The Wallflower
(Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge)
manga by Tomoko Kayakawa adapted to anime
Anime licensed by FUNimation (Manga by Del Rey)
25 episodes (24 Manga Volumes)
comedy, romance, male harem, high school, bishounen, somewhat paranormal
Basic Premise
Ranmaru Morii, Kyohei Takano, Takenaga Oda, and Yukinojoh Tohyama all live in a big beautiful mansion. They have the potential to live there rent free if they can turn the niece of the owner into the perfect lady. If they can’t, then their rent will be tripled. None of the guys thinks the situation is too bad until they meet Sunako Nakahara. She is dark and moody and loves all things gothic and morbid. Her greatest joy in life is embracing the darkness and staying out of the limelight. The guys have a fight on their hands if they want to pry Sunako out of her shell. It’s a fight to the finish and neither side will back down.
Review
I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this anime. I only started watching it out of curiosity since the niece of a friend professed an interest in it. I’m an anime nut so I decided to give it a chance.
I was hooked from episode one. This anime is hilarious. I love Sunako. She’s a character to whom most anyone can relate. Picked on in school, she decided that living in darkness would mean never being hurt again. Her logic is sound but her family and friends won’t let that happen. The wackiness that ensues from trying to get her to be “normal” makes this anime a keeper.
My favorite of all the guys is Kyohei. He’s not just a pretty face. And, his personality definitely doesn’t match his looks. He’s the best looking of the four guys (according to the manga/anime and I agree) and has the most followers and the most problems because of those followers. Because of those problems, he’s developed a bad attitude. That keeps him grounded and believable. He’s not a playboy character breaking hearts every few seconds (that would be Ranmaru and he annoys me). If anything, Kyohei and Sunako are a lot alike since they both just want to be left alone, though they both reached that conclusion from different sides of the same spectrum.
My only complaint was that the anime ends before the story/plot runs its course. I’ve peeked at the manga, which I decided to get since I liked the anime so much, and it goes far and beyond what happened in the anime. Sometimes that happens, so it’s not a huge surprise. It’ll be interesting to see how the plot ends.
Even though I have that one complaint, this is still a great anime and I recommend it to anyone who likes Fruits Basket or Ouran High School Host Club.