I must say, looking at the older works of this mangaka, she's definitely grown a lot. I remember picking up the one about two brothers love triangle with their younger sister...it was so bad to the point it was maddening. Her female characters have gone a long way since then. This heroine is so much stronger and intelligent. The portrayal of male characters have gotten so much better and looking at one of the comments below, I can definitely tell you, the cheesiness was 100x worse in her older works.

So I would say. Go for this one, but if you're expecting the same level of character portrayals and plotline developments in her older works...don't touch them, not even with a ten foot pole.

a strong, intelligent girl, who has collected allies through charisma and wit. it's a very impressive story so far. it's decent art too. it breaks a lot of trapping for a strong female lead manga tropes.
there is no lazy coincidence to push plot point, nor a single pointless character. everyone, including villains, has their motivation beyond just stupid simple selfish or evil.

I read a lot of manga of all types. And, for the most part, shoujo manga tends to be the most annoying. Sure, there are a handful of incredible slice-of-life series (Lovely Complex and Kimi ni Todoke leap to mind), but for the most part the more dramatic series invariably fall short. They focus too much on self-absorbed relationship drama, rely too heavily on tired tropes/cliches, or keep the cast perpetually infantilized to avoid changing the status quo in any meaningful way until the last chapter or two.

It makes the dramatic series all the more infuriating to read because they will often take a very compelling premise, and then completely fail to do anything interesting with it (the recent Akatsuki no Yona leaps to mind).

Joou no Hana is none of these things. A small, focused cast allows for excellent characterization, and deft plot handling (making frequent and excellent use of time-skips and narration) allow for character development--and, crucially, plot development. And that's what makes Joou no Hana such a joy to read--it's a fast-paced character-centric historical-fantasy epic, that spends just enough time on the character drama and interaction to make the cast feel alive and compelling, without sacrificing ANYTHING to the plot.

And boy, oh boy, oh boy is this one hell of a plot.

In the first chapter our heroine, Aki, is a young girl stealing food for her mother; two chapters later she's thrusting a sword through an enemy soldier's throat.

If you like historical fantasy at all, please read this series. If you're not in love with it after the first three chapters, you really don't like historical fantasy and are just deluding yourself. I really thought the big stand-out story for me this year would be the new adaptation of Tanaka Yoshiki's "Heroic Legend of Arslan." But it's not. It's Kaneyoshi Izumi's "Joou no Hana," a rather unfortunately named series I found entirely by accident--and I am so glad I did.

I'm really liking this manga. I especially like the character development of the main character. The author was really good in transitioning a naive royal to a slightly cynical, realist one. I like her and the flow of the manga is just proceeding smoothly

The character development and plot line of this manga seems to rival those of Basara, Red River and other epic Shoujo's. Add to that, the beautiful art work. This is definitely one of my new favorites. I'm really looking forward to reading more of it.
Do NOT give this one a miss!

As jackalan touches on (albeit a tad rudely and one-sidedly) in the comment bellow, a lot of the elements of this story are "unoriginal." Unwanted princess, foreign servant, close relationship, trying to prove oneself to the country that rejected them-- it's all very typical because its very often a theme. But in the same way that Disney always has their princesses and there are always car chases and explosions in action movies, this manga retells these familiar elements RIGHT.

Although we know many elements of this plot, we love seeing it play out right the same way we can rewatch our favorite film or shakespearean play even knowing the content. It's almost comforting because we feel we know these characters already when we get dropped into the story. I would even argue that although a lot of the story elements and plot devises aren't surprises, there is still an element of mystery or wonder to the future in what way the story will go. I definitely recommend it.

The art is good, the plot is good even with all it's typical-ness and the characters, if not fully developed yet, do make you like them and wish for their well-being. it's not to far along yet, read a few chapters and see for yourself.

... Last updated on April 1st, 2013, 7:09pm

Oh My God! It was seriously seriously cheesy. It was hilariously cheesy. It was...

Sorry if I offend any attentive reader of the manga but it was just cheesy. I mean seriously there is still manga this cheesy. And the rating is quite high. That makes me understand even less.

Okay, push besides the cheesy plot and characters. The drawing makes such dramatic effects that it amplifies the CHEESINESS of the manga even more.

This has been a dead serious comment. Really

I've always had a soft spot for political intrigue in a historical context. Add a courageous female lead, some subtle but nonetheless cavity-inducing romance, well-crafted suspense and voila! A great read. I've only read a few chapters so far, but I'm hooked.

I really like it! The art is good and well proportioned and the main characters are very likable. The main girl (like said below) is spunky, energetic and good spirited, while the guy is strong, sweet and loyal. Really want to see how this stories plays out.... if only more volumes were scanlated.... ;__;

3 chapters does not satisfy me! D:

... Last updated on October 17th, 2012, 3:22am

i think my previous comment was deleted.... >.> .....

oh well. I think this is a really good manga. The girl is spunky and can look after herself.

If you liked bride of the wolf king, you'll like this one even more!