This made it's way into my Tiktok feed and I was very happy to see it available for download from NetGalley. One of my favorite tropes of all time is a scary-faced man with a heart of gold and this completely satisfies that. The art style is cute and the main characters are charming.

Title: The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity

Author: Saka Mikami

Rating: ★★★★

An adorable read that’ll have you smiling from start to finish. Set in the vibrant world of high school rivalries, this manga brings together the tough and misunderstood Rintaro Tsumugi from SMA Chidori and the sweet and intelligent Kaoruko Waguri from the elite Akademi Kikyo.

Rintaro, a second-year student with a scary appearance, finds himself unexpectedly charmed by Kaoruko when she visits his family’s pastry shop. As they spend more time together, Rintaro starts to feel at ease around her, but he’s haunted by the fear of what she’ll think when she discovers he’s from the notorious SMA Chidori, the school despised by all Kikyo students.

This story beautifully captures the essence of young love blossoming amidst prejudices and misunderstandings.

Rintaro and Kaoruko's growing bond is heartwarming, and their interactions are filled with sweet and tender moments that make you root for them despite the odds.

With its endearing characters and charming storyline, "The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 1" is a delightful manga that’s perfect for anyone looking for a cute and uplifting read.

Highly recommended for fans of high school romance and stories about breaking down barriers. Loved it!

Thank you to The Publisher Kodansha Comics, the author Saka Mikami & Netgalley for an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

A cute, opposites attract story. He is a delinquent attending a low-ranked all boys high school. She is number 1 at an elite all girls school. Both schools are next to each other. Yet, they meet at his family's bakery. He is sweet and considerate. She is kind and nonjudgmental. Lovely.

I really enjoyed this manga and look forward to the next volume!
* The characters are really lovable! I enjoy watching their relationship bloom!
* The tropes are predictable but I still love it because the characters relationship is so sweet and innocent.
* An easy story to read and get into!

Such a sweet and delightful story. Rintaro goes to a school for boys who aren’t interested in education and are regarded as hooligans, right next door to a school for accomplished girls that Kaoruko attends. The two meet by chance at Rintaro’s family’s café, and for the first time, he encounters a person who isn’t afraid of him because of his looks, and who wants to keep seeing him. A friendship slowly builds between the two, and even a crush, even if Rintaro doesn’t quite recognise his feelings. He’s just happy to be treated like a normal person.

The friendship between Rintaro and Kaoruko isn’t smooth sailing. Both their friends dislike the pupils of the other school and often make their opinion known, embarrassing the pair, forcing them to keep their friendship a secret. And Rintaro has to face the fact that he treats Kaoruko like he’s always been treated, based on superficial things. I wasn’t quite sure why everyone was afraid of Rintaro, other than that he was a head taller than everyone else, but people came to pick up fights with him on purpose. He was a sweet guy, and Kaoruko was a nice girl who sees the best in everyone and likes to eat.

Illustrations were clear-lined and airy, and easy to follow. The story was given ample space to unfurl, making it one of the most enjoyable of these high school romances that I’ve read. It ends at a small cliffhanger, and I definitely want to read more.

Thank you, Kodansha USA Publishing and NetGalley for my copy of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity.

This was a super cute read! The Romeo and Juliet vibes, the teen angst, the learning to put aside your prejudices to meet new people. The chemistry between Rintaro and Kaoruko is feet-kicking-giggling good.

Seeing Rintaro go through his feelings and understand why he was acting the way he was made the manga so much more amazing. I loved the dynamic with his friends, and it was cool to see them take a step toward growth as well in their preconceived notions.

I loved Kaoruko! She was so sweet and kind and thoughtful. We can all learn a lesson reading about her being so warm and welcoming to Rintaro. I'm also intrigued by Subaru and her past. I wonder if it has something to do with Natsusawa?

I was sooo sad that it ended on the semi-cliff hanger. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!! It's a want, not a need to see the sports festival !!

It's a cute and wholesome book about two teenagers whose schools are rivals, Though there's not much going on, I personally think I'm gonna love this series already. It's got opposites attract and I love both the main characters! Anyway, I can't wait to see where this story goes!

