Hanazakari no Kimitachi e: Manga

Released:           1996                     

Author(s):          Nakajo Hisaya

Genre(s):            Comedy, Drama, Gender Bender, Romance, School Life, Shoujo

Plot:  

Mizuki Ashiya is a japanese girl living in USA, she doesn't have friends and her school life is difficult even though she is really love by both of her parents and really doted on by her older brother. However, one afternoon her life changed. She turned on the TV and saw a japanese boy performing a beautiful high jump, his name was Izumi Sano. Completely mesmerized by him, Ashiya inmediately became his fan and started to look up every information she could; Sano's words and actions encouraged her day by day. Now Ashiya has friends, but she stil wants to meet her idol. She discovers Sano is attending Osaka High School and decides to enroll...the only problem? It's an all-boys school. 

Ashiya convinces her parents that she can go to Japan alone and after a long fight, she got what she wanted (obviously, her parents knew nothing about the gender of the school). With her best friend's help (Julia) she disguises as a boy and enroll into the school only to find out that her idol is far from the image she had made in her head and even worse! He is no longer jumping. 

What happened to Sano that he doesn't high jump anymore? Will Ashiya be able to help him? Will she be discovered? Trust me, this is a manga you won't regret reading.                      

Personal Appreciation (please be aware of some spoilers):

Rank: (from 1 to 10) 10

I encountered this manga accidentally a few years ago, after reading the first two chapters I couldn’t let go. The story is funny, romantic, for a girl is one wild dream come true through manga, and also, throughout the development of the story, you get to know almost every character, even if it’s just a few pages, you get a glimpse of the everyday life of Minami, Taiki, Masao (better known as Oscar M. Himejima, LOL!). This thing alone gives an interesting turn to the story for it doesn’t just stay with the main characters but gives room to the “extras” that play an important role in our heroine’s life.

A romantic plot develops day by day between the main characters but also (and this couldn’t fail) the best friend. Have you noticed how in most mangas there is this one guy that is kind, funny, gentle, willing to do anything for the heroine? But then again, he almost never gets the girl.

A life in a dorm college is not easy, and is even more difficult when you’re a clueless, carefree, happy girl trying to help your idol, whom later you discover, you have a crush on.

I strongly recommend this manga to anyone who likes shoujo and school life style of manga, also because the style of drawing keeps getting better with each volume. Luckily, this didn’t have one drama, nor two…but three! And that is simply awesome; you can just take your pick and don’t get stuck with only one version. If only this would happen for every manga we like…

From left to right: Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu (Taiwan Version), Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Japanese Version), To the Beautiful You (Korean Version)