The Wallflower (manga)

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Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
ヤマトナデシコ七変化 (Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge)
Genre	Comedy, shoujo
Manga: The Wallflower, Perfect Girl Evolution
Authored by	Tomoko Hayakawa
Publisher	Kodansha
Other publishers: Del Rey Manga Chuang Yi (English) Tokyopop Level Comics
Serialized in	Bessatsu Friend
Original run	2000 –
No. of volumes	18 (ongoing)[1]
TV anime
Directed by	Shinichi Watanabe
Studio	Nippon Animation
Network	TV Tokyo, TV Aichi
Original run	October 3, 2006 – March 27, 2007
No. of episodes	25

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (ヤマトナデシコ七変化) is a manga and anime series by Tomoko Hayakawa.^[2] Alternative titles include The Wallflower, Perfect Girl Evolution, and Sunako of Many Forms.^[3] The series is serialized in Bessatsu Friend in Japan, and released in North America by Del Rey Manga, with English translation by David Ury. It is published in Singapore in English by Chuang Yi as My Fair Lady. The series is also published in Indonesia by Level Comics. The anime series ended in March 2007 while the manga is still ongoing.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Main characters 3 Manga 3.1 Themes 4 Anime adaptation 4.1 Anime episodes 4.2 Anime cast 4.3 Music 5 Trivia 6 Differences between the Manga and Anime 7 Reception 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Plot

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge is about Nakahara Sunako, a girl who was called "ugly" by a boy, who happened to be the first and only person who she confessed her love to. This incident sparks a life change, and as a result Sunako shuns all forms of beauty, both in herself as well as in life. Concerned by her change for the worst, Sunako's aunt, the owner of a beautiful mansion where four very handsome students live, offers the guys free rent in her mansion if they can turn Sunako into a 'perfect lady'.

While the four of them manage to make Sunako physically beautiful enough to become a lady, the problem lies with her attitude and interests (which Sunako has no intention of changing). Up until the most recent release in the story, they've managed to convince Sunako's aunt that her niece is indeed a lady befitting the mansion in which they live in (and prevent the rent from skyrocketing at most triple the required amount). However, in reality, Sunako has not changed considerably.

[edit] Main characters

Main article: List of The Wallflower characters

The plot is based on four gorgeous guys: Oda Takenaga, Touyama Yukinojou (usually referred to as 'Yuki' in the series), Morii Ranmaru, and Takano Kyouhei, who must transform the homely and reclusive Sunako into a beautiful lady in order to receive free rent. There are minor characters that appear, most notably Kasahara Noi (Takenaga's girlfriend) and the Landlady, Sunako's as yet formally named aunt.

[edit] Manga

[edit] Themes

Underneath the comedic demeanor Yamato Nadeshiko has many reoccurring themes that appear throughout the series.

Self-Acceptance

One such theme is that of self-acceptance, and can be witnessed often through the main character, Sunako. She often portrays both sides of the spectrum, with one side being her refusing to compromise her character (giving up her morbid lifestyle). On her flip side of self-acceptance, it is often shown that she doubts herself almost constantly, and usually refuses to see herself as a suitable companion for "those creatures of the light". As the series progresses you can see her confidence build up as she discovers that she can bridge both worlds.

Beauty

Another theme that seems to dominate the manga is beauty, or the pursuit of it. The boys are offered free rent if they can change Sunako into society's (as well as the landlady's) concept of a beautiful lady. However, Sunako often rebuffs the boys' attempts at changing her, since she had long since abandoned her feminity, as well as that becoming a lady would mean that she would have to give up her morbid hobbies. One of the facets of this theme is the cast's realization that being beautiful doesn't mean following society's standards. Another facet would be the "ugly" side of beauty, in that many of the boys are often stalked by both men and women alike because of their good looks. While many of his roommates will like, or be tolerant of this attention, Kyouhei often complains of this treatment (he complains in one episode of the anime that he can't even hold a job because of this). One other point to this theme is the idea of natural and artificial beauty. Sunako often complains that she wasn't born as a "creature of the light", while the boys were born beautiful.

