Fujisaki Mao 藤崎真緒

Debut in 1992 in Hana to Yume Planet.

Hitomi - Genki Kingdom [Eyes - Energy Kingdom]
瞳・元気
serialized on Hana to Yume,
10 volumes @ Y410
[ 01:9407| 02:9411| 03:9504| 04:9507| 05:9511| 06:9603| 07:9605| 08:9609| 09:9701]
[ 10:9705]

No Synopsis.

Hitomi - Genki Kingdom Tokubetsuhen Arupejio
瞳・元気特別編アルペジオ
serialized on Hana to Yume,
1 volume @ Y410
[ 01:9707]

Four side-stories of Hitomi - Genki.

Puraibeeto Doragon [Private Dragon]
プライベイト・ドラゴン
serialized on Hana to Yume,
2 volumes @ Y410
[ 01:9710| 02:9802]

No Synopsis.

Ohoshisama ni onegai!
お星様にお願いっ！
serialized on Hana to Yume,
8 volumes @ Y390
[ 01:9910| 02:0002| 03:0006| 04:0009| 05:0012| 06:0103| 07:0107| 08:0109]

As a child, Sasahara Tomo has always been "one of the guys," hanging out and rough-housing. Even though, she secretly wished to be a girl instead when she enters elementary school, she keeps her facade, too embarrassed to admit it. But when her love confession was later rejected because she didn't seem like a girl, Tomo was ready for a new start. And how lucky that she's about to enter high school. She's excited. A whole school where nobody knew her! But not quite. There's Shimazaki Akira, who had been her next-door neighbor until 5 years ago.. and it seems as if their "sibling" regard for each other is growing into something more.. But there are problems abroad.. because this is a forbidden love.. because he is her 23-year-old class advisor.

I think that even though the plot isn't anything new by a stretch, and even though the story is supposed to be about forbidden love, it's actually really, well... cute. It runs in Hana to Yume, a manga line aimed towards junior high students, famous for the "anything's possible" stories.. The characters are cute (and Shimazaki is biSHOUnen!) and the pace isn't too slow. Tomo-chan can be pretty amusing, not being able to hide her feelings.. as Kuze-sensei describes her, "foolishly honest." I find it interesting that Fujisaki Mao likes to transpose his characters on a photograph of real plants (mostly flowers) for most of his chapter covers. It works pretty well, too. Although the meaning of the title escapes me.. Loosely translated, it's "Request to the Stars!" and maybe even "Ask the Cosmos!" or "Wish Upon a Star!" Okay, with that settled, there really isn't much talk about stars or the zodiac. They talk more about flowers, in fact.. About the only connection I've seen is that the back of the tankoubon has the star map for the zodiac of whichever character is featured in the front... ^^; Maybe I missed something.. It's probably about their personalities. {DCD}

See also:
<http://ohoshisama.cjb.net/>