by Sony's 2 giants will show improved production quality, though in the case of this show, Signal M.D. is not one of those companies with a track record for good production. It's fair to say that quality was a hit-and-miss, though at least it feels consistent for a good showing. This is not to mention having famed composer Masaru Yokoyama for the series's OST, on top of Yoasobi helming both OP and ED theme songs, of which "Adrena" and "Baby" are decent hits coming off from one of the biggest names in modern J-Pop. But overall, it's decent and rarely (if not ever) shows up having key moments to define the anime...at least not yet. Despite the numerous live-action dramas that went before it back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Hana-Kimi may not stand aloft on the top as a show that exist on the minds of the Westerners, and even to the Asians (of which not just Japan, but Taiwan and South Korea getting live-action adaptations of it, that I think frankly is a lot better received), it's a series that...if I may be very frank, just exists as a footnote in Shoujo history as one of the works that has a reputation behind it, but that it feels plain-jane at best despite being decent to good. Hana-Kimi may not be peak 90s Shoujo, but it is alright and fairly enjoyable, and should be given at least a try. Just try not to be overloaded with modern-day brainrot before coming into this one.
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This show is really the product of it's age, which in itself is not a bad thing at all. Sure, some things are outdated by today's standards but overall this anime was a nice ride from start to finish. I am watching this as anime only watcher so I cannot talk about difference from the manga, I only know that for that time it was very popular. To the point that before anime series this got a live action one. That alone speaks for the popularity of medium. Animation and music: music is industry standard, nothing to add here worthy of notion as it isgetting it's job done. Animation is nice change of pace as they really tried to recreate that early 2000's anime style. And it was refreshing to see it. Beside that the rest is of it was solid. There were no bad frames or low quality animation. Overall - old style animation really set it apart when compared to other shows this season, while music is ok. Characters: it is a solid cast, even if there is nothing worthy to add as none of them change that much from the 1st episode. Ashiya is your standard female lead who always gets into sticky situations and need others to save her, but on the other hand most of the time she is voice of reason and comfort among her friends. Sano is quiet and cool guy with a lot of regret from the past, he is standard guy who starts with cold emotions toward MFC and by episode 12 he is kind and overprotective over her. Then we have Nakatsu who is comic relief of the group, always doing the main job in background while two main leads flirt etc... There are few other characters, but they all stick to their respective traits and never evolve. But in this anime defense they only adapted first 5 volumes, manga has 23 so there is a lot left for the 2nd or 3rd season to let others develop as well. Overall - characters are your standard anime characters trope form early 2000's. Which if you like will be great for you, and if not then you will find this show really annoying really fast. Story: the story is simple - Ashiya is gushing over Sato so much that she decided to disguise as a boy and enter all-boy's school in order to pursue him. What follows from that is typical love story with a lot of different situations that by the end usually revolve around MC saving FMC is one or other situations and FMC giving the MC courage and determination to move forward. The story did not move much from there as not everything from manga has been adapted, but what we got is your standard love story from early 2000's with all of it's cheche's and tropes. Which may throw some viewers as strange since a lot has been changed since that time despite only a bit over 20 years have passed since manga has ended. Overall - it is a standard love story with crossdressing trait added to it for good measure. If you enjoy these kind of medium then you are in for a good time. Overall grade: 8. It is as I expected, a usual love story with a small twist that FMC is crossdressing. Realistically it is around 7 but I quite enjoyed it as a relic of a now past time and gave it an 8. For me, it was an enjoyable watch on nice and calm Sundays. If they ever release season 2 I will watch it for sure. And if you are a lover of old-school love stories then this one I can easily recommend. If you are more of a modern type of fan, then I recommend watching first 3 episodes to see if this is suited for your taste or not.
I haven't read the source material (or watched the live-action drama), nor do I have any idea why it's so beloved, but I can give my perspective compared to the other shojo romance anime I have seen recently. Hana-kimi is painfully bland and boring. The premise is a lot of fun, and it's something that I would've been into when I was in middle school or early high school. I don't usually watch seasonals either, so when I saw a beloved shojo manga from the late 90s was finally getting an anime adaptation, I decided I would watch it. Unfortunately, I've grown up, and now I can'tget over characters that are as one-dimensional as a rock. None of the characters are compelling, and there are no interesting or new storylines besides the fact that Mizuki goes to an all-boys school. Honestly, besides Mizuki and Sano, none of the other characters matter at all and could be removed and nothing would change (which is VERY disappointing because Natsuki could've been a fun character, and I really liked Dr. Umeda). All the conflicts are stupid. They could have done so many other fun things with the concept, but instead it feels like a boring romance and oooh look the main character is a GIRL at an all BOYS school. Wrap it up... the whole time I watched this I kept thinking: "They could've done this!" or "That would've been a fun addition!" I was bored out of my mind; I think the only thing I found funny was Natsuki's crush on Mizuki (where he thought he was gay) but they overuse it in the same exact way over and over which unfortunately made it unfunny pretty quickly. Also, he's supposed to be the main rival, but he NEVER gets any development and is kind of just there. After awhile I just started feeling bad for him because he's constantly sidelined by Mizuki. My biggest gripe BY FAR is the art. Again, I haven't seen the source material, but I have seen it's art. The late 90s/early 2000s art is fun and cute, and I hate how they modernized it. It makes an anime with already no story have no personality as well. At least pick one... I've seen some greatly directed anime with fun art and style that have crappy stories, but they are by far more enjoyable than this trainwreck. Personality is SO important in making a good anime (and any piece of media in general) and there is nothing here. Also, random note, but I thought Mizuki and Natsuki's voice actors were ridiculously annoying; it impeded my enjoyment even further. More than anything, Hana-kimi is just a disappointing adaptation. I went into this seeing the love people have for the manga, and I feel bad for anyone who has waited 20+ years for it to be adapted. There are so many things in this anime that could've been developed to make it more enjoyable, but instead I was just bored, disappointed, and a bit sad for the manga readers. 4/10
First of all, it doesn't have a proper ending for season one, it just ends somewhere, and basically nothing interesting happens the whole season. Other than that it has barely any romance and funny parts, mostly just some dumb drama. Totally not worth the time, absolutely not recommend it. Maybe if it gets a season 2 or 3 later, and something interesting happens, then it can worth it to check this out. But for now, just leave it. This review app doesn't let me post my review unless I write more. Man... My whole fing point was that NOTHING happened so I have nothing to fing write about...