Food

Although this seems irrelevant, food has traditionally been a symbol of belonging and the household. For instance, in Hayao Miyazaki's film Spirited Away, the protagonist begins to fade away until she eats a small piece of food from the spirit world, making her a part of it. As is found out fairly quickly, Sunako is a decent cook, symbolic of her position as keeper of the house. Also, Kyouhei's desire for hot pot becomes a metaphor for his desire to repair his broken childhood, in which he never got to spend such meals with his family.

[edit] Anime adaptation

The storyline of the anime has so far followed the manga plotline closely, with only minor changes (most notably the order of events).

[edit] Anime episodes

See List of Yamatonadeshiko Shichihenge episodes

[edit] Anime cast

Seiyū listed in parenthesis

• Nakahara Sunako - (Sachiko Takaguchi)
• Takano Kyouhei - (Shoutarou Morikubo)
• Oda Takenaga - (Tomokazu Sugita)
• Touyama Yukinojou - (Yamauchi Yuuya)
• Morii Ranmaru - (Hirofumi Nojima)
• Kasahara Noi - (Mai Nakahara)

[edit] Music

Because the manga's creator, Tomoko Hayakawa, is an avid admirer of J-Pop singer Kiyoharu, it was decided that Kiyoharu would perform the theme music for Yamatonadeshiko Shichihenge. His songs, "slow" and "Carnation" play over the opening and ending themes, respectively. The songs were a collaboration between Kiyoharu and Takeshi Miyo. The background orchestral music was written by two respectable Japanese composers, Hiromi Mizutani and Yasuharu Takanashi.

The opening theme "slow" plays over recycled footage from the first episode, and is more of a love ballad. Episode 14 onwards shows the second version of the opening sequence which potrays more original footages. Whether this change was made due to growing popularity or the initial reception is unknown.

The first closing theme, "Carnation", the more upbeat of the two, is set to a small computer animation of Hiroshi dancing in the corner as the credits scroll up the page.

∞Changing∞, the second ending theme by Bon-Bon Blanco, presents the viewers with an even faster rhythm while preserving the use of computer animation (Hiroshi, Josephine and Akira dancing to the song) in the sequence.

[edit] Trivia

• In the "About the Author" pages, Hayakawa states that she is a big fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and shows a picture of her mantleplace that is similar in appearance to Sunako's.

• Oda Takenaga's name bears similarity to the famous Japanese Sengoku Period Daimyo, Oda Nobunaga.

• Morii Ranmaru's name bears similarity to the Oda Nobunaga's famous "o-kosho" (page), Mori Ranmaru, who was famous for his loyalty and devotion to his lord.

• The Director, Shinichi Watanabe (渡邊 慎一, Watanabe Shin'ichi aka Nabeshin) is director of Excel Saga and other popular anime comedies. He also is the voice behind the "Road to become the Lady" section in the anime.

[edit] Differences between the Manga and Anime

• A romance between Kyouhei and Sunako is hinted at a lot sooner in the anime than in the manga.

• In the manga, Sunako is frequently portrayed in a super deformed aspect. In the anime, this portrayal is kept up almost, if not, as much the manga.

• Sequence of events in the anime is different from the original manga. Some of the events have also been combined into one episode during the anime while the original manga spans for a few chapters (at different timings sometimes).

[edit] Reception

Reception of the series has been mixed. Carlo Santos of Anime News Network, while giving the manga a good review, states that "All the detail goes into specific elements like the bishounen characters, Sunako's horror props, and elaborate period dresses. However, she gets lazy everywhere else—backgrounds are sparse or nonexistent, crowds get rendered as simplified cartoon figures, and Sunako is regularly seen as a faceless mass of black hair."^[4]

Reviews of the anime have also been mixed, with many fans of the series expressing disappointment over lackluster animation, as well as with the studio's choice to recycle footage from the show for the opening animation instead of creating new animation to play over the opening theme. Many positive reviews have expressed their admiration that the anime has so far followed the manga's plotline closely.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (Japanese) Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge Official Anime Website
• Anime News Network's Manga Entry on Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge
• Anime News Network's Anime Entry on Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge
• A Perfect Girl Evolution site and shrine to Sunako and Kyohei
• AniDB Anime Entry on Yamato Nadeshico Shichi Henge