I've broken into enough anime and manga to say with confidence that this is NOT an original story. Hardly. Poor girl attends super elite school. Snobby school body hates her guts and continually torments her, but one aloof handsome love interest stands by her side. Plus a collection of quirky sidekicks, and let's not forget the jealous female rival. This is "Kitchen Princess," "The Gentleman's Alliance Cross," and many other manga titles that I can't think of. Heck, it's even more simplistic than those aforementioned stories!
.... And yet.... I still love it. Why? Perhaps it's because Yuu Watase has an addicting style that I can't stay away from. Perhaps it's because it's not too long-winded (which is, honest to gods, the most refreshing asset in the long run). But I think what really attracts me is our young heroine, Tanpopo Yamazaki. She's naive beyond belief, stupid, reckless, and doesn't know how to take a hint. But my gods, she has guts!! It's not easy to fight back against bullies, and it sure as hell isn't easy to "fight with love." She faces each harassment with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders, without a single tear. In fact, the only times she reacts negatively is when someone else involved is hurt on her behalf. And yes, the flowers count as "someone else."
I always admire and aspire to be the optimist. Cynics may find them annoying or unintelligent, and granted, especially in the manga/anime world, it's next to impossible to find a character who's both sweetly idealistic AND smart. Needless to say, I don't mind this trope, if it's done right. And I cannot deny that there have been countless cases where the airheaded heroine is more of a pain in the ass than anything else (*cough* Full Moon! *cough* Absolute Boyfriend! *cough cough*) And yet, there are ALSO many beloved idiots in this medium who one can't help but root for: Tohru Honda, from "Fruits Basket," Usagi Tsukino, from "Sailor Moon," Chii or Elda from "Chobits," Sakura, from "Cardcaptor Sakura" or "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle," Najika Kazami, from "Kitchen Princess," Hikari Hanazono, from "Special A," etc etc etc....
You could argue that all of the above girls provides something other than "sweet personality" (Sailor Moon's powers, Najika's cooking skills, Hikari's badassery in EVERYTHING other than common sense, etc), but sometimes, I like a little simplicity. I like that Tanpopo has nothing going for her other than kindness, because she's very similar to Tohru Honda that way. Circumstances mold her story, while her bubbly and eternally "silver lining" attitude holds her strong above the rest.
Maybe I'm giving her too much credit, or maybe I envy how she can handle so much crap whereas when I was her age, I easily crumbled. In any case, I felt like writing a review in her defense, because I think "nowadays" people just don't appreciate a good old optimist to bring a little happiness into the world.