Hana-Kimi Exhibition Celebrates Hisaya Nakajo's 30th Career Anniversary

In 1996, the world of shōjo manga was introduced to Hisaya Nakajo's work Hana Zakari no Kimi-tachi e (Hana-Kimi). Following the fun-loving Mizuki Ashiya as she disguises herself as a boy to enroll in the all-boys Osaka Academy, the story and characters captured the hearts and minds of readers across Japan and, subsequently, the world. While the series didn't see an anime adaption during its serialization in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume imprint between 1996 to 2004, it birthed two live-action television series, one in 2007 and the other in 2011.

Nearly 30 years after the first chapter of Hana-Kimi graced the pages of Hana to Yume, the series is seeing an anime series produced by Aniplex and Crunchyroll. And as if by some sort of cosmic fate, Nakajo's manga also saw an exhibition at the Sunshine 60 Observatory Event Space from February 7 to 24. Dubbed the Hisaya Nakajo For You in Full Blossom Art Exhibition, it covered Hana-Kimi with original and digital reprint manuscripts of Nakajo's series. Anime News Network received the opportunity to explore the Exhibition.

Hisaya Nakajo For You in Full Blossom Art Exhibition was divided into 11 sections, with 10 covering major plot points within the series and the final displaying artwork from Nakajo's other works. The pieces included in the exhibition were manuscript pages, cover illustrations, color pages for Hana to Yume, pieces used for calendars, and some art used for telephone cards and CDs. Along with the art pieces, the exhibition also displayed story and character profiles for various Hana-Kimi characters.

Nakajo, who sadly passed away in 2023, is honored here with an impressive representation of her art, manga, and beloved characters.

The exhibition's first section featured select pages from the opening of the manga series. The explainer read, “Mizuki Ashiya, a transfer student from America, arrives at Osaka Academy, an all-boys school. Mizuki is a girl who lied about her gender when enrolling in the school to meet Sano Izumi, a high jump athlete she admires.” The section also introduced guests to the principal characters of the series, Mizuki Ashiya, Izumi Sano, and Shuichi Nakatsu.

The second section takes Mizuki and her friends to their school's cultural festival. A competition between Osaka Academy's three dormitories; it's a combination of sports and culture festival. Introduced in this section is the Second Dormitory's head, Minami Nanba.

No school story wouldn't be complete with a story arc about an extended school trip. The third part of the Nakajo Art Exhibition took fans to Mizuki's school trip to Hokkaido Prefecture. A bit late in the exhibition, Osaka Academy's doctor and man who discovered Mizuki's secret, Hokuto Umeda, and Mizuki's classmates Kyogo Sekime and Shinji Noe were introduced in the third section.

Between the third and fourth sections of the Nakajo Exhibition, the teaser for the forthcoming Hana-Kimianime series was projected for all the series fans. While we weren't allowed to film the teaser, it's available on the Aniplex YouTube channel.

The Nakajo Art Exhibition's fourth section was a double-header featuring scenes when Nakatsu was accused of cheating and photographer Akiha Hara scouting several Osaka Academy's Second Dormitory residents as models. The heads of the First and Third Dormitory, Megumi Tennoji and Masao Himejima, were introduced to fans.

If an extended school trip is a staple of any school manga series, Christmas is an event most manga won't pass up. Featuring events during Osaka Academy and Saint Blossom's joint Christmas event, the section featured seasonal illustrations and pages from the event. Karate Club captain Itsuki Kujo and Karate Club member Shotaro Kadoma's profiles were the stars of this section.

A second double-header, the exhibition's sixth section examined the characters' dreams and past of Osaka Academy's doctor, Hokuto Umeda. Mizuki's classmates Daiki Kayashima and Senri Nakao's profiles were introduced in this section.

The seventh and eighth sections of the Nakajo Art Exhibition were related in that the sections dealt with the romance between Mizuki, Izumi, and Shuichi. To not spoil the surprise for the anime series and those who haven't read the manga series, the smallest hint we can give is there's a confession of love between the characters. Izumi's younger brother, Shin Sano, and Izumi's self-proclaimed rival, Makoto Kagurazaka, profiles were on full display for fans. With most of the principal characters introduced, this was the final character profile of the exhibition.