As I’ve said numerous times, we are in a golden age of shoujosei. This is the best time to be a fan of either demographic in decades. The rate at which new high quality shoujosei series are being pumped out is incredible and we are finally seeing long awaited titles like Hanakimi adapted into an anime. Even after 20 years, the demand didn’t die down and fans were in disbelief to see this get an anime. Hanakimi was one of the OG peak shoujo titles from the late 90s and Signal.MD really captured the magic of what makes this series so special here. Theysuccessfully brought the story to life while also updating it for a newer audience. It’s got that same 90s charm, with modern production values and a few tweaks here and there. It’s a shame this ended up being so underrated. Hanakimi’s premise is a bit crazy because the idea of a girl moving across the world and pretending to be a boy just to meet a guy she has a crush on from watching him compete in sports is WILD, even more wild that staff at the school eventually find out and just let things play out, but then again it is a shoujo from 30 years ago so you just have to let some things play out here. If you can get past the somewhat silly premise, what you’ll find it a really cute and heartwarming story that deals with some very important themes like identity and self discovery, emotional vulnerability, learning to communicate and gender roles. Mizuki’s relationships with Sano and the other characters in the story are very well done and most importantly, there’s not a lot of long drawn out misunderstandings or unnecessary drama. You do have drama, but everything usually gets resolved at the end of the episode or by the next episode at max. The only thing that really drags on in this series is Mizuki keeping her “secret” from the other boys at the school which realistically should’ve failed after like a week, but hey, it’s anime. I did like that some characters, won’t name who, discovered the secret and had to try and act normal around her. It might be tropey, but the romance in this series is so good to me. Sano and Mizuki going from strangers, to friends, to something greater that neither can truly put a title on is a really fun ride. There’s so much yearning and romantic tension between the two of them that made every single interaction sweet. You also have to remember these are both young kids going thru a delicate time in their lives and figuring themselves out as well as learning about each other and I just love seeing that process play out. The way they depend on each other and are always there to support one another is beautiful. The love triangle with Nakatsu was also really good to me. Nakatsu x Mizuki is cool because it deals with sexual identity exploration since Nakatsu doesn’t know Mizuki is a girl and is still clearly in love with her. I love seeing a good bi awakening. Nakatsu is a sweetheart and even though he might be a bit slow, he has a heart of gold. Both the boys help Mizuki grow in their own way and have a unique relationship with her! The best love triangles are when both interests bring something totally different to the lead’s life. The supporting cast in Hanakimi are all brilliant. Hokuto, Nanba, Senri, Kagurazaka, etc., make sure there’s never a dull moment even when we’re not doing romance stuff every episode is so fun and engaging because this cast are funny as hell and have great chemistry with each other and Ashiya. Also, can I just say how cool it is that there’s several openly gay male characters in here and they’re not depicted as caricatures or jokes, but just normal human beings. Their sexuality isn’t batted an eye at or even made out to be a big deal. It’s just a fact of life. God, 90s shoujo authors were so cool. I actually really like the production values of the show, the art looks pretty to me. The animation is a bit weak at times, but it’s a romcom so you don’t need anything crazy. There are a few very well directed scenes as well. Signal.MD were able to take 90s shoujo character designs and add a little modernity to them while keeping that charm intact. We have yet another Yoasobi banger for both the OP and ED and they’re both great. Idc what anyone says about Yoasobi, they make amazing music and that’s why they do so well in the charts. The voice acting is also great! It really goes without saying, but if you’re a shojosei fan, this is a must watch. It’s one of the all time greats for a reason, has an amazing cast, heartwarming story, good romance and is very competently written without unneeded drama. I really don’t get why more people weren’t talking about this one given how big the manga was and how good the show is, but I guess that’s the downside of airing during such a crowded season. Still, Hanakimi was near the top of my heart this season and I’m glad it’s getting a full adaptation. I just wish Nakajo sensei could’ve been here to see it. God rest her soul. Hanakimi gets 8 out of 10.