Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, Vol. 15

花ざかりの君たちへ [Hanazakari no Kimitachi e] #15

by Hisaya Nakajo

A KISS IS JUST A KISS?
Unable to forget her near-kiss experience, Mizuki finds herself drawing ever closer to Sano, and not in a "roommates" way, either. The tension builds when Nakatsu asks Sano point-blank: Do you like Mizuki? Can Nakatsu and Sano's friendship survive the answer? Meanwhile, Sano's old high-jump rival returns, along with a surprising new challenger!

Genres: Manga, Romance, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Young Adult, Comedy, Genderqueer

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 19, 2001

About the author

Hisaya Nakajo (中条比紗也) was a Japanese shōjo manga artist. She also used the names Peco Fujiya and Ryou Fumizuki for doujinshi with her circle, Daisanteikoku.

Reviews

[Zaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nakatsu was dealing with the love triangle vs friendships, so he ate less and worried everyone. The story worked well and the romance started to evolve more deeply.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a title like this, you have to enjoy the journey and its individual moments, and not worry too much about whether any volume--or sequence of volumes--actually goes anywhere. The snowball fight in this one is cute. :)

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars.

[Honeypie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhhh I feel like "the end" is near. This volume mainly focused on Sano and Nakatsu's friendship. I love them. I love "matured" boy men characters. And they're supposed to still be in high school!

Anyway, no side stories for any of the other members.
But it would be fun to have one on Nakao!


-----

It's one thing to worry about someone, but there's no point in getting all depressed over someone else's problems.
- Sano


I don't know what you're going through, but don't overthink it! If you haven't figured it out by now, you probably aren't gonna.
- Umeda

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 15 is a masterclass in “almost getting caught but not quite,” with Mizuki dodging suspicion like a pro ninja in sneakers. Nakatsu continues his hilarious meltdown tour, oscillating between bro moments and “Wait… am I into him?” confusion. The school antics are equal parts absurd and heartwarming, making you cheer and facepalm in the same breath. Four stars for comedic near-disasters and the pure chaos energy.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This is a review for the first fifteen books in the series because that's as far as I've read so far.)

I read book 1 a long time ago and it wasn’t an instant favorite for me. However, when I went to the local used book store, I was able to buy the first 15 books in series for a dollar each so I decided to give Hana-Kimi another try. It is slow to start. I don’t think I really started enjoying the series until after book 4 or 5 but once you get in far enough you start to get invested.

The story starts off with Mizuki is this Japanese-American girl (living in America) who falls in love with Sano who is a high school Japanese high jumper. She sees him on TV when she’s in Japan one summer and bam! falls in love. She decides then that she’s going to go to Japan for school and befriend Sano. The only problem is that Sano goes to an all boys school. Mizuki knows this and gets in anyway. She has to conceal the fact that she’s a girl or be expelled by the school. Of all the possibilities, Sano happens to be her roommate and hilarity ensues.

I really rather like Hana-Kimi and I’m glad I finally got around to reading this series since I feel like it’s almost a classic shojo manga series. It reminds me a lot of Ouran High School Host Club, which I happened to read first since it was popular when I was in high school. I’m pretty sure the artist from Ouran was inspired by Hana-Kimi because some of the themes and characters are similar. Mizuki reminds me of Ouran‘s Haruhi though Sano is nothing like Tamaki (I guess Himejima would probably be closest in personality to him). So if you enjoyed Ouran, you’d probably also like Hana-Kimi.

!Warning! This is a very addictive series. Now that I’m fifteen volumes in, I’m pretty invested in the characters and the plot. I always like these series with big casts because its fun to watch all of the characters play off each other. Overall, the series is 4 stars for me so far, with some of the volumes ranging between 3 and 5 stars each for separate book. I’m definitely looking forward to the second half of the series. :)

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nakatsu akhirnya tahu kalau Sano juga menyukai Mizuki. Sejak saat itu hubungannya dengan Sano dan Mizuki jadi canggung. Semua orang mengkhawatirkannya karena perubahan sikap Nakatsu begitu kentara.

