Hana-Kimi
Hana-Kimi, short for Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hisaya Nakajo. The manga was serialized in Japan in Hakusensha's semi-monthly manga magazine Hana to Yume. The series was concluded with the Japanese release of volume 23 in November 2004 and was published in English by Viz Media with the final volume released in the United States in April 2008. It was also adapted into several live-action television dramas. An anime television series adaptation produced by Signal.MD premiered in January 2026.
The series centers on Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese girl who lives in the United States. One day, she sees a track and field competition on TV, and becomes attracted to one of the high jump competitors, Izumi Sano. She begins to idolize the young athlete and eventually transfers to Japan to attend the same school that Sano attends. Sano attends an all-boys high school named Osaka Gakuen and Mizuki attempts to disguise herself as a boy to enter.
Setting
Osaka Gakuen is an all-boys school and the setting of the series. Its sister school is St. Blossoms, an all-girls high school.The three grade levels are divided into three classes. These nine classes are divided into three dormitories, as most of the students do not stay around the school area. The cultures within the individual dormitories are immensely different.
Most students residing in the first dormitory are athletes who were accepted into Osaka High on a sports scholarship. The students in the second dorm are a mix of athletes and scholars who have sports or academic scholarships. The third dormitory consists mainly of artistic and intelligent people. Inter-dorm rivalries are common and become particularly intense during the school's cultural festival.
Plot
Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese girl living in the United States, watches a program on TV featuring a high jumper named Izumi Sano. She was amazed by his performance and begins following his athletic career. Years later, she does research on him and discovers that he is currently attending Osaka High School. The school is unfortunately an all-boys school and Mizuki convinces her parents to send her to Japan by herself.Oblivious to the fact that their daughter is going to attend a boys' school, her parents let her go. Wanting to enter the school, Mizuki cuts off her long hair, disguises herself as a man, and tries her best to give hope to Sano after hearing that he no longer does the high jump. As she settles in, an accident reveals her identity to Hokuto Umeda, the school doctor, and Izumi Sano. Izumi hides his knowledge of Mizuki's gender and tries to help her keep her secret, which may not be easy because many situations land Mizuki in compromising positions that will reveal her true gender.
Characters
;Mizuki Ashiya;Izumi Sano
;Shūichi Nakatsu
;Minami Nanba
;Hokuto Umeda
;Senri Nakao
;Daiki Kayashima
;Kyogo Sekime
;Shinji Noe
;Wataru Nihonbashi
;Julia Maxwell
;Makoto Kagurazaka
Media
Manga
The series' 23 volumes were first published under the Hana to Yume Comics imprint. It was then later re-published into 12 volumes of under the Hana to Yume Comics Special imprint. Each volume featured a new cover illustration and design as well as colored pages.Hana-Kimi was also published in English by Viz Media. The English release was previously only limited to Waldenbooks from February to May 2004. It was then made available to other retail stores after May that year. In March 2012, Viz Media released a 3-in-1 edition of all the previously published Hana-Kimi manga books in North America. Instead of 23 manga books, the series spans a total of eight 3-in-1 large manga books. The last volume of the 3-in-1 special edition was published in April 2014.
Books
An illustration collection, titled Hanazakari no Kimi-tachi e: Hisaya Nakajō Kakushu, was released on May 19, 2004. 11 days later, on May 30, a character book, titled Hanazakari no Kimi-tachi e: Hisaya Nakajō Character Book. The illustration collection was also licensed in English by Viz Media under the title The Art of Hana-Kimi. It was released on November 21, 2006.On August 20, 2009, a manga anthology was published as a tribute to the series was released under the Hana to Yume Comics Special imprint. It was titled Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Tribute: 35th Anniversary Hana to Yume Memorial and was drawn by various manga artist including Satoshi Morie, affiliated with the magazine where Hana-Kimi was serialized. The cover was illustrated by the original author herself.
Drama CDs
There were a number of drama CDs released for the series. Only 2 were released commercially by Hakusensha and Marine Entertainment. The first drama CD was released on April 26, 2000. The second drama CD, titled, was released on August 23, 2002.Anime
On May 15, 2024, an anime adaptation of Hana-Kimi was announced by Aniplex, which was later confirmed to be a television series produced by Signal.MD and directed by Natsuki Takemura, with Shigeru Ueda serving as assistant director, Takao Yoshioka handling series composition, Shi Yi Su designing the characters, and Masaru Yokoyama composing the music. The series premiered on January 4, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Adrena", while the ending theme song is "Baby", both performed by Yoasobi. Crunchyroll is streaming the series.Reception
The 23 Japanese volumes of the series have sold over 17 million copies in Japan. The English release of volume six was ranked ninth in the Bookscan chart while six months after, volume nine came in fifth as one of the top-selling graphic novels in North America. The English release of volume one and two of the series were nominated under the Graphic Novel category of The Quills Awards in 2005. The series came in third place for Top Shōjo Manga in Singapore in February 2007. According to Tohan, volumes 11 and 12 ranked sixth place for the week of September 12, 2007.The English release of volume 17 was ranked eighth in the Publishers Weekly Comics Bestseller list. The 23rd volume of Hana-Kimi was released by Viz Media on April 1, 2008, and it was ranked fifth in the monthly Top 20 Graphic Novels rankings for the March 31, 2008, to April 27, 2008, period.
The total sales for the series' Japanese volumes came in fifth after Death Note in the ranking of the most read series throughout year 2007. The series ranked 37th place in Matt Blind's Top 300 series in 2008. It was later chosen as one of the series for School Library Journals Good Comics for Kids Summer Reading Challenge in 2009.
Maria Lin noted that although she normally disliked female protagonists in manga, she praised Mizuki as an exception, crediting her with lifting the manga above other "pretty boy manga", enjoying her "never-give-up attitude". Moreover, Lin enjoyed the art style but she found the male characters' designs sometimes generic. Sheena McNeil felt that the premise was "shallow", but upon reading, found herself "caught up in the story". McNeil praised the art, citing its importance in a story of deception, enjoying the "gorgeous" character designs, but appreciating the departure from strict aesthetics for humor.
Liann Cooper felt that Hana-Kimi was one of Viz's most important properties due to its combination of humor, angst and the artwork, but criticized their cover design.
Kat Avila, due to the fourth volume's humor and attractive male characters, found she enjoyed Hana-Kimi better than Girl Got Game.
By the fourth and fifth volume, the author had increased the cast, but Maria Lin felt that the storyline was still coherent despite this.