A fabulous foursome of gorgeous guys may live in a magnificent mansion for free, but only if they can turn Sunako, the horror-movie-obsessed, fashion-illiterate niece of the owner, into a proper lady. Oh, and did the aunt mention that Sunako needs to get good grades, too? Sunako must achieve an average above 80 percent, or the deal’s off.
No problem! Sunako scores high in all subjects–except math, which she consistently fails miserably. Now the guys have to tutor their reluctant student through hours of course work, avoiding the pitfalls of her gruesome hobbies, explosive nosebleeds, and tendency to faint whenever anybody refers to her kiss with Kyohei. Math would be easier without so much division!
Tomoko Hayakawa (はやかわ ともこ, Hayakawa Tomoyo) is a Japanese artist and writer, best known for her ongoing manga The Wallflower, which has spawned both an anime and a live action series.
I am entertained by the whiplash randomness of these inplausible adventures. The teens go to a hot springs and get embroiled in a murder investigation! The landlady gets them modelling jobs at a not-actually-haunted castle! They study for a math test! A gang shows up at their school and wants to fight them because... I don't know. Was the gang in an earlier installment and I forgot?
As I mentioned in an earlier review, the initial plot of them giving her a makeover is basically discarded after the first book, and only referred to when her aunt checks in. Otherwise it's wacky episodes.
This story is ridiculous, weird, and hilarious. They are still trying to turn her into a lady but they are all coming to know each other better. They are kinda becoming...friends? This one was funny with the trip to the hot springs/spa; the gang 'boss' who wants to fight and falls in love with the girl (That part was really funny). Well worth a read. Really glad the library has a few books from this series.
While some things in this volume didn't age too well, it was still a fun read. I also love the art from Hayakawa sensei. Her characters look beautiful and some of the backgrounds are really stunning. I'm so happy to read the source material for the anime that I loved back in the day. Sunako is such a wacky lovable character. I love how she doesn't back down from a fight, she defeats a Yakuza boss in this volume and that's so cool.
I remember reading this series years ago and loving it. It has that tenancy to "restart every volume" story wise, so some times it feels like the the characters take two steps forward only to take three steps back. But the various stories are still good. Plus it's beautiful to look at, the art (as well as the fashion) is gorgeous.
J'ai un petit peu moins aimé ce tome car il y avait quelques petites pointes sexistes et transphobes à certains moments. Je vais continuer la saga pour voir si ça se renouvelle quand même.
The Wallflower, Volume 3 was another great installment to the series. I am totally gushing over it all over again! It was another fun, hilarious, and at times bloody ride through their world!
In this volume we start where we left off from volume 2 with the “Blood-scatteringly steamy love at the hot springs, part 2” where we finally figure out what really happened to the owner (okay, it is pretty obvious - but still it was great to read!). From there we go to the boys’ next task - helping Sunako get an 80+ on her math test with competition in the form of Kyohei! Then we go onto how Sunako deals with the the aftermath of finally realizing the kiss she keeps forgetting (and thought was a nightmare) did in fact happen. Kyohei, is becoming known for his wise words to Sunako. Among them;
“Without love..a kiss is meaningless.”
And from the Math test chapter/mini story;
“It’s okay to be bad at something.” “It Just pisses me off when you don’t even try” “But I will give you credit for not running away”
Sometimes, we all need a Kyohei in our lives, who will just tell it to us straight.
From there we go onto a modeling gig where we get to see Yuki stand up for Sunako (she returns the favor). I seriously love all this bonding! And the final chapter of this volume features “Boss” who wants to fight the strongest man (Kyohei) and ends up with a crush on one of the girls! Needless to say this one does get a little bloody, and we get to see both Kyohei and Sunako unleash a bit of an ass kicking (poor Kyohei, those punks got what they deserved!).
Anyway, like the previous two volumes it was a lot of fun. I really do enjoy getting to know the characters individually - but also seeing them interact with each other (both as friends, or in some cases in a romantic way - Takenaga and Noi, and Kyohei and Sunako, who are totally meant to be even if they don’t know it yet) - it gives me the feels!
In this volume, we can see how Kyouhei and Sunako being a nerd. Basically, Sunako is quite smart tho, but maybe math isn't her specialty.
The gangster part is quite good, but the reason why the boss indeed interested to Sunako is still vague.
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Oke, volume ini tambah lucu. Apalagi, ada gambar Kyouhei yang lagi cupu. Sunako cupu juga sih. Jadinya unyu gitu.
"
Terus, ternyata Sunako masih kepikiran dengan ciuman—sebenernya dia sedikit lupa sih kalau dicium—sama Kyouhei. Jadinya dia sering mimpi buruk. Setelah beneran sadar kalau dicium, Sunako tambah bertingkah aneh dan menggemparkan sekolah. Untungnya, Kyouhei dan kawan-kawan berhasil ngeyakinin Sunako—Kyouhei doang sih—kalau ciuman tanpa cinta itu nggak berarti apa-apa.
