Product Details

• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Section 23
• DVD Release Date: December 18, 2007
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000WDTO20
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,900 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The romantic comedy Wallflower (2006) continues the anarchic humor of director Shinichi Watanabe's Excel Saga and Nerima Daikon Brothers. Kyohei, Ranmaru, Takenaga, and Yukinojoh, four bishonen (beautiful boys), have been freeloading off a wealthy woman for some time when she offers them a proposition: transform her niece Sunako into a perfect young lady--or their rent will be tripled. Two years earlier, Sunako was traumatized when a boy she liked told her she was ugly. She withdrew into a Gothic twilight, ignoring people and spending time with skulls, skeletons, and a human anatomical model. Sunako is quite pretty, but she refuses to accept that fact--or do anything to accentuate her looks. The boys need money desperately, so they go all out to effect the transformation. Wallflower probably plays better in weekly installments: Five episodes of nonstop slapstick, over-the-top vocal performances, and rapid-fire pacing leave the viewer exhausted. (Rated TV 14 D: cartoon violence, brief nudity, risqué humor) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

What Happens When A Hit Manga Gets Mugged By The Director Of EXCEL SAGA? Answer: THE WALLFLOWER! After years of sponging off a fabulously wealthy older woman, four ridiculously beautiful boys are forced to use their bishi skills to turn their benefactor’s socially challenged niece into a beautiful young lady! And this isn’t just any ugly duckling they’re facing; she’s a psycho, paranoid, neurotic horror movie obsessed goth chick with a fetish for anatomical dummies, bad skin and a total ignorance of all things feminine!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Now for something a little different..., December 26, 2007

By 

Arsena Lupin "Gothic Goddess" (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wallflower, Vol. 1: Lesson 1-My Fair Bishonen (DVD)

What happens when a hit manga gets mugged by the director of Excel Saga and then beaten up by ADV films? You get the English version of this awesome anime! That may sound a little reversed, but the truth of the matter is, in Japanese, this anime is wonderful. I found the English voices to be grating and unfit for the characters. Another thing I had an issue with was that the background music was too loud. I couldn't really hear the dialogue that well. I feel that buying this DVD is worth it because it has the Japanese version on it as well. The art is beautiful and very true to Tomoko Hayakawa's style. I loved the manga and the anime caught me as well...The English voices needed to be thought over better, but all in all, a good anime^^

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun, unique anime...very cool!, August 8, 2008

By 

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wallflower, Vol. 1: Lesson 1-My Fair Bishonen (DVD)

From the director of "Excel Saga" comes the anime "THE WALLFLOWER" which will satisfy every Bishonen/J-Rock fan out there.

The popular 25-episode anime is based on the manga series by Hayakawa Tomoko and serialized in "Bessatsu Friend" in Japan and by Del Rey Manga in the US and is now being distributed in the US by ADV Films.

The story revolves around 4 guys - the dark haired Oda Takenaga, the short hair blonde Toyama Yuki, the red head flirt Morii Ranmaru and the blonde Kyohei Takano.

The four men are pretty boys that the girls gush over and happen to live in a lavish mansion courtesy of the Landlady who has given the men a mission.

The goal is to make the Landlady's niece, Sunako, to an elegant lady. If they managed to, they get free rent. If they don't, they will have to pay three times the amount to live there.

Of course, the guys want to make sure they succeed and feel that there should be no problem until they meet Sunako. A dark girl who doesn't dress all that well. She wears a stained sweatshirt, amoeba-like design dress and bad tennis shoes. Her bangs are so long that it covers the face and she happens to be scary.

Why Sunako is like this stems from a past guy that she liked and told her straight out that he would never date someone so ugly.

So, Sunako has become a recluse and totally into the weirdest things and her best friend happens to be Hiroshi, those examining type of models used to show the guts and innards of a human being. Adding to her creepiness, she digs really dark and scary things and she can't take how these guys are trying to make her beautiful. In fact, she gets creepy thoughts of how to kill the guys (or mostly Kyohei who is the guy who seems to have gotten the closest to help Sunako early in the series).

The first lesson titled "My Fair Bishonen" features the first 5 episodes, which show the guys trying to help out Sunako. At first, they are very creeped out by her but you start to see with each episode that the guys start to see somewhat of a beauty within her.

One of the coolest things about this anime is that the creator, Hayakawa Tomoko is a fan of J-Rock artist Kiyoharu and Kiyoharu sings the opening and ending theme for the series. As a fan of Japanese rock music and as a guy who happens to dig the style, I felt it was very cool to see an anime like this. It's very different and unique and quite humorous to watch because I have friends who are "pretty boys" who always try to remake their girlfriends or friends in general and try to make them stylish.

I watched the series both in English and Japanese and both voice work are very cool and like both equally the same. Another cool dubbed anime from ADV Films. Again, this is coming from a guy who tends to watch anime mostly in Japanese.

The animation is pretty cool as it goes back and forth from serious to something humorous. For example, with Sunako, when she has this creep side to her, she's shown as a girl with no eyes, but then sometimes shown as a girl with beautiful eyes and then when she goes crazy over seeing Kyohei, she gets these "Crayon Shin Chan" looking eyes.

Another example shows the guys when they are creeped out about Sunako, they turn into white pale figures like ghosts. It's a very interesting take on how the series showcases the main characters in different situations.

