Shimana Kameko's life just plain sucks. She hates her name, only does average in school, and after her mother died and her father remarried another woman, they had a kid who now gets all the attention.
Facing these circumstances, Shimana decides to run away from home and leave school... only to find herself loitering around in a park with no destination. There, she finds a weird man clad in a kimono, who surprisingly offers her a room to stay at his house for a dirt cheap price on three conditions: tell his father, get the keys from another tenant called Zen...and have a dream to accomplish.
Shimana will thus start a new life along three very different boys: Zen, an energetic classmate who loves to draw manga, Taiga, the house's grumpy yet gentle-hearted landlord, and Asahi, the nerdy and kind boy Shimana finds herself having a crush in. Although, of course, things don't go as planned.
Yume Miru Taiyou (officially translated as Dreamin' Sun) is a shoujo manga by Ichigo Takano (who would move on to write Orange) that was published in the magazine Bessatsu Margaret from 2008 to 2011 and later compiled in 11 volumes. It's published in France by Delcourt, and in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.
This Series Tropes Include:
- Animal Motifs: Zen gets associated with pandas. Also, Shimana's surname being literally "turtle girl" and Taiga meaning "tiger".
- Arranged Marriage: Manami has to get into one, to Asahi's dismay. She doesn't get out of it.
- Beta Couple: Asahi's relationship with Manami and Saeko and Zen.
- Betty and Veronica: The bright and cheerful Zen is the Betty and the Tsundere and more level-headed Taiga is the Veronica to Shimana's Archie.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Taiga's the blonde, Zen the brunette and Asahi the redhead.
- Cool Big Sis: Miku acts as one towards Shimana.
- Demoted to Extra: Once Shimana gets over her crush on him, Asahi takes a more passive instance in the Love Triangle, becoming a supporter of pretty much everyone, but still much left in the background until Taiga's family issues come along.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Zen extremely supports Shimana in all her choices and loves her a lot... but she is very much in love with Taiga and rejects him. The author leaves open the posibility of him hooking up with Saeko, who has a crush on him.
- Embarrassing First Name: What Taiga thinks of his real name: Taiyou.
- Embarrassing Last Name: Shimana hates her name because "Kameko" means literally "turtle girl", and this is how her classmates call her.
- Family Theme Naming: Ken and Zen.
- Asahi and Taiyou all share a sun-theme name. They're half-brothers.
- First Guy Wins: Taiga is the first boy the audience is introduced to. Both Asahi and Zen were Shimana's classmates, but she didn't get acquitanced with them until moving in. And it's Taiga the one who finally is chosen by Shimana.
- Informed Attractiveness: Saeko is considered a Dude Magnet and particularly pretty... but she doesn't look that different from Shimana, outside of having pink hair and twintails.
- I Will Wait for You: Taiga manages to convince his father to take the teacher test instead of becoming a lawyer, but has to move out of the house as a result: Shimana has to wait two years until both of them finish their studies and then get married.
- Happily Married: Shimana and Taiga.
- He-Man Woman Hater: At first, Taiga doesn't treat Shimana particularly nicely. Until he falls in love with her.
- Keet: Zen.
- Love Triangle: Once Shimana's crush on Asahi is rejected, she starts to be interested in Taiga (who doesn't clarify his feelings), while Zen falls in love with her. At the end, Taiga and Shimana fall in love with each other, while Zen is rejected but gets paired up with Saeko.
- Meaningful Name: Asahi means "morning sun", and one may think this manga is named after him... but it's not. The "Taiyou" in the name is for Taiga's real name, which means "sun".
- Missing Mom: Shimana's mother is dead.
- Nice Guy: Asahi.
- Official Couple: Shimana and Taiga.
- Parental Abandonment: Shimana feels unloved by her parents and decides to run away, thus starting the plot.
- Romantic False Lead: Soon after moving in, Shimana discovers that Asahi already has a crush on someone else: her childhood friend Manami. She gives up on him and soon the series focuses on a love triangle between her, Zen and Taiga.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Saeko.
- The Runaway: Shimana at first.
- Tsundere: Asahi.