Much like Christmas, no long-running manga series would be complete without a Valentine's Day story. And the exhibition does not disappoint, with the ninth section dedicated to scenes from the Hana-Kimi Valentine's Day story arc.

What better way to end the Nakajo Art Exhibition than with the graduation of Mizuki, Izumi, and Shuichi? The section was filled with story beats from the final chapters of Hana-Kimi, with one of the highlights being the color illustration of the characters with their diplomas.

The finale of the exhibition featured artwork from other Nakajo works. But the highlight was the rough drafts from Hana-Kimi. Called “name,” the rough drafts show the basic panel layout and framing of characters within the panels. It's rare to see the rough draft of a manga, making the displays a treat for anyone who visited the Nakajo Art Exhibition. Unfortunately, photography of the drafts was not permitted.

A manga art exhibition wouldn't be complete without a gift shop. And the Hisaya Nakajo For You in Full Blossom Art Exhibition did not disappoint. Among the merchandise were pin badges, gallery books, manuscript reprints, tote bags, t-shirts, and acrylic stands, among others. The standouts were the canvas boards of Hana-Kimi characters and the Fine Graph prints of Hana-Kimi color illustrations.

While not attached to the Hisaya Nakajo For You in Full Blossom Art Exhibition, the Sunshine 60 Observatory café partnered with the exhibit with three collaboration menu items. The items were the Honey Lemon Tea & Cake set, Nakatsu's Okonomiyaki Style Pancakes, and the Kiss Monster Sano's Non-alcoholic Cocktail and Snack set. Each item had a collaboration coaster and a little Hisaya Nakajo For You in Full Blossom Art Exhibition flag. The drinks also came with a beautiful exhibition sticker on the cup.

We tried the collaboration menu items, and they each have their highs and lows.

Starting with the Honey Lemon Tea & Cake set, the honey lemon tea was delicious. I generally enjoy straight tea, but the honey flavor and lemon slice added just the right kick. There were four cakes I could choose from, and with the advice of the staff, I tried the sweet potato mont blanc cake. Much like cakes in Japan, the cream and sweet potato complemented the sweetness of the honey lemon tea. More precisely, it wasn't overly sweet like some American cake cream or frosting tends to be. Unfortunately, the sponge (the cake part) lacked flavor or texture. Again, this is more of a Japanese cake thing where bakers tend to go with a less flavorful and rich sponge. But the star of a mont blanc is the cream. So overall, this was a menu item I thoroughly enjoyed.

Nakatsu's okonomiyaki-style pancakes were an interesting menu item. I received a stack of three pancakes with a healthy serving of chocolate and white syrup, cornflakes, and matcha powder. The item itself is a great recreation of the Japanese okonomiyaki and the dessert from Hana-Kimi. It was, however, a bit on the dry side. However, I've experienced this with pancakes I've made myself. The chocolate syrup overpowered the flavor profile, but that's almost to be expected–a healthy serving of syrup is a must for pancakes. What made the Nakatsu's Okonomiyaki Style Pancakes, though, was its texture. The cornflakes added a bit of crunch and made me want to do the same the next time I make pancakes.

Finally, the Kiss Monster Sano's Non-alcoholic Cocktail and Snack set had a fun evolution. It's not something you'd expect from a mocktail and an assortment of popcorn, nuts, and salami, but it threw me for a loop. Starting with the drink, it's a layered drink with a citrusy, almost grapefruit-flavored, carbonated drink over blue Hawaiian syrup. Unfortunately, the sour and tart taste takes over when you incorporate the blue Hawaiian syrup and carbonated drink. When paired with the salt from the snacks, there's a change to the flavor profile of the drink. While it didn't become sweet, the salt reduced the sour and tart taste and helped me enjoy the drink. I can't claim the ratios of the syrup to carbonated beverage in the drink, but if I were to make it alcoholic, an eighth fluid ounce of rum or tequila would probably add the right amount of punch and turn it into a pseudo-tiki drink.

As noted above, Hisaya Nakajo For You in Full Blossom Art Exhibition took place at the Sunshine 60 Event Space from February 7 to 24. There have been no announcements of a second run at another venue.