Takane & Hana Graphic Novel Volume 9 cover image

When her 23-year-old sister, Yukari, refuses to go to an arranged marriage meeting, 16-year-old Hana Nonomura takes the meeting with 26-year-old Takane Saibara.  He is heir to a vast business fortune, and Hana and Yukari's father works for the company owned by Takane's family.  Their father feared that Yukari's refusal would cost him his job.  After they meet, Takane, the heir, and Hana, the high school girl, start to fall in love.

Takane & Hana, Vol. 9 (Chapters 46 to 51) opens with everyone trying to adjust to the new living arrangements.  Shigeru Nonomura, Hana's father, has made the deal of a lifetime with Takane's grandfather, Souten Takaba, the chairman of the Takaba Group.  Hana's family can live in a huge mansion – for free, but the catch is that Takane has to live with them.

Takane is totally against that and is trying to break the deal.  Now, Hana needs to convince him that living together in this lavish mansion is best for everyone.  Meanwhile, Okamon, Hana's longtime friend, makes a shocking declaration to her.

[This volume has a bonus story “Special Chapter”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Takane & Hana manga is a familiar kind of shojo young romance manga.  Still, it usually has a surprise or two to offer each volume.

Takane & Hana Graphic Novel Volume 9 focuses on the surprise free mansion that comes to the Nonomura family.  Bickering on who gets what and on who lives where makes for some light humor.  However, the tartness returns in full force when the setting moves from the stately manor to the high school Hana attends, which offers a cliffhanger...

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of teen shojo manga will want to read the Shojo Beat title, Takane & Hana.

B+
7 out of 10