Takane & Hana is a manga by Yuki Shiwasu and was published monthly in Hana to Yume from 2015 to 2020.
After her older sister refuses to attend an arranged marriage meeting set up by their father and the head of his company, 16-year old Hana Nonomura steps up and pretends to be her for his sake. But the meeting goes sour when she actually meets the head's grandson and heir to the company, 26-year old Takane Saibara. Right off the bat, he acts like a Jerkass to her and calls her a gold digger. The assertive Hana responds by throwing her wig at his face and leaving. Because nobody had ever stood up to him like that before, Takane is immediately interested in her. And while Hana is initially annoyed by his advances, she eventually develops a soft spot for him. The duo decide to enter a courtship to best the other, which results in the developing Love-Hate Relationship between the Tsundere Takane and Little Miss Snarker Hana.
The series became popular enough that it received a live-action drama series that began airing on Fuji TV on March 18, 2019. It also received a few audio dramas released with some of the volumes.
This series shows examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Rino Inokuma is initially this to Takane, before she accepts Hana. Yukari is also this to Takane before he loses his money. Once he and the Nonomuras discover that they'll be living together, she starts throwing herself at him again.
- The Ace: Takane - he's good at his job, has tons of money, good looks, "good tastes", and is both smart and athletic. He tries to exploit this to make Hana fall for him, but his attempts fall flat.
- Age-Gap Romance: The main couple has a 10 year age gap. It causes issues as Hana has to pretend to be her 23-year old sister and Takane has to hide the fact that he's courting a high schooler.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: In their college days, Nicola used to be baffled as to why Japanese women were throwing themselves at Takane despite his callous attitude towards them.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: The mangaka loves this trope.
- Okamon confesses his feelings to Hana, despite knowing that she's already in love with Takane. While she obviously turns him down, he also does it to let Takane know that he's not going to give up on Hana.
- Hana then gives one to Takane who was beginning to push her away, due to Yakumo's threat. He coldly turns her down to keep her safe.
- Once Hana is saved from Yakumo and Takane is hospitalized with broken shins, he accidentally gives her one while waking up from a dream. Unfortunately for both of them, he did this in front of her family, his friends, and Okamon.
- Arranged Marriage: What kicks off the plot. Souten Takaba, Takane's grandfather and head of the Takaba family, is looking for a bride for his grandson.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Rino fell in love with Takane because he told her that he would still be on her side even if her family disowned her for coming out as transgender.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: The series pretty much revolves around it. One chapter even has Takane going back-and-forth about how he feels about Hana until his head explodes.
- Betty and Veronica: Hana is the Archie to patient childhood friend Okamon (Betty) and spoiled businessman Takane (Veronica).
- Big Brother Worship: Hiromi sees Takane as an older brother and tries to be exactly like him, even blowing his allowance on hair products in order to style his hair like him. Okamon's little brothers also look up to him, with the youngest being in tune with his emotions.
- Big Damn Heroes: When Hana is kidnapped by Takane's bitter cousin Yakumo, Takane gets a helicopter to quickly fly home from his business trip and makes an epic entrance by jumping off the ladder straight into a dogeza pose to meet his demands. Unfortunately, he ends up damaging his legs doing so and fails to notice until the adrenaline wears off.
- Boyish Short Hair: Hana has a short, pink bob that makes people think she's still in middle school. Her friend Mizuki also has short hair.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Hiromi Takaba, Takane's 10-year old cousin, looks up to him and emulates his haughty behavior.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: When Hana tries to confront Takane over the nose kiss he gave her while drunk, Takane attempts to push her away in order to protect her from Yakumo.
- Break the Haughty: Takane experiences this after getting cut off from his wealth. It's not until Hana forces him to accept her help that he begins to recover from it.
- Broken Ace: Okamon's a star athlete who is respected by his peers and his family owns a popular okonomiyaki restaurant, but he's absolutely terrible at expressing his emotions. He spent years hinting at his feelings for Hana, but she never took the hint. By the time he confesses to her, she's already fallen in love with Takane.
- The Casanova: Nicola Luciano has this reputation. Part of it is due to the cultural differences between Europe and Japan.
- Christmas Episode: Chapter 36.
- Cool Big Sis: Yukari acts as this to Hana. Even when she was throwing herself at Takane, she was actually testing him to see if his dedication to her sister was genuine. Rino also becomes this to Hana as of chapter 69, saying that she likes whatever Takane likes.
- Disappeared Dad: Takane's father died when he was very young, which prompted his grandfather into taking him and his mother in.
- Doting Grandparent: Hana's grandparents, who straight up tell her that they'll kill anyone who messes with her. People also accuse Souten Takaba of being this to his grandson, which causes him to drop Takane to the bottom of the company and make him climb it to show everyone he's qualified to become leader one day.
- Dumb Jock: Hana is very good at running in Track-and-Field, but does poorly on her tests. Takane begins to help her study for her exams because of this. Okamon is also shown to do poorly on tests.
