Audience reviews
16 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
LavenderKydd
Pretty much binged watched this anime in one day. It's well written and I haven't even read the shoujo manga yet. I honestly really loved and would recommend a watch. I can't say it'll be everyone's cup of tea but it was really great in my opinion.
I'm not going to give any spoilers, but this is a bit of a gender-bender anime, so if that's not your thing. Do not watch. Although the MC is a girl pretending to be a guy & the LI is a guy. It still kind of caters to BL themes. So, if that really isn't your thing. I don't recommend a watch.
Read at the sourcelvndr1995
It's basically Ouran High, but less comedy. And yet, not more drama. It really does very little with the material it's given. There's a whole episode where the FL almost gets SA'd, and it's barely addressed. There's very little tension or pay off to the situation. In comparison, the controversial beach episode of Ouran High delivers tension in spades (no pun intended.)
I think it's a really half-a**ed effort at storytelling in general.
Teachers are no where to be found, even when students kidnap or assault each other.
But with all the incredibly bad romance dubs on CrunchyRoll right now, this is watchable.
It's competently animated and the boys are cute.
It goes on in the background.
Read at the sourcePresident_Megumi
“Hana-Kimi” is for the girlies who were watching hella problematic shojo anime in middle school, and if that’s not you, you’re probably going to have a difficult time digesting certain elements of this story in the year 2026. That said, if the earlier description does sound like you, this is so indulgent in so many ways.
There was a second in the 90s to early-2000s where stories about a girl enrolling in an all-boys school (whether said girl was crossdressing or otherwise) were really popular, and “Hana-Kimi” was one of the rulers of this genre. Of course, given the time period this story was written in, there are lots of places where it have been woke where it isn’t (and also a few places where it surprisingly is—I’m looking at you, Nakatsu), but given that this animation project was cl…
Read at the sourceLegionWrex
Two things are true about Hana-Kimi. The first one is that it's original manga, released over nearly a decade across 23 volumes, is a foundational text for many shojo fans in both the east and the west. The co-idifier of many tropes that would become commonplace soon after it's release, it's easy for new readers to dismiss as rote but at the time for many it was genuinely novel and without it it's very likely we wouldn't have other beloved manga and stories similar to it. That, and it's stellar artwork and character designs that scream classic shojo aesthetics, make Hana-Kimi essentially required reading for anybody who is actually seriously interested in the history of shojo manga.
The second thing is that this anime adaptation, developed by Signal.MD and director Natsuki Takemura over t…
Read at the sourceYamochii
Hana-Kimi really is amazing! If you didn't enjoy it, then it was definetly not made for you. When I learned that the original manga had been out since 1996, I was taken aback, yet it all made perfect sense. This isn't your typical shoujo anime, particularly when the female lead poses as a man. Since there aren't many of these kinds of anime, it's really difficult to find them. If you enjoy the concept of a girl disguising herself as a man, I'm sure you will enjoy this just as much as I did!
The characters are pretty pleasant, and the story was paced in a pretty decent way. Another season is coming up, which is really exciting! The fact that the MC doesn't give off "y/n" vibes gave me a peace of mind as that kind of character may typically ruin the mood.
The story was pretty funny at times…
Read at the sourcehbaby1093
What an irritating experience this show was.
Hana-Kimi is about a girl named Ashiya who transfers to Japan and disguises herself as a boy to attend the same school as her idol, Sano, a High-Jump champion.
I really don’t have many positive things to say about this show, I’m afraid. I think the art is about the only thing I liked. Though it wasn’t anything amazing.
Some of the side characters were alright, to be fair. And Sano’s character was fine, but we don’t learn anything about him. We don’t know why he started high-jumping in the first place, where he is from, what his family thinks of his aspirations, or anything! What does he want to be when he’s older? Not a clue!
And based on the premise, you would think that sports would heavily influence the plot and the direction of where t…
Read at the sourceAshParth
It's safe to say that I'd never read the manga nor seen the live-action adapted series that's been done before this anime came out. As far as I've read from social media as well as how unfortunate that the mangaka, Hisaya Nakajo, passed away around the time the anime debut, I decided to give it a watch for not only the fun of it, but for honoring the mangaka. So, this review is more on my thoughts of the anime itself. Not to mention, it's nice that the anime does honor the mangaka at the end of the first episode. I kinda wished that it would be the case for the whole series, but I digress.
This romance anime is about a young woman named Mizuki Ashiya, voiced by Aya Yamane in Japanese and Katelyn Barr in English, who is a cheerful Japanese girl living in the United States. She visits her gr…
Read at the sourceEKO2003
I will start this by stating that I have read all 150 chapters of the manga, so I'm one of what seems to be very few people leaving a review who actually knows the original source material.
Most of the reviews I see have only seen the live-action drama, which I haven't seen, so this review is based purely on my memory of the manga and the thoughts and feelings I had while watching this adaptation.
Note: I honestly can't describe anything more about the series than what the Synopsis has already given you.
It's a slice-of-life romance story that was originally published from 1996 to 2004, so you can expect the usual steps of a slow-burn romance story from that era (i.e. "Is my admiration turning into love?", "How do I support him without revealing my feelings?", "Is my presence around him…
Read at the sourceNikkif
The animation was not good, but it was still cute and watchable. I enjoyed watching this overall, even with its flaws (such as the sexism and subpar animation).
