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Hana-chan and the Shape of the World
In a small town where the fantastic and the mundane blend together, young Hana’s everyday life is one of exploration and discovery. As she encounters fragments both bitter and sweet, the shape of the world slowly comes into view…
196 pages, Paperback
Published April 20, 2021
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122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 10, 2021
Beginner friendly, middle grade manga.
Love, love, love the easy artstyle and the art sequence though it wasn't consistently awesome throughout. But some pages did put some blinks to my eyes and I got mesmerized.
There's not much to the plots involved in different sections of this collection showcasing sort of slice of life kind of moments of Hana-Chan.
(Did I make any sense with that sentence?)
The first part seems really dystopian. The other stories shows tamper tantrums in some parts. While some parts are really heartwarming.
But I am not at all happy with no stories to connect to and no proper endings.
It's all in the art for this one.
Love, love, love the easy artstyle and the art sequence though it wasn't consistently awesome throughout. But some pages did put some blinks to my eyes and I got mesmerized.
There's not much to the plots involved in different sections of this collection showcasing sort of slice of life kind of moments of Hana-Chan.
(Did I make any sense with that sentence?)
The first part seems really dystopian. The other stories shows tamper tantrums in some parts. While some parts are really heartwarming.
But I am not at all happy with no stories to connect to and no proper endings.
It's all in the art for this one.
May 17, 2021
The story is an interesting blend of surrealism and magic realism that nicely mimics the worlds we live in as children. The art is total nightmare fuel, especially in chapter two.
March 3, 2022
Trippy. I don’t know what’s going on with this story. It’s a little nonsensical, but unsettling as well.
January 30, 2023
Did I pick up this manga because of the mutant kitty on the cover? Maybe.
It's a short manga about the adventures of Hana-chan and some of her friends. Each chapter seems to be a standalone adventure. There is definitely some trippy art in here. It mostly resolves around the logic we make up as kids or how we think about the world as kids. Pretty interesing, pretty cool.
It's a short manga about the adventures of Hana-chan and some of her friends. Each chapter seems to be a standalone adventure. There is definitely some trippy art in here. It mostly resolves around the logic we make up as kids or how we think about the world as kids. Pretty interesing, pretty cool.
February 9, 2022
Some very gorgeous art! There’s a lot going on in this book. Definitely not for sensitive kiddos. Too many disasters.
June 1, 2021
Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.
Hana is a precocious young girl who doesn’t usually do as she’s told and has many adventures with her friends. First, Hana prepares her emergency “rations” of choco-puffs, which she leaves at her school. When a typhoon hits her town, she takes her cat down to her school to retrieve the rations in the storm. In another adventure, Hana and her friend sit in an abandoned VW Bug, when a dam breaks and carries them downstream to the sea. Later, Hana gets stuck in a hammock and her friends have to get her out before a corporation, bent on reclaiming some derelict fields, torch the whole place and Hana along with it.
This compilation of short stories should really be named “The Misadventures of Hana-Chan,” because she keeps getting into dire situations and has to get out of them by some miracle or through the ingenuity of her friends. There is a lot of surrealism in the storyline and the art, which you can see on the cover with the cat with non-symmetrical eyes, and there are some interesting proportions on the characters. The stories were a little entertaining but mostly, they seem to be an exercise in surrealism. On the surface, these stories could be appealing to younger audiences, but the strangeness and lack of closure to any of the stories might just confuse younger readers.
Sara’s Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 5-12
Hana is a precocious young girl who doesn’t usually do as she’s told and has many adventures with her friends. First, Hana prepares her emergency “rations” of choco-puffs, which she leaves at her school. When a typhoon hits her town, she takes her cat down to her school to retrieve the rations in the storm. In another adventure, Hana and her friend sit in an abandoned VW Bug, when a dam breaks and carries them downstream to the sea. Later, Hana gets stuck in a hammock and her friends have to get her out before a corporation, bent on reclaiming some derelict fields, torch the whole place and Hana along with it.
This compilation of short stories should really be named “The Misadventures of Hana-Chan,” because she keeps getting into dire situations and has to get out of them by some miracle or through the ingenuity of her friends. There is a lot of surrealism in the storyline and the art, which you can see on the cover with the cat with non-symmetrical eyes, and there are some interesting proportions on the characters. The stories were a little entertaining but mostly, they seem to be an exercise in surrealism. On the surface, these stories could be appealing to younger audiences, but the strangeness and lack of closure to any of the stories might just confuse younger readers.
Sara’s Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 5-12
January 1, 2022
Hana-chan and the Shape of the World is a great middle grade slice of life manga, set in rural Japan, full of imagination and heart. As someone who lived in rural Japan for four years, the art in this story brought back a lot of memories.
July 30, 2023
Hana experiences a storm that possibly brings her into contact with aliens, then she and a friend are in a field that is taken over by strange plants and attacked by robots bent on destroying those plants, then Hana and her friend play ping-pong but are curious about the lady who runs the place where they play, then Hana and her friend get swept away by a flood but her friend helps save the day with her observation skills, and then a story about how Hana found her cat.
You ever heard of the new weird genre? Well, this brings a touch of new weird to manga. These aren't your straightforward adventures. There's always a touch of scifi weirdness going on. But if you go in expecting that, they aren't bad. If you go in expecting a girl's normal, everyday adventures, you'll have a surprise in store and it may take a little while to reorient yourself. I was not prepared so it did take me a little while to get in the right frame of mind for these. Hana's cat on the cover should've been a clue. It looks like it escaped from a Picasso painting...just a touch off the norm.