- Everyone Can See It: Hana's classmates have already taken to calling Takane her boyfriend.
- Fake First Kiss: Hana steals a kiss from Takane at the end of the first chapter, but their relationship is still ambiguous at that point.
- Fake Relationship: After Takane declares his love for Hana and begins pursuing a relationship with her, she and Okamon tell him they're dating in order to give her a break from his sudden over-protectiveness and over-the-top acts of love.
- Family Theme Naming: Mizuki and her brothers have water-themed names.
- Funny Foreigner: Nicola came from Italy and still practices many Italian social customs, which makes him come off as a flirt.
- Genre Savvy: Subverted. Takane tries to win Hana over with cliché shoujo tactics, but they always fall flat.
- Gold Digger: Yukari Nonomura is a downplayed version of this. She initially has no interest in Takane until she and her boyfriend break up, then she begins hounding Takane and trying to get his attention when he visits the Nonomura house. After Takane loses his wealth, her interests shift to Nicola.
- Hate at First Sight: Takane and Okamon are rivals the moment they meet in person.
- Heroic BSoD: Played for laughs. If his pride is wounded badly enough, Takane will become a miniature version of himself called Hikune. He can only return to normal by having his ego boosted.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Hana barely reaches Takane's chest.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Despite having feelings for Hana, Okamon still goes out of his way to give her advice when she's encountered a difficulty in her relationship with Takane. Rino also takes this path once it becomes evident to her that Takane is interested in Hana.
- Idiot Hair: Hana has one sticking up. In chapter 40, Takane accidentally pulls it off and it takes a chapter to grow back.
- Ignore the Fanservice: While the Nonomuras are trying to convince Takane to live with them so that they can keep the mansion, Yukari tries this on Takane by shoving her scantily clad chest in his face while he's sitting on the couch. He coldly tells her that he's trying to see the TV.
- Imagine Spot: Hana has one where she imagines what marrying Takane and sharing a domestic life would be like. It's her taking care of him and their three baby triplets who are exactly like Takane in appearance AND personality. This concept became an omake series that appears at the end of almost every volume.
- In-Series Nickname: Souma Okamoto is called "Okamon" by his circle of friends.
- Innocently Insensitive: Hana frequently brushes off Okamon's attempts at showing affection as just him being a good childhood friend. He finally snaps at her when she tries to reassure him that her family living with Takane won't be weird, because the latter's already seen her in a towel and pajamas without an issue. Her sister Yukari is also just as bad due to her tendency to take the lead in situations without inquiring what other people want.
- Insult Backfire: Happens to Takane often when he's against Hana. He can't win. Represented in a 4koma where Takane pitches a baseball and Hana hits it back to him, with the ball exploding.
- Japanese Delinquents: Rino was this when she was still Toshiyuki Inokuma. It took Takane pointing out that her family would probably be happier with her becoming a woman rather than a delinquent for Rino to embrace who she was.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He has a bad attitude, but Takane turns out to be a decent person once you get past his harsh responses.
- Kissing Under the Influence: When the Nonomuras celebrate Takane's birthday, everyone besides Hana gets drunk off the sake and Takane winds up kissing her nose when she tries to put him to bed.
- Little Miss Snarker: Hana does not take Takane's crap.
- Love Triangle: Between Takane, Hana, and Okamon. Takane crushes on Hana, Hana is in love with Takane as of volume 7, Okamon is in love with Hana, Hana sees him as a friend, and the two guys hate each other.
- Luminescent Blush: Funny enough, the teenage Hana gets the adult Takane to do this often. Heck, Takane does it to himself when he says a corny line to her.
- Hana also begins exhibiting this trope after having her Love Epiphany. It gets so out of hand that at one point, Takane thinks she's actually sick and puts her to bed before calling her sister to pick her up.
- Manchild: Downplayed. While Takane acts professional when doing business, he generally acts like a moody teenager around Hana and anyone who's friends with him.
- Meaningful Name: The title is a play on the Japanese flower proverb takane no hana note , which means "something out of one's reach".
- Yukari's name means "connection" - referring to the fact that her refusal to attend the meeting allowed the main characters to meet.
- Meaningful Rename: Takane's last name at birth was actually Takaba. But because of what happened between his mother and the rest of the Takaba family (sans his grandfather), he ends up taking her last name of "Saibara" and declaring that he'll destroy the Takabas by taking over the company.
- Meido: Hana ends up dressing as a maid for her school's culture festival, along with Hikaruko and the rest of their class.
- Messy Hair: You would think Takane would have neater hair, considering he's rich and has a high rank in the company. Hiromi also has messy hair, but he styles it that way due to his hair being naturally straight.
- No Social Skills: Takane can't handle being around crowds of people and will actually get nauseous, which often results in Hana having to take him somewhere secluded.
- Oblivious to Love: Hana assumes all of Okamon's doting behavior is him being a good childhood friend to her.
- Official Couple: As of chapter 71, Takane and Hana come clean about their feelings and officially begin dating.
