Rintaro Tsumugi is an intimidating person. It comes with the territory of being a tall high schooler with dyed-blond hair and piercings, so he’s mostly resigned himself to the nervous stares and quickened paces that he often causes. His only friends are three other boys from his school, Chidori Public High, and Rintaro intends to keep it that way. All of that changes, though, when Rintaro meets Kaoruko Waguri, a regular customer at his parents’ patisserie. Not only is Kaoruko not intimidated by Rintaro, but she actually wants to get to know him better? And she even seems a little flustered while talking to him? Rintaro doesn’t quite know what to make of all this. And to make matters worse, Kaoruko goes to Kikyo Private Academy, where the students are notorious for hating Chidori students. What will become of this fledgling friendship, and are there hidden notes of something more?
sleepminusminus: I’m indebted to Claire for giving us writers a structure for these First Impression posts, because if I had my way with this post it would consist of a prolonged keyboard smash. In other words, I’m over the moon to finally be able to watch the anime adaptation of Fragrant Flower! I’ve been a fan of the manga for years now, and I’ve been counting down the days for the anime to make it out of Netflix jail ever since it aired in Japan on July 6. This series has one of the most lovely manga romances that I’ve had the privilege of reading. It’s deeply tender, hopeful, and joyful, and all of those features make it into this first episode of the anime. Rintaro and his group of friends already exude an infectious camaraderie, and you can already tell how deeply they care about each other. And they nailed the Japanese casting for Kaoruko; Honoka Inoue (Anne Shirley; ‘Tis Time for Torture, Princess) does a phenomenal job capturing Kaoruko’s bubbly, generous personality without coming off as overly saccharine.
twwk: You’re absolutely right about the characterization and casting! It only takes a few minutes to be able to both warm up to and distinguish Rintaro’s friends. There are entire anime series that never get around to doing that! As for Honoka Inoue, I admit, I was skeptical after hearing her speak her first few lines. Kaoruko is diminutive, but she’s also resolute, and I didn’t think the cutesy voice would fit; but as viewers will see later in the episode, Inoue is able to deliver strong lines well and proves to be a perfect fit for the role! But of course, the start of episode one is Rintaro; if you’re not in love with him by the end of episode one, I don’t really know what to tell you other than maybe you should go to the emergency room to make sure your heart’s still beating. It certainly helps that studio Cloverworks’ production emphasizes all the right things to get you feeling all doki-doki in this episode!
sleepminusminus: From that production standpoint, the minimalist scoring of the episode plays in its favor; there’s hardly any background music until Kaoruko and Rintaro meet, so when it happens, you can just feel the love in the air! And though the composition isn’t exactly anything to write home about, the use of smears and chibi asides mirrors many beloved panels from the manga. It’s easy to tell that the producers love the source work and want to do it justice, and that’s all one can ask for from an anime adaptation!
twwk: I agree. I’ve never been a huge fan of Cloverworks, but they’re trying to hit all the right beats here. There’s emphasis on things big and small; for instance, you already get that Rintaro’s mom cares so much for her son through the little looks she gives and her staring from afar. I also love the shots setting Kikyo and Chidori apart. All in all, I’m happy with the production—and that means a lot considering this is also one of my favorite manga and it’s the anime I’ve most looked forward to this season, if not the entire year!
sleepminusminus: Fragrant Flower is finally here, and I couldn’t be more excited! Here’s to twelve weeks of peak 💪
The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity can be streamed (finally!!) on Netflix.
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I’ve heard so many good things about this series, I seriously need to check it out. I read somewhere that it had a showing at the New York comic convention, and people loved it! The story sounds really cute!
I didn’t realize they did a showing of it before this week! That’s so cool 😭 Now I wish I took a trip to NYC to see that…