Flower of Life 2
Posted: May 6, 2007 Filed under: Flower of Life 1 Comment »I really like this one. It’s quite a fine manga. It continues to kind of meander, but we do get a few things introduced here and there that could be construed as continuity.
There were three instances of pure genius, though. One is where the nerdy kid busts into a classroom and yells “Hey Sadako, you forgot something!” Everyone in the class is horrified that he bluntly spoke what they were all thinking. As someone who has had to sit through both versions of the Ring three times with three different sets of people and been accused of a likeness to Sadako all three times, I thought that was particularly hilarious.
Another great scene was where the nerdy kid suddenly bursts out at Sadako (which isn’t her name, but is close enough for me) and just reams her for making both the men in her gay couple burly, then launches into a long diatribe about the mechanics of yaoi manga. I resent reading a manga about manga culture a bit, but I forgive this series some because it’s really only the nerdy character, and he pulls it off perfectly.
The third moment was when Haru tells all his friends that his sister is a shut-in. The absolute stop to pleasant chatter and the looks on all their faces, along with his sister’s reaction, is perfect. (edit: this is a lot funnier if you know what a hikikomori is, which is likely what he accused his sister of being in the original. I didn’t find out about the hikikomori until, like, two years after I read this)
There were many other good things about this manga, and the nerdy guy was clearly the star this time around. He just had too many funny scenes. At one point, his “priceless reward” for doing something is getting the opportunity to call a girl a bitch in a play. He also gets a really funny scene with the teacher, who goes on at length near the end about how she became what she calls an ambiguous metrosexual who is in the middle of an affair with a married man.
I could read this series forever. I’m sad things are wrapping up with the next volume.
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