Manga Club captain Yoshimatsu Hotaka watches her from the club room's window during swim team practices. The swim club's beautiful ace, Awaya Niki, is the object of his affection, but being both weak in body (with a congenital heart disease) and shy, he is reduced to pining after her silently and from afar.
Hotaka does not participate in swim class due to his disease, but the gym teacher sets up a one-person after school gym class for him as a make-up. But he forgot to tell the swim team that their practice was delayed. And thus, Hotaka ends up meeting Niki in the worst way possible.
Evergreen (エバーグリーン) is a 2011 romantic comedy manga written by Yuyuko Takemiya (Toradora!, Golden Time) and illustrated by Akira Kasukabe. The four-volume manga series, containing 23 chapters, has been released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Evergreen contains examples of:
- Brother–Sister Incest: Defied; when it's revealed that Niki and Hotaka are in fact brother and sister, they decide to break off their romantic relationship.
- Club Stub: While the Manga club has plenty of members, the only members who actually perform duties (such as putting out the monthly anthology) are On-chan and Hotaka.
- Comically Missing the Point: SogaSoga: No, On-chan, it's better if you don't go.On: Soga-sempai...On: [thinking] Aah... Now I see. He must be in a situation that only another man could understand.Soga: Hotaka must be getting changed right now. He'll be buck naked in there!
- Compressed Hair: In the omake between the first two chapters, nearly all of Niki's bountiful hair is contained in a swimcap to Hotaka's consternation.
- Disappeared Dad: Niki's father left her family to be with his other family and his other child, Hotaka.
- Hotaka resents his father for passing along the congenital heart defect that resulted in the surgery that left a scar on his chest, and which eventually resulted in the father's death.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Hotaka's embarrassment during his first meeting with Niki can be traced to this.
- First-Name Basis: On-chan points out to Hotaka that the first time he met Niki, she referred to him by his first name, which was a good sign for his crush on her.
- The Glomp: Niki's unexpected reaction to Hotaka's depression upon their meeting.
- Important Haircut: Soga shaves his head to show he's serious about his schoolwork, after getting lectured by teachers after blowing off much of summer school.
- Love Makes You Dumb: A literal example: In the midst of a mutual spaz-out with Hotaka over realizing their feelings for each other are mutual, Niki declares she has forgotten how to walk.
- Mark of Shame: Hotaka considers his scar a mark of his weak heart.
- Mistaken for Gay: Played for laughs early on. On-chan accuses Hotaka of harrassment for his staring at Niki, then when he denies he was staring at her, On-chan pivots to accusing him of staring at the Swim Team boys.
- Mysterious Past: Discussed.Soga: Every now and then, the captain allows us glimpses of an intriguingly mysterious character background.
Hotaka: [thinking] My past is not "Character background"! - Scars Are Forever: Hotaka had open heart surgery when he was a little kid, and has a huge scar on his chest to show for it.
- Title Drop: Hotaka does it in the final chapter, summarizing his feelings for Niki after The Reveal:Hotaka: But between us, there will bloom no flowers. We will bear no fruit. For us, all of time ... shall be evergreen.
