Boys Over Flowers: Jewelry Box

December 10, 2009
This volume includes bonus stories apart from the original "Boys Over Flower" series that furnish this core title in shojo manga collections. In it, Tsukushi Makino and the F4 have graduated from the elite Eitoku academy and, despite his many social faults, Tsukushi's wild boyfriend, Tsukasa, is off becoming a captain of industry. They are reunited in France to celebrate the wedding of mutual friend Shizuka. After a startling attack in Paris, Tsukushi and Tsukasa manage a pseudomarriage in view of their friends, concluding their romance. The remaining two stories in this volume deal with Rui Hanazawa, Tsukushi's first love and Tsukasa's friend and rival, who must decide what to do with his future now that Tsukushi's future is wrapped up with Tsukasa's. This title is immensely popular, well known all over Asia, having spawned a boy band, anime, and two live-action series in Japan, as well as live-action versions from Taiwan, mainland China, and Korea. Verdict Interest in the series is renewed with each incarnation, so shojo manga readers should start sending in their requests.-Christine Gertz, Univ. of Alberta

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