Two schools, not alike in dignity, is where we set our scene. Describing this along the lines of Romeo and Juliet fits well enough, because our lead pair come from different, if neighboring worlds. We get is the start of a cute romance and a lot of potential to go interesting places with the setting and the characters.

I thought this story was super sweet and a great beginning to a series. I love the take on Romeo and Juliet and thought it was fresh and fun. The story was adorable. I really loved it and can’t wait to read more. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me this eArc to review.

This is a sweet little manga to read with a lovely art style. While the plot is a little generic, I still found that I read it all in one sitting and enjoyed it a lot.

I find the premise of two schools facing each other with what seem to be two different types of groups very interesting. On the one hand we find the school for boys who are classified as 'problematic and the lowest' and then we have the school for girls which is the 'most distinguished and upper class'.
But as expected, not everything is black and white but there are nuances that invite us to get involved and leave the context in which it 'should be'. That's what we find in The Fragrant Flower Blooms with diggin (nice pun explained at the end of the volume, thanks).

A fun story that has a lot to show us.

Thank you Kodansha Comics for the ARC I read on NetGalley, a change from an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc!

This first volume was short and sweet. The main conflict is built up by the setting as the two main characters are from different schools that reside right next to each other. Both schools have a reputation of being polar opposites: Rintaro is from Chidori, a regular school where boys aren't known to be the smartest, and Kaoruko is from Kikyo, a prestigious girls school for the wealthy.

After meeting Kaoruko at Rintaro's family patisserie, they go through a bit of a misunderstanding when they discover where each other goes to school. It's like a Romeo and Juliet retelling, but without the tragedy and has more of a cute romance.

The two main characters can be awkward at times by themselves and in each others presence, as teenagers are, but most of the time, theyre both really wholesome. I love how everything gets resolved quickly and the cliffhanger at the end of volume 1 makes me anticipate the next installment.

From the cover itself I knew I would love this manga and I wasn't wrong! The art style is so cute and fun and I love hoe cute both the leads are! Waguri-san is makes such a cute face when eating sweets and talking to Rintaro-kun! and Rintaro is also such a blushing mess when talking to her and watching her eat haha.
The communication between them is spot on! When Rintaro realizes she's from the rival school and Waguri-san is hurt not by his friend's attitude but Rintaro's. But hey he regrets it so much and later does the right thing! They make a cute pair and I am excited to know what Subaru wants to talk about.
The pacing is good. Nothing rushed or slow. The characters have different personalities and I am curious to see how they will grow and overcome their long standing rivalry.

I had already read volume 1 of this Manga so this was a fun re-read!

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this and will be picking up a copy as soon it releases. 💕
It was well written and I really enjoyed my time reading it.

Rating 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the volume one and it was dedicated to world building and characters development which I absolutely fell in love with from the starting till the end. The illustrations were beautiful and charming, plus the plotline which was well drafted, I must say.

I thought this manga was alright. The translation was good and the translation notes were good. The plot got me a bit bored about half way through. Probably won't be continuing with this series but people who like most shoujo will probably enjoy :). Thanks NetGalley and Publisher!:

3.5⭐ Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of "The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity" I never would have picked this up if it wasn't for NetGalley, I enjoyed the manga and I'm on the lookout for volume two. It took me a little while to get into the story, I simply didn't connect straight away with this manga, but it was enjoyable and went by quickly once I was "in the story".

This manga was a delight to read!
Rintaro is so sweet i just wish he'd stop blaming himself for everything.
the art was pleasant and the characters were cute.

Overall a very wholesome manga not much happens but at least its cute.


Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

This was a cute read and also I found it interesting but not enough to continue the rest of the series over time

This romance manga had a very sweet start with some definite Romeo and Juliet vibes. Our two main characters don't really care about their feuding schools, and they secretly begin a friendship when Kaoruko begins frequenting Rintaro's family bakery. Their fledgling feels are developing realistically so far amidst their friends constantly pulling them apart. It's been very light-hearted and low stakes in terms of the feud itself so far, but I'm interested to see how the feud comes more into play as they grow closer.