# Flower and Asura

Flower and Asura (花は咲く、修羅の如く, Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku, lit. 'The Flower Blooms, Like Ashura'), also known as simply Hanashura, is a Japanese manga series written by Ayano Takeda and illustrated by Musshu. It began serialization in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump in June 2021. An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Bind premiered in January 2025.

## Characters
### Sumomogaoka High School Broadcasting Club
#### Hana Haruyama (春山 花奈, Haruyama Hana)

    Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (vomic), Minori Fujidera (anime)
    A first-year student at Sumomogaoka High, who recently joins the Broadcasting Club after being scouted by Mizuki for her skills in storytelling. She was inspired to take up the skill after watching a recital from Shura in her youth. She lives with her mother.

#### Mizuki Usurai (薄頼 瑞希, Usurai Mizuki)

    Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa (vomic), Miyuri Shimabukuro (anime)
    A second-year student at Sumomogaoka High and the president of the Broadcasting Club who scouted Hana to the club after being left impressed by her delivery and storytelling.

#### An Natsue (夏江 杏, Natsue An)

    Voiced by: Fūka Izumi
    A first-year student at Sumomogaoka High and a member of the Broadcasting Club, who aspires to win at the national broadcasting competition. She holds a rivalry with Tōga due to their middle schools regarding each other as rivals.

#### Shūdai Tōga (冬賀 萩太, Tōga Shūdai)

    Voiced by: Shōya Chiba
    A first-year student at Sumomogaoka High and a member of the Broadcasting Club. He holds a rivalry with Natsue due to their middle schools regarding each other as rivals.

#### Matsuyuki Akiyama (秋山 松雪, Akiyama Matsuyuki)

    Voiced by: Seiichiro Yamashita
    A first-year student at Sumomogaoka High and a member of the Broadcasting Club. He often acts as the mediator between Natsue and Tōga.

#### Ryōko Totonoi (整井 良子, Totonoi Ryōko)

    Voiced by: Kiyono Yasuno
    A second-year student at Sumomogaoka High and the vice president of the Broadcasting Club.

#### Setarō Hakoyama (箱山 瀬太郎, Hakoyama Setarō)

    Voiced by: Taito Ban
    A second-year student at Sumomogaoka High and a member of the Broadcasting Club.

#### Hiromi Kichijōji (吉祥寺 博美, Kichijōji Hiromi)

    Voiced by: Kōji Yusa
    A teacher at Sumomogaoka High and the advisor for the Broadcasting Club, who is shown to be laidback and easygoing yet insightful for advice on recitation.

### Lilac Girls' Academy
#### Pokoko Potanpoko (牡丹鉾ぽここ, Potanpoko Pokoko)

    Voiced by: Ai Kakuma

#### Mitsuka Hiiragidani (柊谷満歌, Hiiragidani Mitsuka)

    Voiced by: Akira Sekine

#### Xiang Ling (香玲)

    Voiced by: Aoi Koga

### Otoha High School
#### Ichijiku Minohara (箕原無花果, Minohara Ichijiku)

    Voiced by: Yoshino Aoyama

#### Misaki Kumori (曇美咲, Kumori Misaki)

    Voiced by: Kana Ichinose

### Chizuru High School
#### Rengo Nishino (西野蓮吾, Nishino Rengo)

    Voiced by: Taihi Kimura

#### Chiaki Hayashi (林千晶, Hayashi Chiaki)

    Voiced by: Konomi Kohara

### Other characters
#### Shura Saionji (西園寺 修羅, Saionji Shura)

    Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa
    An acclaimed actress who is Hana's inspiration in taking up storytelling.

#### Miyuko Nekoi (猫井 未唯子, Nekoi Miyuko)

    Voiced by: Miyari Nemoto
    A student in Hana's class who becomes her first friend.

#### Owari Konoyono (弧ノ夜野 終里, Konoyono Owari)

    Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu
    A young and aspiring poet.

## Media
### Manga

Written by Ayano Takeda and illustrated by Musshu, Flower and Asura began serialization in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump on June 18, 2021. The series' chapters have been compiled into eight tankōbon volumes as of January 2025.
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
| 1 | January 19, 2022 | 978-4-08-892171-6 |
| 2 | May 18, 2022 | 978-4-08-892322-2 |
| 3 | September 16, 2022 | 978-4-08-892445-8 |
| 4 | February 17, 2023 | 978-4-08-892608-7 |
| 5 | July 19, 2023 | 978-4-08-892764-0 |
| 6 | December 19, 2023 | 978-4-08-893061-9 |
| 7 | June 19, 2024 | 978-4-08-893290-3 |
| 8 | January 17, 2025 | 978-4-08-893535-5 |

### Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on June 12, 2024. It is produced by Studio Bind and directed by Ayumu Uwano, with scripts written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, characters designed by Kou Aine, and music composed by Masaru Yokoyama. The series premiered on January 8, 2025, on Nippon TV's AnichU [ja] programming block and other networks. The opening theme song is "Jibun Kakumei" (自分革命, My Own Revolution) by Shishamo, while the ending theme song is "Rōrō" (朗朗, Resonant) by Satō. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, Australia and British Isles for streaming on Hidive.

#### Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
| 1 | "Hana and Mizuki" Transliteration: "Hana to Mizuki" (Japanese: 花奈と瑞希) | Ayumu Uwano | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Ayumu Uwano | January 8, 2025 (2025-1-8) |
| Hana Haruyama develops a love for storytelling after watching a recital of "An Asura in Spring" by child actress Shura Saionji in her youth, and she hones it upon enrolling at Sumomogaoka High School. She is scouted by a student named Mizuki Usurai, who invites her to the school's Broadcasting Club after seeing her skills, though Hana is reluctant to accept her offer. At the school’s entrance ceremony, Hana is left in awe with Mizuki's reading of a poem on the school's intercom. The two meet while heading home and Mizuki questions Hana's downtrodden behavior as she stays in her house for the night. Hana's mother elaborates to Mizuki on Hana having no friends growing up and requests her to be her friend. Hana later admits to Mizuki on her self-loathing demeanor; the next day, Mizuki encounters Hana emotionally reciting "An Asura in Spring" in the rain. Awed at her delivery, Mizuki convinces her again to join the Broadcasting Club to put her skills to use and find her identity, and Hana eagerly accepts. ||||||
| 2 | "Interest and Talent" Transliteration: "Suki to Sainō" (Japanese: 好きと才能) | Yuki Nakagami | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Ayumu Uwano | January 15, 2025 (2025-1-15) |
| Hana is welcomed to the Broadcasting Club and Mizuki conducts an orientation of introducing themselves to their partner. Hana wonders what her strengths are as she demonstrates her recitation to her partner Shūdai Tōga, impressing him and fellow club member Matsuyuki Akiyama; however, another member An Natsue remains unconvinced of Hana's dedication as she recites Matsuyuki's introduction with clarity, awing Hana. Mizuki shows the club the school's broadcasting room where they will be conducting activities as vice president Ryōko Totonoi advises them to choose a category for the upcoming broadcasting competition. The club conducts vocal exercises, during which Hana and Natsue pair up and get off to a rocky start. Seeing their strained banter, Ryōko asks them to take turns in reading "Night on the Galactic Railroad", where Natsue becomes shocked on being immersed to Hana's storytelling. Natsue decides to engage in a competition with Hana as they meet their club advisor Hiromi Kichijōji. ||||||
| 3 | "Dreams and a Sleepover" Transliteration: "Yume to Otomari" (Japanese: 夢とお泊まり) | Akari Ranzaki | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Akari Ranzaki | January 22, 2025 (2025-1-22) |
| The new club members are introduced to Kichijōji's eccentricity and laidback attitude as he teaches them accentuation in reciting while critiquing their skills. Hana asks if she can read only for fun, and Kichijōji replies it is her choice as he screens a copy of a reading by an adult Shura for them to use as practice, taking Hana by surprise and leaving her nervous for the upcoming competition. Mizuki catches up and invites her for a sleepover at her house while teasing Hana to call her by her first name. When Hana opens up on her worries on her dedication to reading, Mizuki admits she was not into recitation before until she was inspired by Kichijōji's skills, driving her to win the competition. Mizuki later recites a passage from "Ten Nights of Dreams" that puts Hana in a trance and Mizuki reassures her passion for reading. Reaffirmed by her words, Hana asks if she can call her by her first name, which Mizuki gleefully accepts. ||||||
| 4 | "A First and a Friend" Transliteration: "Hajimete to Tomodachi" (Japanese: 初めてと友達) | Tomoaki Takatsudo | Naoto Taniuchi | Tomoaki Takatsudo | January 29, 2025 (2025-1-29) |
| After vocal practice, Natsue expresses her doubt on Hana using Sarashina Diary for the broadcasting competition due to the judgment towards classic literature being difficult, leading Hana to consult with Mizuki and her friends for their inputs. Mizuki suggests to Hana on joining the day's school broadcast as a way to build up confidence, and Hana reluctantly agrees. During the broadcast, Mizuki conducts improvisations, causing Hana to stutter due to her insistence on sticking to a script. Hana later forms a bond with her classmate Miyuko Nekoi after Miyuko reassures her to act natural for the next school broadcast and reiterates on her and Hana being friends. Hana meets Ryōko and Setarō Hakoyama in the broadcasting room, where Ryōko points out classic literature has its appeal if its meaning is understood. Ryōko recites an excerpt of Sarashina Diary and shares she likes reading classic literature, adding she does not care about the opinions of others. Ryōko then decides to assist Hana in her next school broadcast, allowing Hana to naturally answer Ryōko's improvised questions. ||||||
| 5 | "Blue Spring and an Umbrella" Transliteration: "Aoharu to Amagasa" (Japanese: アオハルと雨傘) | Hiroki Nagashima | Kazuyuki Fudeyasu | Ryōsuke Shibuya | February 5, 2025 (2025-2-5) |
| 6 | "Scripts and a Pancake" Transliteration: "Genkō to Pankēki" (Japanese: 原稿とパンケーキ) | Ken'ichi Domon | Naoto Taniuchi | Ken'ichi Domon & Ayumu Uwano | February 12, 2025 (2025-2-12) |
| 7 | "Big Sister and Little Brother" Transliteration: "Ane to Otōto" (Japanese: 姉と弟) | Komao Yukihiro | Naoto Taniuchi | Tomomi Mochizuki | February 19, 2025 (2025-2-19) |
| 8 | "Satisfaction and Unfinished" Transliteration: "Manzoku to Mi-kansei" (Japanese: 満足と未完成) | Sayaka Tsuji | Naoto Taniuchi | Sayaka Tsuji & Hiroki Nagashima | February 26, 2025 (2025-2-26) |
| 9 | "Matching Charms and a Falling-Out" Transliteration: "Osoroi to Sure Chigai" (Japanese: お揃いとすれ違い) | Mitsumoto Kitamura | Naoto Taniuchi | Ryōsuke Shibuya | March 5, 2025 (2025-3-5) |
| 10 | "Orange Blossoms and Resolve" Transliteration: "Tachibana to Kakugo" (Japanese: 橘と覚悟) | Kazuki Kawagishi | Naoto Taniuchi | Tomomi Mochizuki & Ayumu Uwano | March 12, 2025 (2025-3-12) |

## Reception

The first volume was recommended by the VTuber Hoshimachi Suisei.