History Manga / CaterpillarGirlAndBadTexterBoy

->"When a beautiful girl asks her childhood friend out, his response is a shocker: 'You're too perfect.' What's a girl to do, except transform into a giant caterpillar and try, try again?"

* OlderThanTheyLook

* MamasBoy: Akane seems to be one at first, which contrasts sharply to his [[PrecisionFStrike sister's reaction to their mother.]] It's played straight when he was a kid. [[spoiler:Subverted later on when it's revealed that the seemingly harmless hug was actually Akane restraining himself from lashing out physically.]]

* {{Foil}}: It becomes apparent later on that Yutaka is who Akane would have become had he never undergone his JerkassRealization and subsequent CharacterDevelopment. [[spoiler:Akane realizes that blaming and guilt-tripping himself solves nothing, and resolves to be more considerate of other people's feelings by being more considerate of his own. Conversely, Yutaka never dragged herself out of her guilt spiral and consistently acts in ways to justify it, being generally abrasive and choosing to be the villain in Akane and Suzume's dilemma instead of honestly admitting the limits of her powers.]]

* MamasBoy: Akane seems to be one at first, which contrasts sharply to his [[PrecisionFStrike sister's reaction to their mother.]] [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope This is actually not the case, like, at all.]]]]

* HeelRealization: It takes a while but Akane finally realizing what a dick he's been to everyone, disregarding other people's feelings to wallow in his own. In the end, he can't even be happy about his realization because it came about from making Suzume so sad.

A month later, Akane finds Suzume again but drastically changed. She's now a [[BalefulPolymorph giant fuzzy caterpillar]] and she asks if she's disgusting and pitiful enough to be his girlfriend now. What follows is Akane's quest to find a way to make Suzume human and to examine the feelings of others and his own.

* BalefulPolymorph: Happens to Suzume, who is turned into a giant fuzzy caterpillar. [[spoiler:Yutaka also, though she did it to herself.]]

* AdultFear: Suzume's mother is worried to tears over her disappearance, waiting and waiting for her to return.

* HairDecorations: Underclassman Yutaka Ouga wears a prominent bow, which helps Akane find her because she was the one who told Suzume about a wish-granting shrine. It also grants her shapeshifting.

-->When a beautiful girl asks her childhood friend out, his response is a shocker: ‘You’re too perfect.’ What’s a girl to do, except transform into a giant caterpillar and try, try again?

!!Tropes relating to Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy

** BrokenAce: Being a caterpillar really wasn't kind to her. Not only is she unable to do normal everyday tasks anymore, [[spoiler:she ends up losing the ability to read and write, growing to hate everything she experiences and can only eat trash because normal food is disgusting to her.]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Suzume's wish to become a caterpillar so that she can date Akane. More specifically, her wish was "to become the most miserable thing".

* FreudianExcuse: At least a large part of Akane's lack of self-esteem stems from [[spoiler:his mom calling him useless to his face and more or less abandoning him with the rest of the family.]]

-->It was me.
-->I was the one walking all over everyone else's feelings.

* InnocentlyInsensitive: Come on, you don't respond to a confession by implying "if I dated you, I'd feel like garbage because you're too perfect." In fact, Akane is basically like this to everyone because he's so stuck wallowing in self-pity and self-hatred that he throws away anyone's kindness, thinking he doesn't deserve it. [[spoiler:He gets better, though too late.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Yutaka is... prickly and up front about how she can't stand Akane. But she still feels bad when she [[ItMakesSenseInContext pretends to be his mom to gain access to his house]], not knowing about their relationship. [[spoiler:And she does look remorseful when she refuses to turn Suzume back at the end.]]

Akane is probably less than your average Japanese student: pathetic, cowardly and all around messed up. Compared to Suzume Kikuo, the [[TheAce smartest, most beautiful and popular girl at school]], he's good-for-nothing. It's worse when despite that, Suzume insists on being friends with him and eventually even asks her out. His response? [[ClassicAntiHero Being around her]] [[HeroicSelfDeprecation makes him extremely miserable]] [[TallPoppySyndrome by comparison.]] The next day, she goes missing.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Yutaka is... prickly and up front about how she can't stand Akane. But she still feels bad when she pretends to be his mom to gain access to his house, not knowing about their relationship. [[spoiler:And she does look remorseful when she refuses to turn Suzume back at the end.]]

