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HiroManager is the het ship between Hiromi Higa and the Florist Shop Manager from the SK8 the Infinity fandom.
Canon[]
Hiromi's relationship with his manager is introduced for the first time at the beginning of the series, when Hiromi's life outside "S" is first shown in the anime. He's seen happily accepting a manager's request at the florist shop where both work.
In episode 4, the manager apologizes to Hiromi in advance for keeping him working late, but Hiromi reassures her by expressing concern for her well-being if she were alone late at night. The manager then expresses her trust in Hiromi, which causes him to blush and promise to be there for her whenever needed.
Hiromi then leaves the shop in excitement and heads to his car, but he suddenly meets Langa, Reki, and Miya, begging Hiromi to bring them to Crazy Rock but he was hesitating to do so while he complained in high voice to them. A moment later, the manager peeks outside and asks Hiromi if something was wrong (while he was discussing with the other kids inside the vehicle), and Hiromi assured her that everything was fine. Back to the scene, Langa and Reki begged Hiromi once more while Miya threated Hiromi on telling the "woman" about the situation then a moment later Hiromi drives the three kids to the accorded place, probably because of Miya's threatening message.
In episode 5, when Shadow and the other three guys arrived to Joe's restaurant, he looks around impressed while saying in low voice "Someday, the manager...", implying that he could mean that the manager would be impressed if she saw the elegant restaurant too.
During the beach scene in episode 6, Hiromi is designated as the 'teacher chaperone' by Joe, prompting him to express dissatisfaction with the title. He explains that his manager had requested him to accompany Reki, Langa, and Miya on the trip for safety reasons. Hiromi is taken aback by her proposal, especially when the three guys plead with 'baby' faces to convince the manager to let Hiromi join them.
In episode 7, the manager apologizes once more for leaving Hiromi alone in the shop briefly, but he reassures her again. She expresses her confidence in his abilities, leading to Hiromi blushing. He then confides in his manager about finding a new training location and assures her of his strength, pledging to prove it to her. Hiromi takes it upon himself to enter the tournament organized by Adam for the skaters from 'S,' as he assigns himself to the competition using his phone.
In episode 10, both characters are seen hanging out in a parking lot while Hiromi chats with her and the manager praises him for helping with carrying heavy items. Hiromi expresses gratitude for being able to help her. Suddenly, someone attempts to attack the manager from behind with a metal bat aimed at her head. Hiromi steps in to protect the manager from the attack, despite her pleas for him to ensure his own safety. After the assailant (Kazu) angrily confronts Hiromi and finishes complaining about his situation, he knocks Hiromi unconscious with a second hit.
At the end of the 12th episode, Hiromi is seen wearing an elegant suit with a bouquet of flowers in hand, determined to confess his feelings to his manager, but then, he sees the woman's boyfriend pull up in his car. The fact that she's already dating another guy seems to have saddened him quite a lot and in the next scene, while dressed as Shadow, he's seen crying in waterfalls while skating as he remembers the scene again.
Hiromi notices the manager struggling with a bottle.
In the OVA, both are shown working together at the flower shop, with Hiromi remarkably remaining servicial to his manager. When the manager struggles opening her drink's lid, Hiromi offers his help, which she appreciates but politely declines as the man was still carrying some heavy weight with him; however, he doesn't see this as a problem, to which the manager worriedly asks if he was sure, as she hands him the bottle.
The manager thanks Hiromi.
Hiromi easily opens the bottle with a simple touch, spiraling the lid and opening it, impressing the woman, who compliments his strength, prompting Hiromi to blush. By this point, despite the indirect rejection shown by the end of season 1, Hiromi still harvors feelings towards the woman, because afterwards when she touches his arm as a grateful gest, his body boils to the point her iced tea heats too, confusing the woman.
Hiromi is surprised by the manager's sudden visit.
In another segment, a co-worker asks the manager about Hiromi's whereabouts, since a mother and her daughter were looking for him but was missing. She explains that since Hiromi had returned all soaked earlier, she allowed him to leave early. The mother then reveals that Hiromi had lent her daughter an umbrella and the girl describes him as a big man. Understanding the situation, the manager receives the umbrella from the grateful girl and is seen later outside Hiromi's apartment holding the object.
The manager smiles at Hiromi's predicament.
The manager calls Hiromi, who hurriedly comes to the door and is surprised by the unexpected visit. The manager explains about the umbrella, and Hiromi feels embarrassed, insisting that she shouldn't have bothered and blushing. Despite his embarrassment, the manager comments on Hiromi's kindness, causing him to blush even more and almost invite her in for tea before realizing he was wearing Shadow's attire. Concerned about Hiromi's discomfort, the manager asks if he's okay, to which he excuses his awkward posture by mentioning a neck pain and considering using the door for a makeshift massage.
Hiromi watches as his manager leaves the apartment complex.
The manager questions the massage reference as she opens the door, revealing Hiromi clutching the doorknob while still dressed as 'Shadow' before he quickly shuts the door and continues with the lie. The manager giggles at Hiromi's predicament, and apologizes for coming while he was very busy. She then decides to leave the umbrella outside his door, bidding him goodbye and expecting to see him tomorrow. Hiromi watches the manager walk away from the apartment, Hiromi hurriedly takes the umbrella and bites the handle in frustration while peeking outside his window, closing the curtains and letting out a scream.
Fanon[]
While the florist shop manager's name it's unknown, it's the most popular het ship in the fandom, though it's not really popular because the slash ships are more focused in SK8 the Infinity fandom, but nevertheless the ship has gained a few following and love in the fandom.
Fans were expecting that Hiromi's feelings for the manager were going to be mutual, this is because of the lack of canon pairings (considering that SK8 the Infinity is an all-male anime and slash shipping-centered show, where het pairings are less common/inexistent at some point) and when the pairing was introduced, there was already some hope created for fans.
But after the last episode was released, they were disappointed and sad that Hiromi couldn't get a happy ending with his manager. There were though other few that were glad about it, as they say that the manager is just "too good" for Hiromi.
The ship currently has 25 works on AO3.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Flower Shop Manager/Higa Hiromi tag on AO3
- TUMBLR
- Hiromi x Manager posts on Tumblr
- Shadow x Manager (SK8) posts on Tumblr
Trivia[]
- It's one out of the two ships which the other character's name is unknown, with the other being Reki x Reki's Childhood Friend.
Gallery[]
Anime[]
Variations[]
- Hiromi x Manager x Oka refers to the ship between the two and Shokichi Oka
[]
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| SHIPS | het | HiroManager • KazuMiki • NanakOliver |
| slash | EDENSK8 • Love Blossom • LoveGear • MatchaBlossom • Reki x Reki's Childhood Friend • Rekiya • Renga • ShadOka • TadaAi • TakaMiya | |
| poly | MatchaLoveBlossom | |
| family | Rekoyo | |
| CHARACTERS | male | Reki Kyan • Ainosuke Shindo |