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Saturday, 27 January 2007 |
 | | ▪ | PUBLISHED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | ART/AUTHOR: | | SAKI HIWATARI | | | | ▪ | FORMAT/COLOR: | | JAPANESE FORMAT / BW | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 200 | | | ▪ | RATED: | | T+ | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 08/16/2006 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 01/28/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
This volume of Hana Kimi sees a curve ball thrown Sano’s way when Mizuki’s friend Julia claims to be Mizuki’s girlfriend! Considering Sano knows Mizuki is really a girl in disguise, this makes him even more confused as to what to do to help Mizuki. Julia however, savvy and perceptive trouble maker that she is, catches a clue and may have guessed Sano’s secret – that he knows Mizuki’s true identity! She also thinks the two should be together in a romantic way and so Julia embarks on a bit of digging and a lot of scheming to see what will happen between Sano and Mizuki.
An overnight trip to Hokkaido and the hot springs also lends to the mischief, laughs and potential romantic entanglements between the characters. It also has some laughs with Dr. Umeda’s philandering ways. The efforts that Mizuki has to go to keep her gender secret at the hot springs are hilarious and the accidents that occur because of it lend to even more laughs and romantic teasing.
This volume isn’t all comedy though. The trip leads to some soul bearing moments between Sano and Mizuki that brings them even closer together. The volume ends with the appearance a new enemy for Sano and it seems to be none other than his little brother!
Bonus features of the manga include a comic short that looks into the life of the writer and artist and little notes from the mangaka throughout the book.
IN SUMMARY:
The new character of Julia injects some fresh laughs into the series while Sano and Mizuki grow closer together despite the zany circumstances around their unusual romance. |