- Precocious Crush: Hiromi develops one for Hana, offering to be her rebound if things with Takane don't work out.
- Prone to Tears: Takane cries when he feels vulnerable. Hana's also able to make him cry by kissing him off-guard, because it's humiliating for him.
- Rescue Romance: Parodied. On Christmas Eve, Hana gets harassed by two older guys on her way home. Takane arrives in time to save her but shows up in an extremely fancy Santa suit, which leads to the two guys awkwardly walking away from the situation while Hana gawks at him.
- Raised by Grandparents: Souten Takaba was effectively Takane's father growing up. His grandfather ended up being his main parent due to the rest of the Takaba family accusing his mother of being a Gold Digger and causing her to leave the household.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Takane eats at fancy restaurants every night because he can't cook and hates instant food. He ends up having to learn how to eat those and meals made from scratch once his grandfather cuts him off.
- Riches to Rags: After New Year's passes, Takane is stripped of his wealth by his grandfather and provided a very basic apartment to live in. He is also forced to start from the bottom of the company, as his grandfather wants him to earn his position.
- The Rival: Takane and Okamon immediately dislike each other from the moment they meet; as the former knows about the latter's feelings for Hana, and the latter hates how the former took Hana away from him.
- Rivalry as Courtship: The main couple form this dynamic upon starting their courtship.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Hana's mother is completely fine with Takane barging in on their family dinners.
- Sailor Fuku: The girls at Hana's school have this uniform.
- Sexy Man, Instant Harem: Nicola has an easy time gathering a female entourage when he's in public, and Mizuki hates it.
- Shipper on Deck: Mizuki, Hikaruko, and Nicola are on board with Takane and Hana getting together. Rino also begrudgingly gets on board once Hana straight up tells her that she likes him. Yukari hops on board once the duo begin officially dating. Likewise, Hana and Hikaruko ship Mizuki with Nicola.
- Smug Smiler: Takane naturally smiles with only one corner of his mouth going up. Hana is quick to learn this and realizes he's faking a smile while she's spying on his meeting with another potential wife.
- Something about a Rose: Takane initially brings a rose bouquet with him every time he meets Hana after school. Her house ends up filled with rose bouquets and she has nightmares about Takane because the smell reminds her of him.
- The Stoic: Okamon, to a degree that his youngest brother emotes how he's feeling inside for him.
- Super-Deformed: Takane has a form called Hikune that appears when he gets horribly discouraged. It takes Hana inflating his ego for him to return to normal.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's good-looking but when he opens his mouth, it scares the girls away (which Hana points out).
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Hana and her sister, Yukari. Hana prefers wearing more simple clothes and is on the track-and-field team, while Yukari is more stylish and works at a makeup counter.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Mizuki's upbringing with two brothers make her appear more masculine, but she actually enjoys dressing cute and wearing hair accessories.
- Tsundere: Both of them. Takane's type-A mannerisms trigger the type-B Hana and vice-versa.
- Those Two Guys: Hana's friends Mizuki and Hikaruko, who aren't named until chapter 3.
- Undying Loyalty: Despite being hired to spy on Takane, Eiji Kirigasaki ends up backing down because he finds Takane to be an admirable person. Even when Takane is demoted to the bottom of the company, Eiji quits his good position to join him and give him advice.
- The Unfavorite: Downplayed. The Nonomura parents don't treat Hana badly, but she had to put in extra work for things that weren't hand-me-downs from her sister and never got to do what she wanted to do growing up.
- Takane is later revealed to be this among the Takaba group, as Hiromi tells Hana that they talk badly about him at family get-togethers and point out how his last name is different from theirs. One of his uncles even hired Eiji Kirigasaki to dig up dirt on him.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Okamon holds a torch for Hana, but is stuck watching her be swept away by Takane.
- Unsettling Gender-Reveal: Rino Inokuma is revealed to be a Male-to-Female woman when Hana rushes to takes off her dress to wash it. She initially thinks Takane outed her to Hana already, but is surprised when Hana expresses her shock.
- Virgin-Shaming: Once the main duo start living together, Hana has a field day pointing out how it's Takane's first time seeing a woman in pajamas or after a bath. He's easily triggered by it.
- We Used to Be Friends: Takane and Nicola had a falling out towards the end of college. But it's later revealed to be a huge misunderstanding as Nicola thought Takane hated him for stealing his girlfriend, who he thought was a gold digger. It turned out that Takane was mad at him because he never told him that he was going back to Italy, and said "girlfriend" was actually an Abhorrent Admirer who wouldn't stop following him around. They pick back up where they left off immediately.
- Yakumo Takaba was assigned as Takane's Big Brother Mentor by their grandfather and genuinely enjoyed his role. Unfortunately, he began to resent his younger cousin as his mother became furious that her son was "losing" to him and began pushing Yakumo harder. Takane developing an cold, stoic personality to protect himself from his family added to his resentment; as he viewed the attitude as Takane just continuously leeching support from him without ever giving back.