The real kicker for me, though, is that any time I come across a story like this, I can't help but think how much better it would be as a trans story. The whole time I was craving for it to end up as a trans masc story bc it really overlaps with so much of the trans masc experience (especially gender dysphoria and the fear of needing to be perceived as a man or risk being outed). That said, this did give me *major* inspo to make a manga that's an achillean trans masc version of this trope! One day... one day I'll do it
Read at the sourcexShiningxMoonx
7.5/10
Hana Kimi’s head scratching premise doesn’t give the best first impression. A lovestruck girl transferring across the world and disguising herself as a guy in an all boy school’s to be close to her idol may raise some red flags. The overall production for this classic 90s manga also appears average at best, with stiff animation and subpar character designs. With outdated themes, a questionable premise, and so-so production values, it’s no wonder it’s not on everyone’s radar.
Yet if one can look past its laughable premise, somewhere in here is an endearing romance about two incomplete people finding each other. As one of the precursors for series like Ouran High School Host Club, Hana Kimi carries its own unique charm. There’s zany antics, yearning turned up to an eleven, and a hil…
Read at the sourceJuSanyk
First of all, it doesn't have a proper ending for season one, it just ends somewhere, and basically nothing interesting happens the whole season.
Other than that it has barely any romance and funny parts, mostly just some dumb drama.
Totally not worth the time, absolutely not recommend it.
Maybe if it gets a season 2 or 3 later, and something interesting happens, then it can worth it to check this out. But for now, just leave it.
This review app doesn't let me post my review unless I write more. Man... My whole fing point was that NOTHING happened so I have nothing to fing write about...
Read at the sourcebeeink
I haven't read the source material (or watched the live-action drama), nor do I have any idea why it's so beloved, but I can give my perspective compared to the other shojo romance anime I have seen recently.
Hana-kimi is painfully bland and boring.
The premise is a lot of fun, and it's something that I would've been into when I was in middle school or early high school. I don't usually watch seasonals either, so when I saw a beloved shojo manga from the late 90s was finally getting an anime adaptation, I decided I would watch it.
Unfortunately, I've grown up, and now I can't get over characters that are as one-dimensional as a rock. None of the characters are compelling, and there are no interesting or new storylines besides the fact that Mizuki goes to an all-boys school. Honestly, b…
Read at the sourceChuy_diazz
A story that aged terribly. These aren't the '90s anymore; adapt or be forgotten.
Hanakimi came with the reputation of its live-action predecessors. A beloved story shrouded in nostalgia. It arrived as a contender for the romance of the season. Unfortunately, it never rose above that, remaining a mere contender. The story puts us in the shoes of a girl who enrolls in an all-boys school to meet her idol who studies there. The problems begin right from the premise. Just hearing the synopsis, your first thought is probably, "Damn, this could be as interesting as Mulan." A story where a girl challenges masculinity, enters a male-dominated ecosystem, and shakes it to its core. Except here there's no Mulan; we only have a future criminal wanted by multiple law enforcement agencies.
Initially,…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
Hana-Kimi - Is old-school Shoujo finally back from the grave for a modern resurgence? Yes and no...
The "direct but not so direct" opposite of the Shonen genre, the Shoujo genre has its fans too where the former precedes action and intensity, the latter precedes romance, rom-coms and the like. It wouldn't be fair to say that Shoujo is the way it is today without some big names throughout history, and for one such mangaka by the name of Hisaya Nakajo, the late veteran who passed away in late 2023 would become one such figure that would shake the Shoujo genre in the early 90s. Apart from her rather short-lived 2-volume manga series Sugar Princess which was serialized in Hakusensha's famous Hana to Yume imprint in the mid=2000s, it's her other work of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, otherwise kno…
Read at the sourceBrotherCoa
This show is really the product of it's age, which in itself is not a bad thing at all. Sure, some things are outdated by today's standards but overall this anime was a nice ride from start to finish. I am watching this as anime only watcher so I cannot talk about difference from the manga, I only know that for that time it was very popular. To the point that before anime series this got a live action one. That alone speaks for the popularity of medium.
Animation and music: music is industry standard, nothing to add here worthy of notion as it is getting it's job done. Animation is nice change of pace as they really tried to recreate that early 2000's anime style. And it was refreshing to see it. Beside that the rest is of it was solid. There were no bad frames or low quality animation.…
Read at the sourceMarinate1016
As I’ve said numerous times, we are in a golden age of shoujosei. This is the best time to be a fan of either demographic in decades. The rate at which new high quality shoujosei series are being pumped out is incredible and we are finally seeing long awaited titles like Hanakimi adapted into an anime. Even after 20 years, the demand didn’t die down and fans were in disbelief to see this get an anime. Hanakimi was one of the OG peak shoujo titles from the late 90s and Signal.MD really captured the magic of what makes this series so special here. They successfully brought the story to life while also updating it for a newer audience. It’s got that same 90s charm, with modern production values and a few tweaks here and there. It’s a shame this ended up being so underrated.
Hanakimi’s premi…
Read at the source