Boys Over Flowers 14 by Yoko Kamio: B+

From the back cover:
Tsukasa’s raucous behavior at Tsukushi’s middle school class reunion has her fed up with him once again. Tsukasa is crushed by this but is too stubborn to apologize. Later, Tsukushi is assaulted by two schoolgirls and then rescued by a “young nerdy boy” who turns out to be Junpei, a famous male model who has been dying to meet Tsukushi! Her dumb luck then gets her involved in a photo shoot with him, and she ends up on the cover of a famous magazine. This causes quite a scene at school, but not nearly as big a scene as when Tsukasa finds the two of them together!

Review:
Setting aside my dislike of Tsukasa’s overreaction concerning Tsukushi’s middle school admirer, it actually sets up some pretty good stuff in this volume. Junpei (the younger brother of the admirer) is introduced, and though he seems yet another potential love interest for Tsukushi, he also provokes Tsukasa into admitting that he loves Tsukushi so much it makes him insane.

That confession is certainly wonderful, but even better is how Tsukushi can’t get his words and expression out of her mind. She had said she wanted him to leave her alone, but when a red slip appears in her locker, she sees it as a farewell from Tsukasa and it makes her sad.

Also good are Akira and Soujirou’s continued efforts to get Tsukushi and Tsukasa on the right track, this time by coaching Tsukasa on how to apologize for ruining her middle school gathering. My favorite panel in the whole volume features Akira and Soujirou eyeing Tsukasa warningly as Tsukushi approaches, Tsukasa glowering, and Kazuya waving doofily in the background. There are lots of other lovely panels, too; I particularly love how Tsukushi is drawn for her magazine photo shoot.

I’m uncertain how I feel about Junpei. So far, he’s okay, but I have some vague memory from the anime that I didn’t end up liking him very much. Sakurako is suspicious of him, too, which makes me think he’s up to something. Speaking of Sakurako, she seems to becoming more of a friend to Tsukushi, or at least helps her out when, spurred on by the red slip, the other students are chasing her.

It’s a little bit full circle now, with Tsukushi the victim of persecution again, but at least she finally knows how Tsukasa feels about her.