▪	RELEASED BY:		DEL REY
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		TOMOKO HAYAKAWA
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE  / BW
		▪	PAGES:		180
		▪	RATING:		OT
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		06/26/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		07/05/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN

This reviewer knows not to judge a book by its cover.  THE WALLFLOWER is one of the books that have taught me this.  I would never have imagined myself, after seeing the covers of the books in this series from Del Rey, that not only would I be reviewing it, but I would actually like it. 

Yes, THE WALLFLOWER is more than just another manga with pretty Japanese boys in it- not my thing, really.  Tomoko Hayakawa, the writer and artist of this series, has filled her work with dry comedy, romance, and some fun insights into aspects of Japanese pop culture that keeps the pages turning for this reader.  The role reversals with the boys trying to civilize the heroine of the story so they can live rent free in her house makes for one manga that runs by its own rules and plays very well, indeed.  If it sounds a bit like a kind of “Queer Eye for the Straight Manga Heroine,” as one publication described it, you would not be wrong for assuming so, except for the fact the four boys in question are as straight as Sunako Nakahara, the woman they are trying to change.  They may look like yaoi characters, with their stylish hair, willowy bodies, effeminate eyes (they cry easily and to effect) and mannerisms, but they are actually a bit of a tough bunch-  especially Kyohei, who is brawler at heart.  Little gets by them, except for Sunako, who is the object of their fiscal desires, but with her fashion-hopeless ways, living like a shut-in watching her favorite horror movies, instead is the focus of their frustration. 

In Volume 12, little has changed.  It is summertime, and in the hot days that make up the typical weather of the period, our lanky wallflower is having a hard time staying cool.  The boys decide it’s time to get her out to a summer festival in the town, but when they arrive, almost no one is in attendance.  So much for an interest in Japanese culture, one might think.  That is, until the boys and Sunako bring the festival back to life.  Later, in continuation of the theme, Sunako is taken to the beach, where she has some interesting adventures under the sun, while Takenaga and his girlfriend have a few romantic misadventures for themselves.  Later, as school is back in session, Takenaga, Kyohei, Ranmaru and Yukinojo see Sunako with three other girls.  She is working with them on a committee for the school fall festival to set up a cosplay café.  They plead with the girls- teary eyes dazzling- to make her ‘normal’ by taking her shopping, to photobooths, and other places considered ‘ladylike’. 

Ahhh…but this is Sunako we are talking about. 

Finally, Sunako buys a skeleton companion for her prized specimen, spending all the house money in the process.  Consequently, she must get job at a video store with Kyohei, who has been fired from another job for his temper, to help stave off starvation for the fab five.  When the local girls see and fall for Kyohei, crowding the store to bursting point, this chapter takes on a sitcom feeling like the others in the story. 

Volume 12 of THE WALLFLOWER is as funny in places as the others in the series.  Being episodic in construction, readers looking for a quick laugh will find much to satisfy them in the manga.  It is definitely a shojo manga, but the recurring chibi imagery has an appeal to it that makes the story accessible to guys as well.  Once again, Tomoko Hayakawa has put a lot of love into this work, including more tidbits about her personal life and her cat, named Ten.  I wrote about the unnecessary indulgence in these sections, but I must admit the little furball is sooo cute that my resistance has been washed away. She also gives us more insights into her favorite bands, complete with artwork and fan girl observations. 

IN SUMMARY:
THE WALLFLOWER is and upside down “Beauty and the Beast” for the 21st century.  Stylish, funny, and steeped in cultural in-jokes, this romantic comedy crosses genres so easily it has something for everyone.