Manga / Yandere Kanojo

Tanaka Manabu is a regular honors student. On the way to school, he meets a girl carrying a bloody bat. That girl is Ryuuzaki Reina, leader of the school's female delinquents. It's love at first sight.

Yandere Kanojo is a gag manga (with a combination of yonkoma and normal page) about having a yankee dere-dere girlfriend. The manga is written and illustrated by Shinobi, and it was serialized in Gangan Joker from 2008 to 2015. A drama CD came out in Japan in 2010.

NOTE: The title of this series isn't supposed to be read as "Yandere" but as the combination of "yankee" (that is, troublemaker) + "dere-dere".

Not to be confused with Onidere, which is only strikingly similar to this series in setup.

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Tropes in Yandere Kanojo:

• Age-Gap Romance:
  • Mayami and the Manager have plenty of significant Ship Tease moments with each other. Being a first year, she's around fourteen-fifteen; Chapter 25 reveals that he's twenty-six. Becomes official in chapter 68.1.
  • It's revealed that Azami and Sousuke are also about the same amount of years apart. Hence why Sousuke doesn't seem to mind their age gap when they begin dating.
• All Gays are Promiscuous: Shuuei Mori. In his introductory chapter, the first thing he says to every guy he meets is "Hey, wanna go to a hotel later?". Then he meets Azuma and, well...

• Author Appeal: The author likes characters that look tough, but aren't, and who have 'evil eyes' - hence Reina's dad. Similarly, because he likes old guys, he included Manabu's grandad.

• Bears Are Bad News:
  • Subverted in one chapter. Manabu is worried about encountering bears when he and Reina are in the mountains looking for a Sakura tree. Reina reassures him and says she'd gladly kill and eat any bears threatening them. A bear overhears them and is absolutely terrified.
  • Bears think Reina is bad news.
  • Except when the bears are Grizzlies (chapter 28.1), then this trope is played straight... until Reina sacks it in the knee, then the bear relents and shows her some respect.
• Big Brother Instinct: Reina's uncle's dog feels this way toward Reina; that's why he dislikes Manabu, because he feels that Manabu isn't strong enough for Reina.
• Big Damn Heroes: Manabu saves Chibita and Reina from attacking cats using dried bonito as a diversion.

• Bittersweet Ending: Nanami and Sumika's flashback. Sweet, in the fact that Sumika becomes friends for real with Nanami and Nanami's dad returns and reconciles with his family, bitter in the fact that his new job means that Nanami has to move far away from Sumika.
• Blah, Blah, Blah: How Reina summarizes the need for Manabu's grandfather to help them teach Akira to feel more girly.
• Bland-Name Product: Reina's dad buys a "Play Halaytion Portable" along with a certain game about partying up with others to hunt monsters that's extremely popular in Japan.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: All over the place.
  • The Valentine's Day special is filled with this.
    • The chapter opens with Hijiri, Mayami and Reina in a Fanservice shot. The next page shows them "backstage" fixing their hair.
    • Reina asks why they're in these clothes and after being told it's for Valentine's Day, she questions if that's okay because the chapter is being printed in the July issue.
    • Hijiri remembers how Manabu got only one panel in the issue that was in color, and questions if that's really fair to the main character of the manga.
    • Mayami snarks that the mangaka's lack of seasonal awareness is going to get the characters caught up in a situation when they're Not Allowed to Grow Up.
  • "What is with that expression that looks like it's saying 'What a pain in the ass' in bold face Ming type font?!"
  • Reina casually explaining to the readers about the Family-Friendly Firearms, complete with Manabu lampshading it.
    Manabu: You look really distant...
  • The whole conversation between Reina and Mayami about the Tanakas' family situation. They even say they're Breaking the Fourth Wall to avoid Mood Whiplash.
  • Reina questions why Sumika gets two panels for her introduction at the beach.
  • Reina yells at the school doctor to shut up and act like "a little side character".
  • "He'd never draw us in swimming caps anyway."
  • "Wait, I've hardly had any screentime thanks to your ass!!!"
  • In chapter 35.1:
    Reina: Ahh! You're right!! I forgot about that part of the plot!!!
    Manabu: Reina, the fourth wall!!
  • The omake for 12.1 has Reina and Mayami discussing why Manabu got momentarily bishified.

