Manga / Miss Sunflower

Miss Sunflower (Himawari-san) is a Yuri Genre manga by Manami Sugano, which began serialization in Monthly Comic Alive in 2009. It tells the story of Matsuri Kazamatsuri, a high schooler with poor grades, and how she meets and falls in love with the owner of the Sunflower Bookery, known only as "Miss Sunflower."

The manga contains examples of:

• Age-Gap Romance: At the very least, a one-sided one between the teenage Matsuri and the young adult Miss Sunflower, who's 24 when Matsuri is a third-year in high school(17-18). Matsuri's feelings for Miss Sunflower are clearly more than platonic, and Miss Sunflower may be starting to reciprocate them.
• Aloof Big Brother: Gender and age inverted. Miss Sunflower is initially a bit cold to her older brother, due to being bitter about him trying to get her to quit her job as owner of the Sunflower Bookery.
• Bait-and-Switch: At the start of Chapter 97, Matsuri searches for her number among the names of those who got admitted. It cuts to Miss Sunflower about to call Matsuri when she gets a call on her rotary phone(which obviously doesn't have a Caller ID). Miss Sunflower frantically answers the phone, expecting Matsuri, only for her brother to turn out to be the caller.
• Beach Episode: Chapter 65 has the cast go to the beach.
• Blunt "Yes": After Matsuri reads one of Miss Sunflower's older brother's books, and comments that a character reminded her of Miss Sunflower.
  Kuroizato: So in other words, you only read until the end because there was a character like my little sister?
  Matsuri: Yep!
• Cliffhanger:
  • Chapter 87 ends with Miss Sunflower inviting Matsuri to stay at her place while the Kazamatsuris are out of town, shocking Matsuri.
  • Chapter 97 ends with a double cliffhanger. Miss Sunflower and her brother chase down a suspicious person who came to the Sunflower bookery, who turns out to be their mother. Meanwhile, Matsuri gets to the Sunflower bookery out of breath, only to find that the store is locked, leaving it ambiguous as to whether she got into college.
• Coat Cape: Miss Sunflower sometimes wears her cardigan over her shoulders.
• Deadpan Snarker: The rather stoic Miss Sunflower has her moments. For example, after Matsuri says that her grades are so bad, the faculty have given up hope of her graduating despite her just having started high school, Miss Sunflower says, "Well done making it past the entrance exams."
• Delicate and Sickly: Miss Sunflower's predecessor had poor health, which eventually killed her. Miss Sunflower was devastated when her predecessor passed away and was shocked that she'd never told her about her health problems.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Miss Sunflower does this in Chapter 2, when she's annoyed with Masuri.
  Miss Sunflower: Not to mention that you should certainly have other things to do, right? Like studying, or studying or studying.
• Don't Call Me "Sir": In a flashback in Chapter 41, Ayame insists that Miss Sunflower call her by name without honorifics. Miss Sunflower starts off with "Ayame-san," then switches to "Ayame-chan," then just "Ayame."
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Everyone, including her friends and family, calls Miss Sunflower by her title.
• Gender-Blender Name: Kaoru Kuroizato's given name for his pen name can also be a woman's name, something characters tease him about.
• Given Name Reveal: In the final epilogue chapter, Miss Sunflower's first name is revealed to be Shiori. This is also lampshaded by Kuroizato who mentions that he felt awkward calling her by her real name when Matsuri is around.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: While the current Miss Sunflower is well-liked by her customers and fellow merchants, she feels as though she's an Inadequate Inheritor to her predecessor.
• Kimono Is Traditional: Kaoru Kuroizato, as an author, often wears traditional Japanese clothes. His "master," Yuu Meigatsu, regularly wears a kimono.
• Legacy Character: Miss Sunflower inherited her title from the former owner of the bookery, who passed away.
• Loser Protagonist: Matsuri has terrible grades at the start of the series, and no one seems to believe that she'll amount to anything. This gradually changes over time, and Matsuri eventually becomes a better student.
• Meaningful Name: Miss Sunflower's real name, Shiori means "bookmark."
• No Name Given: Miss Sunflower's real name wasn't revealed for much of the series. Matsuri assumes that she's a Kuroizato, like her brother, but Miss Sunflower tells her that's his pen name.
• Older Than They Look: Kaoru's editor Miyako looks like an elementary schooler but is actually an adult.
• Only Friend: At the time Miss Sunflower met Matsuri, Ayame was Miss Sunflower's only friend.
• Repetitive Name: Matsuri Kazamatsuri, as well as Sakura Asakura.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Miss Sunflower seems cold and almost emotionless at first glance but shows a kinder side to her friends.
• The Un-Reveal: Miss Sunflower's true name wasn't revealed for most of the series. Even her older brother(who goes by a pen name, hiding the siblings' real surname), her best friend Ayame and her mother never refer to her by name. Miss Sunflower whispers her name to Matsuri in Chapter 100, and while Matsuri is surprised by how normal it is, she goes back to calling her "Miss Sunflower." In the final chapter, Matsuri calls Miss Sunflower by name.
• Wham Line:
  • In Chapter 7, Miss Sunflower has a tense conversation with a man, whom she calls Kuroizato-sensei.
    Kuroizato: Sensei this, Sensei that. Could you please drop the formalities? You should call me "Brother" like you used to since you're... my little sister.
  • In Chapter 87, Matsuri reveals that she's skipping the usual New Year's family outing to her grandparents' place since she won't be able to concentrate on her studies while she's there. Miss Sunflower quietly listens as the cast wonders what Matsuri will do, then casually makes the following suggestion.
    Miss Sunflower: Then, would you like to spend New Year's with me?
    Matsuri: Huh? Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!
  • In Chapter 97, Miss Sunflower sees a woman wearing dark glasses, a head scarf and a face mask come into the Sunflower Bookery. Thinking she's a shoplifter, Miss Sunflower and her brother chase the woman down, but then her disguise comes off and...
    Miss Sunflower: Mother...?