Imadoki!, Vol. 1: Dandelion

Kind of a typical story, but Watase-san was able to give it uniqueness. The main character is a lot more daring (and bold) than most female protagonists, and I thought that made the story more fun, and definitely more interesting! The male character is pretty arrogant, but I hope Tanpopo is going to be able to change his heart :) I also like how the story revolves around flowers....Watase-san's art is outstanding....each page is very detailed and you could tell she put a lot of time into it.

I always loved this short series from Yu Watase.

But for Tanpopo Yamazaki, it could be hell. The students are all from wealthy families and got to the elite Meio Academy via family connections. To them, she is a weed, as her name suggests (Dandelion). Will she be able to make freinds? Why is she so clueless and cheerful? Is the tiny fox, who is her pet, some kind of alien?Funny, delightful, but not really anything to bring it out from the rest of the shojo. I might continue with the series or not - I don't see it being a MUST.

Tanpopo Yamazaki is not your average Meio High School Freshman, as evidenced by her grand entry into her school... by flying over a guard rail on her bike the day before she starts class. This brazen act of individuality is witnessed by a young man planting a dandelion with a spade. He is concerned for the dandelion, or "Tanpopo"... yes, the heroine's name means dandelion... because her actions have harmed it, and life at the school is difficult enough for the plants that the young man considers to be his friends. The two part ways for the day before Tanpopo learns of the young man's name.The first day at school Tanpopo meets the young man in her class, but he is extremely cold to her. She finds out from a fellow student that his name Koki Kugyo and that he is an heir to a large fortune. When she persists to remind him that they have met the truth of her allowance into the academy is revealed...horror of horrors, she actually tested into the academy instead of having her parents pave the way with their exorbitant fortunes. This immediately causes a reaction from the bourgeoisie , who find her quite plebian, and refuse to have anything to do with her. The start calling her "Weed" to her face and making all sorts of nasty comments, but no amount of torment from them is as bad as the out and out ignoring she is getting from Koki, who had been so pleasant to her on their first chance meeting. At a class assembly the first day Tanpopo calls him out, pledging her allegiance that she and he will be friends with one another and she will not rest until she has achieved that end.This causes some problems with her reputation, as you can imagine, but Tanpopo manages to navigate things in such a way that she and he are on the planting committee. This entails strange actions, because none of the plants at the academy are actually real, for allergy preventions. But, she and he become a team, and everyone is surprised when Tsukiko Saionji, a pretty, popular, and (more importantly to the elite members of Meio) rich young woman volunteers to join their committee. Tanpopo's first duty as a planting committee member is to go against tradition surreptitiously and replant all of the plastic flowers with real flowers... which causes some problems for everyone, the members of the planting committee included.So, at the core, what is this charming series about? It's about values, strength, and resolve to do what is right despite all the adversity. It's about a bubbly young iconoclast just being herself in a situation where everyone else has developed a façade to survive. It's about changing other people's perceptions and helping them grow when they realize that everything they have ever been taught to believe doesn't necessarily translate as being the "right or wrong" way. Is this a diversion from Watase's usual fair? Oddly enough no it is not. Typically her stories are much more harsh, but the core elements are still there. Friendship, overcoming obstacles, love and pain, growth, finding oneself... those are all key to enjoying a Watase story, and they are all here. This story may be lighter than typical Watase work, but it definitely stand among (and I would even argue out) in the pantheon of her work. Fans of her usual work will not be disappointed in this fun series.

Imadoki! is one of those rare mangas you will encounter. Though it is a typical high school story it is more. It is about friendship, determination, courage, and most of all love. Yamazaki Tanpopo enters Meio Academy where everyone is rich and snubs her. She being a middle-class person tries to befriend the "lord" of the school Kugyou Koki. B/c he wants nothing to do with her, Tanpopo starts up the gardening committee. Gradually Koki's barriers around his heart are broken and he becomes her friend. They are joined by other students slowly, and little by little Tanpopo has an impact on their life as do they on her.I must say Imadoki is probably one of the most hilarious mangas I have read. I found myself laughing almost every page--mainly because of the character "Flippy" but also because of how naive Tanpopo is. But I love her...she is a strong, determined, couragous girl who puts friendship before anything else.My friend and I went shopping and she bought this. Reading the back of the book, the plot sounded dull and I totally dissed it...but I found scanlations of it and read it out of curiousity and ended up loving it sooo much I just had to buy it in actual book form. And so far out of all the Yuu Watase manga I've read, this is probably my favorite.So if you are a fan of shoujo manga pick this up (its only 5 volumes) and join in on the fun in Imadoki! I'm sure you'll be laughing really hard but yet be touched by this wonderful tale.

The girl from a middle-class family going to a school populated with rich students is a classic shoujo plotline. She suffers horrible abuse, but still somehow ends up with the guy. Series like "Hana Yori Dango" (Boys Over Flowers) is one of the better known varieties of this story. In "Imadoki" the big difference from the formula is that the main character, Tanpopo, is utterly clueless to some of the taunts and pranks. She doesn't get depressed or plot revenge. She's more concerned with the flowers she planted outside the school building. This title reminded me of "Pollyanna" in some respects. Tanpopo is almost always cheerful and when another character tells her that she will be Tanpopo's bitter rival for the affection of the male love interest, Tanpopo reacts by saying, "Seeing the real you is so cool!" And, like in "Pollyanna," I can actually see her approach working with other students. She's gradually winning folks over. I'm sure she'll end up on the top of the heap by the end of the series and will have changed the fabric of the school's interpersonal politics by the end. Still, it's a standard formula, and unless I see some deviation or more interesting character development by the second book, I don't know if I'll read it past that point.

Love this manga! I love Yuu Watase's work so i had to get this. It took a while to arrive but it was worth the wait. Book is as good as new and i will be buying the next one.

Yuu Watase is my favourite Manga artist and I liked this Manga.

If you like Fushigi Yuugi, you'll like this. Its about a country girl who gets into a prestigious rich-school and goes to great lengths (mostly loud and humouress ones) to become friends with koki? (cant really remember name ^-^) who happens to be the son of the founder. She ends up bringing out his loving side, instead of the cool, harsh exterior.The artwork is, as ever, beautiful. I personally love Yu Watase's work, its always really fun and interesting. Although I havent read any further than the first volume, I'm looking forward to the rest of the story. Its only just begun...