Hana to Akuma

I really enjoyed this manga. It was very bittersweet, and was probably one of the best shoujos I've ever read. The art style took some getting use to, but I learned to really appreciate it over time. Story: It was a beautiful, bittersweet story. A demon comes to earth and raises an abandoned human child, and as she grows up they both really start to adore each other. The manga is about them overcoming their challenges to be together, and yes, while it was a romantic manga, the bond is very sweet, and goes beyond the typical shoujo relationship. Art: Like I said, I wasn'treally in to the art at first, but I learned to appreciate it as it was. And it's not like it was bad, the mangaka's style was just a little bit different than most. Character: The characters really grew on me; Hana seemed like your typical shoujo lead, but she really wasn't. I really loved her, and she was a good protagonist for this kind of light-hearted manga. There was very minimal character growth in Hana, but that doesn't mean she was a bad character. The character growth was more in Vivi, as he learned to accept Hana for what she is and how to treat her. Enjoyment: I really, really loved this manga. I recommend it to anyone. It's a little sad, but it's very cute. I wasn't prepared for it to end, but everything has to end sometime. Overall, you should probably go check out Hana to Akuma. I've been reading it since the very beginning, and I'm glad I stuck with it. It was really touching.

This manga is not for people who want happy end, or deserved happyness. Its abaout the truth of living, and the sadness being immortal. But the last part is not tru. they are not sad. they are proud they are tresure the time, the memmories. I think This is the path, that most people can't go. They wanted to change the rules. not accepting the truth. and that is the biggest mistake. I give a best score because i learn something from this manga, and i will tresure it. Until i die. :)

Most people who review or read reviews tend to be fans of whichever given piece of work, so I don't expect a lot of people to appreciate this. But regardless, these are my thoughts after fully reading Hana to Akuma. The premise itself is simple. Demon comes to earth. Demon finds child. Demon raises child. Demon and child proceed to get together. If one part of this doesn't seem fitting, then congratulations, you're a human being with a healthy outlook on what sort of relationship is moral or not, and have a decent idea of the age and conditions needed for a person to have a knowledgeableopinion on love and responsibility of making such a decision. Unfortunately, the author of this work (as well as many fans) does not share these qualities. Let me get something out of the way first, for whoever hasn't already stopped reading. I'm a hopeless sap. I'm a romantic at heart. I go out of my way to find and read romantic manga, feel-good stories, happy endings, etc. They're what I mostly like to read, because they represent the sort of ideal happy-ending that I know is impossible for real life to achieve. Because of this, I could not truly hate Hana no Akuma. Despite it's many (and there are many) flaws, I could not stop myself from getting drawn in, at least to a decent degree. That is why my score is even as high as it is. Considering how deeply troubling the rest of my impression of this work is, a 3 is much higher than I want to give it. Anyway, as I said, the author does not seem to understand how deeply unsettling and even outright creepy his work is. It's an ode to pedophilia and incest, thinly disguised with terrible excuses and bad explanations. Hana is no older than 14 when Vivi begins making romantic overtures and eventually realizes his feelings for her. Vivi who, as it happens, is also 200 years old. That might sound like a fantastical number so I'll disregard that. For the purposes of understanding this story, Vivi is an adult. His exact age doesn't matter. He's a fully grown adult, already completely established as person before Hana was even born. There is an argument to be made about relationships with a big age gap. After all, age is just a number after a certain point. That is true, of course, but 14 is NOT that number. Not even close. What the hell. To anyone reading, forget that this is a drama manga for just a second and bring to your mind the last 14 year old kid you happened to see. Does that seem like a person capable of making decisions and life-choices, never mind deciding commitments with 200 year old demons who find themselves attracted to their adopted daughter? The series tries to fool itself and us with the whole '3 year time skip' thing, but it doesn't succeed. All the feelings already exist, all the characters know what's going on. Hell, by this point they've shared several actual kisses, most of them initiated by the older man between them. No one is fooled. Which brings me to my second point. Incest. True, they are not related by blood. It's technically safe. That's not the point. Vivi raised Hana. He found her when she was a baby. Hana's earliest memories were of him. He taught her to speak, to walk, to run, to dress. He was there for all phases in her life. He was, for all intents and purposes, her father. Even the romantic in me could not help but cringe at regular intervals at seeing this play out. When I stopped to consider it it made my stomach churn, if just by its implications. It's a huge shame, too. The first several chapters, before even the tiniest hint of romantic interest, the manga is at its best. When Hana and Vivi are nothing more than father and daughter, the series hits a level of effortless quality that no amount of cheap drama gags will ever bring it. The entire storyline could have been based on the love a father shares with his daughter, biological or not, but no because this is manga and we need to have romance between the leads, damn it! The manga could have been something truly inspiring if it didn't fight so hard to stick to conventions and appeal to the very niche crowd that seems to like softcore pedophilia (Oh, sorry. Is 'loli' the right term?) coupled with incest. There is also the fact that Hana's deep obsession and almost physical dependence on Vivi, would, in real life, be considered actual cause for worry and require the help of professionals to solve. This sort of dependence and obsession (especially as displayed in the first 20 chapters or so) is not healthy in any stretch of the word, even ignoring the incest that will eventually occur. Beyond the deeply unsettling and creepy backdrop of the entire series, there were several other issues that also helped reduce points. The art was passable, but barely so. It was not good, but not terrible either. Then, we have the fact that series doesn't even try not to just abuse dramatic cliches to extend itself and create fake drama that everyone knows will be solved without too much trouble. The sort of facepalm-y unrealistic misunderstandings and retarded situations that only occur in fiction because real life doesn't work that way. Then there was Hana's frankly annoying trend to alternate between referring herself on the third person and the first. Honestly, characters who refer to themselves on the third person are ridiculous and annoying in the first place, but those who aren't even consistent in doing so are even worse. Perhaps that was a translation problem, however, so I won't hold it against the story itself. There were some decent things about it, however. The Demon King being the prime example. Perhaps the one actually enjoyable character to follow. Also, there were hints of an interesting setup in the little we learned of the demon world and Vivi's place in it, but that was sadly cast aside for even more ridiculous tearjerker moments. In the end, for all that the romantic sap in me wants to like this, there are too many things wrong with it. It could have gone for something original - the building blocks were certainly there. It could have done something different, something better than the usual senseless dramatic drivel. There was nothing unpredictable, nothing realistic, nothing that spoke of actual quality storytelling in this manga. It could have been all those things and more but, unfortunately, it is not.

