The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Volumes 6 and 7 Review

Netflix have belatedly finished releasing The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity’s anime in the West, and I’m sure many of you are eager to continue following the story from here. Thankfully, Kodansha have continued to publish the manga at a quick pace, so there’s plenty more waiting for fans. With another two volumes in hand, let’s check in on the series!

In the previous volumes of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, we saw Rintaro coming to terms with the fact that he has romantic feelings for Kaoruko. However, he’s felt unable to express these feelings for a variety of reasons, but now it’s the summer, and he’s going to the Summer Festival with Kaoruko all alone. And this is where Volume 6 opens.

Unable to contain his feelings any longer, Rintaro confesses his feelings to Kaoruko at last. He’s prepared to be shot down, and he admits that he feels he’s being selfish, especially given the bad blood between their schools, but more than anything, he always wants to be by her side and spend time together. Luckily for him, Kaoruko accepts his confession and agrees to go out with him, not just because of the time they’ve spent together so far, but also because of their first meeting, which Rintaro doesn’t even remember.

And this speaks to the fact that what is a relatively unremarkable act for one person may, in fact, save someone else. As Kaoruko remembers her first time meeting Rintaro, we’re shown that this happened not at or near their schools, but at Rintaro’s family patisserie when Kaoruko was going through a challenging time.

She stopped by for a slice of cake that made her feel so warm and comforted that she burst into tears, only for Rintaro to come over and comfort her. He might not remember, but she always has and frequently visited the store thereafter to learn more about the kind man who helped her that day. Which brings us full circle back to the very start of the series, where she finally gets to interact with him again. I thought this was very clever planning on the part of the creator, and I was happy there was a bit more to their romance than we’d seen so far, even if the ‘having met previously’ angle is a little bit of a trope.

Now officially a couple, the two have to work up the courage to tell their friends. And the summer isn’t over yet! As we move into Volume 7 (which is the first beyond the anime), we start an arc focused on Rintaro’s friend Saku, whose birthday has come around. Just as he did for Kaoruko, Rintaro has baked a cake and hopes that Saku will be grateful for his efforts. The friend group gets together at Saku’s house, where they also get to meet his troublesome little sister Mio, who can’t believe Saku is friends with such beautiful girls as Kaoruko and her friend Subaru (she soon wonders if one of them is his girlfriend!).

But as is often the case for this series, the storyline isn’t just about celebrating Saku’s birthday but also dives into how he became friends with Rintaro in the first place. There are also some tender scenes between Saku and Subaru, who may have gotten off on the wrong foot to start with, but are gradually closing the gap between themselves. Could it be that romance is brewing between these two? Maybe Mio’s first impressions weren’t so far off the mark after all.

I have always appreciated mangaka Saka Mikami’s ability to tell a very natural romance story that doesn’t shy away from exploring the emotional depth of the cast and the relationships between them. It’s realistic, but it’s not overwhelming or gloomy. There’s more than enough light or fun scenes to counterbalance any of the heavier emotions, which gives readers a very rounded experience. And although there are a lot of characters, Mikami has proven skilled at giving them all time to shine, even while Rintaro and Kaoruko’s feelings have been the main theme of the last couple of volumes. Certainly, even here, I can see how this has run for a little over 21 volumes so far if the storytelling and presentation remain this strong.

Both of these volumes of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity come to the West thanks to Kodansha and continue to be translated by Fabian Kraft with lettering by Madeleine Jose (George Bao for digital). Both read well with no issues and come complete with translation notes at the end, although there are no other extras to speak of.

Volumes 8 through 10 have been released in English already, with the next new release set to be Volume 11 in February. Further volumes are pencilled in on a bimonthly schedule through to August, so still plenty more of this one to come.

Overall, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity is yet to put a foot wrong as it follows the ups and downs of its teenage cast. This continues to be one of the most charming ongoing high school romance manga available and one I am always happy to highly recommend!

Our review copies from Kodansha were supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.