Plot
The Wallflower is about a girl who was called ugly by the first and only person to whom she confessed her love. This incident sparks a life change, and as a result Sunako shuns all forms of beauty, both in herself as well as in life. Concerned by her change for the worst, Sunako's aunt, the owner of a beautiful mansion where four very handsome students live, offers the guys free rent in her mansion if they can turn Sunako into a "perfect lady" (referred to in Japan as the titular Yamato Nadeshiko).
While the four of them manage to make Sunako physically beautiful enough to become a lady, the problem lies with her attitude and interests (which Sunako has no intention of changing). Up until the most recent release in the story, they've managed to convince Sunako's aunt that her niece is indeed a lady befitting the mansion in which they live (and prevent the rent from skyrocketing to triple the required amount). However, in reality Sunako has not changed considerably. Sunako has the tendency to spurt out in a nose bleed when seen by bright creatures, especially around Kyohei.
Characters
- Sunako Nakahara
Voiced by: Yukiko Takaguchi (Japanese), Hannah Alcorn (English) Live-Action: Aya Ōmasa
Sunako always had an obsession with darkness and a morbid fascination with blood, horror movies, and similarly dark things but it wasn't until she was rejected by her first love that she openly expressed it and became even more isolated from the rest of the world. She hates excessive light exposure and also does poorly in hot weather, though the latter is because she grew up in northern Japan. She has three "friends"; a skeleton called Josephine (with husband, sergeant George) and two anatomical figures named Hiroshi-kun and Akira-kun. While she suffers from severely low self-esteem, she is actually quite beautiful (most of her physical imperfections are a result of her self-imposed isolation from the world) and a frighteningly tough fighter, being able to lift someone twice her size with one hand. She is portrayed (mostly) throughout the manga in chibi form as a sort of visual metaphor for how she and others see herself; becoming beautiful when her mood becomes bold or confident . Somewhat surprisingly, she is a very good cook, very athletic, intelligent, and a good pianist. She refers to beautiful people as "creatures of light" and "ugly" people, such as herself, as "creatures of darkness", in the translation in America. Whenever she sees a "creature of light", she gets nosebleeds, and they're usually severe when she sees Kyohei. Despite her negative attitude, once she is driven to do something, Sunako is quite capable of doing things that no one expects her to complete. There is also a possibility that she may have supernatural abilities i.e. plants wilting near her and windows shattering by an unseen force. She's also been possessed many times.
Her relationship with Kyohei is somewhat unclear, saying that she always wants to kill him, and even going to the extent of turning into a lady temporarily to get him back. Her reason is that "she's the only person who can kill him". She has not, however, thought of or mentioned killing him for many chapters, not even after he kissed her. Recent chapters have seen her forget her first crush, and she is now more open to other people, including her peers and teachers at school. She's also having less and less nosebleeds and though protests at first, doesn't greatly mind spending time with Kyohei. During chapter Sunakos Curse Sunako is seen kissing Kyohei (the first time she has initiated a kiss) after she put a curse on him, of living spirits. In the chapter a present for you she is seen giving Takano a hand-made present to remind him of the good memories with his mother.
Kyouhei Takano
Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English) Live-Action: Kazuya Kamenashi
While he says that all he cares about is getting free (or the lowest amount required to be paid) rent, he has a soft spot for Sunako and empathizes with her more so than the others. He is the most popular of the boys, and always has trouble keeping down a part-time job because his fans will chase after him, or his boss (male or female) will sexually harass him. Kyohei is cocky, short-tempered, and the only one tough enough to fight on the same level as Sunako. His hair is modeled after Tackey of Tackey & Tsubasa. He also tends to succumb to food and money. Since Sunako is the only girl who is able to understand his true personality regardless of his good looks, he gradually develops an obvious attraction towards her, even going as far as kissing her for no apparent reason. In latest chapters he seems to be aware of his feelings to at least a small degree, looking at a loss when it seems Sunako loves a guy (she doesn't) and when witnessing said guy hug a girl rushes to find Sunako after buying chocolates 'for himself' (to console her- he doesn't eat a single one). He seems to have softened towards her more in chapter 91, telling her she's fine just the way she is when she's upset, scolding her for lying on a dangerous place and telling the 'old man' who talked to her not to fill Sunako's head with too many strange ideas, that he and the others would be worried if she went to the underworld.
Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Japanese), Chris Patton (English) Live-Action: Shuntaro Miyao
A ladies' man, Ranmaru is often going out with various beautiful older (and often married) women. The very sight of Sunako initially has him breaking out in hives, but when her true beauty is revealed, he decides that she has "potential" to become a real lady. Like Takenaga, he comes from a wealthy family (who own a series of hotel chains), but was sent to live with the Landlady because he exploited his wealth and his parents wanted him to become "normal". Surprisingly, Ranmaru is actually better at kendo than Takenaga, who comes from a traditional family. He apparently is the strongest advocate of making Sunako into a lady and is usually responsible for doing her make-up whenever she has to dress up; however, his attempts are rarely successful in the long run and he is convinced the it is Kyohei's attitude towards Sunako that is the primary problem. In hopes of changing his womanizing habits, his parents engage him to reserved and conservative girl of their liking, named Tamao Kikunoi. Even though he rejects Kikunoi's love for him, he begins to develop feelings for her. He is named after the real life Mori Ranmaru, the partner of Oda Nobunaga.
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English) Live-Action: Hiroki Uchi
The most intellectual of the four, Takenaga is called the "Boss" (a pun on his personal name in Japanese, which can be read as buchou, meaning "boss") by his friends and is the least fazed by Sunako's morbid habits. When the quartet dress Sunako up, Takenaga is usually responsible for doing Sunako's hair. Takenaga was originally from a wealthy family descended from flower masters (ikebana), but when the pressure of being the family heir was too much, he became completely withdrawn and ignored everyone. He was sent to live at the Landlady's mansion in hopes of becoming more "normal". He is described as a caring feminist and is rather shy. He is currently going out with Noi, whom he affectionately calls "Noi-chi". His name is derived from Oda Nobunaga (in fact it was once suggested in the anime that Takenaga was a direct descendant of Nobunaga) and his reference to Noi as "Noi-chi" is probably a reference to Oichi, a sister of Nobunaga.
Voiced by: Yamauchi Yuuya (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English) Live-Action: Yuya Tegoshi
The most androgynous of the four, "Yuki" is gentle and is initially the most frightened of Sunako. He's the most "normal" of the four boys; before coming to live at the mansion he had a normal school life with a middle-class family. His mother and the Landlady are old friends and the Landlady, and Sunako at times, has a soft spot for Yuki. He's also the shortest and shyest, with a "cute" face, and has been called on (very reluctantly) to dress up as a girl on more than one occasion. He is usually responsible for choosing what sort of clothes Sunako wears when she is forced to dress up and has a good sense of fashion.
- Noi Kasahara
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English) Live-Action: Ranko Kobe
A very pretty and exceedingly popular girl. She loves being called beautiful by the others, especially Sunako. Noi is Sunako's closest friend at school, where Sunako is scorned for her terrifying demeanor and association with the boys. She admires Sunako's tough attitude and also believes that Sunako and Kyohei are compatible as a couple. Noi is in love with Takenaga, though she tends to be insecure about their relationship because Takenaga is too shy to openly admit that he likes her. She is called "Noi" in both the North American and Singaporean English-language translation. As stated in recent chapters, she's a fan of shoujo manga.
- Mine Nakahara
Voiced by: Yuka Komatsu (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English) Live-Action: Reiko Takashima
- Sunako's aunt (addressed as Oba-san or "Auntie"), who expects Kyohei, Takenaga, Yuki, and Ranmaru to make Sunako into a lady. Called the "infamous Marie Antoinette of the East", Miss Nakahara is extremely wealthy and usually travels in unconventional fashion, such as in a fleet of helicopters. The Landlady is rarely around (usually in France with her latest boyfriend or fiancé) and the four males have managed to convince her that Sunako is on the fast track to becoming a lady when really her niece is not. However, the Landlady has also been known to make unexpected visits, which often leads to the boys putting on an act of some sort with Sunako to make her appear more lady-like and, occasionally, resulting in raised rent when all does not go as planned.
- The Landlady is actually the younger sister of Sunako's father and, like her niece, requires very little effort to frighten the boys. It is known that her husband is dead and the apparent reason why she keeps getting a new boyfriend is that she is lonely, but she loves none of these men in the same way she loved her husband. While their interaction is relatively limited, Sunako actually admires her aunt a great deal and considers her the most beautiful woman she knows; the Landlady, in turn, simply wants Sunako to be happy and believes that helping her niece become a lady will do so, especially since as a child Sunako always wanted to be like her aunt. She gradually turns her focus away from trying to shape Sunako into an elegant lady, believing that Sunako is perfectly capable of acting as such, and attempting to change Kyohei into a suitable partner for her niece.
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