Hana to Akuma

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

I honestly have no clue why this manga has such a high rating when there's so much wrong with it. Since all the reviews were basically "this manga is perfect, 10/10" I decided to write a review of my own.

Hana to Akuma is the story of a demon coming to the human world and adopting a young human girl and raising her. This is a love story between the two. My immediate reaction: gross. Apparently I'm the only one who seems to have a problem with a father figure developing romantic feelings for the girl he raised and vice versa. I find it disgusting. ... Forgive me for not having a thing for wife husbandry or Electra complexes.

If you're fine with father-daughter incest (I don't care if they're not related by blood; it's still basically incest), then go ahead. You should know, however, that the romance is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally drawn out. One doesn't realize their feelings until the late 30s or early 40s chapters, and the other doesn't realize until chapter 47. Out of 58. While you see their relationship throughout all of those chapters, they already love each other, so you don't really see any development in that aspect. You just see them already having a close relationship. It basically reminds me of my fanfiction: I suck at writing romance development so I just say "here, timeline skip. During that time they fell in love." Even I know that's crap writing.

Then there's the characters. Pretty stereotypical. One's a really dark character who only shows his soft side to one person. A womanizer. A woman who tames the womanizer. Then of course there's Hana. Oh, Hana. She has to be one of the stupidest characters I have ever encountered. I read the manga "Naruto", and I have to say that this girl is dumber than Naruto Uzumaki. NARUTO UZUMAKI. That's a feat right there. You can't say it's because she's fourteen because when I was fourteen I wasn't anywhere NEAR that idiotic. I don't care if characters acknowledge that she's stupid; it's still annoying as heck.

Despite all this, I did enjoy the manga. For enjoyment, I'd probably give it a 7, though overall, considering the story, art, characters and wife husbandry/Electra complex, I'm going to have to give it a 6. Still, despite the low rating, I will say that I don't regret reading this. Except for the ending. I read the ending and was like, "WTF just happened?"

So split on this. On the one hand, there were some super adorable moments that really made me WANT to love it. And, I'm not gonna lie, I shed a few tears here and there. But... let's be honest, it's a romance between a girl and her non-biological father. It's basically a how-to guide for child abuse and grooming. I cannot, in good conscience, ignore that big fat elephant.

Look, there are some pretty creeptastic pairings in anime and manga, and it's just par for the course to some degree. You've got age gaps that are treated like ... nothing special, relationships between students and teachers, even incest is sometimes treated like something romantic. Okay, fine. But you can't combine all of those things into one. That's just too much. And while Hana might be "14" through the majority of the story, she looks, acts, and is treated like she's 7. It's just fucking wrong and not okay.

Okay, I guess I've gotten that off my chest. Now I can admit that I actually enjoyed reading it despite myself. If you took the romance out, it'd be a super sweet story about a little girl helping a really evil guy find his nice side. That's not so bad, and that's what I ended up pretending it was. The characters--especially the supporting characters--lacked much depth and didn't grow a hell of a lot, but they were still super lovable. Hana especially was just... ugh, I love her, the poor thing. Not a great heroine by any means, but a sweet character that made me smile a lot. Toni, too, the poor guy. Basically, I love all the abuse victims in this story. Because that's what they are. I want to save them from the wretched fate that is Vivi.

Hana to Akuma: The typical powerful and terrible bad guy whose heart is warmed by the protagonist's love. Not bad, but there are plenty of issues with this manga that might irritate or annoy anyone who's already wary of the shoujo genre.

Story: 6
Having read about half way through at the time I'm writing this, from what I've gathered, there's no big plot. Mr. Demon doesn't have any dark background or centuries-old curse that he must solve. Each chapter, consisting of 30-45 pages, is a story within itself; that is, the conflict is introduced and solved within 1-3 chapters. I will say that some of these ... conflicts I did not enjoy in the least. Most of them were shallow, trifle matters which spent an entire chapter or so getting solved. Basically, don't expect this manga to involve any action. There's no fighting, no set antagonist, no violence or psychological problems. The setting is not very realistic, and nor are the character's actions. It's obvious this manga was intended for younger audiences, what with the plot and all. Since I didn't absolutely loathe this

Art: 7
Keep in mind that I haven't read many mangas. That being said, the art didn't particularly annoy me or enchant me either. Shoujo mangas tend to emphasize on detail, but this one was more vague. I'm a stickler for character art though, and while I wasn't impressed, the character design was alright.