Story - 10/10 Hana to Akuma was a masterpiece! It was really a thrilling, enjoyable and an exciting manga. I really recommend this to everyone out there who have yet read this. I have read TONS, yes TONS of manga.. but Hana to Akuma was the very best. You will really carve to see the next chapter/page. Also, let's not forget the title which REALLY fits for this manga - Hana to Akuma.. in other words, The flower and the demon. Somehow, the title 'says' about the love betweenthe 2 main characters in this manga. In each and every chapter and page of this manga, it never, not even one failed any of my expectations. Just base it from the plot, the story is rather unique. I have to admit that I'm obsessed with this, really. What made me love this manga more was the ending. Even I myself can't believe what I just felt at the end. It was a happy-sad ending. Everytime I read the ending, I never failed to cry. The story teaches us one important lesson.. just trying to keep out from spoilers, I cannot say it. If you're so curious about it, try reading until the very end.:) *********************************** Art - 10/10 One more reason for people to read this is that because Oto-sensei drew all the characters very well.. even the environment. I love how he draw Vivi and Hana. Also, he really draw very well the exact emotion of Vivi. That's what I love more. Can't say more. *********************************** Character - 10/10 I love each and every character personalities in the story. Even the heroine, Hana. You can say that she's quite a stubborn and a naive girl but that's just what makes me like her more. It makes my heart skip a beat when Hana's naive-ness comes out in a romantic situation then Vivi have to do or say something straight just for her to understand. *********************************** Enjoyment - 10/10 I really enjoyed this manga until the very end. There is nothing more I can say.♥ *********************************** Overall - 10/10 I'm really giving Hana to Akuma a perfect score. Everything is just so perfect, seriously. Just wanna say a huge thanks to Oto-sensei, the author of this manga for making such a fabulous manga! I really admire you.