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[The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity] Sweet Romance with Saka Mikami – Part 1

Interviews #Kaoruhana #Saka Mikami #The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity

This article was originally published on April 14, 2022.

Their budding romance is sure to set hearts aflutter!

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity tells the story of two high school students, the intimidating Rintaro Tsumugi and the gentle Kaoruko Waguri, as they navigate the spring of youth. The schools they attend, Chidori Public High School, an all-boys school with a rough reputation and Kikyo Private Academy Girls’ High School for young ladies, are right next to each other.
Though their schools are at odds, Kaoruko and Rintaro’s softly blossoming relationship will give you butterflies!
Their sweet and pure love story makes for a truly compelling read!

In this interview, we talked with Saka Mikami-sensei about how the manga came to be and the scenes she believes really make their mark!

Wait, she’s an Attack on Titan fan?!

――What sparked your desire to draw manga?

Mikami:
A friend told me about Attack on Titan around the time the anime started airing. I ended up reading Hajime Isayama-sensei’s original manga and thought, “Wow! Stories can really be this interesting?” It had a huge impact on me. That’s when my mind opened up to the idea of becoming a manga artist.

――What kinds of manga had you read before that point?

Mikami:
The first manga I read as a kid was PEACH-PIT-sensei’s Shugo Chara. I also read a lot of shojo manga featured in Nakayoshi [Kodansha’s monthly shojo manga magazine].

――When did you start actually creating manga?

Mikami:
When I was in my third year of high school. I went to a high school with a beauty apprenticeship program, but tried my hand at it with the help of a teacher who was quite knowledgeable about manga. The manga I liked were Attack on Titan and Shugo Chara, which are both published by Kodansha, so I figured that I had to have my work published by Kodansha too! And now here I am [laughs].

From Song of the Jellyfish to The Fragrant Flower

――Your one-shot, Song of the Jellyfish, won the 105th Newcomer Manga Award. How many manga had you created by that point?

Mikami:
That was my third manga.

――Though the two protagonists, one on the track and field team and the other a singer, are quite different, they are able to find common ground which is also a theme in The Fragrant Flower.

Mikami:
That’s true. My editor suggested we go with a “coming-of-age” story for the serialization, and I only realized that Song of the Jellyfish and The Fragrant Flower were similar after I drew it. I probably unconsciously gravitate towards those types of stories.

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――Now that The Fragrant Flower is being serialized, how are you feeling?

Mikami:
I definitely feel how tough the schedule is. I genuinely think the people working on serialized works are amazing [laughs]. Even during my high school days, I’d stay up all night working on assignments, so even now, I’m making it somehow. I’m really glad I got the chance to experience just how hard it is to make something.

――Could you tell us how you came up with the basis for The Fragrant Flower?

Mikami:
I wanted to create a manga where all of the main cast are kind people.

――How long was the manga in the works before it began publication?

Editor:
Actually, it only came about quite recently. After Song of the Jellyfish won the Newcomer Award, I told Mikami-sensei, “there’s no greater award than this, so all you have to do now is storyboard something for serialization. It’s a long road, though, so prepare yourself.” Thankfully, she got snapped up right away [laughs]!

Mikami:
I did have some trouble with the storyboard for the second chapter though. I think it got rejected like 3 times.

――What was the hardest part about that?

Mikami:
Capturing the tension between Chidori and Kikyo. When I was coming up with the plot for the first chapter, I decided that the relationship between the boys’ school and the girls’ school would not be good. I got some feedback from my editor about making things between them more tense, and depicting that hostile atmosphere was quite the challenge.

That’s all for part 1! Come back soon for part 2!

▼Read The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity here!

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