Every generation thinks it understands love for the first time. Still, they all find the same truth: the world rarely lets love to happen without consequences. Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” tells the story of two young lovers whose passion defies social rules but ultimately leads to their tragic end. In contrast, Saka Mikami’s “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” a modern romance manga now adapted into an anime, reinterprets this timeless tragedy through a contemporary perspective, offering a more hopeful view on love and social expectations. “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity” serves as a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” by reimagining the theme of forbidden love for the modern Japanese eyes, showing how the idea of forbidden love remains a universal phenomenon across cultures and eras.
The idea of us versus them or the concept of social connections is, by nature, a social construct that spans across multiple eras. This idea is rooted in social identity theory, some parts of which explain how the in-group (us) tends to favor itself and views the out-group (them) negatively (Hogg). Examples of “us vs. them” can be seen in real life and across all types of entertainment; the reasons behind these divisions can be small, such as differences in age and sports, or related to different schools or families. These divisions form because, as social creatures, we crave a sense of belonging—a place where we can be around like-minded individuals. This “us versus them” idea appears in both “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity” and “Romeo and Juliet,” as both works use this social construct as the central theme of their plots, illustrating how characters become star-crossed lovers.
In “Romeo and Juliet,” we follow Romeo, who is part of the Montague family, and Juliet from the Capulet family. Both families are embroiled in a long-standing feud. Similarly, in “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” we follow Rintaro Tsumugi, the main character who attends Chidori Public High School, and Kaoruko Waguri, who attends the neighboring Kikyo Private Academy Girls’ High School. These two schools are like the two families locked in an endless feud. While the reasons for the feud aren’t explicitly stated, we can infer some context from Rintaro’s thoughts, such as “Those Princesses don’t wanna deal with us morons.” (Mikami, Chpt 1, Book 1) or this quote: “A prestigious high school for the honorable and noble ladies… A school for the low class, full of morons, … it’s fairly easy to see…” (Mikami, Chpt 1, Book 1). These quotes suggest a power dynamic, with one school having more prestige and status, though that alone doesn’t necessarily explain the origins of the feud. This differs from “Romeo and Juliet,” where the prologue states, “Two households, both alike in dignity, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny.” (Chorus 1:1). This indicates that the families, despite their similarities, share a rivalry that predates the story. Thus, both works use the “us versus them” theme as a backdrop and a main source of conflict for the characters. Rintaro’s language highlights how internalized class differences perpetuate the divide between the schools, much like the pride of the Montague and Capulet families fuels their ongoing feud in Shakespeare’s play. Ultimately, while both stories portray social division as a central conflict that challenges their lovers, how do the themes of hope and fate differ in their outcomes?
Fate and dignity are two beliefs that play a significant role in how we, as people, make decisions, from choosing what to eat in the morning to the kinds of people we surround ourselves with. These themes are also common in media and are strongly linked to love, especially when discussing “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity.” Fate is defined as “According got certain philosophical and popular systems of beliefs, all events or some events… are unalterably predetermined from eternity” (Oxford English Dictionary), and we can see this influence or theme in “Romeo and Juliet.” An example is a quote with Romeo when he says, “I fear too early, for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars… With this night’s revels and expire the term of a despised life closed in my breast” (Act 1, Scene 4). This quote refers to the upcoming party where Romeo will meet Juliet. The phrase “for my mind misgives some consequence” suggests that if Romeo attends the party, his fate will be sealed, with “despised life closed in my breast” implying his life is at risk if he goes.
Dignity differs from fate because it is based on both belief and reason, while fate is only shaped by beliefs. Dignity is also defined as “The quality of being worthy or honorable” (Oxford English Dictionary). The concept of dignity is a major theme in “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity.” Besides being present in the title, the word influences how the characters act and carry themselves throughout the story. For context, Rintaro is constantly stereotyped as scary or intimidating because of his height, blonde hair, and pierced ears, which in Japan is not common, and his stare. In a flashback to Rintaro’s childhood, we see how others’ words like “he’s so scary, right?” or “your family owns a bakery? That doesn’t suit you at all.” Or even an account from Rintaro saying, “nobody dared to even make eye contact with me!” (Mikami, Chp 21, book 3), all his life, people have perceived him as this terrifying person, and that’s going to affect how you think of yourself, so when Rintaro first meets Kaoruko at his family’s bakery, and she doesn’t treat him and even says “But I never once thought of you… as “scary” Rintaro.” (Mikami, Chp 1, book 1) this quote is the first time we personally see Rintaro confused as to why someone is being nice to him and perceives him as a kind soul, this is what leads to the whole plot of the story with Rintaro wanting to learn more about Kaoruko and wanting to see what she sees or in a sense gaining some self-dignity. Both stories tell a love story between star-crossed lovers, but they both do it by exploring different themes that affect how the story is told. “Romeo and Juliet” explores darker themes like fate, which makes the story rooted in death and fate over circumstance, whereas “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity” is more hopeful and cheerier because it explores themes about self-worth and dignity. In the end, both stories are affected by their themes, but how are they affected based on where they take place?