As for the DVD special features, you get the clean opening and closing animation and the on-air opening for episodes 1-13. I wish there was an interview segment with the creator but all in all, a lot of anime DVD's are pretty much featuring what comes from Japan and the Japanese DVD releases are often barebones to begin with. So, at least we got some sort of special feature.

All in all, I found "THE WALLFLOWER" to be stylishly vibrant, funny and unique.

The characters are quite interesting and are different from the swashbuckling, adventurous Final Fantasy-esque pretty boys and I want to make it clear right away that this is not a gay anime.

It's just an interesting take on the bishonen/J-Rock stylish guys and a parody on the "Queer Eye of the Straight Guy" series and putting the guys together with an unusual girl. It's actually interesting because the high school, the girls are just so crazy over these guys and they just can't figure out why they hang out with such a creepy girl. It's hilarious!

I actually find the character of Sunako very interesting because she is so creepy and just her reaction to the guys is very crazy. Also, you wonder if one of the guys is actually developing some feelings for Sunako. Hmm...

All in all, "THE WALLFLOWER" is not an anime that tries to showcase a quirkiness or take a dramatic turn ala "Hana Yori no Dango". If anything, the anime series is more on the humorous side and rarely becomes a drama (in the first volume so far).

Again, it's like a unique take on the bishonen/J-Rock/Visual Kei style of guys and the various reality shows that are about fashion remakes. And similar to Queer Eye, you also get a tips segment right after the show has ended which was a nice touch for those familiar with the show.

So, I'm stoked to see something unique and different. Not sure if the casual anime fan, especially the guys would dig an anime about pretty boys helping out a creepy girl but I think those who are used to watching bishonen men or fan of J-Rock or visual kei may take a high interest in an anime like this.

Very cool and I highly recommend checking this anime out!

4.0 out of 5 stars SO RADIANT!, August 23, 2010

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wallflower, Vol. 1: Lesson 1-My Fair Bishonen (DVD)

Four boys must turn a girl into a refined lady, or else be forced to actually pay the rent. Yeah, "Wallflower Volume 1: My Fair Bishonen" sounds like another generic anime, and both the voice actors and the animation style take a little getting used to. But hang tight -- this hilarious, surreal anime and its quirky characters take off like a rocket after the first few episodes. SO RADIANT!

The concept: four staggeringly beautiful teenage boys -- bookish Takanaga, childlike Yuki, brash Kyohei and flirtatious Ranmaru -- are living in a luxurious mansion owned by an eccentric landlady. One day she sets out for a worldwide search for love, and offers them a deal: if they can turn her niece Sunako into a refined lady, their living expenses will be completely free. Of course, they accept.

Then they actually MEET Sunako. She has unkept hair, bad skin, horrible clothes, no social skills, and spends all her time alone in a dark bedroom, watching horror movies and talking to her biology models. Even worse, she's convinced that she'll melt if she sees the "creatures of light," aka the boys.

Unsurprisingly, Sunako's presence causes some weird problems. First Sunako's uncut bangs caused riots at school... and no, I'm not kidding. Then Sunako accidentally sees Kyohei naked, and begins plotting to kill him... but her plans go awry when he's kidnapped by an unscrupulous club host. Then Kyohei is after whatever money he can earn at the school festival, and gets wrapped up in a quest to make the haunted house a success. Finally, an arrogant photographer selects Sunako as his newest muse... but Sunako doesn't exactly shine in front of the camera.

The first few episodes of "Wallflower" are a little rough. The English voice actors take awhile to settle into their roles, and the feminine, masklike appearance of the characters is kind of weird at first. But once the writers have introduced all the main characters, they finally settle down and decide to have some fun with the series -- there's a squad of insane "goth loli sisters" (who try to curse people), a random black hole, and "Road To Womanhood" tutorials.

That crazy edge really makes "Wallflower Volume 1" a hilarious anime. The dialogue is weird ("Stupid Adam! Stupid Eve! Stupid DNA! Stupid Pithecanthropus!"), there are a lot of funny pokes at anime conventions (how many nosebleeds can Sunako have?!), and some of the episodes are introduced by "Hiroshi," an anatomical model missing his internal organs. The one problem is that a few of the jokes don't really translate for American viewers -- who are those tanned girls with the sharp nails?

Similarly, the characters start out a little two-dimensional (Bookworm, Flirt, Jerk, Doom'n'gloom Girl) but are gradually fleshed out. Kyohei seems like a jerk at first, but we get to see that he's just brutally honest and very brusque. And while Sunako seems very weird and antisocial at first, her chibified body and occasional moments of niceness make you start to like her. And, of course, she can kick butt.

Takanaga is the "grown-up" of the cast, usually having to be the voice of reason, while Noi makes a good "normal" foil for Sunako, and Yuki is an endearing kid with a girly face ("WHY? Why am I the only one in drag?!"). The weak link: Ranmaru, who hasn't really been fleshed out. And while the voice actors don't seem to fit their characters well at first, they soon get into the swing of things -- Hannah Alcorn is especially good with her wild, slightly scratchy voice.

"Wallflower Volume 1: My Fair Bishonen" starts off wobbly, but the surreal, over-the-top humor and seemingly-cliched characters are lots of fun.