By Yuki Yoshihara. Released in Japan as “Chou Yo Hana Yo” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Petit Comic. Released in North America by Viz.

I note as I continue to read this series that the reason it succeeds with me in a way that, say, Black Bird does not, is that every horrid moment in it is immediately undercut by some over the top bit of humor or fourth wall breaking that reminds you that this is merely a dumb josei romance. Case in point: continuing where we left off at the end of Vol. 6, Choko has her hand bandaged after Kaori stepped on it in her heels, demanding Choko break up with him. Choko, not one to back down, angrily confronts her the next day at work, whereupon Kaori grabs her hand and sneers “No snitching” while squeezing it hand. A dramatic scene filled with scary tension… until you turn the page, and see superdeformed Choko lying on the floor in a puddle, with a little arrow noting “pissed herself”.

This is perhaps why I didn’t have as much of an issue as some others did with the date rape scene later in the volume. First of all, the moment it “happened” I knew that it would turn out to be something just for show – we’ve known the leads for 6 volumes, and the other man involved for 2, and there just isn’t any way that he would do this sort of thing, and thus it was purely for potboiler show. That said, it was a horrid thing to do, and Masayuki’s response (not immediately telling Choko he knew things didn’t get that far) is equally bad. But then, this is Butterflies, Flowers. If you aren’t ready for the men to be gloriously horrible (but sweet deep down), you’re reading the wrong manga. And again, when she finds out, we cut immediately to Masayuki… who is hiding himself behind her, wearing palm fronds, disguised as a plant.

Then there’s the popularity contest, and the sheer gall of the ex-girlfriend trussed up on the bed like a meat market sale, and Choko’s having to really think back on when the two of them last had sex, and of course the best line of the volume, which I won’t give away here except it involves the word “semen”. Every time something that would be offensive in any other manga comes by, Butterflies, Flowers is here to be so gleefully trashy and over the top that at most you just slap your forehead and sigh.

In terms of the actual couple, Choko gets some good development in the latter half of the book. She’s been, despite the sex, very much the naive and innocent heroine throughout this, and thus when she is confronted by several angry women noting that she’s frustrating Masayuki by her lack of sexual desire for him, she’s not sure what to think. Of course, these girls not only don’t have her prior history with him, but also don’t have him acting like a flaming moron in front of her all the time. But we do start to see Choko think about Masayuki as an actual desirable man, and try her best to understand her own passions. Unfortunately, she doesn’t really get far. Fortunately, the next volume is the final one, so I anticipate that she will soon!

So yes, the sexual politics of this series remains as questionable as ever, but it’s so ludicrous that I don’t care. I like Butterflies Flowers because it’s funny. I dropped Black Bird because it was painfully earnest. Your mileage may vary, but I guess that’s how I see the series. So if you want more of what you’ve seen in the first six volumes, well, you won’t be disappointed.

Oh, you might be disappointed in that there are no Gundam references this time. But they do namedrop Space Battleship Yamato, so I guess it’s OK.

By Yuki Yoshihara. Released in Japan as “Chou Yo Hana Yo” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Petit Comic. Released in North America by Viz.

Things have been going fairly smoothly for our couple lately, well, at least as smoothly as you can get in a soap opera melodrama sort of world. And given this, it will come as a surprise to no one that various bad things happen in this volume to try to break them up. This involves both Choko’s self-doubt (she finds out that Masayuki had an ex) and new characters arriving on the scene to be impediments. Unfortunately, the fact that two of these new characters are introduced one right on top of the other sort of makes it feel a bit as if Yoshihara is tossing in complications to extend the series out.

One thing I noticed right away is that there’s very little of Masayuki being an over the top lunatic, something which was both the main fault and the saving grace of previous volumes. Despite the occasional Gundam reference and outbreaks of ludicrous violence, he’s really mellowed out now that he and Choko are together, and doesn’t feel the need to be obnoxious about it anymore. There’s one sex scene at the start of the volume, and it’s probably the sweetest one we’ve had in the series. Now if only he could stop himself putting tracking devices in her underwear…

Choko, on the other hand, is still having issues, mostly as she’s the female viewpoint heroine in a josei series, which means she’s plagued by self-doubt and concerns. Hearing Masayuki once had a lover who wasn’t her makes her jealous, even when she doesn’t know quite how to deal with it. She handles the introduction of a new man to the office much better, first attempting to work with him in order to help her friend Makie avoid an arranged marriage, and then fending him off once he starts to fall for her. Luckily, Otaki is somewhat socially inept, so she thinks he’s merely being rude to her when he tries to give her a ring. (?!) The arrival of Masayuki’s ex, Kaori, comes right on top of this, and to be honest feels a bit like overegging the pudding. Especially given she’s just as bad as you imagined she was going to be, threatening Choko right off the bat.

Overall, the manga is getting subtler about both its romance and its drama. There’s still humor (I loved Masayuki’s reaction to finding out Suou and Makie were in love), but it’s nowhere near the level of early volumes. Likewise, the relationship between Choko and Masayuki, despite its hiccups, also seems more mature and has come a hell of a long way from that job interview at the start. It’s nice to see, but I do feel that I didn’t get as into this volume as much as previous ones due to a lack of ludicrousness. Without Masayuki being grotesque and over the top, Butterflies, Flowers feels like another romance manga, just with a bit more spice as it’s josei. I’m hoping the last two volumes bring back a bit of me staring in awe at the sheer gall of it all.