Romance as a feeling is the same, but the way we show our love is different, whether that be from personal experience or cultural norms. Both “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity” show romantic norms differently. In “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” the story takes place in Tokyo, Japan, and because of this, we are shown Japanese culture in general, and in the way Rintaro and Kaoruko express their relationship. In Japan, actions speak louder than words, or fugenjikko, is a huge part of a Japanese relationship (Takano). In “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” we see multiple instances of this happening between Rintaro and Kaoruko, but one sticks out. Rintaro, as a thanks to Kaoruko for helping him prepare for his midterms, asks her if there is anything she wants to do, and she decides on the aquarium. A quote that emphasizes that this event is gratitude to Kaoruko is this: “Today, we’re gonna check out all the stuff you want to do.” (Mikami, chp 18, book 3). The quote from Rintaro is meant to emphasize to Kaoruko that this aquarium date is about thanks for being a help, so here the action is speaking louder than just a thank you. Another aspect of Japanese romance is the kokuhaku (告白), which is a confession of love that signals you’re ready for the next step in the relationship (Takano). We see this again happen in the manga, where at this point, Rintaro had already said he liked Kaoruko but didn’t confess because he said “I like you” (Mikami, Chp 36, book 5) whereas when Kaoruko does her confession, she actually reminisces with Rintaro on the first time they met and says “I was given courage and joy, by none other than you… I fell in love with you.” (Mikami, Chp 39, Book 6). This quote is wildly different because she is basically saying “I love you” while also telling Rintaro why she fell in love with him, whereas Rintaro just said that he liked her and did not confess to her.
In “Romeo and Juliet,” we see a wildly different cultural look at romance. The story takes place in Verona, Italy, which would have more Western traditions, while also taking place around the 14thcentury. Because of the time period, we see arranged marriages with Juliet, who is supposed to marry Count Paris, the prince of Verona. We are also shown that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship was formed quickly in comparison to “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” where at the party, Romeo first meets and talks to Juliet, and they kiss twice, with a quote from Juliet saying, “You kiss b th’ book” (Act 1, scene 5). The two also get married rather quickly, mostly to rebel against their families but also because their love was so intense or impulsive, with one quote by Juliet saying, “It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be Ere one can say, ‘It lightens.” (Act 2, Scene 2) she refers to their sudden love as lightning which can symbolize how unpredictable and intense their love is. The two stories both highlight their cultural differences when it comes to love, in how it affects the plots and how the characters act. With “Romeo and Juliet,” their love is fast and intense like lightning, whereas “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity,” their relationship is much slower, like cake baking in the oven; it’s slow yet built to be strong.
Through a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s work “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity” reimagines the story’s themes of forbidden love by reshaping the story for modern Japanese readers. While appearing similar, the manga series changes the plot of a tragic star-crossed lovers’ story by making it about character growth and Japanese culture and traditions. In the end, this modern retelling creates a new yet familiar story with explorations of self-love, confidence, communication, and social norms.
Annotated Bibliography
Simpson, J. A., et al. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed., Clarendon Press; Oxford
University Press, 1989.
I used the Oxford English Dictionary briefly to define the words “Fate” and “Dignity.” The source is highly credible, coming from our school’s library and being the Oxford Dictionary, which is known for its historical depth. Comprehensive and meticulous research. The source was useful as the definitions I used gave me an in-depth understanding of the terms, which made researching and finding instances of the themes in the media easy to find.
Hogg, Michael A. “The Search for Social Identity Leads to ‘Us’ versus ‘Them.’” Scientific American, Sept. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0919-84.
This article was useful as it delved into the mental philosophical idea of Us versus Them. The article did this by explaining the nature behind this construct, what causes it, and how people think. This was helpful as the two stories I was comparing both shared this idea with rivalry/ feuding groups, so understanding what can cause this was very helpful to be able to build a foundation for the idea.
Takano, Ryoma. “The Language of Love: Understanding Japanese Love Expressions and Customs.” Japan Crate, 31 Jan. 2024, japancrate.com/blogs/news/the-language-of-love-understanding-japanese-love-expressions-and-customs?srsltid=AfmBOopNE5RahLx9cHli1mxbFi_fowtvYuwf6bEU7PUlC7WeZP8Z20rA. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
This article explained the traditions and culture around Japanese romance. This was important for me, the research, as I’m not from Japan and know very little about the culture, especially the love culture, so being able to research it was important for me to get a basic understanding of it. It was also important to understand how romance in Japan differs from Western culture or historical romance so that I could take my newfound information and use it to compare it to Romeo and Juliet.
Sprockets and Springes 