Papillon-Hana to Chou

I read Hana to Chou yesterday, so some words about it.

Plot: there are 2 twin sisters: Hana & Ageha, they have lived for about 10 years in different environments - Hana with parents in the city, Ageha with grandmother in the country. It's almost 6 years since their family joined back together, but their grudges haven't disappeared. Till the moment... Ageha meets schools trainee counsellor Kyouu...


I found characters quite refreshing. IMO, it's the strongest point of this title: they are reasonable. Their personalities aren't much complicated, yet we got the feeling people with that kind of past can behave like that. What's more, past is not as unrealistic and absurd as in many shoujo manga. It's still unbelievable for me but I can find there some logic.

Here we go:

Kyouu is easygoing playboy. He's got a charm which reminds me of Morita from 'Honey and Clover'. Most of humoristic scenes are conducted by him. His good looks make him the most popular counsellor in school with many girls coming rather to harass him than for advice. Moreover, few words from him can turn shy Ageha into popular beauty and just a glimpse into her family situation make him able to cure it.

Ageha character is paradoxical. She is shy and has no confidence when on the other hand she is very emotional, cries a lot, shouts and takes offences easily. She lives in shadow of her sister and is trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. She puts blame of her situation on living in countryside and thinks life in the city would make her more charismatic. Thanks to Kyouu she is starting to overcome her problems.

Hana is at the beginning main antagonist in the series. She is typical evil-popular-girl who we have met in many other series. She is egoistic and is able to do anything to destroy Ageha happiness. It's easy to hate her but later the motives of her behavior are explained. It's still difficult to like her after that yet it makes her more acceptable.

Art is not sth which make this comic more worth reading. Most scenes take place in closed spaces and there is nothing particular in characters projects. It's definitely impossible to tell twins when they have same hairdo. You can take it as advantage, but I'm used to twins from 'the one' where there is a slight difference between Yin and Long. In my opinion the most interesting looks has got grandmother. It is sth real in her warm eyes and smile... Anyway, drawings are clean and clear, and I didn't notice unnatural gestures or poses. But art is fine and nothing more.

A little more about plot (spoilers!)
First 2 volumes are just great. It's a story about self confidence and understanding in family. Of course, there is a romance thread, but it is less important. At the end of 2nd volume Ageha confess to Kyouu and what we've got from the next chaps is much more closer to average shoujo. I really don't understand why Kyouu accepted Ageha feelings. And this question comes up in my mind regularly during reading. Ageha has got a lot of problems to get used to her new position, Hana has even more of them. The manga turns into story about jealousy. Fortunately turns of events often are unexpected and there is a huge dose of humor. Mangaka was even able to make fun of plot's weaknesses. It's really refreshing.

To sum up:
There are only 8 volumes of this manga, 4 of them had been translated, 5th is under translation and I'm not feeling tired of it. It's not an extraordinary story but it's still better than many other titles I'm reading now. If you are looking for a story with humor, romance and a hint of more serious problems, you may like it. If you hate shouting, clinging and ill-jealous main characters, just stay away

P.S. Phew, it took about 3 hours to write it all... Some time I've spent with my brother talking about music, yet 3 hours it's quite  huge amount of time for that kind of post O_o

P.S.2 I've found out only logged people could comment. I've changed it. So please, leave any kind of feedback. I'll wholeheartedly appreciate it! And as English is not my mother-language all remarks of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation are welcome and would be seriously considered! Thank you in advance!