The Wallflower (manga)

The Wallflower
Cover of volume 1, featuring Kyohei
ヤマトナデシコ七変化 (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge)
Genre	Drama, Romantic comedy
Manga
Written by	Tomoko Hayakawa
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	Kodansha Comics USA Chuang Yi
Demographic	Shōjo
Magazine	Bessatsu Friend
Original run	2000 – ongoing
Volumes	30
TV anime
Directed by	Shinichi Watanabe
Studio	Nippon Animation
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment Madman Entertainment
Network	TV Tokyo, TV Aichi
Original run	October 3, 2006 – March 27, 2007
Episodes	25
TV drama
Network	TBS
Original run	January 15, 2010 – March 19, 2010
Episodes	10

The Wallflower (ヤマトナデシコ七変化, Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, lit.) Perfect Girl Evolution is a manga series written by Tomoko Hayakawa. The individual chapters have been serialized in Bessatsu Friend since its premiere in 2000, and in 30 tankōbon volumes in Japan by Kodansha. The series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Del Rey Manga and in Singapore by Chuang Yi, under the name My Fair Lady.

Nippon Animation adapted part of the manga series into a twenty-five episode anime series which aired on TV Tokyo and TV Aichi from October 3, 2006 through March 27, 2007. The anime adaptation has been licensed for Region 1 release by A.D. Vision, who paid $500,000. In 2008, The WallFlower became one of over 30 ADV titles whose North American rights were transferred to Funimation Entertainment.

Plot

See also: List of The Wallflower characters

The Wallflower is about a girl who was really "ugly", the first and only person to whom she confessed her love. This incident sparks a life change, and as a result Sunako shuns all forms of beauty, both in herself as well as in life. Concerned by her change for the worst, Sunako's aunt, the owner of a beautiful mansion where four very handsome students live, offers the guys free rent in her mansion if they can turn Sunako into a "perfect lady" (referred to in Japan as the titular Yamato Nadeshiko).

While the four of them manage to make Sunako physically beautiful enough to become a lady, the problem lies with her attitude and interests (which Sunako has no intention of changing). Up until the most recent release in the story, they've 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. Sunako has the tendency to spurt out in a nose bleed when seen by bright creatures, especially around Kyohei.

Media

Manga

Main article: List of The Wallflower chapters

Anime

Main article: List of The Wallflower episodes

Because the manga's creator, Tomoko Hayakawa, is an avid admirer of J-Rock singer Kiyoharu, it was decided that Kiyoharu would perform the theme music for The Wallflower anime. His songs, "Slow" and "Carnation" play over the opening and ending themes, respectively. The songs were a collaboration between Kiyoharu and Takeshi Miyo. The background orchestral music was written by two respectable Japanese composers, Hiromi Mizutani and Yasuharu Takanashi.^{[citation needed]}

The opening theme "Slow" plays over recycled footage from the first episode, and is more of a love ballad. Episode 14 onwards shows the second version of the opening sequence which portrays more original footages. Whether this change was made due to growing popularity or the initial reception is unknown.^{[citation needed]}

The first closing theme, "Carnation", the more upbeat of the two, is set to a small computer animation of Hiroshi dancing in the corner as the credits scroll up the page.^{[citation needed]}

∞Changing∞, the second ending theme by Bon-Bon Blanco, presents the viewers with an even faster rhythm while preserving the use of computer animation (Hiroshi, Josephine and Akira dancing to the song) in the sequence.

Live action drama

In the 18th issue of Bessatsu Friend, it was announced that a live action drama adaption of the manga has been green-lit for airing in January 2009. On November 30, the cast was announced for the live action drama. Actor and member of the J-pop group KAT-TUN, Kazuya Kamenashi stars as Kyohei, while actress Aya Ōmasa plays the lead role as Sunako. This is broadcast on TBS with the opening theme, KAT-TUN's "Love Yourself (Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki)." They added one more main character, Nakahara Takeru, the landlady's son.

Influence

The Wallflower has inspired a fashion line by Julie Haus that appeared in the 2008 New York Fashion Week.

Further reading

• Cooper, Liann (20 Nov 2004). "Sugar Rush - RTO". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/right-turn-only/2004-11-20. 

External links

• Official Betsufure The Wallflower manga website (Japanese)
• Official Del Rey The Wallflower manga website
• Official TV Tokyo The Wallflower anime website (Japanese)
• Official AT-X The Wallflower anime website (Japanese)
• Official Funimation The Wallflower anime website
• Official TBS The Wallflower TV drama website (Japanese)
• The Wallflower (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia