Valentine 2011 manga recommendation: Hana to Akuma by Oto Hisamu ♥ Sweetness with a Bite

This shoujo manga review kicks off our Valentine 2011 We recommend... series. Look for others upcoming.

Hana to Akuma © Oto Hisamu/Hakusensha
[First serialized in Hana to Yume]

Sweetness with a Bite: Hana to Akuma by Oto Hisamu
Review/Recommendation by baka-girl (Some rights reserved)

Quick Summary: Vivi, a 200-year-old demon set foot on Earth because he was so bored with his life in the demon realm. One year hence, he picks up a baby in front of his gate on a whim.

[Baby Hana from chapter 1]

Vivi's servant Tony observes that the baby has a smile like a flower. Because of this, Vivi decides to name the baby Hana (most of you already know, but to make it clear, hana is Japanese for flower). From then on, Hana lives together with her akuma Vivi, Tony and Vivi's maid in his super big castle. Is that all? No, the cast will meet other demons who come to bring back Vivi to Demon World ^^

Hana to Akuma is a shoujo manga by Oto Hisamu, first serialized in Hana to Yume mangazine. I never heard his/her name before, and when I tried to search for more information, I found that Hana to Akuma is Oto Hisamu's second manga (the first was a one-shot). Even though you can say s/he is rather new in manga business, I do think that the manga-ka has done pretty well this time.

What makes me decide that this manga deserves your special attention?

[Vivi from chapter 2]

It's so sweee~et! I've read lots of shoujo manga, and I can say for sure that it's one of my top favorite shoujo manga. Believe me, if you're into almost all shoujo manga serialized in HanaYume or LaLa like me, then you'll definitely like this! And don't worry about meeting a typical shoujo heroine — you know, the kind who can only spend panels upon panels crying (yes, I really hate heroines like that :p). Hana definitely does not fall into that classification. Instead, she's really a cheerful girl who never fails to make me laugh! If you want to read a light hearted shoujo manga with some bishounen, go read Hana to Akuma! It's only 58 chapters and Kokoro no Oasis already finished scanlating all of them, including two extra chapters, since 9 December 2010. Means, you don't have to worry about waiting new chapter every two weeks! Good, isn't it?

If you haven't noticed, Hana to Akuma hasn't licensed in Indonesia (not yet, but I cherish hopes). I do hope that Elex or m&c! will pick up this series, because it's so good, very good actually. I read the scan thanks to Osuwari Team that scanlated chapters 1 through 10 and Kokoro no Oasis that scanlated chapters 7 to 58. Remember that even if you read scanlations like me, don't forget to buy the Indonesian version if, by any chance, Elex or m&c! licenses it.

Okay, before I get back to the story, let me warn you that from this point, my post may contain some SPOILERS. Not heavy ones, don't worry, so please keep on reading my review if you don't mind a little spoilage :p

[Vivi from chapter 3]

The real story takes place 14 years after Vivi picked up Hana in front of his gate. Hana has already grown into a very cheerful girl, and true to her name, she likes giving flowers to Vivi (despite the flowers withering when demon Vivi touches them). The same effect has Vivi so scared to touch Hana, afraid that she will crumble like the flowers did (stupid, but very sweet at the same time :D). Because of this, Hana and Vivi have a rather hard time with each other, but they can reconcile eventually.

Other than Hana, Vivi has troubles with all the demons who keep coming to take him back to the Demon World. The first, Velten, is Vivi's old friend (though Vivi says that he can never become friends with an idiot like Velten :p). Velten is very friendly towards everyone; that's why he becomes so close to Hana in no time. The next to come is Klaus. Klaus really hates Vivi because Vivi bests Klaus effortlessly. After being defeated by Vivi in a game, Klaus then returns to Demon World, although he pops up every so often just to irritate Vivi XD. The third “visitor” is Ellinor. She doesn't come to bring Vivi back; she's there to meet her fiancé, Velten.

Now, where's the romance? Don't expect it to come out soon, since it's going to take a long time for Hana to realize that she's in love with Vivi (and it's going to take more for Vivi to realize his love for Hana). The romance only becomes a little intense around volume 6. But this kind of slow-paced story is really adorable, no need to worry that it'll bore you!

I'm not going to spoil the ending, so if you want to know whether Vivi and Hana can end up together forever or not, read it, NAAAAOO~

On a side note, there's a Hana to Akuma drama CD out there. If you like Hana to Akuma, you must listen to this, too! The voice cast is awesome: there's Kamiya Hiroshi (yes, my fave seiyuu! I knew immediately that it was him XD) as Vivi, Kanda Akemi as Hana (her voice is really cute!), Ono Daisuke as Velten and Suzumura Kenichi as Klaus. Even if there is no any original story in the drama CD, it's still fun to hear their voices, so please listen to it! :D

Rating
Finally, it's time for me to reveal my rate for Hana to Akuma. I'm giving it 8.6 of 10 ♥ for the sweetness, good artwork and because I just love Hana to Akuma too much (so biased, I know =D). Please just give it a try! XD

Enjoy Valentine with Vivi x Hana!

disclaimer

Hana to Akuma images used here for reference are © their respective intellectual rights holders. No infringement intended.

invaluable resources

7net Shopping · Osuwari Team · Kokoro no Oasis

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