DESCRIPTION

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

• 

  Unwelcome

  70/100
  A niche story about flower arrangement, a concept brimming with potential, sadly it wasn't allowed to blossom

  ・ English is my second language, there may be errors in my grammar..
  ・I try to make a spoiler-free review, however, in the section opinion might have some spoilers.
  ・General experience ≠ Final score. My personal score is based in 5 star system, so I tried to put an accurate number here, but isn't always the case.
  ・Locate (Brief) Conclusion + Recommendation section where the main points are summarized.

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━

  Experience with Moebana

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **Iɴᴛʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ**

  Tsukumo Fukakusa is an otaku obsessed with an anime based on flowers. He finds a deep love in the characters that are the representation of different bouquet, who express a wealth of emotions that resonate with him. Coupled with his spirited personality, Tsukumo enjoys talking to everyone with sincerity, being hard to deal with him due to his honest nature.

  One day, he discovered a peculiar bouquet at the school entrance that made him remember his favorite character, sparking his interest in the art of flower arrangement. Combined with his knowledge of flowers, this led to him being scouted by the Ikebana club, fueled by his fervent love for 2D characters. However, entering a world where talent, vision, technique, and aesthetic sense are essential, will a novice like Tsukumo survive in this demanding environment?

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **Oᴘɪɴɪᴏɴ**

  When I first started reading this manga, it only had one chapter, but it immediately caught my interest because it centered around a theme I hadn't encountered often in anime and manga: Ikebana.
  Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement, considered one of the three classical Japanese arts of refinement. Intrigued, I did some research and eagerly awaited more chapters. Sadly, the manga ended on March 20, 2023, after only 28 chapters, a relatively short run for a Jump manga.

  

  While I don't want to dwell on this too much, there are other mangas I adore that explore unique Japanese culture themes. For example, "Chihayafuru" portrays Karuta, a competitive card game based on Hyakunin Isshu, the classic collection of 100 Japanese poems. I even wrote a review of this story (S1, S2, S3), which is remarkably popular despite its niche theme. Similarly, there's a manga based on Rakugo, the traditional Edo-era storytelling art that relies heavily on the skill of the storyteller. I discovered this through the anime "Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu" Interestingly, another Jump manga released the same year as "Moebana" focuses on Rakugo has gained significant popularity with almost 100 chapters – "Akane Banashi.”

  My main takeaway is that perhaps we weren't ready to grasp the profound aspects of Ikebana. This manga beautifully portrays the idea of "giving life to flowers," highlighting the diverse characters who represent different Ikebana schools, each with their unique traditions and philosophies on expressing the art through arrangements. Over the course of the manga, we encounter three out of five schools, allowing us to contrast their distinct principles. We see how they "speak with flowers," "add sparkle to everyday life with flowers," and explore other captivating concepts.

  The manga skillfully combines the best elements of a typical school drama with a rarely explored theme, beautifully depicted through its artwork. You can almost sense the characters' conviction when they express that flowers are alive, more than just mere decoration. They must analyze the flowers' condition and environment, incorporating their own vision into the arrangements.
  From a club activities, Ikebana offers a variety of competitions where members can participate in challenges with diverse themes, that demand that they utilize their skills, teamwork, and knowledge.

  

  Each character possesses a distinct personality and approach to Ikebana. However, the story felt rushed, especially in the half, leading to underdeveloped characters and overwhelmed, yet exciting introductions. This manga needed more time to be fully appreciated and digested, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the beauty of Ikebana.

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **(ʙʀɪᴇғ) Cᴏɴᴄʟᴜsɪᴏɴ + Rᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ**

  This story blends the "moe" aesthetic of anime with the exquisite beauty of Ikebana, the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. When Tsukumo discovers this world, he's determined to create the most captivating "moebana" arrangements, expressing the enchanting stories each flower holds.

  With an innovative concept that draws upon one of Japan's finest cultural and historical arts, it reveals that the art is more than just combining beautiful flowers; each element has a specific meaning to convey, and each character strives to express their unique approach.

  Despite its strong points, including stunning artwork and the expressive portrayal of the arrangements, the manga didn't receive much support, this led to a rushed development. It's a shame, the story features interesting characters, scenarios, and a new view about flowers.

  While "Moebana" would benefit from more time to become truly memorable, it shares a common goal with other popular titles that delve into unique sports/competition and scenic japanese arts. These stories all aim to showcase often-overlooked aspects of Japanese culture and reveal the unique enjoyment they offer to those who appreciate them.

  Overall, even though it's a short read, I enjoyed it. I acknowledge its flaws, but it has the potential to further explore its world and characters. "Moebana" is a story that reminds us that art can be found in the most unexpected places, often overlooked by the casual observer.

  ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━ **_ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟ sᴄᴏʀᴇ sʏsᴛᴇᴍ_** ★★★★✩ ━━━━━━━ ⟡ ━━━━━━━
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