History Manga / MekakushiNoKuni

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2352-1.jpg]]

->''"If there were a 'Land of the Blindfolded'... would people understand... the concept of "sight?" My "blindfold"... is defective. Sometimes it slips a little."''
-->-- '''Kanade Otsuka'''

''Mekakushi no Kuni'', or ''Land of the Blindfolded'' (1998-2004), is a {{shojo}} {{manga}} that revolves around [[ThePollyanna Kanade Otsuka]], a young high school student who describes her world as a place where everyone wears "blindfolds." Kanade's blindfold slips off occasionally, allowing her to see the future whenever she comes into physical contact with someone. But Kanade's not alone with this special ability - a boy named [[NiceGuy Arou Naitou]] can see the past but refuses to meddle in people's lives, while another boy named [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Masahiro Namiki]] can also see the future, but uses his power only for his self-benefit. All Kanade wants to do is to use her power to help people, but it won't be such an easy task.

{{Mangaka}}: Sakura Tsukuba, who also wrote Yoroshiku Master, ''Manga/PenguinRevolution'', and several one-shot mangas.

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!Contains examples of:

* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Arou and Namiki are always like this towards Kanade.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Namiki several times towards Kanade and Kaicho towards Arou.
* BeachEpisode: FanService? ''Yes''.
* BelligerentSexualTension: [[spoiler:Implied between Namiki and Kaicho, but it's left open-ended on whether or they'll actually get together or not. See CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds.]]
* BetaCouple: Eri and Ezawa.
* BettyAndVeronica:
** Arou (Betty) and Namiki (Veronica) for Kanade.
** Kanade (Betty) and Kaicho (Veronica) for Arou.
* BoyMeetsGirl: Kanade meets Arou in the beginning of the first volume when [[CrashIntoHello they bump into each other]], and later into the same volume Kanade meets Namiki when [[RescueRomance he saves her]] from getting smacked by a man she had saved from a car accident she foresaw.
* BreatherEpisode: Played with. In several chapters, it starts off being a simple BreatherEpisode, but ends up more serious than meets the eye; an example would be the BeachEpisode, which began LighterAndSofter and ended up being the gradual start of the major arc involving [[DarkerAndEdgier Arou's power and his past]]. Played straight with the chapter where Kanade and Arou share their FirstKiss.
* CharacterDevelopment
* CharacterFocus
* ChickMagnet: Arou, Namiki, and Ezawa.
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds[=/=]PairTheSpares: [[spoiler:Implied between Namiki and Kaicho, but it's left open-ended on whether or they'll actually get together or not.]]
* CrazyJealousGuy: Arou ''and'' Namiki (usually PlayedForLaughs) towards Kanade.
* CoolBigSis: Eri and Kaicho.
* DanceOfRomance: [[spoiler:Namiki and Kaicho.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: As the story moves towards Arou's power and his past.
* DisappearedDad: It's never mentioned where Kanade's father is. Arou's dad is never around for the most part.
* [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Everyone Calls Her Kaicho]]: We never learn Kaicho's first name, but it's revealed her surname is Someya.
* ExpressiveHair
* FirstGirlWins: Arou.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Whenever Kanade or Namiki gets a glimpse of the future.
* GenkiGirl: Eri.
* {{Glomp}}
* GoodParents: Kanade's mom, who is very doting and wise, but she is very keen at reminding Kanade to study for her exams. Arou's dad counts too, but he just isn't always around and makes certain ''harsh'' choices [[spoiler:(such as taking away anything that belonged to Arou's mother following her death so Arou - when he was only a child - won't unhealthily keep following his mother in his memories, which kept eating him away in the process)]] for Arou's sake. Sanae, Arou's mother definitely counts.
* GreenEyedMonster: Arou and Namiki towards Kanade 24/7, rarely Kanade towards Arou.
* GreenThumb: Arou. Sou (Arou's uncle) and Sanae (Arou's mother) had lived in the mountains and grew their own vegetables prior to her meeting Gorou (Arou's dad). This makes Kanade and Eri believe that Arou's gardening skills must be genetic.
* GrumpyBear[=/=]SourSupporter: Namiki, at first.
* TheHeart: Kanade.
* HopelessSuitor: Namiki towards Kanade and Kaicho towards Arou.