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: It's heavily implied that the reason Yutaka can't turn Suzume back is because it is literally impossible for her to undo a wish, even if it's the desire of a different wish. That's just the extent of her powers. But the way she tells Akane is more of "I'm not a charity, I don't work like that." [[spoiler:Even in the end, she says the reason why she won't help them is because of jealousy and hatred. All because she feels she deserves to be despised.]]

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Yutaka is capable of this. By writing with her finger what she wants to be on her ribber and then tying it to herself, she can be anything she wants. [[spoiler:In the end, it's the only way to make Suzume look human, even if she still really isn't.]]

* ThousandOrigamiCranes: How Suzume became a caterpillar. She wrote a wish on a piece of paper and left it at a small box shrine. [[spoiler:In fact, she's been doing it for a long time.]] The irony is that origami cranes can also symbolize long and happy marriages. [[spoiler:However, the wish that can't be granted is a wish to undo another wish, no matter how many cranes Akane tries to fold.]]

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: It's heavily implied that the reason Yutaka can't turn Suzume back is because it is literally impossible for her to undo a wish, even if it's the desire of a different wish. That's just the extent of her powers. But the way she tells Akane is more of "I'm not a charity, I don't work like that." [[spoiler:Even in the end, she says the reason why she won't help them is because of jealousy and hatred. All because she feels she deserves to her despised.]]

* VoluntaryShapeshifting]: Yutaka is capable of this. By writing with her finger what she wants to be on her ribber and then tying it to herself, she can be anything she wants. [[spoiler:In the end, it's the only way to make Suzume look human, even if she still really isn't.]]

* RedHerring: After Suzume voices her fears of losing her humanity and identity, Akane a caterpillar-looking creature with horns. It makes him think it's Suzume, who turned after he had to leave her behind to look for the shrine. It's actually just Yutaka's true form and their similarities in appearance seem purely coincidental. [[spoiler:Actually, when Suzume wished to be "the most miserable thing", Yutaka turned Suzume into a smaller version of her true form because the most miserable thing she could think of was herself.]]

* BiggerOnTheInside: Downplayed, The box shrine, which is small enough to easily fit on the lap on the outside. Inside is a dingy little room that's still big enough to fit two people [[spoiler:or one person and two giant caterpillar-like creatures.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Yutaka is... prickly and up front about how she can't Akane. But she still feels bad when she pretends to be his mom to gain access to his house, not knowing about their relationship. [[spoiler:And she does look remorseful when she refuses to turn Suzume back at the end.]]

* {{Shapeshifting]]: Yutaka is capable of this. By writing with her finger what she wants to be on her ribber and then tying it to herself, she can be anything she wants. [[spoiler:In the end, it's the only way to make Suzume look human, even if she still really isn't.]]

* ThousandOrigamiCranes: How Suzume became a caterpillar. She wrote a wish on a piece of paper and left it at a small box shrine. [[spoiler:In fact, she's been doing it for a long time.]] The irony is that origami cranes can also symbolize long and happy marriages. [[spoiler:However, the wish that can't be granted is a wish to undo another wish, no matter how many cranes Akane tries to fold.]]

''Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy'' (芋虫少女とコミュ障男子, lit. Catepillar Girl and Bad Communication Boy) is a single volume manga created by Sanzo. It began on Website/{{Pixiv}} and was eventually published by Kadokawa (in Japanese) and Creator/YenPress (in English). The original run of the story concluded August 2018.

Akane is probably less than your average Japanese high schooler: pathetic, cowardly and all around messed up. Compared to Suzume Kikuo, the [[TheAce smartest, most beautiful and popular girl at school]], he's good-for-nothing. It's worse when despite that, Suzume insists on being friends with him and eventually even asks her out. His response? [[ClassicAntiHero Being around her]] [[HeroicSelfDeprecation makes him extremely miserable]] [[TallPoppySyndrome by comparison.]] The next day, she goes missing.

* FreudianExcuse: At least a large part of Akane's lack of self-esteem stems from [[spoiler:his mom calling him useless to his face and more or less abandoning him with the rest of the family.]]

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Akane tries one on his sister, installing a lock on his bedroom door, telling her he doesn't want people to go into his room without him and then telling her where the key to the lock is. He feels bad for doing that to her. It shows his growing self-hatred and paranoia of other people lashing out at him.

A month later, Akane finds Suzume again but drastically changed. She's now a [[BalefulPolymorph giant fuzzy caterpillar]] and she asks if she's disgusting or pitiful enough to be his girlfriend now. What follows is Akane's quest to find a way to make Suzume human and to examine the feelings of others and his own.

* MinimalistCast: The story is basically carried by only three characters.