Manga Mondays: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 7

  Manga Mondays is a meme hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read where bloggers can share their passion for reading mangas. It's a great place to get new manga titles to try and to meet new bloggers. Melodrama, angst, and humor are blended quite nicely Volume 7 of Boys Over Flowers.

Description: Just as Tsukushi thinks she can attend school unnoticed, the entire school starts bullying her and she finds herself in a love triangle with the two most popular boys, that's when the real trouble begins Mysterious men have knocked out Tsukushi and her on-and-off boyfriend Tsukasa. The two awake to find themselves alone on a boat, a situation that reeks of the diabolical handiwork of Tuskasa's maniacal mother Kaede. Will the two of them survive this insane twist of fate?

Review: Volume 7 of Boys over Flowers is a wild emotional ride for Tsukushi. She is wrecked with guilt after she "accidentally" kisses Rui while the group was on vacation and was caught by Tsukasa. I felt horrible for Tsukasa as his heart broke into little pieces. He assumed that Tsukushi liked him as much as he liked her but that was clearly not the case. Enraged Tsukasa vows never to speak to Tsukushi again and kicks Rui out of the F4 which shocks everyone since they've all have been friends since childhood. The only person who isn't shocked by the news is Rui, who kind of shrugs his shoulder and is blase about it all. He asks out Tsukushi on a date which in my opinion would get the award for the most awkward date ever as the two misread signals the other gives throughout the entire time. 
  I like how the mangaka gives the reader and her heroine an opportunity to be with each love interest separately. While Tsukasa can be a jerk most of the time, deep down he can be sweet and caring which makes him a character that has great potential to grow and change. Rui just comes off as disinterested, emo, and robot-like. I'm not completely convinced that Rui is going out with Tsukushi because he likes her, but is trying to rebound from his rejection from Shizua. I'm hoping he too develops a personality. The cute and quiet appeal can only go for long.  
  In this volume we are also introduce to a new character, Tsubaki, who is Tsukasa's older sister. When the two appear side by side, you can see where Tsukasa's harshness comes from. Since they both have absentee parents who are more concerned with their business, Tsubaki raised Tsukasa up all by herself. Tsubaki gave the book some much needed comic relief from the book's heavy doses of melodrama and teen angst. Again we are reminded to not cast Tsukasa as a jerk too quickly as he does have some great characteristics too. I thought it was interesting that after this was said to make Tsukasa look good and then the next heartbeat he is declaring that Rui has been replaced in the F4 and he will anything in his means to get Tsukushi and Rui expelled. Hmm... I guess we'll see if Tsukasa is all bark and no bite in the next volume. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

Words of Caution: There is some crude humor and minor language in the volume. Recommended for teens.

If you like this book try: Boys Over Flowers Vol. 8 by Yoko Kamio, Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances by Masami Tsuda, Mars by Fuyumi Soryo