• Cerebus Syndrome: What started out as a goofy gag yonkoma has been getting steadily more serious since the introduction of Manabu's family situation.
• Chekhov's Gun: The CD produced by Comina Comice in chapter 43.1 eventually becomes the reason why Reina get kidnapped by a Tanaka-lookalike prince several chapters later.

• Date Peepers: After telling Mayami she can't come with them when they go to see Avatar, Reina and Manabu end up spending most of their date following Mayami after they see her seeing the same movie with some guy they don't know, to make sure he's not a creep.

• Deus Exit Machina: In "The Cursed Black Bat" (26.1), Manabu and the Principal are conveniently absent when trouble starts, though Manabu returns to save the day.
  Hijiri: Why now of all times!

• Embarrassing Relative Teacher: Reina is a Japanese Delinquent, so she's reluctant to reveal that her father is a math teacher in her school. Not only that, he also developed an image of a Sadist Teacher, despite actually being a Shrinking Violet with a Face of a Thug. She preemptively told him not to talk to her during school.
• Family-Friendly Firearms: The weapons shops sells weapons that look and feel like real weapons, but do no serious or permanent damage. They are only to be used for comedic effect.
• Fictional Counterpart: Mouseland -> Disneyland.
• Foreshadowing: As early as Chapter 17, Azuma tells Reina that an important choice for Manabu is coming up that might turn his life upside down. It isn't until nearly 40 chapters later that we find out just what he really meant.
• G-Rated Drug: Amazake in chapter 31.1. Normally it's either non-alcoholic or has a low amount of alcohol. Reina, under the impression it's safe regardless, puts in too much sake lees, making it a strong booze, and everyone has a crazy moment as a result.
• Genre Refugee: A lot of characters seem to have got lost from contemporary girly romance manga. Not that it's a bad thing.
• Golden Snitch: Mayami pulls this as hostess of a gameshow. Reina, as one of the contestants, is not happy. Leads straight to a Crack Defeat when two guys in the background who admit they're so unimportant they don't even have names, and have not answered a single question right, win. The question? What is the name of the author of Yandere Kanojo?

• Green-Eyed Monster: After Shiratori calls Manabu's sister "Mayami-kun," Hijiri goes into a minor Heroic BSoD that's serious enough for her to request that Reina punch her to snap her out of it. Mayami is sharp enough to notice it and assures her that she has no interest in Shiratori while teasing Hijiri about her jealousy.
• Hidden Depths: A lot of seemingly Jerkass characters are actually decent people when the situation calls for it.

• Hot for Teacher: A-ko falls for Kouichiro after he helps her, and tries to convince him to leave his wife for her. Three guesses as to how well that works out.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  • When Reina saw one of her subordinates crying because she saw her boyfriend with another girl, she just told her to go kick their asses. When she sees Manabu with another girl...
  • Mamoru's final advice to Manabu is to be sure to take care of the woman he loves or he'll be left with nothing except regrets. Seeing as Mamoru's neglect of doing so with his own woman led to his family's life being an absolute hell, his son is understandably not pleased.
• In Which a Trope Is Described: A common format for chapter titles runs "X, that is, something something something."

• Locked in a Room: Hijiri and Shiratori get locked in a storage closet. They're quickly rescued, though, since Hijiri told a teacher she'd be working in the closet with the faulty lock.

• Mr. Exposition: Lampshaded in chapter 5.1. When Shiratori gives a description of the girls and guys having separate swimming times, two background characters comment on his doing so.

  Background Character A: Oh, what a detailed description

  Background Character B: Shiratori is always yelling in a big panel, isn't he?

• Official Couple:
  • Manabu and Reina's relationship is pretty much the entire point of the manga.
  • Hijiri and Shiratori eventually become one in Chapter 48.
  • And even later, Mayami and the Manager officially get together in Chapter 64.1.
• Older Than She Looks: The Principal's wife, she was so young looking and dorky that most male students fell for her. Of course, it helps that they didn't realize she was the Principal's wife.
• One-Note Cook: Reina only makes curry. With a lot of help she made cookies one time.

• Painting the Medium: Mayami uses square speech bubbles to imitate narration bubbles and the others acknowledge that because of this they have to follow what she said.

• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Reina's delinquent gang. They're in school every day, don't drink, smoke, or do drugs, and the only gang fight seen in the comics takes place with a felt-tip pen. Naturally enough, this gets lampshaded. Then Reina goes and lays a full-on smackdown in 27.1.
• Polyamory: Ugajin's groupies seem to have no problem with sharing him, or the fact that he's pursuing Reina.
• Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Manabu's glasses are just for show. A whole chapter is actually devoted to exploring the mystery of Manabu's glasses. Long story short, they're basically a Memento MacGuffin from his grandfather.
• Recursive Canon: The manga and author exist in the manga's universe. None of the main characters know them.
• Refuge in Audacity: What does Reina do, when after she demands to talk with Manabu's mom while brandishing a baseball bat, his uncle threatens to call the cops on her? Why, kidnap their father, Azuma, and threaten to bash his head in with a baseball bat if they refuse! The kidnapping itself is most likely staged, considering Azusa and Reina's characters. That doesn't stop her from hitting Grandpa with a bat when Manabu's uncle tries to call her bluff.
• Relationship Upgrade:
  • In a roundabout way, chapter 27 has Hijiri and Shiratori acknowledging each other's mutual attraction and going out on a date. Due to their inexperience with such things, though, they don't actually think it was a date or that it makes them a couple.
  • Chapter 46 sees Hijiri finally confessing her love. On national television, no less. In chapter 48, they finally become an Official Couple.
  • In chapter 64.1, the Manager and Mayami assert their feelings for each other. They are officially dating as of chapter 68.1

• 5 ** Shiratori always takes everything with such high fervor. Sometimes it's endearing, sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's sad.

• Ship Tease: Hijiri and Shiratori have their moments — sometimes cute, sometimes humorous.
  • Chapter 18 has Hijiri refuse confession from another guy after Shiratori says "Don't do it." He's talking about a reference book Hijiri used.
  • Chapter 27 is focused entirely on their Relationship Upgrade. Not into a full couple, but pretty damn close.
  • Taken even further in Chapter 31, an entire chapter that kicks off with Hijiri admitting that she likes Shiratori. We'll see if this leads anywhere.
  • Topped by 4Koma chapter 31.1, where Drunk!Hijiri made dirty jokes and kissed him on the cheek, but doesn't remember anything when she's sober.
  • This culminates in Chapter 46, when she confesses her love on national television, flooring everyone.
  • Mayami and the Manager; their exact relationship is ambiguous, but it does have romantic overtones sometimes, such as the fact that they establish the cafe together. The most significant Ship Tease of them so far is Chapter 39, a Manager-centric chapter. The title page has the statement "give flowers to your loved one" and features a smiling Mayami getting a bouquet.
  • In Chapter 45, Mayami kept her hair long for the sake of the Manager. Then in 45.1 she's very much conflicted between keeping her Genki Girl (for the Manager) or Yamato Nadeshiko (for her Grandpa) persona, and the Manager decides to go along with the latter. When the Manager asks if he's the grandad Mayami had a crush on when she was little, Mayami looks away while blushing and says there's someone else she likes.
• Shoot the Hostage: A Show Within a Show has the magical girl heroine kill hostages just to get to the villain. She even has a specific hostage-killer attack.
• Shout-Out: See here.

• Teen Pregnancy: Azami had her child when she was still in highschool.
• That Came Out Wrong: Reina and Hijiri, while discussing Hijiri's crush (or, rather, lack thereof) in home ec:
  Hijiri: "I must say, you look really cute when you're working hard...in fact, I'd say I'd rather love Reina than some guy. *beat* O-OF COURSE I DIDN'T MEAN IT IN A WEIRD WAY! I MEANT AS FRIENDS!"
• Theme Naming: Reina's flunkies are named Eiko & Biko ("Girl A" and "Girl B"), fitting their largely unimportant to the plot status.

• The Unsmile: In chapter 22 Hijiri's face freezes into a smile when she becomes jealous about Shiratori calling Mayami by her first name.

• Whole Episode Flashback:
  • Reina's parents' first meeting, and Sumika and Nanami's first meeting, both get two chapters.
  • Hiromichi's origin in chapter 39.
  • The story of Manabu's parents takes up chapters 61-63.
  • Chapter 55.1 is a flashback to Manabu's childhood.
• Yandere: Subverted, when you consider the title and Reina's personality. An omake reveals that Mayami was originally supposed to be a murderously jealous yandere little sister before the author decided otherwise.

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