Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

hisaya Nakajo (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2004

Japanese-American track-and-field star Mizuki has gotten herself a transfer to a high school in Japan...but not just any school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she's going to an all-boys' high school...and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they're more than classmates...they're roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates - and the school nurse - must cope with a new transfer student who may make them question their own orientation...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nakajo bases [her] shojo manga (Japanese girls' comic) on the common manga plot device of a girl dressed as a boy. Thirteen-year-old Mizuki Ashiya idolizes high-jump champion Izumi Sano. She somehow manages to transfer to his all-boys' school by masquerading as a boy, and becomes Izumi's roommate. Mizuki wants to see Izumi do the high jump, but is shocked to learn he quit the sport because he couldn't stand the pressure. Mizuki believes Izumi still loves high jumping and wants to high jump with him. Readers will be impatient for Mizuki to take Psychology 101 so she'll figure out what "high jumping" is a euphemism for. The story founders on its own absurdities. When Izumi sees Mizuki's back in the shower, she deludes herself that Izumi still thinks she's a boy, while he knows the truth but acts as if he does not. In a side story, a boy named Kaede comes to live with his second cousin Toko, who is outraged by Kaede's womanizing, until Kaede genuinely falls in love with Toko. Nakajo's visual storytelling is often cramped and confusing, and [her] drawing style is mediocre, although he does create attractive love scenes. This tale panders to the illusions of sexually naïve young girls who, one hopes, can discern that misogynists are not Prince Charmings and Mizuki is really an obsessed stalker.
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About the Author

Hisaya Nakajo's manga series Hanazakari no Kimitachi he ("For You in Full Blossom", casually known as Hana-Kimi) has been a hit since it first appeared in 1997 in the shojo manga magazine Hana to Yume ("Flowers and Dreams"). In Japan, a Hana-Kimi art book and several "drama CDs" have been released. Her other manga series include Missing Piece (2 volumes) and Yumemiru Happa ("The Dreaming Leaf", 1 volume).

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591163293
• ISBN-13: 978-1591163299
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It sure as hell got me hooked, March 30, 2005

By 

KJ Colleen (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I was never much into manga a few months ago. One fateful afternoon, though, I was bored in class and lo and behold, a casual friend of mine let me read one of his mangas. It happened to be the one I'm reviewing. And the addiction begins. Right after school I rushed and picked up a copy of this.

I used to be one of the people who'd kind of look down on manga - the expressions were funny, the dialogue was kind of hokey. My entire perspective of it changed once I started reading "Hana Kimi." The plotline is gold - a girl tries to hide her sex while attending an all boys school and swooning over her high jumping hero. The characters are eclectic and their personalities are strong, making you soon love and hate certain characters right at their introduction. The art is brilliant too; in a later volume, Mizuki's expression when she discovers accidently crawling into bed with Sano is CLASSIC.

This is a great beginning to a great series. There are currently only 4 volumes out in English, so you can catch up quickly. The plotlines don't weaken, I promise. It only gets better as the story continues!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!, August 2, 2005

By 

Kim H. "kimthebookworm" (somewhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Hana-Kimi is about a spunky girl named Mizuki Ashiya. An American-Japanese track-and-field star who transfers to a japanese school from the U.S for one reason only... to see her idol, Izumi Sano, jump in the high jump. Sano, during a big tournament, gets tramatized about high jumping because of the pressure. Oh yeah did I mention that Mizuki is pretending to be a boy? She tries to get Sano to go back to high-jumping by encouraging him and, well, bugging him about it. Naturally Sano thinks that Mizuki is really weird because "she" always follows him around and can't really hide the fact completely that "she" likes him. This series really hooks you and it has really interesting plots all throughout. There are times when they have a school festival and one of the activities is sort of like a "miss japan" for the school. The school has all boys, so the boys have to dress like girls and everyone else votes for the prettiest "girl"! Mizuki is a girl dressed up as a boy dressing up as a girl! The only part is something unexpected happened... *not telling*. Mizuki is always trying to hide the fact that she's a girl, but wouldn't she be surprised if she knew a few people already know her secret, Sano included! One time "she" went to a beach house to work as a "waiter" during summer vacation. Imagine her surprise when Sano desides to go as well! One of the other waiters finds out that Mizuki is a girl and tries to get her away from Sano. That ending didn't turn out the way he expected...

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Hijinks, June 8, 2004

By 

Duneb (Carolinas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I'm just starting out with reading manga, but I can tell I've found a gem in this one (only the 4th manga I'd ever read). After being sort of bored and uninspired with Kare Kano after reading two good drama/action mangas, I wasn't too trusting of the shoujo genre. Then I saw a review for Hana Kimi online. It sounded promising, and lo- Viz was putting out an english version! So, I bought it and started reading. It was very interesting from the first page on, (although Mizuki's brief bout of fangirling was a bit offputting in the first few pages). Then Nakatsu appeared, and I was lost in laughing. The whole manga was just one long string of HILARIOUS occurences. I liked it so much I bought the second volume soon as I could!

All the characters are very likeable. My favorite would be Nakatsu cause he's sooo funny and sincere at the same time. Even Sano, for all his annoying angsty behavior, gets a more agreeable personality as the volume goes on. Mizuki is a good character too, and though a bit naive, turns out to be quite strong. And of course, who could forget doctor Umeda? ^_^

The one minor beef I have is that the artist, Hisaya Nakajo, tends to draw her characters with very similar faces, so that hair color/clothing is the only way to distinguish some characters. A few times, I wasn't sure if it was Mizuki or Nakatsu I was looking at! But that's a minor thing, and does not detract too much from the story at all.

So, if you're looking for instant and constant humor, can take some moderate angst and don't mind occasional references to homosexuality and gender confusion, or just like looking at pretty boys like Sano and Nanba, this manga's for you!