Aku no Hana

Aku no Hana

Author : Shūzō Oshimi

Much ado over nothing. That was my reaction after reading Aku no hana. While you wont really feel like you wasted your time on a pointless series, it lacks the definitive punch that a manga should have when it reaches the end. It can be said that it is to be expected in a psychological manga but I have read others which I found much better.

That being said, this manga deals with a few themes unique to it self.

•      The overall feeling of loneliness and isolation in ones life.

•      A sense of pointlessness in what is viewed as the goals of life.

•      And the desperation to escape such a dead life.

Premise: 3/5

The story follows the life of the protagonist, Takao Kasuga. He is a self confessed bookworm living an average life in an average village in the middle of the mountains. Due to some odd circumstances he ends up stealing the P.E clothes of the girl he adores. He is caught by another girl who is a bit of a problem child who blackmails him.

Sounds like a great plot for a porn video, right?

Plot and story overall : 2.5/5

The story progresses slowly over the course of 57 chapters. I starts of with Takao in middle school and carries on until he reaches adulthood.

*** Spoiler***

After being caught by Sawa Nakamura he is forced to spend time with her after school during which she mentally abuses and bullies him. She declares that both of them are perverts and she will peel away his layers to expose him as he really is.

Coincidentally he comes into contact with Nanako Saeki, the girl he adores and whose bloomers he stole by accident. They begin to date while his awkward relationship with Nakamura carries on.

Nakamura blackmails him into defacing the classroom in a bid to prove his pervertedness. She even goes as far as exposing him to Saeki.

And this is where it gets odd, Saeki continues to chase him....

No .. its not a harem manga. 

It is just retarded. 

Both Nakamura and Takao decide that they must leave their shitty village and go to the "other side." They are however stopped by Saeki & the police.

Takao finally mans up a bit and decides that he likes Nakamura and ends things with Saeki. He promises to show Nakamura "the other-side." He starts it off by stealing the underwear of many girls at his school and using them to create a sanctuary where he and Nakamura can meet. Saeki  burns it to the ground in jealous rage. Eventually Nakamura and Takao decide to commit sucide at the village fair. Nakamura pushed Takao away just before lighting the fire but she is stoped by her father.

Time skip 3 years forward . Takao is in High school. He is shy and awkward as ever but some how connects with the popular girl, Aya Tokiwa, over books. They eventually become committed to each other with him promising to read her completed manuscript. However before he does that he tells her about his past and his actions and his need for closure. He decides that he must meet Nakamura. She decides that she will go with him. They meet a much more calm and well adjusted Nakamura who lives with her mother. Things happen and they all playfight and every thing seems resloved.

The series ends with Takao marrying Aya and making a family with her. One night he wakes up in cold sweat seen a dream he saw during the time he spent with Nakamura. The Flower of Evil.

***End of spoiler***

For the sake of simplicity a few events have-not be mentioned.

While the story is well paced there is no real sense of urgency. The there is just an atmosphere of unease which dominates all of the plot. A sense of impending doom. I doesn't dispel even with the last page of the last chapter.

As a psychological manga its alright, just don't expect to be blown away.

 Charecter: 2/4

Takao Kasuga is a wimp. Its as simple as that. I despise him as the main character. To me he is a guy with no redeeming qualities. He lack of decisiveness causes pain and hardship for many people. That being said he is in all probability a representation of how weak most people are.

Sawa Nakamura on the other hand is a great character. Completely unpredictable, borderline crazy and an obsession with exposing Kasuga's pervertedness. There is a mystery to her. You cant help but wonder what is her motivation. At a basic level it seem to be the isolation she feels from the rest of the world. Any individual other than herself is a shiteater/ shitworm(?) and that is the hallmark of her warped world view. Her despair that the "other side" does not exist, manifests as a suicidal tendency. Later of course she seem a lot more well adjusted but it is likely that she cultivated a mask to fit in.

  

Nanako Saeki is the "good girl". The one who does what she is told and has always done what is expected of her. She is quite beautiful and regarded as the class idol. She becomes fascinated with Takao and goes out with him and is unable to handle his rejection. No ... not in the broken heart kind of way more like the "how can you reject me " way. She pursues him trying to understand his obsession with the 'other-side' but eventually gives up. She is shown to carry on in life in the way that Takao and Nakamura abhor.  Later when she meets Takao in the city she is shown to have a boyfriend who looks similar to Takao. She meets Takao and on learning that he does not know anything about Nakamura mocks him and and tells him that she is disappointed. Overall to me she is nothing more than the jealous ex trying to get back at the old boyfriend by causing him pain all the while never being completely over him.

Aya Tokiwa. - the read-headed idol in Takaos high-school. She has a tough and strong personality unlike the MC. She has never opened up to her friend as she realises that they have no interest in literature, something that she loves. Its through this that she comes to like Takao. Her dream is to write a book and is overjoyed at the encouragement that she receives from Takao . She is shown to be unusually accepting when he tell her of his past acts and even goes with him to meet Nakamura.

Art and Design : 2/5

Creepy. That is the word. The overall artwork  is just creepy and adds to the kafkaesque quality of Takaos life. The characters look ordinary. More that ordinary, plain. I guess you dont need great artwork for a manga like this but even so  it leaves a lot to be desired.

The Flower of evil is represented constantly like a spectre achieving the same end as Julius Caesar in the Shakespear play, Its influence is felt all times in the story.It probably symbolizes Takaos demons and while he over came them towards the end it is always there buried in the corner of his mind.

Verdict :

If you are a standard shounen manga fan then this manga is not for you. For those who have leanings toward the more psychological type of manga then I guess there are other worse manga so this wouldn't be a waste of time.


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