Hana to Akuma
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"It was the second winter since I'd come to the human world..." |
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On a winter's day in early 20th century Japan, the demon Vivi returns to his earthly home to find an infant squalling on his doorstep. Bored and curious, he brings the child indoors. No sooner does she meet his eyes than she stops crying, and dons a smile that his butler, Tony, likens to a flower. Charmed by her innocence, Vivi adopts her on a whim. He names her 'Hana', after the plant whose image her smile evokes. Under Vivi's care, Hana's grown from a screaming infant into a cheerful young lady. The orphan Vivi considered 'expendable' is gone, leaving him to struggle with this affectionate young Miss and his own feelings for her. Though Hana knows he's a demon, the consequences seem to escape her: She still throws daytime tea parties (annoying; demons are nocturnal), gifts Vivi with flowers (pointless; a demon's touch kills them), and insists they'll grow old together (impossible; demons age too slowly).
Knowing Hana's dreams are unreachable, Vivi rejects her advances in hopes of putting some distance between them. But when old acquaintances from the Demon Realm show up to speed the process along, Vivi realizes Hana's not the only one with an irrational attachment...
A 58 chapter completed shojo manga by Hisamu Oto, released under the Hana to Yume label. It boasts a fast-paced story, charming cast (of which the male-to-female ratio is surprisingly equal) and clean, attractive art. Though its premise isn't exactly groundbreaking, the characters hold their own and sport a surprising depth of emotion. This applies not only to Hana and Vivi, but their friends and enemies as well.
- Aeris and Bob: There are names like Felten, Hana, and Klaus. And then there's Tony.
- Arranged Marriage: High-class demons are basically arranged from birth.
- Battle Butler: Lucifer's sword-bearing manservant.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Toni to Vivi.
- Bishie Sparkle: Where Felten goes, they follow.
- Bishonen: It is a shojo series, after all.
- Bittersweet Ending: Hana and Vivi did get married, but Hana eventually dies of old age, leaving him with two children.
- Blondes Are Evil: Played straight with Vivi's fiancee; subverted with Felten.
- Brainwashed: Moritz manages to do this to Hana.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Felten.
- The Ditz: Hana was this as a child.
- Embarrassing First Name: Momo, it usually being a girl's name
- Faceless Masses
- Fear of Thunder: Hana
- Heterosexual Life Partners: Subverted. Felten only thinks he's Vivi's best friend.
- It's obvious Felten and Vivi have some kind of friendship but Vivi's too Tall, Dark and Snarky to admit it.
- Unknown Rival: Klaus, to Vivi.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Ayame, to Vivi.
- Lolicon: Moritz.
- Luminescent Blush
- Noble Demon
- Older Than They Look: All the demons. Especially the King of the Demon World in his first appearence.
- Our Demons Are Different
- Poor Communication Kills: at least in the beginning, Hana and Vivi constantly misinterpret each other's actions as disaffection because their thoughts run on completely different tracks.
- Tsundere: Vivi is a mild example.
- Say It with Hearts: Felten.
- Spell My Name with an "S": Some of the translators turned Vivi into Bibi in earlier chapters.
- She's All Grown Up: Hana takes a potion that ages her up a couple years. Most fangirls consider Vivi's reaction squeeworthy.
- Momo takes the same potion in a later chapter, and proves handsome enough.
- After the timeskip Hana now looks like her potion induced aged-up self. Apparently Vivi didn't expect her to change so much after not seeing her for three years...This moment can be considered even more squeeworthy than the above
- Who Is This Guy Again?: Toni wants to remind you who he is... after taking the bag off his head.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Momo.