From the back cover:
As the giant track meet approaches, Mizuki and Sano face an assortment of foes: Sano’s old high-jump rival Kagurazuka and Sano’s own little brother Shin! But Shin’s trainer is the one man Sano hates the most: his own father. Can Mizuki mend the rift in Sano’s family? While Sano focuses on winning, one person is focused only on Mizuki: Nakatsu, the other boy who loves her…

Review:
This volume was pretty good, though I was annoyed by stuff that wasn’t related to Sano’s family or the romantic triangle. There was a whole random segment on dodgeball and at least three repetitions of a gag wherein a character’s stomach grumbles audibly. Funnily enough, it failed to amuse me each time!

Not a lot progresses in either front, though the way has now been paved for Mizuki to bring about a touching family reconciliation. She also came to the realization that Nakatsu makes her feel safe. Of course, there’s no conceivable way I believe she’d choose him over Sano, but I liked seeing them together at the end of the volume. I’m looking forward to seeing what transpires when Nakatsu learns the truth about Mizuki’s gender. I hope he is furious.

There were some good panels in this volume, particularly of Angry!Sano, and some important moments between the leads (especially the last ten or so pages), but overall, it just felt like a treading water sort of volume.

From the back cover:
Sano’s little brother Shin returns! Shin has become a rising star of the high jump, and he’s determined to prove himself by beating his older brother. But that’s not the only blood on the track… the one coaching Shin is their father! Can Mizuki just sit back and watch as Sano fights the father he turned away from… and the brother who never forgave him for doing so?

Review:
The blurb for this volume is misleading, since Sano’s dad doesn’t make an appearance until the last page of the final chapter. His influence over Shin does majorly preoccupy Sano this volume, though, since the dad has a history of pressuring his kids.

The romantic momentum does suffer a little with a plot more focused on Sano’s family, but it’s not completely abandoned, and I thought the balance worked well. I’d still like to see more of the actual high jump competition, but using it as a backdrop for Sano to express his brotherly concern also works for me.

I’m still not sure whether Nakajo has an actual plan for the ending of the series, but I appreciate that things no longer feel as pointlessly episodic as they did around volumes 11 and 12. Maybe she’s gotten better at integrating relationship progress with her random ideas. In any case, I’m happy to be truly enjoying the series once again.

From the back cover:
Unable to forget her near-kiss experience, Mizuki finds herself drawing ever closer to Sano, and not in a “roommates” way, either. The tension builds when Nakatsu asks Sano point-blank: Do you like Mizuki? Can Nakatsu and Sano’s friendship survive the answer? Meanwhile, Sano’s old high-jump rival returns, along with a surprising new challenger!

Review:
This entire volume focuses on the love triangle between Nakatsu, Sano, and Mizuki, and that is why it’s so good. Nakatsu learns that Sano does indeed like Mizuki, and struggles with this knowledge for a bit. All of the pining and sighing and leaning one’s head back against a wall that the boys engage in is very entertaining.

Somewhat less successful is the segue back into Sano’s high jump career. I’m glad to see its return, but this is a little clunky, with a few long-forgotten supporting characters making random reappearances and stuff. And, of course, the identity of the “surprising” new challenger is not at all a surprise.

My only worry going into more of the high jump focus is that we’ll lose the relationship momentum that’s been building for a few volumes.

From the back cover:
Plumbing problems erupt in Dorm 1, forcing the residents to move into Dorms 2 and 3. Mizuki must now deal with two male roommates, one of whom introduces her to a dorm custom she could never have imagined! Dr. Umeda reflects on his past after hearing from an old friend, while Mizuki and Sano find their mutual attraction pulling them ever closer to the brink!

Review:
Mizuki and Sano get a new roommate for a week. And apparently it’s a tradition in the jocks’ dorm for them to simply walk into the bathroom where their roommate is bathing and begin scrubbing their back. Um, okay. And of course, Mizuki stupidly leaves the door unlocked and has a brush with discovery.

I can forgive some of the goofiness of this plot because it prompts Sano to get annoyed with Mizuki’s carelessness, and try to caution her without revealing that he actually knows her secret. They almost smooch, and after some avoidance and awkward apologies, the plumbing gets fixed and new roommate guy goes away, leaving them alone again.

My favorite part of the volume is the three-part side story about Umeda’s past. We get a little more elaboration on his character (he’s foul-mouthed and complains, but deep down really enjoys taking care of people) and also learn he’d already accepted his sexuality by the time he was a freshman in high school. Therefore, he’s able to recognize his growing love for Ryoichi without angsting about the attraction to a male classmate. This whole tale was sweet and a bit sad, and frankly better than the bits with the main cast.

Despite the implausible elements in the first half, this is definitely one of the strongest volumes of the series in a while. I’d happily read more about Umeda and Ryoichi, and it seems like we might finally be on the verge of progress in the Mizuki and Sano relationship.

From the back cover:
Mizuki is broke, so she lands a part-time job with Akiha, the photographer. Among her first-day experiences: spilling tea on male diva supermodel “Alex.” This sparks a mutual animosity that is not assuaged when Mizuki discovers the model’s most closely guarded secret! Meanwhile, at Mizuki’s school, food is disappearing, with the culprits leaving flowers in place of what they’ve heisted!

Review:
A little over a year ago I said I wouldn’t be buying Hana-Kimi anymore. Turns out I lied.

The first four chapters in this volume comprise the arc with the cranky model, which in itself is not very interesting until chapter 71. Within this storyline, Mizuki freaks out over the discovery that everyone seems to have a dream for the future except her, providing the opportunity for Sano to be really sweet and reassure her. In fact, there are several cute scenes between them in these chapters. It also seems that we might be seeing more of Sano’s high-jumping soon, which I’d enjoy.

The last two chapters mainly revolve around side characters. I didn’t like Chapter 72 much (the one about the snack thieves), but 73 was quite good. It’s a flashback to Kayashima and Nakatsu’s first days as roommates, and how Nakatsu succeeded in drawing Kayashima out socially and stuff.

Not a lot happened to further the story along, but I didn’t expect it, so it wasn’t as annoying as it has been in the past. I don’t know about absence making the heart grow fonder, but it does seem to’ve grown more tolerant of the episodic nature of the story.