HANA WO MESHIMASE
STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
1
RELEASE
April 10, 2014
CHAPTERS
4
DESCRIPTION
After Shion's mother passed away, she was left with her father who loves to gamble and evade his responsibilities as a father. Due to that continuous pattern, Shion moves in to live as a live-in employee with 25-year-old florist Shun Mamyuuda. As she begins to learn the value of flowers and life, will she also find her place in love?
CHAPTERS
REVIEWS
RoseFaerie
When you go in expecting creepiness, but leave emotionally connected to the main character.Continue on AniListI wasn't expecting to like this manga. It was four chapters and had the age gap tag. While age gaps aren't necessarily a deal breaker for me, I generally prefer to avoid them. But for some reason I added this to my Re:Solution, probably due to my current obsession with modern shoujo. I figured it would be a quick read and probably more readable than some of the other age gap series that I have on my planning. However, this manga surprised me in all the best ways.
Hana wo Meshimase is about Shiori, a girl whose mother died and whose father is addicted to gambling. When they're evicted from their house, her father told her that he got a job as a live-in employee at a flower shop. However, as soon as she arrives at the shop, Shion discovers that her father skipped town with his salary. The shop owner, 25-year-old florist, Shun, takes her in as an employee in her father's place in exchange for letting her live at his shop.
The way the manga is written gives is this particular vibe. It is emotional and a bit dramatic, but it feels realistic and down to earth. While there is romance, it is more subtle and not overpowering. You can understand why the Shion falls for Shun, due to her past experiences, and Shun takes a bit longer to reciprocate, letting Shion work out her life problems first. I feel like the heart of the manga is Shion and her relationships, and that seemed to be the core focus. I was glad that more effort went into Shion as a character than the romance, and I think that was why I liked this so much.
Shion is troubled. She's mature and pragmatic, likely due to having to shoulder an immense amount of responsibility and pain from a young age. She has a hard time trusting others, and she has an even harder time finding someone who believes in her. Everyone around her just sees her as a troubled girl with a bad home life, and until she met Shun, no one tried to see what she was really like. Shion never received support from anyone until she met him. It doesn't even feel like a silly cliche, but it feels like a legitimate reason that someone in a dark place would fall for someone. She harbors a lot of resentment towards her father for all the pain she went through, and you can feel for her. I connected with Shion more than I usually connect to characters. She feels very real, and her emotions are perfectly understandable.
As for Shun, I was for whatever reason not super creeped out by him. I think the length of the story helped, and I think if it were longer I would have a worse impression of him. His role in Shion's life made sense and the relationship progression felt natural. I actually think the story would have still worked if he were a bit closer in age to her, but that's not what the author decided. He turns her down at first, and he isn't shown to reciprocate her feelings until she's a bit older. I think she might be 18 by that point, actually, which also helped me find him less creepy. He's a bit blunt, but he's a gentle and nurturing person who wants to ensure that everyone can reach their full potential. He felt like a type of mentor that you would find in real life.
The art is gorgeous, and all the characters had their own distinct designs. Shion in particular is drawn beautifully. The color pages were also beautiful and expressive, creating an ethereal feeling.
Overall, I enjoyed this enough to seriously consider reading more of the Keiko Iwashita's works. I'm a bit wary of her longer age gap series, Living Room Matsunaga-san, but I will definitely be reading her newest work Museru Kurai no Ai wo Ageru. The way I connected with this piece was amazing, and there's something about her storytelling that draws me in and connects me to the characters and world she's created. I wasn't expecting this to have an emotional impact on me, but it did. If age-gaps aren't a deal breaker for you, I'd thoroughly recommend this.
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SCORE
- (3.45/5)
MORE INFO
Ended inApril 10, 2014
Favorited by 27 Users