Print Review: Boys Over Flowers volumes 1-4

Boys Over Flowers volumes 1-4Written by WarpshadowRating very good

Boys Over Flowers is a shojo manga with characters that really stand out; and when it comes to this genre characters matter more than they usually do.

Tsukushi Makino is just a middle class girl at the prestigious Eitoku academy with the simple plan of keeping her head down until she graduates. That plan is shot to hell when she stands up for a friend but earns the wrath of the F 4. The F 4 is a group of four students who are the elite among elites and walk about the halls of Eitoku like kings. The next day Tsukushi finds a red tag on her locker which marks the beginning of her torment at the hands of those that fear and obey the F 4 (namely the entire school. Will Tsukushi succumb to peer pressure like all who have suffered her fate or will she rise above it and even come to an understanding with her tormentors?

The usual shojo manga stars a very wishy washy heroine who is more or less at the mercy of not only the story but the rest of the characters. While there is a lot of things pushing tsukushi around Boys Over Flowers is different in that she has enough backbone to push back and be proactive when there is something she wants. Tsukushi's chief tormentor cum love interest Tsukasa is also quite different than the usual shojo male lead as he oscillates between being a complete jerk and being a foppish comic foil. If you like shojo manga then you will probably like this manga as it is an above average example of the genre.