"I wanted to blossom discreetly. Not even once have I ever thought of showing myself in the sun, because I saw what becomes of the flowers of the dark seeking light, and I know with certainty that it doesn't suit me to be shined upon."

Sales assistant during the day and prostitute at night, Sumire Hayashi is a woman that has never known love in her life and is therefore unable to love anyone back. Cold and inexpressive, this doesn't prevent men from falling under her charm and she's aware of it.

Her mother having lost her sanity and having committed suicide, desperate to see her husband ever again, Sumire is determined to never become like her and makes up a detailed contract where she sells herself in exchange for compensation ; for a single night or for a month, to a young man or to an old lady, she even accepts to become the mistress to married men… All that matters is that this way she will not have to be betrayed and she'll forget about her pathetic existence for a while, and maybe, maybe she'll have a slight idea of what it means to love, even for a limited amount of time.

Chapters here see Sumire having a relationship with different men and trying to keep what she does outside of work secret as rumors are quick to be spread. The real problem in Sumire Hakusho is that it lacks a proper plot line or a main narrative drive, most of what happens doesn't really have any point to make as to women's status in society or in making the titular main character develop. I can admit some chapters help build a melancholic side by their vacuity and meaninglessness but half of the subplots are literally useless and could be cut off that it wouldn't change anything to the story. The subplots are forgettable and often rely on cheap bullying and violence without making any point just to make us feel bad about Sumire. The only meaningful relationship there is is the one she has with a blind shamisen player, the only person she will ever truly love and who will die soon after their meeting, but nothing happens after that to make it have an influence on the story. It doesn't even have any conclusion whatsoever and the lack of thematic depth makes it feel all the more worthless.

It's also one of Kamimura's works where his art barely shines at all with the exception of a couple spreads and the chapter openers. That wouldn't have been a great flaw in itself because even without being showy, he can as well greatly picture emotions and the dilemma his characters go through. No, the big problem is how cartoony the whole thing looks, be it with its atrocious chara-designs and ill-bodied proportions of most of the side characters, but also with the cheesy type of humor that shouldn't even be here and ruin the mood whenever it occurs. Her fat friend from work who acts as the comic relief would be a prime example of a character that constantly acts disproportionately and is more annoying than she is funny.

Sumire Hakusho had a promising beginning and could have been a great manga if only it knew what it was doing and presented more compelling ideas during its runtime. Finished as it is is, Sumire Hakusho stands amongst the weakest Kamimura titles and I can't decently recommend it.