Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom

If I were to describe Hana-Kimi in one word it would have to be: HILARIOUS. This manga is 75% of the time comedy filled. I guarantee, especially for those looking for a romantic high school drama, that Hana-Kimi will give you a run for your money. Now, how many people will crossdress and secretly attend an all boys just to meet their idol? Not very many, although there might be those select few of you out there (How you pull that off is beyond me. n_n;; But good luck to you). Anyway... Miizuki Ashiya does just that. This somewhat simple gesture turns her world, also thoseof her male classmates upside down--even going as far as making one of them believe that he is gay! It's a giggle-fest all the way and it is just too irresistable.

Hana Kimi was overall a good manga! There were parts throughout the series where you'd laugh out loud and think "awww" and other times when you want to shout "stupid!". However, i felt that there were a few chapters that were quite annoying.. and mostly like fillers~ overall, the story line is quite simple - the protagonist just keeps having different challenges thrown at her. Furthermore, there are a little ecchi parts ;) but they are more sweet than perverted which gives the manga a good rating! For those who like this manga i would recommend Koukou Debut - you'd love it =D enjoy! ^^

I’m not usually one to write reviews, but I decided that with the recent announcement of the Hana-kimi anime and as someone who decided to pick up the manga and see what it’s all about after the announcement without any knowledge of the series before the anime announcement, that I should write one. Hana-Kimi is hands down a very well-made shoujo manga. I can see why so many people loved this series and were excited about the news of the anime adaptation. The story is well-written, the romance between the two main characters is adorable, the art is beautiful despite the art style being very 90s/early2000s. Like I'm talking some of the characters having "Doritio chins". Speaking of the characters, they are hilarious. Especially the iconic school nurse and one of the main character's love interests who spends a lot of time questioning if he's into men because he has a crush on the cross-dressing female lead, but doesn't know that she's a girl. I’ll admit the series reminds me a bit of those old-school rom-coms, with the vibes and the humor. I’m a fan of older shoujo, and I’ll admit the manga really pulled me in after the first few volumes because the story was interesting and because the characters were so funny. I was also really rooting for the main character, Mizuki Ashiya and her love story with Izumi Sano. I don’t think there are that many mangas where the main girl crossdresses to attend an all-boys school just to meet her idol, especially nowadays. I’ll say it reminds me of a lot of the crossdressing/body switching movies we had in the 2000s here in the US, so it was refreshing to read now and also felt like a blast from the past. My only complaints are the overall pacing of the story and some of the language the series uses. I felt like the ending was very rushed and sudden, and the pacing at times in the story randomly had filler just to make you keep reading or to add something last-minute which didn’t make sense before going back to the story’s plot. I also felt like parts felt jumpy or rushed, but there’s only a few I can think of. The language is more coming from perspective of how media is today compared to back then, as the series was made during the 90s and early 2000s. There are some slurs that were acceptable to say back then, but not so much now, throughout a couple of parts of the manga. Given the time frame it was made and since I remember back in the day when media had this language, I'll let it slide. However, I thought it was something to mention in case anyone gets offended or doesn’t like that type of stuff in media. Overall, I recommend checking out this series if you’re a fan of shoujo series, especially older ones, love a good comedy, a cute romance, and a story with lovable and well-developed characters. With all that being said, I’m looking forward to the anime adaptation of this series.

Story (5/10) After watching a track-and-field competition, Ashiya Mizuki begins to admire Sano Izumi, a high jump competitor, for his beautiful form. She decides to secretly enroll into Osaka Gakeun which Izumi is in. However, Osaka Gakeun is an all-boys' school, which means that Mizuki has to disguise herself as a boy! + ; The comedy in this manga is golden, and it's probably its best point. It's a delight to read the manga because I know it can always bring out laughter of me. ; It is easy for the readers to follow the story because every volume has a clear focus and at the end ofthe day, the readers won't go (???) over what they have just read. - ; The flow is a little sketchy. Hana Kimi has around 140 chapters (excluding the special chapters) and the story spends half of the time making no progress. It almost feels like the middle portion of the manga is just fillers (most which are good fillers though, because at least we get character development which is pretty much the main selling point of the manga). That being said, the actual climax comes off as sudden, and the ending itself is also sudden, so the page distribution here is a little uneven. Characters (9/10) The manga, of course, focuses a lot on Mizuki and Izumi, but it does spend much of its time on the other side characters (to name a few, Nakatsu, Minami, Hokuto are some examples). Hana Kimi is largely centered around characters' arcs or school events, and how the main characters (primarily Mizuki) deal with the situations. + ; Most characters are distinctive and have their own perks and sense of humour, so it's fairly easy to fall for them. ; CHEMISTRY. Hana Kimi just nails it when it comes to the chemistry from the romance aspect to the friendship aspect. ; We get to learn a lot about the characters' backstories and how they shape the way the characters think and act, so all of that really ups how relatable the characters are. We get to see other characters' reactions towards certain events as well, and that really allows us to have a better idea of who they are as people. - ; ...Seems like it's a common thing in anime/manga in general, but really, TOO MUCH DENSENESS. It's pretty much why the manga has dragged on for so long. Moderate denseness is fine, but when the characters are oblivious about terribly obvious things, it gets very frustrating. ; Too many side characters. Of course, I love side characters, but I feel like there are too many irrelevant ones who don't add to the significance of the plot. Sometimes, cutting down is better than adding more. It allows the readers to focus more on the more important characters. Mizuki One word: Dense. Seriously. Okay, actually Mizuki isn't all about denseness, and although I really really hate dense protagonists, I feel that Mizuki is pretty likable in her own way. Maybe it's just the way how she has extremely strong beliefs and is very willing to stand up for what she believes for. She also really cherishes the people around her, and that is of course an admirable trait! I feel like she's the least developed out of all the characters, though. She starts off as a happy, dense Mizuki and ends off as a happy, dense Mizuki. Her memories in the school don't allow her to grow in any way (or even if she had some realisations, her growth isn't really shown in the manga). Izumi One word: Tsundere. And he denies that he isn't one >.> He's not all that bad of a tsundere, though. He's actually quite a cool guy, but of course, he is really dense (even if he doesn't seem like it). It may sound weird, but I think he's more clingy than Mizuki is. Unlike Mizuki who seems to be able to talk to anyone, Izumi has a very limited number of friends. This makes this dynamic very interesting to watch. Others I'm not going to go through everyone but I sure love the side characters (we even have one that can see ghosts... maybe he can be the main protagonist for a supernatural story hoho). There are some which are forgettable but most of them are really memorable, and that's quite a feat because Hana Kimi has a huge cast of side characters. By the way, Hana Kimi isn't really a reverse harem (although we do have one certain guy who crushes on Mizuki and other side characters who have some unique relationships with her... but considering the huge cast involved I won't consider that as a harem) Relationships Although I'll say that Izumi does pamper Mizuki a lot, I feel that their relationship is a fairly balanced one because we also see Mizuki taking care of Izumi a lot, and it's just adorable :) Their denseness does get out of hand, but even as friends, they're still endearing to watch. I think the friendship aspect is the best part though, and it's great to see how Mizuki just meshes so well with the other students in Osaka Gakeun and it feels like they're genuinely friends. Art (9/10) The art is adorable and comical when it needs to be, but when it comes down to the more serious/beautiful parts, it nails the atmosphere just as it should be as well. It gives off a more sketchy(?) feeling which suits Hana Kimi's mood very well. Enjoyment (8/10) I've enjoyed the manga while it has lasted, but I do feel like the romance can be sped up a lot. Other than that, I really have no major complaints. The manga is funny, has amazing characters with amazing chemistry; what more can I really ask for? Overall (8/10) Recommended for: ; Chemistry (not the Science one, but the relationships one ^^'') ; Developed characters ; Golden jokes ; A storyline which is easy to follow Not recommended for: ; ...Too much denseness ; Flow/pacing issues. Too much fillers in the middle, and abrupt turn at the end. ; Predictability. Don't expect a groundbreaking story of originality because this story is largely about its characters and relationships. I think I would actually recommend this manga to pretty much anyone who likes SOL + romcom (especially the comedy part) and people who like genderbender stories too. But if you want a serious or adventure kind of manga, then yeah, this may not be the manga for you!