Takane and Hana (高嶺と花, Takane to Hana) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Shiwasu. The series has been serialized in Hana to Yume since 2014. The story follows the interactions of 16-year-old Hana Nonomura and 26-year-old Takane Saibara after Hana takes her sister’s place in an arranged marriage meeting with Takane. The series received a live-action television series and a drama CD in 2019.

Story

Hana Nonomura takes the place of her older sister in an arranged marriage meeting with Takane Saibara, the heir to the Takaba conglomerate where her father works. Despite his wealth and handsome exterior, Takane is actually rude and arrogant, which leads Hana to immediately end the meeting by throwing her disguise in his face. However, Takane is amused by Hana’s disillusionment with him, and continues to pursue her even after learning that she is in fact not her adult sister. Takane tries to woo Hana by constantly taking her to fancy restaurants, elaborate trips, and buying opulent gifts as he pompously works to get her to cave in to him and his lifestyle. Takane and Hana come to enjoy their “arrangement” and through a constant battle of bickering with each other, come to learn about and care for one another.

Characters

Hana Nonomura (野々村 花, Nonomura Hana)

Voiced by: Yurika Kubo (Drama CD), Played by: Aisa Takeuchi

Hana is a 16-year-old high schooler. She meets Takane when she takes her sister Yukari’s place in an arranged marriage meeting with him. Hana immediately finds Takane’s arrogant and spoiled personality obnoxious, to the point were she throws her wig in his face at the arranged marriage meeting. Hana reluctantly begins to hang out with Takane after school and in her spare time, but eventually becomes attached to their interactions.

Takane Saibara (才原 高嶺, Saibara Takane)

Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu (Drama CD), Played by: Mahiro Takasugi

Takane is a 26-year-old, and later 27-year-old, business man and grandson of Takaba Corporation head Soten Takaba. Takane keeps Hana around after their initial meeting because he likes that Hana doesn’t like him for his wealth or looks. He often takes her to expensive restaurants, picks her up in his European sports car, and brings her dozens of roses. This is not because he has romantic feelings for her, but to make her cave in to enjoying an opulent lifestyle and feel indebted to Takane. Despite his arrogant attitude, Takane is actually excellent at his job and is often praised by his coworkers, saying the firm would fall apart without him. Takane wakes up very early, around 5 a.m., and likes to jog in the morning. He also stays up late working on work-related matters.

Nicola Luciano (ニコラ・ルチアーノ, Nicola Luciano)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Drama CD), Played by: Asahi Ito

Nicola is the heir to an Italian company. He met Takane in college. Nicola later frequents Okamon’s family’s restaurant. He is often seen with many women around him and has an extroverted and fun personality. Despite seeming to carefree, he cares for Takane and often looks after him.

Soma Okamoto (岡本 颯馬, Okamoto Souma)

Voiced by: Yuma Uchida (Drama CD), Played by: Kenshin Endō

Nicknamed “Okamon” by Hana and his classmates, he is Hana’s childhood friend. His family runs an okonomiyaki restaurant. He is often annoyed by Takane, in part to Takane’s personality and also because of his closeness to Hana. Okamon later confesses his romantic feelings for Hana. He is in the soccer club.

Yukari Nonomura (野々村 縁, Nonomura Yukari)

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (Drama CD), Played by: Arisa Deguchi

Hana’s airheaded and boy-crazy sister, who gets into an arranged marriage meeting with Takane when she delivers lunch to her dad’s office at one of the subsidiaries of the Takaba Corporation. Soten Takaba, Takane’s grandfather and head of the Takaba Corporation, sees Yukari’s beauty and sets him up with her. However, at the time Yukari already has a boyfriend and refuses to go, hence why Hana goes in her place. She works as a receptionist at a department store.

Mizuki Ogawa (小川 水希, Ogawa Mizuki)

Voiced by: Ayaka Asai (Drama CD), Played by: Yū Miyazaki

Hana’s friend from school. She goes with Hana to Nicola’s house once and appears to have feelings for him. She has short hair, and two brothers.

Hikaruko Fujiwara (藤原 光子, Fujiwara Hikaruko)

Voiced by: Miyuri Shimabukuro (Drama CD), Played by: Rea Nagami

Hana’s friend from school. After going with Hana to Nicola’s house, she befriends Take Jun, a member of the fictional boy band Soyokaze.

Eiji Kirigasaki (霧ヶ崎 瑛二, Kirigasaki Eiji)

Played by: Junki Tozuka

Eiji is initially introduced as a worker for the Takaba Corporation sent by Takane’s uncle to see if Takane’s arranged marriage partner is really who he says she is. Eiji later apologizes and becomes Takane’s personal assistant as well as keeper of his secret with Hana.

Shigeru Nonomura

Played by: Ryō Nishihori

Hana’s father, he works at one of the smaller offices of the Takaba Corporation.

Emi Nonomura

Played by: Yūko Nitō

Hana’s mother, a housewife. She is sympathetic to Hana’s situation with Takane and respects him.

Soten Takaba (鷹羽 蒼天, Takaba Souten)

Played by: Toru Shinagawa

Takane’s elderly grandfather and president of the Takaba Corporation. Despite himself claiming elderly behaviors like poor eyesight (he can’t tell Yukari and Hana apart), he seems apt at physical activities like golfing. He often asks Takane about his arranged marriage with Yukari and pressures him to have it move along, eventually to the point of tricking him to living with Hana and the whole Nonomura family.

Hiromi Takaba (鷹羽 大海, Takaba Hiromi)

Takane’s young cousin who is obsessed with Takane. He already resembles Takane (or rather Takane’s small form “Hikune”) but styles his hair to be wavy like Takane’s.

Rino Inokuma (猪熊 りの, Inokuma Rino)

Voiced by: Romi Park (Drama CD)

Takane’s high school classmate, she is transgender and has romantic feelings for Takane. She admires him because he once told her to be true to herself and embrace her gender identity.

Yakumo Takaba

Takane’s cousin who has envied Takane for a long time. He seems to want to reconnect with Takane as adults after not seeing each other for many years, but actually has ill plans to hurt Hana and expose Takane’s marriage arrangement with her.

Media

It was announced on January 19, 2019 that the series would receive a live-action television series. The series was first viewable on-demand on Fuji Television on Demand (FOD), and later run on a repeated time slot. The series debuted on March 18, 2019. A drama CD was bundled with the 13th volume of the manga on February 20, 2019. The manga is licensed in English by Viz Media under their Shojo Beat imprint.

Manga

Volume 18 special edition includes a booklet with an epilogue chapter set 7 years after the main story

Reception

The manga ranked on Takarajimasha’s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2016 list of best manga for female readers. The series has over 2 million copies in print as of September 2019.

Takane and Hana
Cover of volume 1 as published in English
高嶺と花 (Takane to Hana)
Genre	Romantic comedy
Manga
Written by	Yuki Shiwasu
Published by	Hakusensha
English publisher	Viz Media
Magazine	Hana to Yume
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	December 20, 2014 – July 20, 2020
Volumes	18
Television drama
Directed by	Yūsuke Ishii Hiroyuki Nakata
Written by	Juri Takeda Iyo Nishikōri Nana Yamamoto
Original network	Fuji TV
Original run	March 18, 2019 (on-demand) April 23, 2019 – June 18, 2019 (broadcast)
Episodes	8