* HotSpringsEpisode: Including FanService... [[{{Naked First Impression}} of sorts]]. When the hot spring labels for men and woman get mistakenly changed twice, Kanade steps into the hot spring and accidentally sees Arou leaving the hot spring... naked. And then when Namiki steps into the hot spring, he accidentally sees Kanade leaving the hot spring as she reaches for her towel... naked. Hahaha... ''fun night''.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Kanade.
* IndirectKiss: Namiki-san does this purposely to Kanade when he takes a lick of her ice cream. In retaliation, Arou lets Marota lick Namiki on the lips as a "disinfection."
* TheIngenue: Kanade.
* JerkAss -> JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Namiki. He starts off as this, though has his redeeming qualities by helping out Kanade (and a lesser extent, Arou). However, it seemed like he was trying to [[RelationshipSabotage ruin Kanade's and Arou's relationship]] during Volume 4, where the two kept [[PoorCommunicationKills miscommunicating]] each other, but from the end of that same volume onward is when he ''really'' starts gradually developing that {{hidden heart of gold}}. Played straight with Ezawa.
* JustFriends: Kanade and Namiki, unfortunately for Namiki.
* LadykillerInLove: Ezawa, who becomes more faithful to Eri.
* LethalChef: Eri.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The cover of Chapter 36, which shows all of the supporting characters in the entire series so far, whether they were recurring characters or one-shot characters, [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mekakushi_no_kuni/v09/c036/2.html shown here]].
* LoveTriangle:
** Arou/Kanade/Namiki
** Kanade/Arou/Kaicho
* LovingAShadow: A platonic example between Arou and Kaicho, who resembles his mother.
* MissingMom: Arou's mother.
* MomentKiller: Namiki-san towards Arou/Kanade.
* MoralityPet: Kanade towards Arou and Namiki.
* {{Motifs}}: Blindfolds and flowers, among others.
* OfficialCouple: Kanade and Arou, Eri and Ezawa.
* OneHeadTaller: Pretty much all of the guys.
* [[{{Tsundere}} Oranyan]]: Namiki and his younger brother Junya.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: A ''panda ghost?'' [[{{Rule Of Cool}} NICE]].
* PluckyGirl: Kanade.
* PoorCommunicationKills: In Volume 4, Kanade becomes a StepfordSmiler after she foresees Kaicho confessing to Arou and doesn't know what to do about it. Because she tells Namiki-san about it instead of Arou, Namiki leads Arou into believing that Kanade doesn't trust him enough. The situation only worsens whenever Kanade is disheartened to see Arou and Kaicho together. They all eventually get better.
* TheQuietOne: Ezawa.
* RelationshipUpgrade: Kanade and Arou, in the ''Volume 2''.
* TheRival: Namiki.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship:
** Kanade and Eri. Complete with a flashback chapter of both Kanade telling Eri she liked her (and Eri would tell her later on that that was the same time she started liking Kanade as well).
--->'''Kanade:''' Eri! I like you! Thank you!
--->'''Eri:''' ''Ha ha! That sounds so much like a [[LoveConfession confession of love]]!''
** And then again:
-->'''Eri:''' Kanade, I like you very much! That's why I have always... always... been taking notice of you! I've always... always... liked you a lot!
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Ezawa and Eri.
* {{Shojo}}
* SickeninglySweethearts: Ezawa and Eri.
* ShipTease: [[spoiler:Namiki and Kaicho. Chapters 31 hints at Kaicho developing feelings for Namiki, and in Chapter 38 Namiki begins to reciprocate as well, though WordOfGod narrates at the end that Namiki and Kaicho aren't the type to easily become a couple, and it's left open-ended whether or not Namiki and Kaicho will get together.]]
* SliceOfLife
* StoryArc: Usually per volume, though [[DarkAndTroubledPast Arou's past]] is one of the most major arcs in the series.
* StudentCouncilPresident: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Kaicho]].
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Although Kaicho seemed cold and harsh in her debut, it's soon shown through her interactions with Kanade and the others that [[HiddenHeartOfGold she's actually a nice person and that she's only serious about her responsibilities as the student council president]].
* SupremeChef: Arou.
* TeamMom: Eri towards Kanade.
* TeamPet: Namiki's dog, Marota.
* ThreeAmigos: Kanade, Arou, and Namiki.
* TroubledButCute: Arou and Namiki.
* {{Tsundere}}: Kaicho.
* TheUnfavorite: [[spoiler:Namiki, whose parents feared Namiki for his power.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: Arou and Namiki.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: Arou and Namiki.
* ZettaiRyouiki: The standard look for the female school uniforms.
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* HairDecorations: Surprisingly averted. Except on a few occasions where Kanade has her hair tied up.

