aouie Jul 27, 2016
Honest, intelligent news and reviews for manga romantics
Takane to Hana is a shoujo series by Yuki Shiwasu that is currently running in The Hana to Yume magazine. So far there are three tankoban volumes available in Japan, the last one just being published this past November. Shiwasu-san has a few shorter shorter series under her belt, but Takane to Hana is the longest running series so far. It started off as a one-shot story, but the popularity of it led to demand of a longer series.
The Gist: Sixteen year old Hana replaces her frivolous older sister for an omiai meeting (a courtship for marriage meeting) so she may turn down the partner in her sister’s place. Little does Hana expect to be insulted and called plain and desperate by the handsome Takane (age 26) who is the successor to the largest corporation in Japan! Furious, Hana storms out of the meeting with her own set of insults, never expecting to see Takane again. However, Takane finds himself strangely intrigued and decides to pursue his curious omiai with Hana. This story follows the hilarious relationship of two headstrong people from different worlds who just might be perfect for one another.
The “Give Me” Factor: I’ve been reading this in the issues of The Hana to Yume that I’ve been getting. I find it very funny and entertaining. It’s an age-gap relationship with an older guy and younger girl, yet I find the maturity of Takane right at the same level as Hana. Watching them come together and continue to clash is loads of fun. Takane acts like such a spoiled, rich brat most of the time, that I’m always cheering for Hana to take him down a peg. It’s great to see her catch him off guard and vice versa. The banter and gags in this story are what really make it such a fun read. The art is fantastic as well. I look forward to reading it every other month.
The Audience Reception: I think this would go over well with shoujo audiences, especially those that like romantic comedy. It’s a different setting than a high school drama, and that makes it even more distinctive to me. This series would appeal to older females as well, since the male protagonist is a very good looking young adult and not a teen.
Whoa are there other manga like this? Ones with a bickering couple? I like stories like this a lot! I love when the main love interests fight like this ( Library Wars, Kamisama Kiss) and things like these movies: The Shop Around The Corner, Anastasia, etc.
Do you know of other manga like this? SOrry lol but this is like my favorite kind of shojo and I’d love to read more of it. Thanks!!!!
I’ve been keeping up with this one as well, I love it and couldn’t agree more! I would pre-order this the second a publisher took it up!
How can we request for this/other manga’s to be licensed? Who do we mail or send our requests to?