Yamato Nadeshiko (The Wallflower)

Yamato Nadeshiko (The Wallflower) is a manga series written by Tomoko Hayakawa. Nippon Animation adapted part of the manga series into a twenty-five episode anime series. Yamato Nadeshiko is a common term used in Japan to describe the ideal beautiful woman. The story revolve around Sunako Nakahara, a girl called “ugly” by a boy, who happened to be the first and only person to whom she confessed her love because of this incident, she losses her sparks in life and change for the worst. She became reclusive and generally developed a fear of pretty boys of which she refers to as “dazzling creatures”. She became a lover of solitude, gore movies, anatomical dolls and objects that reflect the ugly side of life as she puts it. Sunako’s aunt who has a big concern to her and was the owner of a beautiful mansion ion where four very handsome students live, offers the guys free rent if they can transform niece, Sunako, into a “perfect lady” but if they fail, the rent goes triple. Due to these handsome boys confidence in knowing how to deal with women, they agree.

Before anything else I would like to introduce these four handsome guys. Kyouhei Takano, the most popular of the foursome. He is very loud and bossy when it comes to his needs. He was forced to leave home because all of the mobbing and harassment by his fans were taking a toll on his family. As the story goes he will have unsorted feelings for Sunako which he demonstrates by constantly provoking her rage. Next is Takenaga Oda comes from a very wealthy family and is quite serious in nature. He is the brain and logic of the group often trying out logical strategies to make Sunako become a lady. He has a love interest in “Noi” Kasahara, but his shyness gets in the way when he wants to express his feelings. Another is Yukinojo “Yuki” Toyama, he is shy but sweet and has a very loving nature. He is the most innocent of all the characters, often crying and becoming scared when he enters Sunako’s room. Last but not the least is Ranmaru Morii, the playboy of the group. Ranmaru comes from a wealthy family and is an only son. He is very extroverted and a lover of older women. He has a very sexy nature and extremely high self esteem.

Now that you know these four lovely men let’s back to the story. When the guys first meet Sunako, they begin to realize that their lovely living arrangements may soon be in jeopardy. Although the four are able to make Sunako physically attractive the difficult part is with her personality. Sunako has no intention in changing her tastes, her love for all things macabre (gruesome and horrifying content) is a difficult challenge that the boys must face. Eventually, Sunako will develop an especially mixed feelings about Kyouhei, and as the storyline progresses, their relationship becomes more solid and intimate. There’s a lot of adventure and funny moment in the story that the boys faced just to encourage Sunako to change but still they failed. The boys managed to convince Sunako’s aunt that her niece is indeed a lady befitting the mansion in which they live (and prevent the rent from skyrocketing to triple the required amount). However, in reality, Sunako has not changed considerably. In the last part of it you will see Sunako change her physical appearance in to a lovely lady and that is so exciting.

The story is a combination of comedy, drama and romance which can catch viewer’s different taste. It is composed of handsome boys, which I can say that this was made intended for male audiences. The series deals with the extravagant life of a group of bishounen characters who cause nose bleeds to girls where ever they go. It’s a shojo series with lots of sparkles and flowers that can be enjoyed by guys just as much as girls. The most interesting part is mixture of horror and comedy in the plot, it’s like Sadako meets the F4. The series is full of comical moments that will keep you laughing throughout the series, there are some jokes that require some knowledge of Japanese anime but I’m sure most of you will understand it. Hence it gives moral value and touching stories each episode despite its weird concept.