Flowers of Evil, Volume 9

Recognized as one of the most engaging series in the world of shonen manga (stories with male protagonists), Flowers of Evil shuns the genre’s otherworldly conventions to tell#160;down-to-earth stories of the trials of young people as they stumble into love and sometimes back out again. This new-style romance comedy of rural teens centers on#160;the#160;lonely, bookish#160;Takao’s#160;search#160;for his own identity, under the influence of#160;Charles Baudelaire’s poetry classic Les#160;fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil). Bound by emotion and circumstance to#160;the beautiful Nanako, the girl he desires,#160;and the scheming Nakamura, the girl whose torments put him on the path to adulthood, Takao is also challenged to#160;settle his differences with his parents.#160;Flowers of Evil creator Shuzo Oshimi was recognized as one of the most gifted of the young generation of manga artists, and in 2001 received the Tetsuya Chiba award.