Character: 3
Ooh. This section really strikes a nerve. While the humor of the characters never failed to at least pull out a smile or two from me, they were extremely irritating.
Take the main character for instance. You would think a fifteen year old would be at least a bit mature, but the main protagonist Hana speaks in third person. Her drawings are as artistic as a two year old's, and she has about the equivalent IQ of one too. Most conflicts that pop up are due to Hana accepting some potion or pill from a complete stranger and getting some spell of some sort; or getting lost; or getting willingly captured; or whining about wanting something or other and having her caretaker lover-demon Vivi sacrifice himself to get it for her. Speaking of Vivi (what kind of name is that anyway? It's cringey af), he's the son of the demon king, heir to the throne. But since he was fed up with life, he decided to leave hell randomly for no reason and not come back ever. He's unaware of his feelings toward the protagonist but does whatever she wants anyway. And you think, aw isn't that sweet? But trust me, it won't be that sweet when she coos him to do this and that, buy her pretty dresses and then demand that he return them.

Enjoyment: 6
Hmm. I was a bit torn over this one. It's not like the manga was bland all the way through but more like it got worse and worse as it went along. The beginning made me excited; I thought I would see some character development from Vivi (cringe) because he seemed more dark and brooding. It was less of a character development though. Plus, as Hana became more and more like a whiny girl, you could say my "enjoyment" plummeted.

Overall: 5
Would I recommend this? Ehhh...not really. I'm a bit hesitant to recommend this manga but one of my mottos is that every manga is worth a try. Because while I may have hated the characters and lack of plot flow, it may be your cup of tea. Who knows?
And on an end note, I've decided to recommend some other mangas that I found much more well-executed but hold some of the same elements as this one (or lack some of the elements that may make you hesitate to read this manga). So if a particular part of this review stuck out at you as, "this is definitely a pass" or "but is there anything else with this element in it that's better written?" or you tried this manga and had one of those moments, then have a quick glance at my list.

Note: All mangas on this list are suited for the audiences of this manga and also have similar tags. Enjoy!
If you want more action/better plot execution/stronger female protagonist try:
-Noragami
Perhaps the best manga I've read ever (so far), it's not shoujo but I would absolutely recommend it for both male and female readers. Shoujo readers tend to lean more toward romance, and the romantic hints in this one are fangirl-worthy. The art is exquisite, and the non-romantic sections of the plot are still addicting enough that you can't flip the pages fast enough. The action in this one is superb, as it's the main protagonist's job to slay Ayakashi (monsters that come from tangled human emotions). Plus, it has an anime adaption of two seasons (so far) which is also well-done (and is perhaps my favorite anime as well).

If you want a stronger female protagonist/better or smoother plot execution/more action try:
-Yona of the Dawn
This is the shoujo manga with the strongest female protagonist I've read so far. Really, the character development is amazing too. In the beginning, she may act timid but if you keep reading you can see her grow stronger. The character development for all characters in this manga is also glorious.

If you want a better or more focused romance/higher quality art try:
-Kaichou wa maid sama
Really, there's none other like maid-sama. Honestly. This one is an absolute gem. The romance is slow (spanning around 50 of the 80 or so chapters) but it's there in every single chapter. I highly recommend for shoujo fans, because shoujo fans-male or female- will never fail to squeal and swoon. The protagonist is in denial of another boy's love toward her but it isn't frustrating that she keeps shoving him down; rather, her personality makes it all the more satisfying when she finally gives in. The art in this one is also beautiful; all the characters are gorgeous and that makes the romance even better. It also has an anime adaption.

I usually like stories that have a strong focus on supernatural elements, but this manga felt very hollow and contrived to me. The female lead, Hana, was very annoying to me, and the love that developed between her and Vivi felt unnatural (and, to be honest, very creepy given that Hana is only 14, and acts in a very immature fashion). Many of the aspects of the plot that move their relationship along clearly happened for that sole purpose - it doesn't feel very fleshed out or natural. The manga also goes out of its way to repeat certain elements over and over (like Vivi ... causing flowers to wilt by touching them), and after a while, I was just like....OKAY, I get it.

The artwork was also very mediocre to me, and I would have liked Vivi to look a little more impressive or bad-ass (or at least have decently sized wings in his demon form).