Kase-san and Morning Glories Review: A Shy Girl Who Tends the Flowers Falls in Love With the School Track Star
by Hiromi Takashima
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Quick Take
- One of yuri manga's warmest, most beloved series: a gentle love story between two very different girls who are genuinely happy together
- The series is remarkable for depicting a healthy, mutually loving relationship from early on rather than building to a confession for volumes
- Complete at 5 volumes; the OVA anime is beautiful; a sequel series continues their relationship into adulthood
Who Is This Manga For?
- Readers who want yuri romance that is warm and happy rather than angst-heavy
- Fans of high school romance where the couple is genuinely together and working through the relationship rather than pining
- Anyone who wants completed, short yuri manga with exceptional emotional clarity
- Readers who want a healthy relationship depicted in manga
Content Warnings & Age Rating
Age Rating: T (Teen) Content Warnings: Yuri romance; gentle physical affection between the characters; the series is relatively open about the relationship's physical dimension in age-appropriate ways
Warm content; notably healthier relationship dynamics than much of the genre.
Yu's Rating
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Story Depth | ★★★★☆ |
| Art Style | ★★★★★ |
| Character Development | ★★★★★ |
| Accessibility for Non-Japanese Readers | ★★★★★ |
| Reread Value | ★★★★★ |
Story Overview
Yamada is quiet, a little clumsy, devoted to tending the school's flower garden. She tends the morning glories. She is the kind of person who doesn't stand out.
Kase-san is the opposite: fast, athletic, confident, known across the school for her track performances.
They fall in love. The series follows their relationship — not building toward a confession but working through an actual relationship: nervousness, physical affection, jealousy, growing up together, and the question of what happens when high school ends and their paths might diverge.
Characters
Yamada — Her specific softness — she gets flustered easily, she tends to flowers, she loves gently — is not weakness. The series shows her as the relationship's emotional anchor. Her perspective on loving Kase-san is drawn with exceptional care.
Kase-san — Her specific intensity — she runs toward things, she acts on feelings directly — contrasts with Yamada's hesitance in ways that make their dynamic mutually enriching rather than unbalanced.
Art Style
Takashima's art is the series' most distinctive achievement — soft, luminous, and emotionally precise. The morning glory flowers recur as visual metaphors throughout. The way the characters look at each other is drawn with the specific quality of people who are genuinely happy in another person's presence.
Cultural Context
Yuri manga published in Yuri Hime — a magazine specifically for girls' love content — has a different tradition than yuri elements in mainstream manga. Kase-san reflects the Yuri Hime tradition at its warmest: the relationship is the center, not the obstacle.
What I Love About It
The OVA. The anime adaptation of the graduation arc — with beautiful animation and music that matches Takashima's visual warmth — is one of the finest anime shorts in the yuri genre. It and the manga complement each other perfectly; read the manga, then watch the OVA.
What English-Speaking Fans Say
Western readers consistently cite Kase-san as the yuri manga to recommend to readers who want the genre at its most joyful — not the sadness of Sweet Blue Flowers or the psychological depth of Bloom Into You, but the specific pleasure of watching two people be happy together. The morning glory imagery is praised. The sequel series (following the characters into college and beyond) is eagerly read by everyone who finished the original.
Memorable Scene ⚠️ Spoiler Warning
The graduation sequence — when Yamada and Kase-san have to decide what their relationship means when school ends and they might go separate ways — is the series' most emotionally complete arc and the best demonstration of how well Takashima understands these characters.
Similar Manga
- Bloom Into You — Yuri, deeper psychological exploration
- Sweet Blue Flowers — Yuri, more melancholy register
- Adachi and Shimamura — Yuri, slower development
- YuriHime anthology — Various yuri short stories, same publisher tradition
Reading Order / Where to Start
Volume 1 — Yamada and Kase-san meet and fall in love in the early chapters; the relationship begins early.
Official English Translation Status
Seven Seas Entertainment published the complete 5-volume series. A sequel series (Kase-san and Yamada) is also available from Seven Seas.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 5 volumes, complete — ideal commitment
- The relationship is healthy and depicted with warmth
- Takashima's art is exceptional
- The OVA is a perfect companion to the manga
Cons
- Very short — readers who love it always want more
- Less psychological depth than Bloom Into You or Sweet Blue Flowers
- Some readers want more dramatic conflict
Format Comparison
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| Individual Volumes | Seven Seas; standard |
| Sequel Series | Kase-san and Yamada — also Seven Seas |
| Digital | Available |
Where to Buy
Get Kase-san and Morning Glories Vol. 1 on Amazon →
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*Affiliate link — I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Written by
Yu
Manga Enthusiast from Japan
I grew up in Japan and manga literally saved me during a tough time in elementary school. My English isn't perfect, but my love for manga is real — and I want to share it with you.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.