Customer Reviews

The Wallflower 1: Yamatonadeshiko Shichihenge (Wallflower: Yamatonadeshiko Shichihenge)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is simply awesome. There's not much I can say, other than I laughed out loud on several occassions, and I'm one of those people who only laugh under very hilarious circumstances. These poor boys can't even look at the girl without screaming, fleeing, breaking out in hives, crying openly, or otherwise freaking out. (Can't really blame them, though--she has the aura and appearance of that freaky little girl in the Japanese horror movie "Ringu", which was remade in America as "The Ring".)

As an added bonus, it will probably be the only time you'll actually laugh out loud as the female lead actively, seriously attempts to murder the male lead (several times!).

Also, the other three boys are forced to crossdress before the volume is over. Even though this sort of thing always seems to happen to pretty boys in manga/anime, it is still handled with a unique comedic flair in this case.

I borrowed this book from a friend--she's going to have a hard time retrieving it--until I get my own copy in the mail, of course. ;)

Great story, beautiful art, fabulous humor.

Sunako a young woman spurned turns into a recluse, given the choice she never leaves her room,which is home to slasher movies, skulls, things preserved in jars and anotomical dolls, when she does go out in public people think she is a ghost(ie that girl from ringu)due to her really pale skin and long jet black hair that covers her face.

Enter an interfering aunt and her four extremely attractive young male tenants, if they can turn Sunako into a "real lady"(read stylish social butterfly)they will get free rent for a year. As expected though Sunako is violently opposed to the idea. Sometimes the boys rescue her, somtimes she rescues the boys, and sometimes they all run from the screaming hoards of fan girls bound to pop up anywhere this much bishie can be found.

A good piece of manga, I'm on the fifth volume and still wondering whether they will ever get Sunako-chan out of the dark...or if she will be able to control those viscious nosebleeds.

If you like hot men in drag, homicidal hermits, or watching those "popular girls" suffer, you will ADORE this manga! This book made me laugh so much! The artist used the perfect blend of funny chibi art and beautiful illustrations to tell her story.

Unlike most mangas done by women, this isn't just a fluffy love story. As a matter of fact, I think it's safe to say this is the most unique love story I've seen in a while!

The story starts with four guys living in a boarding house with the very rich woman they affectionately call "the Land Lady." She is widowed at a young age, and runs off with the first man she meets. She leaves the boys a note and challenges them to take in her niece (whose parents are in Africa) and if they can turn her into a lady, they can live in her mansion for free.

The bad news? The nice (Sunako Nakahara) is a horror! Sunako is a obsessed with American slasher movies (Freddy vs. Jason and such) and talks to anotomical dolls that she keeps in her room. She hasn't looked in a mirror in two years and refuses to let the boys come anywhere near her. (If they get too close she gets bad nosebleeds) Her bangs are so long that she sees everything in darkness, and refers to the boys as "creatures of the light."

Sunako thinks she will melt in the presence of the boys, especially the very sexy Kyohei. You see them get pretty close throughout the book. Why is this unique you ask? It's the only manga I've ever seen that still makes the lead character look nice after she's attempted to kill the male character. It's hillarious!

Check this out, I loved it!

Okay, you have already read the reviews. You may even have seen a fan-translated version of this on IRC. For those of you who have and are STILL asking yourself (shame on you) if you should buy these books, there is only one thing you want to know: "How is the translation?"

It's good. It's VERY good. It's BETTER than the scanslation. There is very little "Americanization". I have volumes 1-3 and I didn't see any "Y'all", or "howdy", or even "homie". The scanslators did a good job, but these guys did a GREAT job, even covering the small details and the sound effects. They kept to the original story and dialogue as much as humanly possible, explained what didn't translate very well instead of making up stuff, and also explained a lot about the Japanese culture.

I dare you to compare that to the travesty that Mahou Sensei Negima turned into.

There is also stuff in there from the author that never made it into any scanslation that gives you a good look into her thoughts and her life. If you're a fan of the series -- and if you're still reading this then you are -- go ahead and buy these books.

You won't regret it. In fact, I dare say you will inflict these books on your friends. I know I did.

Calling Sunako Nakahara morbid is a huge understatement. She enjoys watcher slasher flicks and scary movies, her best friends are anatomical dolls Hiroshi-kun and Akira-kun, and she has black curtains in her room to keep out the sun-light. It's easy to say that she would be happy living in darkness for the rest of her life. However, Sunako's aunt, a flighty but rich woman, is worried about her niece, Sunako used to be `normal', she used to care about things like beauty and fashion and Ms. Nakahara doesn't like the new, dark Sunako, because frankly, she's a little scary. Ms. Nakahara strikes a deal with 4 incredibly handsome boys, if they can turn Sunako into a real lady; they can live at her super posh mansion rent free for 3 years. How is Sunako supposed live with 4 men so attractive, so `bright' that she has a nosebleed (in Japan, it's said that nosebleeds are caused by lust) each time one comes too close?

