Never have i read a manga have been more conflicted on whether or not i should recommend it.
https://mangaupdates.sitesdebloques.com/reviews.php?id=371863 Anime review Which adapts the first 18 volumes. I'm writing this review presuming that you have read anime review.
Boys over flowers is a reverse harem romance comedy series about this heroine who is really poor who attends this really super duper rich school. In this school there is 4 top dogs. Known as the F4. As well as the really poor FMC who has some of the worst parents ever. The story is about her appearance and how it changes not just the F4 but the people around her too.
The beginning part of the story sucks. Like hard. In my anime review i talk about how complete piece of shit the characters and this is still true. The first 15 volumes this series is trash. Though there are some light hearted moments and enjoyment to be had its just too little compared the absolute garbage the characters usually do in the series.
So imagine my surprise when this series just goes uphill and keeps going albeit with some bumps on the road. The series takes a massive turn as the MMC's mom shows up. This woman is easily the best character in the series. She pulls such massive plots to make sure that her son doesn't date the FMC but she has such a dominating presence that i just cannot wait for her show up. She easily carries the series and is responsible for many many femdom fetishes that is to come.
But its not just her the characters grow evidently but not like ridiculously. They mature and grow in a reasonable rate to the point that you would notice but the author wouldn't dump 1000 words of exposition to make sure you know that they have changed and this is one my favorite parts about this series. The character change in both of the main characters is astounding yet subtle. It is incredibly well done.
Its hard however for me to recommend this series however. The FMC actually starts making rape jokes... WHEN SHE WAS THE VICTIM. Maybe the comedy is too high for my brain to truly understand. Some of the other issues include the amnesia arc which seemed entirely pointless. Even the new character that was introduced was just.... weird. She practically served no purpose. Also how the amnesia arc is resolved is pretty damn stupid too.
2 more things I'd like to talk about is the fact that how important it is for a series to pick itself back up again rather than start strong but lose steam. Its harder to get hooked on this manga because of its weak start but the overall experience feels better. Another thing I want to add is the fact that an age of the series does not matter. Berserk, Hajime no ippo, Lone wolf and the cub. These are all series i hear are phenomenal yet I've never heard anyone use the term "you have to cater in the fact it was released in the 80's". When i reviewed Love Hina the whole catering in cuz its old is something i heard a lot. which is weird because when people say that its practically itting the fact thats its a piece of shit if you read it now. So if you have reached this far in the review i would like to you know that I'm reviewing Boys over flowers not as if it was released in the 80's but rather im reviewing based on the quality of the manga now.
So back to the review would i recommend Boys over flowers? I don't know. Is it worth wading through 15 volumes of shit for 22 volumes of fun? 2/5ths of the manga sucks. But the question is, is 3/5ths of the manga good enough to forgive the 2/5ths.
I have no idea.
I did enjoy the manga. I did start liking the characters. The romance made more and more sense as the series progressed. The ending is a bit disappointing but nothing majorly upsetting. The series still has its downs but goddamn i could not stop reading this manga. I tried to put it down but i just wanted to know what happens. What keeps its going. I could not wait for what happens which is such a massive difference between the first 15 volumes.
TLDR: if you are willing to wade through garbage..... 15 volumes. Then your in for a solid albeit a bit of a broken series. 6/10
Fuck me.