Berhubung Bibi tahu Sunako ciuman sama tengkorak, Bibi agak marah dan memberikan kesempatan untuk para cowok cantik membuat Sunako jadi Lady. Mereka harus membuat Sunako menjadi model. Akhirnya Sunako tetep nggak mau sih. Tapi waktu mereka kabur, mereka malah menghasilkan foto yang keren banget. Haha
Ahh, Keren banget deh komik ini. Uhh, pengen aku baca lagi dan lagi. Nggak bakal bikin bosen.
Overall Rating: B Synopsis: A Shōjo comedy/romance manga created by Tomoko Hayakawa. At the beginning of the manga, Sunako Nakahara confesses her love to a boy, who utterly rejects her and tells her she's ugly. As any reasonably young person would do, Sunako then discards all traces of her femininity, and retreats into odd and morbid hobbies, such as collecting skulls.
Fortunately, Sunako's aunt owns a mansion that four gorgeous boys live in (huh?). Apparently, the boys pay rent to live in the mansion, and the aunt offers them free rent if they give Sunako a Pygmalian-esque makeover, and she becomes a "perfect lady". The boys set to work, and hilarity ensues.
Often, Sunako is shown as an exaggerated version of her true self that looks like a female version Cartman from Southpark. Will these gorgeous boys succeed? Will Sunako's inner beauty shine through?
I passed over The Wallflower several times before checking it out. I'm not a huge fan of the art, but I love the ridiculous plot so far. This works pretty well as a comedy/romance Shōjo, and I'm interested in the characters. The series is ongoing, so I'm not sure how long they can keep the plot interesting, but I'll definitely be reading it for awhile. It has a lot of potential.
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Overall series review (mostly) 4 Stars - so far, I’ve still got a few to go… Additional: Like most long running series there are some duff chapters/volumes
Sunako is my spirit animal. Only she’s not an animal… we’d be ideal friends if both of us came out of our caves long enough to interact.
I re-started The Wallflower series this year and it while I do think it’s too long (36 book total) and doesn’t actually develop much past its initial plot. I also like it for this reason. In a way The Wallflower is comfy for being familiar.
Sunako adores horror, hates the light and struggles with people (establish beautiful creatures) and has a chocolate addiction. Society rejected her and she decided life was better in the darkness. Only her aunt wants her to re-join so the tenants (popular boys) are tasked to give her makeover.
Things that I love about The Wallflower are that Sunako is just as much a hypocrite as the rest of the so-called society that rejected her. She constantly judges people by appearance. The boys, while playing to their looks, love Sunako for who she is and defend her. I feel like I should have more issues with the ‘transformation’ part of the story but every time Sunako gets made up, she returns to her original self by the next chapter. So much of this story is about being ok with who you are.
I still think this is a fun story, and I still like Sunako (chibi Sunako!). But the stories in this volume were kind of senseless... The chapter about studying for the exams was enjoyable... but I do not understand why the guys were dressed up like teachers, or why were they all studying, except their classmates.
Then, the chapter about the photographer. And last, the one about the gansgters... where did they come from? This "Boss"... he suddenly wanted Sunako as his woman, and challenged Tanako... ??? The good thing was that Sunako once again proved that she does not need anybody, she can fight several men at the same time and still win.
The chapters have no connection... You can read for example, chapter 13 before the 12 and it will be no problem. And that is what is bugging me...
This volume wraps up the hot spring plotline and manages to show the beginning of the boys' acceptance of Sunako. While the artwork that doesn't surround things the author likes tends to suffer, the storyline is always good.
This volume is a great example of what this series has going for it. The characters are interesting, the premise is new, and the series is willing to take a few semi-safe chances with a shoujo comedy.
This series is just getting better with each volume!!!!! This volume was really fun especially when Sunako discovers, well remembers, that she kissed Kyohei.It's fun to reread it and look how different their relation is in the last volume from this one. And Noi-chan is becoming a more recurrent character!
lol! This series is so funny at first, but I kind of got tired of the same ol' same ol'. The character art is nice, especially the eyes! But there should really be someone concentrating on backgrounds.
I like how it's not the same thing over and over again. Sunako does seem to be growing a little bit. And while growth isn't a neccessity in shoujo manga, it's still nice.
Volume 3 has some fun short arcs, including one following up on Sunako's possession from Volume 2, and a photo shoot from hell after a photographer decides to do a themed shoot of Sunako. Nothing terribly exciting, but it passes the time entertainingly.
Loved this series. I love reverse harem type series especially when the girl is considered to be 'plain.' Nakahara was a hilarious character and I loved all of her creepy ways.
It was similar in my mind to Boys Over Flowers. Same general concept and characters.
Still as odd as usual, and lots of little subplots, but much better than the second one. I was laughing my head off at Yuki-kun and Ranmaru-kun, as per usual. :)