On the flipside, Kyohei, Yuki, Takenaga, and Ranmaru are forced to live with a girl so scary that they are still not quite sure if she's real or a ghost, and what's more, how can they teach her to be a lady? The first day they meet her and realize that they have a huge problem on their hands: Sunako appears in an old, stained, sweatshirt, an ugly skirt and hair that covers her face, it was remarked that she looked like the girl from `The Ring'. Having never met a girl who could resist their charms, the group is determined not to be fazed by her fearsome façade.

The series, although unrealistic, is hilarious. Each of the male protagonists adds their own style of humor: Ranmaru, a notorious lady killer with so many women he must loose count, is always the one hitting on women and is often used when a parody of a corny love scene is needed. Takenaga is the intellectual who, next to Kyohei, is the best at coping with Sunako's dark side. In the beginning, he was the only person that could see inside Sunako's room. Yuki is the cute one and also the one most disturbed by Sunako and her love for horror, he normally cries after prolonged contact with her because she will do something disturbing. Kyohei is the most attractive, lead the hardest life and as a result is the toughest of the four. Kyohei is stubborn and rude; he fights with Sunako on a regular basis and he is the only one that can keep her under some form of control.

It was easy to get confused in the beginning because Tomoko Hayakawa draws Sunako in half-chibi form (Sort of small and cartoon like) and Sunako looked like she was 12 years old to me. As the series progresses Sunako gets smaller and rounder until she is in full fledged chibi mode, the author explains her reasons for this in book 2 or 3. You rarely get to see Sunako as her true self but when you do she is either incredibly beautiful or disturbingly threatening, which ever is more appropriate to the plot. The artwork is magical, with the right touch of darkness surrounding Sunako and exploding light around Kyohei and his friends. There are scenes with Kyohei and Sunako together that are so beautiful and intricately drawn it's easy to become spellbound; you can practically feel their emotions radiating off of the page. The series is very goth, but it's entertaining enough that anyone can read it.

The Verdict:
Beautiful art paired with hilarious characters and dialog makes this series one you should not pass up. It is such a relief to read a shoujo manga that dares to break the mold! A+

This has got to be the funniest manga series I have ever read. The four hottest guys in Japan have a dilemma- they can get free rent to stay at this amazing western mansion, but only if they can turn Sunako, the landlady's niece, into a `lady'. Yeah, right. Sunako is obsessed with horror, blood, gore, and whenever she sees an attractive person (or 'Creature of the Light' as she calls them) she gets a nosebleed! When most people see her they think she is a ghost. Its hilarious and fantastic series!

The real title roughly translated is Perfect Girl Evolution but they changed that for some reason to Wallflower, have no clue why?! But despite the title change I was also shocked to see that they did a great job translating this manga and I was afraid at first that they would mutilate this manga like some other companies have done before but i'm glad I was wrong. This series is worth reading just becuase as others have stated its unique in its storyline and character development. Especialy the freaky zombie loving girl! I give this series 5 stars and hope people check it out at your local bookstore if you want to get a preview read with Volume 1.

I loved this manga. I laughed out loud several times, getting strange looks from others in the room. This manga is about a high school girl who avoids beautiful people and likes to be in the dark, watching slasher movies. That is, until her aunt invites 4 handsome guys to move into the 'dorm' and get free rent for 3 years if they can turn this girl into a beautiful lady. They have their work cut out for them, as the girl fights them at every attempt and her nosebleeds from seeing 'creatures of the light' doesn't help. While this manga has very slight shoujo moments, it is a comedy on most counts. One of my new prized manga titles is The Wallflower.

After reading through the other reviews I thought there wasn't too much to add, but . . .

I had to say something about the art. The art is extremely different. The author bases her characters on real Japanese musicians and due to this the characters actually look Japanese. Not a single character falls under the perfect looking, big eyed, shojo character that this type of work is prone to (think Fullmoon, anything by Yuu Watase). Due to this the art may be off putting to some. I think it is beautiful and completely original.

The only downside to the art is that Sunako (the main character) is usually drawn as a simple cartoon. When she is drawn she is beautiful and it makes you wish the author drew her like this more often. Also, the backgrounds are extremely sparse and sometimes there is nothing at all.

The plot lines (I have up to volume 11) are somewhat episodic (but there are cliffhangers), but it works. It feels like you're getting snipets of the life that the four boys and Sunako have together and their interactions. Plus, this is a truly funny book. Sunako tries to kill people, Kyohei is constantly being kidnapped or abused, Ranmaru has dated every women in the tristate area, and so on. There really is nothing like it.

All in all, if you want something funny, fresh, and original give this series a shot. Just know that you'll have to be patient to get the next vol. New works come out quarterly.

This manga series has won me over after the first couple of pages. It's laugh after laugh.

The synopsis covers the basic frame of what happens, but what you don't know are really strange traits and occurrences that have to do with Sunako (the main character). There's slight provocativity but mostly just teasing and humour. There isn't anything too crude or dirty but I think an older audience would enjoy the overall humour better. I found myself laughing even after reading the full book for the 4th time again.

If you like something like Fruits Basket or Hana-Kimi, I think you may easily fall in love with this series as well. It's an excellent and ORIGINAL start to a great manga.