Notes on content: No language issues that I remember. No sexual content. There are several perilous circumstances (bad storms, floods, flaming fields full of horrible allergens...), but everyone miraculously seems to make it out ok.
You ever heard of the new weird genre? Well, this brings a touch of new weird to manga. These aren't your straightforward adventures. There's always a touch of scifi weirdness going on. But if you go in expecting that, they aren't bad. If you go in expecting a girl's normal, everyday adventures, you'll have a surprise in store and it may take a little while to reorient yourself. I was not prepared so it did take me a little while to get in the right frame of mind for these. Hana's cat on the cover should've been a clue. It looks like it escaped from a Picasso painting...just a touch off the norm.
Notes on content: No language issues that I remember. No sexual content. There are several perilous circumstances (bad storms, floods, flaming fields full of horrible allergens...), but everyone miraculously seems to make it out ok.
June 30, 2025
I didn't quite know what to do with this story. I got it for my 8 year old but she had asked me to start reading through the books I pick for her as I grabbed some "teen" books for her previously.
This story was interesting and seemed very slice of life in a child's point of view maybe. I'm really not sure if the big heads and the tornado were things that really happened or just thats how it felt. Either way, after finishing it I realized this would not be a good pick for my kiddo as she gets nervous when bad things happen.
I'd recommend this book for any kiddos who are the adventurous sort or who understand that life can get scary but that you can handle it. It might also make more sense if you read the original comic to have a better idea of what types of stories will be in the book. Or at least read it first before giving it to any anxious kiddos!
This story was interesting and seemed very slice of life in a child's point of view maybe. I'm really not sure if the big heads and the tornado were things that really happened or just thats how it felt. Either way, after finishing it I realized this would not be a good pick for my kiddo as she gets nervous when bad things happen.
I'd recommend this book for any kiddos who are the adventurous sort or who understand that life can get scary but that you can handle it. It might also make more sense if you read the original comic to have a better idea of what types of stories will be in the book. Or at least read it first before giving it to any anxious kiddos!
May 28, 2021
Visually brilliant storytelling, with some sequences foregoing grays and relying on the power of black and white linear shapes, which perfectly express the quirky, irrepressible personality of the main character in Hana-chan and the Shape of the World. Each story in the book has both a charm and a bite to it, part Huck Finn, part Pippy Longstocking, and part South Park. If I have a criticism, the book as a whole feels incomplete, mostly because Hana-chan is a unique character that doesn't quite fit any of the tropes or character types I'm familiar with so I'm left with a question mark when it comes to Hana.
January 13, 2022
The first story lured me in with sweet innocence. A young girl -- Hana-chan -- bravely and stupidly goes out into a typhoon with the most adorable cat. And then the SECOND STORY slapped me in the face with horror visions of mutant, transformative weeds and agricultural robots bent on bureaucratic-type destruction.
After that I was a little stunned.
In the end, this was both charming and strange. Hana-chan and her friends approach their world full-on, working both with each other and against each other, and with frequent appearances by very cute cats.
After that I was a little stunned.
In the end, this was both charming and strange. Hana-chan and her friends approach their world full-on, working both with each other and against each other, and with frequent appearances by very cute cats.
May 15, 2023
I’m going to be brutally honest and say that I did not understand this at all. This book is surrealist, absurdist, and everything in between—to me, it was a chaotic mess. There is no exposition, no plot, no direction, nothing. I’m not sure if that is what the author intended, but it wasn’t for me. Do not waste your time on this book unless you like this kind of read.
June 14, 2024
I love that we're in an era of comics publishing where something strange and small like this can be licensed and translated. This is such a fun and surreal and beautiful little standalone volume of stories. Something to widen your horizons with
November 11, 2024
Started and finished date - 10.11.24 to 11.11.24.
My rating - Three Stars.
I did enjoyed this book but I didn't love. Both the atmosphere and the writing was okay. The paced of plot was bit rush and I mix feeling about illustrations and the cover of book was stunning also the characters was fine.
My rating - Three Stars.
I did enjoyed this book but I didn't love. Both the atmosphere and the writing was okay. The paced of plot was bit rush and I mix feeling about illustrations and the cover of book was stunning also the characters was fine.
October 27, 2021
Reviewed at Good Comics for Kids: https://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforki...
January 16, 2022
While very childish, I enjoyed this short volume! The art was very creative, it’s a style I haven’t seen since… mizuki I guess!
February 24, 2022
She reminds me of Eloise, though less so than Amy Wu does. A very sweet story that makes my heart feel like it's going to burst.
April 23, 2022
3.5 -- Weird and cute!
May 11, 2022
Cute, just not for me.
August 24, 2022
loved it, it was so cute
December 8, 2022
It was…fine? I guess I just don’t see the point in this.
January 15, 2023
This one was so full of gentle moments of sweetness as well as mild (or at times dramatic) absurdity. I personally love the combination.
Recommended to fans of Azumanga-daioh or Moomin.
Recommended to fans of Azumanga-daioh or Moomin.
February 4, 2023
Hana Chan and the shape of the world has amazing art and a very cute and simple story. It is about the mind of a child and how they view the world with fear and curiosity.
May 13, 2023
NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!!! 🤔🙄
March 23, 2024
Nope. Not for me <3
May 1, 2024
The art is top shelf. The stories are all quick and funny, full of distinct characters. Loved it.
February 24, 2025
cute i guess pero me mareé
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July 9, 2025six short stories featuring hana chan in one. some of these were confusing and i did not really understand them? but i liked the others
September 13, 2025
This is quite odd and fairly disturbing. The illustration style is cute and interesting. I'm not sure I understand what the author is trying to communicate but I did enjoy reading this work.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews