‘The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’ courts us with charm and strong characters

At long last, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity begins on Netflix, and it is off to a great start. Based on the manga created by Saka Mikami, the anime is a coming-of-age story that follows two students who attend rival schools, Rintaro (Yoshinori Nakayama) and Kaoruko (Honoka Inoue). Their friendship —and later romantic relationship — is the crux of the whole series.

First, the elephant in the room: Netflix nonsensically holding the Western broadcast of the anime hostage for two months after the premiere in Japan. As Netflix tries to become our new anime overlords, it’s annoying to see this happen, especially in the age of global anime fandom, where spoilers hit online at an impressive speed. Withholding the series for two months only does it a disservice regarding a weekly discussion. A streaming service that relies heavily on subscriber retention, it remains counterintuitive to make piracy appear to be a better deal.

But at least the anime is here now. When it comes to our protagonist, the soft-spoken Rintaro Tsumugi, the people around him have already written him off. Labeled as a delinquent with his dyed blonde hair, piercings, and intimidating face— with his height only adding to his intimidation factor—Rintaro resigns himself to always being judged as something he’s not. This motivates him to give up not only on enjoying things but also on having a life with friends who care about him. While this sort of character type isn’t revolutionary, the observant writing for Rintaro brings a breath of fresh air to the trope with his mannerisms.

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

To match Rintaro, Kaoruko Waguri beats the boring love interest allegations right out of the gate. Despite her diminutive size, she puts down sweets like no one’s business. She’s also the first person, other than his friends and family, to see how kind Rintaro actually is. Throughout the first episodes, she extends kindness toward Rintaro time and time again, even when being threatened by two other men. Her capability to stand tall in her beliefs gives a wonderful spin on a character that might appear dull.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity is an original take on the opposites attract trope. From an aesthetic point of view, the two main characters couldn’t be more different. While Rintaro is tall for his age, Kaoruko is short enough for him to believe she’s actually a middle schooler. Rintaro’s blond hair makes him stand out even when he doesn’t want to, while Kaoruko keeps her hair its natural color.

Rintaro and Kaoruko not only attend rival schools, but they are also directly next to each other, and the schools have an unknown reason to hate each other. Because of this, Kaoruko’s school forbids its students from hanging out with students from Rinatou’s school. This reveal at the end of the premiere is the perfect take on the trope because it immediately puts them on opposite ends of the spectrum. From this point on, it’s clear that the main character’s romance is starting on a rather difficult foot.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity delivers a strong, central romance.

Even with this difference, it’s clear that their dynamic is winsome, thanks to some immediately charming interactions that only grow stronger over time. Karouko clearly has a lot of respect for Rintaro, something he only experiences with close friends and family. She goes out of her way so they can sit and talk together in the cake shop and later, in Episode 4, on a study “date.” In the same vein, Rintaro doesn’t judge Karouko for the small stuff – such as having such a large appetite and offering his own cake for her to eat. He also looks past their school differences, seeing her kindness despite the elite pedestal Kikyo girls are put on. It’s a back-and-forth that’s refreshing to see in a modern anime.

But the series looks beyond the main duo and the ensemble cast is a key part of the story with The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity. As the anime continues, the focus ends up on the other characters and shows exactly why they’re so important to both the story and the main couple. I, for one, can’t wait for their backgrounds to come to life in the anime.

CloverWorks earns serious kudos for the animation work. The changes to the characters are subtle, but make a huge difference that works extremely well for animation. And it becomes even more striking as the ensemble continues to expand. Even the sweets at Rintaro’s family’s cake shop are animated with a delicate hand that shows a lot of care went into bringing them to life. At the risk of making a cliche, but every frame is a painting.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity introduces the series to the Western audience beautifully. The storytelling does a great job at setting up both the main characters and the ensemble cast. On top of that, the animation from CloverWorks is seamless throughout the entire episode. Every nuance is on display for the audience until the very end, and four episodes deep, it’s a strong and inviting start to a long-awaited adaptation.

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity is airing now on Netflix. 

Images courtesy of Netflix. 

Kayla Chu

Made up of feminism, sports, and cheap wine.
Questions, comments, inquries please be sent to kaylamchu@gmail.com