The Wallflower 5: Yamatonadeshiko Shichihenge (Wallflower: Yamatonadeshiko Shichenge)

This novel has Sunako's father appearing after he discovers that his baby girl is in a "relationship" with Kyohei. Of course Kyohei tries to explain, but to no avail. Many humorous things happen, of course, but the story is pretty well plotted out. There's one or two parts that do get a bit saggy throughout the volume, but overall it's a decent read. My only complaint is that this volume is the first step in a long line of following volumes that contain too much filler. Filler can be fun, but not when the plot points are dragged out into infinity.

Tomoko Hayakawa and I have a lot in common. We listen to a lot of the same music, we have a lot of the same fashion sense, and we apparently have the same taste of what we think is funny. The Wallflower is one of my favorite manga series because every single volume, including number five, is absolutely funny. This series is thoroughly enjoyable and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

I am totally hooked onto this manga! The bland story of the ugly duckling transformed into the swan by prince charming is completely twisted into something sublime and bizarre by the managaka Tomoko Hayakawa. She has injected the entire plot with her brand of quirky humor while still keeping all the typical Shoujo manga staples: chibi characters, bishonen galore, and plenty of love interests for everyone. I just hope she is able to keep up the pace and keep coming up with more adventures for Sanako and the boys. This manga is definitely not for those just starting to explore japanese animation. There are a lot of references to the manga culture in the series, in jokes about animation. In addition, this was one of the most Japan o centric manga I have read. A comprehensive understanding of japanese culture and lifestyle is required to make sense of most of the manga.

After reading the first four books in this series and loving them, I was a little disappointed with this one. I still love the series, but flashbacks in manga are a pet peeve of mine. In most cases (not all!) if you're going to put in a bit of the past it should go at the beginning and not cut in in the middle. That takes away from the plot and is especially frustrating when the next book has not yet been published, as is the case with this one. Overall I still love the series, but I think you all should be warned about the random flashback.