Looks can be deceiving.
Furi is one of the most feared students in high school due to her appearance and voice. So much so, rumors spread around the school of her getting into fights and skipping school.
However, she is actually not like this at all and when she meets Taira, she falls head over heels for him. Too bad he misinterprets her actions. From there, hilarity and misunderstandings ensue.
Thus is the plot of No Matter What You Say, Furi-san is Scary! (Tonari no Furi-san wa Tonikaku Kowai), a romantic-comedy written and illustrated by Kinoue Seiichi. The manga began serialization in the Manga 4-koma Palette magazine in 2018, and is licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment''.
The manga provides examples of:
- Berserk Button: Momo Kawai hates being called "cute" due to her small frame which is the reason as to why she wants to become a delinquent.
- Face of a Thug: Furi suffers from this. Because of that, along with her other characteristics, people misconstrue her as a delinquent when that is further from the truth.
- Fanservice: During PE, Furi is revealed as having a serviceable chest and is rather curvy.
- Hidden Depths: Despite her initial appearance, Furi actually loves reading shonen manga.
- Japanese Delinquents: Subverted. While Furi fits the mold of one such as her abrasiveness or skipping school, this is actually not the case.
- Love at First Sight: When she first met Taira, she readily calls him "hot."
- Nice Girl: Underneath her hard exterior, Furi is actually very kind. So much so, when Taira is tasked with delivering Furi her schoolwork, he is given several vegetables by the neighbors as part of gratitude for what she does for them.
- Nice Guy: Taira is definitely more on the “normal” side for a protagonist in a romcom manga. This might bring him close to The Generic Guy for some, but he’s just an all-around decent guy. Even though Furi scares him, he doesn’t treat her any worse because of it, and is open minded enough to gradually begin to get to know her.
- Oblivious to Love: Taira, though to be fair, Furi does struggle to communicate her feelings as well.
- Once an Episode: Furi tries to make herself approachable to Taira, but he only becomes more terrified of her.
- Otaku: Taira's best friend Takuo is a stereotypical one right down to his glasses and wearing a headband.
- Poor Communication Kills: Taira always misinterprets what Furi truly wanted based on his misunderstanding of her actions. However, Furi is also at fault due to finding it difficult to speak her mind to her crush.
- Punny Name:
- A police officer who shows up every now and then is named "Machio Mamoru" which literally means "Protect the town"
- Shipper on Deck:
- The leading characters' female headroom teacher expresses shades of seeing their interactions as adorable.
- After seeing the inherent goodness inside Furi, Kaho Maeda jumps on the wagon upon realizing that she had a crush on Taira.
- Takuo takes notice of Furi's obvious crush on Taira, and openly states that he supports them.
- Slasher Smile: In spite (or because) of Furi’s best efforts, most of her attempts at smiling end up looking like this, which only ends up terrifying Taira further.
- Tsundere: When Kaho asks her if she had a crush on Taira, Furi readily tries to deny it to no avail.
- Umbrella of Togetherness: Furi and Taira walk home together in the rain.
