[Review] Takane & Hana, Vol. 3 - Yuki Shiwasu

Summary: A strong-willed high school girl and a hot, young scion of a business empire can’t help trying to outwit each other every chance they get… But could these opposites be conning themselves out of the perfect match?!

After her older sister refuses to go to an arranged marriage meeting with Takane Saibara, the heir to a vast business fortune, high schooler Hana Nonomura agrees to be her stand-in to save face for the family. But what happens when Hana meets Takane is an unexpected pairing of utter opposites!

Hana has to continue to pretend to be her sister after Takane’s grandfather expresses his desire to meet Takane’s prospective marriage partner! But Hana’s totally out of her element at a party hosted by the Takaba Group, the largest conglomerate in Japan! Just how the heck is she supposed to pull this off?! (Pub Date: June 5, 2018)

It's been a while since the last time I finished the third volume of a manga! That certainly means something.

This time we have the characters going to a resort with all included. Because it's a bunch of kids, kind of like a school trip, Takane is feeling out of place. To aggravate things, he and Okamoto seem to be at odds.

So, yes. To be honest, because I have love triangles, I was fearing we'd finally get to this plot of Takane vs Okamoto. The volume doesn't go deep in it but it's something already. I'm glad it's been cute and fun at least. I really like how the author plays with all these lovely characters, but I feel this volume was a bit too much of the same we'd usually see in shoujo manga.

Still, I think I'm fully in love with Takane! Before the trip plot, we have a chapter he is sick and also another he passionately tutors Hana, after her grades fall a little. He's really something! And Hana, of course, is one of the best shoujo characters I've met. I'm starting to get itchy about the time they'll finally have to face all the problems a romantic relationship will bring them.

Before getting this manga series, I was feeling a little nostalgic about titles from the late 90's, early 2000's. It was like shoujos were never as cute-exciting like HanaKimi or Hanadan. Well, this one drinks from the same water. To be honest, I'm even more nostalgic now—reading it is like I went back in time.

Not the best volume out, but still keeping it up. So... where can I adopt a Hana?

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.