''Mekakushi no Kuni'', or ''Land of the Blindfolded'' (1998-2004), is a {{shojo}} {{manga}} that revolves around [[ThePollyanna Kanade]] [[PluckyGirl Otsuka]], a young high school student who describes her world as a place where everyone wears "blindfolds." Kanade's blindfold slips off occasionally, allowing her to see the future whenever she comes into physical contact with someone. But Kanade's not alone with this special ability - a boy named [[NiceGuy Arou]] [[TroubledButCute Naitou]] can see the past but refuses to meddle in people's lives, while another boy named [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Masahiro]] [[TroubledButCute Namiki]] can also see the future, but uses his power only for his self-benefit. All Kanade wants to do is to use her power to help people, but it won't be such an easy task.

* BadassGrandpa: Kanade's grandpa.

* BoyMeetsGirl: Kanade meets Arou in the beginning of the first volume when [[CrashIntoHello they bump]] [[MeetCute into each other]], and later into the same volume Kanade meets Namiki when [[RescueRomance he saves her]] from getting smacked by a man she had saved from a car accident she foresaw.

* StoryArc: Usually per volume, though [[DarkAndTroubledPast Arou's]] [[MysteriousPast past]] is one of the most major arcs in the series.

* {{Oranyan}}: Namiki and his younger brother Junya.

-->'''--Kanade Otsuka'''

{{Mangaka}}: Sakura Tsukuba, who also wrote Yoroshiku Master, PenguinRevolution, and several one-shot mangas.

Has a [[{{Characters/MekakushiNoKuni}} Character Sheet]].

''Mekakushi no Kuni'', or ''Land of the Blindfolded'' (1998-2004), is a {{shojo}} {{manga}} that revolves around [[ThePollyanna Kanade]] [[PluckyGirl Otsuka]], a young high school student who describes her world as a place where everyone wears "blindfolds." Kanade's blindfold slips off ocassionally, allowing her to see the future whenever she comes into physical contact with someone. But Kanade's not alone with this special ability - a boy named [[NiceGuy Arou]] [[TroubledButCute Naitou]] can see the past but refuses to meddle in people's lives, while another boy named [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Masahiro]] [[TroubledButCute Namiki]] can also see the future, but uses his power only for his self-benefit. All Kanade wants to do is to use her power to help people, but it won't be such an easy task.

* HotSpringsEpisode: Including FanService... [[{{Naked First Impression}} of sorts]]. When the hot spring labels for men and woman get mistakenly changed twice, Kanade steps into the hot spring and accidently sees Arou leaving the hot spring... naked. And then when Namiki steps into the hot spring, he accidently sees Kanade leaving the hot spring as she reaches for her towel... naked. Hahaha... ''fun night''.

* ThreeAmigos: Kanade, Arou, and Namiki.

* {{Kuudere}}: Although Kaicho seemed cold and harsh in her debut, it's soon shown through her interactions with Kanade and the others that [[HiddenHeartOfGold she's actually a nice person and that she's only serious about her responsibilities as the student council president]].

* FiveManBand:
** [[TheHero The Heroine]]: Kanade.
** TheLancer: Namiki.
** TheSmartGuy: Arou.
** TheBigGuy: Eri.
** TheChick[=/=]The SixthRanger: Ezawa.
** TheSixthRanger: Kaicho.

''Mekakushi no Kuni'', or ''Land of the Blindfolded'', is a {{shojo}} {{manga}} that revolves around [[ThePollyanna Kanade]] [[PluckyGirl Otsuka]], a young high school student who describes her world as a place where everyone wears "blindfolds." Kanade's blindfold slips off ocassionally, allowing her to see the future whenever she comes into physical contact with someone. But Kanade's not alone with this special ability - a boy named [[NiceGuy Arou]] [[TroubledButCute Naitou]] can see the past but refuses to meddle in people's lives, while another boy named [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Masahiro]] [[TroubledButCute Namiki]] can also see the future, but uses his power only for his self-benefit. All Kanade wants to do is to use her power to help people, but it won't be such an easy task.

* EveryGirlIsCuterWithHairDecs: Surprisingly averted. Except on a few occasions where Kanade has her hair tied up.

{{Mangaka}}: Tsukuba Sakura, who also wrote Yoroshiku Master, PenguinRevolution, and several one-shot mangas.