Yasei no Bara
Wild Rose

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A manga about...plants? Yep.

Saotome is obsessed with plants. So it's a dream come true when he finds out that fellow student Tendou at his new school is actually a super-plant. Not only can Tendou sprout branches, tendrils, and flowers whenever he feels like it, but he can send pollen through the air that controls people's minds. And his powers are evolving.

Tendou takes the form of a human, and has many human feelings and emotions, but has super-plant abilities as well. He is initially irritated by Saotome's interest in him. But why does Tendou live with humans when he hates ... them so much? And what about the famous plant biologist who wants to get his hands on him?

There's no way a manga about plants can be interesting. That's what I thought. Plants are BORING. And to be honest, there was a lot about this manga that wasn't that great. The art was...unusual, let us say. It wasn't BAD, but it was unusually simplistic for a manga. There were a lot of cliches in the storyline (the evil scientist, the jealous female, etc.).

But oddly, despite these drawbacks, I actually enjoyed it. Saotome doesn't back down from trying to forge a friendship with Tendou. Tendou faces insecurities being neither plant nor human, and struggling to find where he belongs. This fairly short story had a warm little kernel down in the heart of it.

Story:
It's about two boys trying to get along, one is a human that loves plants, the other is a superplant that distrusts humans. Cuteness ensures! Although there isn't any romantic relationship between the boys, it's heavily implied. Personally I thought the story was simple but adorable beyond words.

Art:
I don't have much to say about the art. It's pretty but standard manga art. There is a distinct style shining through, but at the same time it has a very standard feel to it. The color spreads are really nice as well. And the artist adds in just the right amount of detail into every panel. All ... in all good art.

Characters:
Tasuku is the most developed out of the whole cast. He's given a bit of backstory near the end of the manga. All other characters have strong personalities that shine through but very little backstory. Masahiko is the happy go lucky protagonist, who is hard not to like. His happy demeanor contrasts nicely with Tasuku, who is anti-social. Again these two characters are just adorable together.
The manga lost a point here for failing to overcome the standard evil girl cliche. In the second chapter, the only female character in the main cast is an evil conniving girl, who does things that will get her disliked by all readers. Basically she is there to threaten the relationship between the two boys and add some conflict into the mix. While she does have motives for her actions, they are a bit unrealistic and thus this manga tends to fall into the Boy Love cliche of having all female characters as evil broads, who try to wedge themselves between the boys. Granted, chapter three introduces a male villain, but it still stands that the only female in the whole cast is the evil girl.

Conclusion:
Excluding the minor character hiccup, Yasei no Bara is a well written story about two boys trying to get along. The main hook of this manga is the relationship between Tasuku and Msahiko, which is very adorable. I found myself smiling as the two try to get along and as Tasuku showed his more tender side through flowers.While this will most likely appeal to fans of Boy Love, other shoujo readers may find it enjoyable as well because there is nothing graphic and all romance is implied. Being only a single volume, I recommended at least trying it.