Although one of Yuu Watase's shorter compositions, Imadoki is a definite must read. Like most other shojo manga, It focuses on the standards of friendship, family, and most importantly: romance. Imadoki consists of five volumes and was publicized in Japan in 2000 by Shogakukan, Inc. It was printed four years later in the U.S. by VIZ, LLC.
Imadoki follows the trials and tribulations of Tanpopo Yamazaki, a country girl from Hokkaido who moves to Tokyo in order to attend the prestigious Meio Academy. Upon visiting her new school, Tanpopo meets Koki Kugyo. He appears to be a kind, flower loving young man whom she sees as a potential friend. Once school starts however, she discovers that Koki is the son of the founder of the school, and is the scion of one of the most influential families in the community; he wants nothing to do with her.
Meio quickly proves to be a school filled with superficial students, all of whom belong to wealthy, prominent families. However difficult, Tanpopo is persistent in her struggle to make friends in a school that looks down upon "commoners." In order to become closer to Koki, she establishes a planting club.
Imadoki tells the story of Tanpopo and her planting club, along with her search for friends and acceptance. Her friends later come to consist of Tsukiko Saionji, Aoi Kyogoku, Koki Kugyo and Arisa Uchimura. Later along in the story, things get more complicated as Tanpopo starts to fall in love with Koki. Furthermore, love triangles must play out once Erika Yanahara (Koki's fiancé) and Yoji Kugyo (Koki's older brother) are introduced into the drama.
Overall, Imadoki is a heart-felt story about friendship and love, but like other stories there is also a darker segment. Near the end of the series, there is a point in the story when Tanpopo must make the decision about whether to move back to Hokkaido to be with her aging grandparents or to stay in Tokyo with the boy she loves. All of the characters are faced with hard decisions and they all prove to have beautifully developed personalities by the end. Like in all manga, the characters tend to be just a bit quirky and over the top, but that is what makes most manga entertaining; Imadoki falls short in no way of entertainment.