Sano dan Mizuki akhirnya tahu dari Kagurazaka bahwa adik Sano, Shin, sudah kembali ke dunia loncat indah dan kini masuk 8 besar di Hokkaido.

Nakatsu akhirnya berusaha bicara dengan Sano untuk mengatakan bahwa meskipun mereka berdua sama-sama menyukai Mizuki, mereka tetaplah sahabat.

...plotnya so gay. Asem. Untung aku tahu kalau Mizuki itu cewek dan Sano sudah paham soal itu. Zzzz....

[Vivian Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s so much growth with Nakatsu in this. I like seeing his roommate relationship with Kayashima. It was great seeing everyone advise and support Nakatsu. Sano reveals his feelings to Mizuki. Mizuki is so clueless. It’s getting ridiculous. However, I love the fun moments between our main trio. 3.5/5

Also, I hope more modern day manga will fact check itself regarding American culture. Not all western culture can be lumped sum together.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so cute . I like how the main boys admitted they both like her and decide to remain best friends even though they both won't give up on her. And Miazuki is still clueless that Sano knows she's not a boy! So cute and tragic.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a lot of filler, FINALLY some plot development happens! Mizuki and Sano are getting flustered over each other, and Sano and Nakatsu have admitted liking Mizuki to each other. I feel like the plot has finally got back on track again...

[Madison Kozeny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope Nakatsu has a license because he drove the plot of this volume!
There are a lot of love triangles in this series, but none quite as complicated as the one with Izumi and Nakatsu. The relationships start to really deepen in this volume.

[Ananya Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

*TaDaDaDaaaaaaa*
The love triangle begins...

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuff is happening! Plot that should affect more than just its own arc!

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like a lot of the characters are still massive idiots when they shouldn't be at this point.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read: October 2013

Second read: February 2020

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snowball fight and bath house. Hopefully we are getting closer to some kind of resolution.

[Misti · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most recently released volume of Hana Kimi. This is a guilty pleasure for me. I gain nothing by reading, and it's a quick read too, each volume consuming no more than 45 minutes of my time. But I've fallen in love with the characters and want to see them succeed. Hana Kimi follows an American girl who is masquerading as a boy to go to an all-boy's school in Japan to cheer on her favorite high-jump athlete. Hijinks ensue (as always). Hisaya Nakajo has a gorgeous drawing style that takes some getting used to but is easy to fall in love with.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god!!!1! I loooove this seriesss!! It's my favorite shoujo series and my second favorite manga series of ALL TIME! I just love everything about it!! I would totally do what Mizuki did.. though I don't think I could get away with it.... especially not in a Japanese school... -_- WELL! That's just not fair. Anyway, It's sooooo funny! AH! It's all so great! I can't contain the fan-girl in me! :O I even loved the TV series! (Especially the Taiwanese one! Ella and Jiro were hilarious!)

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I binge read all of Hana Kimi. It's easy to see why that is so easy once you get into the second chapter of the series. Hana Kimi is filled with complex character moments, tension, and fun. All the characters come to life and its hard to put the story down. I've read my fair share of manga over the years and will continue to. I have the feeling that Hana Kimi will remain one of my favorites. I can't wait to get in a reread.

[Helena · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG WAAAA SANO WAS SO CUUUTE!!!!!!!

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a lull here. I found it almost boring.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F nak
hana-kimi
v.15

[Stephanie Fish:3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

SANO AND MIZUKI ALL THE WAY!!!

[Patrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

^_^

[Cecilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Sano confessed his feelings for Mizuki when Nakatsu asked him about it. Caused Nakatsu a lot of troubled thinking and feeling....

[Marielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mizuki, Sano, and Nakatsu are so cute together!!! As friends I mean....

[Jennifer Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love it i love them all

[Dexter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sano and Mizuki are moving forward at an agonizingly slow pace. And yet, I'm still pretty content with it. It was a fun volume, what with Nakatsu and Sano time and the cute snowball fight.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it seems story getting better in this one. And the main three are adorable as ever. Really good sequel!