April Showers Bring May Flowers Volume 2
Writer and Artist: Roku Sakura
Publisher: Yen Press (print & digital)
Translation: Leighann Harvey
Lettering: Bianca Pistillo
Publication Date: Apr 15, 2025
Rating: Teen
Genre: Manga (JPN), Comedy, Romance, Slice-of-Life
Roku Sakura‘s April Showers Bring May Flowers is another addition to Yen Press‘ ever-growing library. It’s a completed romantic comedy manga with 12 volumes in total and took 5th place in the Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards’ print category in 2019. There’s even an anime adaptation to look forward to! The second volume picks up exactly where the first left the story where Hana and Uguisudani get ready for their shopping date, and shenanigans ensue as they always do! Here’s our coverage of the first volume on The Beat in case you’ve missed it!
Uguisudani’s interest in Ueno and unease about her getting close to the boy she admires leads to her inviting Hana on a ‘shopping date’. The covert mission is to assert her femininity over Hana and get her timid, unpopular classmate to accept her inferiority. But of course, we’re talking about Hana here. It’s not easy to pierce through the thick, self-deprecating fog that warps her perception and interpretation of events.
We also find out that during Hana’s birthday dinner at the restaurant where Ueno was part-timing, Hana’s mom hit the first-name base while Hana was too wrapped up in her brain to follow the conversation. She even promised to send him food, and who better than her cute daughter to deliver the goods? Hana does take her mother’s cooking to Ueno’s house, and she even spends time there. Who would’ve guessed such a simple act would have Ueno fall down the rabbit hole of unease?
So much happens in this volume that I had a hard time summarizing! From the shopping date to the time Hana spent in Ueno’s house and meeting his younger brother, to Ueno’s worries over his behavior towards Hana, to the sports festival—the young live fast! The life of a high schooler is equally filled with excitement and worry, just like a roller coaster.
As I mentioned in my previous review of April Showers Bring May Flowers, I hoped to get to know Ueno beyond his kindness. We are finally allowed to take a peek into his character! We don’t get the whole picture yet but see just enough to help us make out the side of him that acts the way he does around Hana.
What I saw helped me warm up to Ueno even more. His sincerity partly stems from his simplistic nature. What he’s oblivious to, however, seems to be societal conventions rather than other people’s feelings or circumstances. When he invites Hana into his house when she knocks on the Ueno residence’s door, he does so simply out of wanting to spend time with her. Or when he tries to ease Hana’s worries about an accessory, he communicates his honest feelings. No, a flowery hairclip wouldn’t look weird on Hana, not at all.
To Ueno, these are simple acts that come from the heart. However, upon hearing his classmates talking about how you aren’t “supposed to” casually invite a girl to your house or carelessly touch them, the baffled boy starts to second-guess his every little interaction with Hana. His timidness eventually leads to her misreading the signs. The hectic atmosphere at the school ball-sports fest, despite Ueno’s decision to simply talk to Hana and apologize if necessary, further complicates the process. Despite the outcome, it’s still nice to read leads whose gut reaction is to communicate properly!
While Ueno is knee-deep in the attempt to talk – get cold feet – miss the chance cycle, Hana continues to gracefully dig her own grave. In not wanting to inconvenience others, she vehemently rejects or denies them. She reaches that point after a series of assumptions and guesses, but we humanfolk still can’t read minds, Hana! That only happens in manga!
The second volume of April Showers Bring May Flowers ends on a positive and funny note. Our protagonists are able to talk and smooth things out. Uguisudani unexpectedly finds herself admiring Hana, and Shinbashi’s friendship with Hana takes a couple of steps further as well. Shinbashi has an agenda of his own, but still! I laughed hard at how Hana’s otome game lingo misleads Ueno most hilariously!
The continuation greets the readers with 4 color pages printed on glossy paper once again. Apart from the bonus four-panel chapters, there’s also an additional comic strip with Uguisudani and Hana printed on the inner back cover.
I wouldn’t say there’s any significant improvement or downgrade to the art style. Roku Sakura’s art is consistent and continues to be expressive, charming, funny. I would’ve liked a bit more breathing space and a page or two, or maybe a two-page spread where a character, an emotion, or a moment fully takes space. Shojo manga artists are exceptional at highlighting these charged, small yet important moments and giving them ample time and space for readers to take in and linger, even if for a handful of seconds. April Showers Bring May Flowers is a seinen manga, and a romantic comedy to boot. While I think it can benefit from a pause here and there, I also acknowledge the density of the pages in relation to its demography and genre. Plus, the teenagers in this volume are booked and busy!
April Showers Bring May Flowers continue to be fun and adorable. The series gives away enough to pull the reader in and conceals enough to keep you coming for more! I’m all the more curious about how the anime adaptation will turn out. Now that we’re in the perfect month to read such a series, don’t miss your chance to be one of the “Heh, I’ve read the manga already,” people when the anime comes out!
April Showers Bring May Flowers Volume 2 is available digitally and in print on Yen Press’ website and other retailers.
