Takane & Hana #9

Volume 9 of Yuki Shiwasu's Takane & Hana presents a charming cover trio: a tall, sharply suited dark-haired young man and a red-haired teen in a soccer jersey numbered 7 flank a petite pink-haired girl in a sunny yellow dress and bonnet, all set against a warm golden-and-blue starlit background. The contrast between the two very different young men bookending Hana gives the image an immediately playful, will-she-won't-she energy that fans of this shojo series will find hard to resist. Shiwasu's clean, expressive linework is on full display here, making this 2019 installment a visually inviting entry in the ongoing romantic comedy.