The death of her yakuza father, meant that Sakurako must wed in order to continue the Fushijima clan. It was understood that the man whom, the daughter of the family marries (when there are no male heirs) would be the next leader of the yakuza group (rather sexist I know). The fact that a rival group the Hanakago have grown stronger recently, made it necessary for a new leader to be found quickly.

Thus, Sakurako's father's funeral was also meant to be her wedding day, the only choice she had being which groom she wanted to marry. In this case her two childhood friends Ranmaru and Reichi. The problem was that she was not interested in them romantically. Years of bullying these two destroyed their image as her ideal man. In addition to that Sakurako wanted to leave the yakuza world. She was tired of tough macho men running around her life with their gambling and guns, she wanted to lead a normal teenage life! The irony in the situation is that Sakurako's temperament was very well suited to her life. Though she tries to avoid being like her rather domineering mother, Sakurako was very much like that. She enjoyed a fight and as the reader you often doubt whether she would be satisfied with a normal life.

With that in mind, Sakurako then attempted to find her own Prince Charming, who was neither a gangster nor have any type of connection with the life she led. As she went to a Catholic girl's school, hence the reason why she changed schools to find that new man. Ranmaru and Reichi on discovering her plan followed her from school to school competing for her affection while at the same time working together to dodge other prospective male's interest in Sakurako. Sakurako naturally hated their constant spying and bluntly showed them by harpooning them or throwing knives. One thing about this manga is, the range of weapons used for this visual gag was staggering.

The manga was saved from being the average man of the week routine through Kobayashi's own ability to use male characters who were always very diverse. Sakurako's criteria for any male was based solely on his appearance, everything else was negotiable. This in itself is amusing as Ranmaru and Reichi's own appearance was... well not bad is an understatement :). Sakurako's blindness to them was one of the constant ways humor was created. An exploration into Ranmaru and Reichi's life also helped to build their character, making it difficult to predict which one Sakurako would choose in the end. The search for a new man in different schools in each chapter was also different in the way the author takes a 'tour guide" approach. Each area of the Kanto, Tokyo region was explored, and the places which the character frequents are based on real life, showing each area's specialties and main attraction. Matsuri, and other attraction around the area thus becomes a focus of the story line as well as becoming a source of information for the readers.

Hanada Sakurako
Loves eating, fighting and chasing after good looking guys, tends to be loud, but does posses a good heart. In some cases Sakurako would willingly step away from her prey, (cough) the guy she was chasing after if it's for the best. Often clashes with her mother, whom she resembled in more than one way. Her mark will rose from 30 to 70 in order to pass entrace exams.

Terao Reichi
Graduated with a master degree from Cambridge and Harvard, but decides to continue on with school. He's the typical "westen" influenced man. Enjoys fencing as well as horse riding and other typical upper class activites. His father believes that in order for the Fujishima clan to succeeds a new type of gangster is needed, one who is sophisticated with techonology as well as finance. He's the youngest child, with an older sister who is as dominating as Sakurako. Dislikes the way he has to make mistakes in entrance exams or else he will gain too much unwanted attention.

Hoshi Ranmaru
Oldest son, with two younger brothers, he's the exact opposite of Reichi in looks as well as personality. He's the typical macho guy (rides a bike, like boxing), though his face may often be commented as looking as "cute as a hamster". He controls the biggest gang in the Tokyo area, which in turns controls the other minor gangs and is usually known as the Baby Face Monster. He hates being called Chibi or shorty, though Sakurako gets away with it. His father and Reichi were and are still best friend, though they encouraged their sons to beat the other in order to control the Fujishima group.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page

Y.W ｩ 10:45 AM 2/16/99 natane@geoties.com