The Wallflower, Volume One

We’ve all had those days when we just don’t feel attractive. We even have names for these “off” days, as in: I’m having a “Fat Day“, or I’m having a “Bad Hair Day“, or I’m having a “Wardrobe Malfunction Day“. These times are often transitory and don’t negatively affect our sense of self-worth for longer than that day. What if every day was an “off” day? And what if anyone stunningly beautiful might be a creature from another dimension?

plot summary

Sunako Nakahara is a reclusive goth gal who long ago renounced her femininity after she was shot down during an attempt to profess her love. Sunako’s aunt, a beautiful and eccentric woman of means, wants to transform Sunako from an unkempt lump into a lady fit for high society.

To that end, she enlists the help of her four bishishounen tenants, Takenaga Oda, Yukinojo Toyama, Ranmaru Morii, and Kyohei Takano. Auntie, as she’s known, makes the handsome lads an offer they can’t refuse: Change Sunako into a classy woman or pay triple the rent!! All four readily agree to help, but after meeting Sunako face to face, they realize they might be in over their heads.

Sunako represents multiple challenges to the boys, as she’s antisocial, uninterested in her appearance and frightened by the four beautiful men she dubs, “Creatures of Light”. The boys try to reach Sanuko through her self-imposed darkness but to no avail; Sunako prefers her misery, and is blinded by the four’s unearthly beauty, literally.

What are four fashion-consciousness, totally hot boys to do with a gothic girl who has no wish to change her dark and dingy ways?

review

I laughed and laughed till I hurt with this anime. To judge by the DVD cover would be to assume that the anime is about four bishonen and their shojo-esque interactions. The roses and petals liberally scattered across the cover also point in the shojo direction. Anyone who so judged The Wallflower would be wrong, wrong, wrong!

This Beauty and the Beast tale is funny as hell to watch, as the four bishies duke it out with the socially inept Sanoku. The boys try their damnedest to bring out the feminine side in Sanoku but they only have the effect of driving Sanoku deeper and deeper into her dark world. Kyohei actually spurs Sanoku into homicidal thoughts as he continually causes the overwhelmed goth to gush geysers of blood from her nose.

The two go to head to head in each episode as Kyohei schemes up ways to pay the rent or to transform Sanoku into a lady so he won’t need to pay rent. The other three try to passively change Sanoku, but Kyohei’s hot-headed manner won’t let him be a by-stander in the train-wreck which is Sanoku. Ironically, Kyohei and Sanoku have much in common below the surface; way, way, waayyyyy below the surface. They seem to eventually connect on some level at the end of the first volume, but not in any deep way.

Character Development

Sanoku is given plenty of backstory in the first episode so viewers can understand how she turned into the person she is, if not relate to why. We’re given frequent glimpses into her mind and thoughts whenever the boys try to impose their will on the poor girl. Sanoku comes across as sympathetic, pathetic and stoic all at once. Her self-imposed social and feminine exile is at odds with some of her actions throughout the volume and she’s, thus far, a very sympathetic and interesting character.

The boys are less developed in comparison, except for Kyohei. Kyohei is different from the other boys in that he doesn’t want people looking at him solely because he’s so handsome. He could do without his good-looks and be thankful he didn’t have them. In that regard, he’s kinda like Sanoku: neither one of them want people to gawk at them for their physical appearance or to judge them by it. They both want to be left alone.

Character Design

Really, this anime is about hot men and a goth girl and they nailed it in making the men bishie as all get out. The boys look fantastic with their shimmering good-looks and naturally flowing hair. The super-deformed persona of Sanoku is amusing as is any of her ass-kicking incarnations. I’m thinking especially of a certain scene involving a chain-saw, an SS uniform and bondage gear.

Other interesting character designs are the four, wiggly-armed gothic lolita sisters: Goth, goth, loli, loli! Scary. But far scarier are the ganguro girls. Yikes times ten.

Animation

The sparkling shojo effects are dazzlingly done by Nippon Animation. The animation company made the boys seem tantalizing enough to touch and Sunako skeezy enough to want to avoid at all costs. The animation is good, but has some excellent shots whenever Sunako’s ire is raised. Amazing shots, those. Everything about the animation is pure shojo and it’s a treat to watch the dewy effects shimmer on the television screen.

Music

Kiyoharu, the popular J-rock singer, crafted the OP, “slow“. It’s a perfect companion to the overt use of Shojo Mojoâ„¢ in the opening credits.

Kiyoharu also did the ED, “Carnation“. Carnation is a great J-rock tune with enough get-up and go to get an anatomical dummy to shake its rump. Amazingly enough, an anatomical dummy does dance to the ED in the end credits.

Voice Acting

The Japanese voicecast is fantastic and the voice actors for the bishie men made them that much more bishie. The Japanese voices were smooth and oozed sensuality. The English voicecast was good as well, but Sanoku’s Western voice actress most approximated her Japanese counterpart.

Every facet of The Wallflower is loaded with comedic elements and never seems to get into too deep a place without then turning into a good laugh. The anime does have messages about self-acceptance and and the what it means to be beautiful, but it doesn’t ever make these messages into speed bumps which would stop the easy flow of the anime. The Wallflower lets the viewer make their own decisions about self-worth since, hell, this is a comedy!

Rating

Wallflower, Volume One gets 4 outta 4Hammies!