Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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!

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...

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!

I've picked up Hana-Kimi several times at the local bookstore. I've put it down several times too. I've glanced through it... read the synopsis. It sounded too forced to me. Girl idolizes Japanese athlete, moves to Japan and crossdresses her way through an all boy school, just happens to be his roomie. So I put it back down. While picking up my copy of the latest Hot Gimmick the cashier starts talking to me about manga. I asked her what she would recommend. She mentioned Hana-kimi, Fruits Basket, Gravitation... amoung others. So, I picked up Hana-kimi... AND I AM SO GLAD I DID. The execution of all said awkward elements was great. The story is not bland, contrived, awkward in any way. There is a lot to be excited about. Sano (Japanese athlete idol) is a really awesome character, and so is Nakatsu (peer who is hilariously freaked out when he starts to develope feelings for Mizuki- the supposed guy). It will be interesting... because the love triangle works. I don't know who I want her to end up with, and it's only the first volume!!! It's definetly worth it!

This is a tale of a girl's fantasy to get close to a star athelete named "Sano." Sano is a high jumper that has recently retired from jumping and Mizuki is determined to start him up again. Mizuki cuts off all her hair and transfers herself to an all boy's school. To her luck, her roomate just so happens to be Sano! Though it makes it more difficult to keep her disguise, she is easily tempted to put hints onto Sano to go back to jumping. What Mizuki doesn't know is that her secret is out, but Sano goes a long with her little fiasco. Mizuki, already caught as a huge fan, falls in love with Sano but can't say anything about her being a girl. To Sano's suprise, he ends up developing a crush on Mizuki but doesn't want it to look like he has feelings for a guy.

This manga is a great series! I've been reading manga for years and would have to give mad props to Hisaya-san for creating such an interesting comedy. This book is great for beginners and regular manga readers. It's a page turner that will definitly catch your attention. Great buy!

Osaka Private High School is an all boys academy, so why exactly does freshman Mizuki Ayahiya want to attend there? First thing, she's a woman, and in America besides (event though she's of Japanese descent). Well, three years ago she saw an athlete on television high jump and happened to fall madly in love with the young man. So, now she has decided to transfer to his school to try to meet him and maybe even see him jump, and she couldn't have better luck. Not only is former youth high jump champion Izumi Sano in her class, but she also ends up sharing a room with him.

At first meeting she is overzealous about his accomplishments and giddily asks him to be her friend. He misinterprets this completely, thinking that she is a boy, and one with desires for men. After the initial rejection she attempts again to be his friend, but he reveals that he has quit high jumping and this info nearly crushes her completely.

While she is trying to forge a solid relationship with Sano she also meets several of the other young men in the school. Shoichi Nakatsu is the token crybaby with bleached hair who finds he has unnatural affections for Mizuki. Minami Nanba is the dorm R.A., a notorious ladies man who's one of the biggest flirts on campus. His 27 year old uncle, Hokuto Umeda, is the school doctor and proud gay man who becomes the first threat to revealing Mizuki's true identity. And then there is Nakao, the former school idol whom Mizuki replaces as favorite, whom swears revenge on her for usurping him.

During all of this Mizuki also realizes that Sano has a close female acquaintance who is encouraging him to jump again, and this news causes great pain within her heart, making her question every reason she had for returning to Japan. When it is revealed that Sano suffered a terrible accident and the emotional damage is too great for him to handle, Mizuki renews her quest to see him jump... but how long will he wait before he reveals to her that he knows that she is not a young man? And will this knowledge jeopardize her position at the school?

This shojo manga has such a good start. I must admit, I am hooked now. I think I will be borrowing all of the available volumes from work ASAP just so that I might catch up with all that is going on in this series. Sano is such a great character, and I cannot wait to see how long it will take him to admit that he knows that Mizuki is a woman, along with all of the other folks who are starting to suspect as well that she is more than she seems, not some carefree nancy boy they all take her for. This is definitely a worthwhile read, I cannot wait to read the next volume myself.

Hisaya Nakajo has done an absolutely WONDERFUL job with this series! It's hilarious, thoughtful, well written and the characters are completely lovable and relatable. Each character is clearly defined and has their own particular personality. This series reminds me a lot of Fruits Basket (another all time favorite), in that I can read about and "roll on the floor" laughing at the characters and the way they interact with one another for volumes and volumes and years and years and never get tired! (Plus, there are sooo many bishies... always a plus...)

I had to write this review because someone made a comment that Mizuki is intelligent.... Mizuki is a total space cadet! She's impulsive, makes really poor decisions as far as keeping her secret an actual secret and is terribly naive, but you love her just the same. Her heart is definitely in the right place, so it's a joy to read about her and her adventures (or mis-adventures) as she pretends to be a guy at an all boy's school, just to be close to her idol, high-jumper Izumi Sano. And of course, with her pretending to be a boy, you get all that great sexual tension, pint-up romantic frustration and teenage angst that we all love so much. :)

This series is a fantastic, grade A find, and you'll love it more and more with the purchase of every volume! Not only is the series itself wonderful, but Hisaya's side bar commentary is always witty and entertaining as she gives her opinion on all things American and Japanese pop culture! (She really seems to like Hyde from L'Arc-en-Ciel ^_^) The quality of the artwork in a manga is also important to me, and this too is grade A quality, (she's no Ai Yazawa, but who is!?)

I've definitely added it to my list of all-time favorites! Don't miss out!

This was an impulse buy for me and I really was pleasantly surprised! I have been passing up this series for years...but for whatever reason I decided to pick it up and try volume 1 recently (about 2 weeks ago) I CAN'T GET ENOUGH!! I agree with "Sexually ambiguous fun" the author has done a great job. It is a funny series with moments of seriousness at just the right time. The story is well written with character that you can identify with and even the ones that seem like they should be hated have a tendency to become likable. Of course it doesn't hurt either that the series is full of bishounen!
The story may seem farfetched to some but I can't figure out why...there have been several movies of the same nature (girl/guy dressing as the opposite sex to achieve some goal) I think this manga series is better than any of the movies I've seen.
I just started volume 7 and they seem to be quick reads. I just can't put them down because I have to know what Izumi Sano is thinking...when is he going to make that mistake and let the totally clueless Mizuki know he knows her secret. What will Nakatsu do when he finds out he hasn't fallen for a boy?
I have have added to my list of favs along with Mars and Gravitation.

the manga is sooooooo good .. i read the whole series( published in another language) in 3 days!i have to say that this is one of the best shoujo manga i have ever read. the art work is good, the characters are designed and done really well, and the plot is really funny and intense. The story and as well as the romance between Sano and Mizuki just gets better and stronger as the story progresses. THe ending is sooo awesome.. ( sorry no spoilers.. but i can tell you it is a happy ending) i cried like a baby after i read the last page of the series.. it is just soo touching. anyways buy it!! trust me it is worth every penny!! and make sure you pre order vol. 21 when it comes out cause it was really hard for me to find it anywhere... NO WONDER. thats when the big confession comes out.. ( oops have i said too much?) anyways.. BUY THIS MANGA!! U wont regret it!

This is the best manga I've read about a Japanese-American girl named Mizuki Ashiya, "cross-dressing" in order to enter into a Japanese all-boys private school. Of course, she's only there to see her idol, Sano Izumi, compete in the high jump. To make matters better (or at first, it seems), she finds out that she's his roommate! Things seem to grow worse when she finds out that he's quit the high jump! Of course, there's the matter of encouraging him to compete again... as well as keeping her secret hidden...