Kasuga goes from loner to most popular kid in school due to middle schoolers and their inherently fickle nature.
What They Say
FLOWERS OF EVIL revolves around Takao Kasuga, who is caught stealing Nanako Saeki’s gym clothes by Sawa Nakamura whose cold attitude makes her generally disliked by everyone. In exchange for her silence, he makes a “contract” with her, in which he must abide by all of her unreasonable demands. Initially torturous, Kasuga wants out until one day when things start to change between them…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This week opens on a moment of true existential terror for any student, as Kasuga opens the door to find everyone staring at him. Did Saeki see her uniform through Kasuga’s wet shirt? Does everybody know about the theft? It turns out to be no such thing. People saw Kasuga and Saeki walking around together throughout the town, and they just want to know what’s up. Saeki asks for Kasuga’s permission to tell the others, and then reveals that the two are now dating.
Kasuga, who has gone from being ignored, to being mocked and paired off with Nakamura, is now officially the luckiest guy in class. Nakamura is apparently the best wingwoman in the dating scene, as now Kasuga’s every dream has come true. Nakamura has even promised to drop the whole gym uniform blackmail, and claims to want only happiness for the new couple. Kasuga is even stupid enough to believe it for a few minutes. But whatever Nakamura’s game is, it’s clear it’s moved onto a whole new stage.
It’s kind of reminiscent of American Beauty: Flowers of Evil is using the kind of contrived setups and misunderstandings of a typical romantic comedy to allow Nakamura’s mischief to go wild. While celebrating his newfound luck, Kasuga spies Nakamura and Saeki talking out of the corner of his eye. But what are they communicating about? Are they in on the scam together? Is Nakamura breaking her promise?
When he asks later, Saeki says that Nakamura wished the couple the best. Saeki, being the kind of angelic creature she is, decides she wants to help Nakamura fit in a little better. The next day at lunch, Saeki invites Nakamura to eat with her and Kasuga. This draws the attention of the entire class, and when Nakamura “teases” Saeki about Kasuga being a pervert, it’s absolutely nerve-wracking. But Nakamura keeps her word, and the uniform really is old news. Kasuga receives another invitation to the library from Nakamura, and it’s here the real game begins: Nakamura tells Kasuga that Saeki really wants to have sex with him. Destroying Saeki’s image of purity is Nakamura’s new goal.
Unfortunately, for everyone, Saeki walks by as soon as Nakamura mentions “sex” so she seemingly gets the impression Nakamura and Kasuga are in a relationship. When she turns up missing the next day, Kasuga panics, and decides to go by her house. Nakamura shows up and encourages Kasuga to have sex with her, and when Kasuga fights for Saeki’s purity, Nakamura rings the doorbell and flees.
In Summary
It’s growing increasingly obvious that mere bullying isn’t the goal of Nakamura’s. She’s in some bizarre game where she has to prove the deviant sexuality of everyone else for some unknown psychological need. Kasuga seems obviously keeping some unhealthy desires under wraps, but Saeki has thus far been kind of a blank slate, and we don’t really know what drives her. We do know that destroying the image of Saeki’s virginal purity is one of Nakamura’s goals, and in the process she’ll destroy the very fantasy of Kasuga’s. Is Nakamura trying to give Kasuga what he wants to see how much he’ll actually despise it? What does she really want? The only way to know is to keep pressing forward.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen
