Despite not being a long runner, Yandere Kanojo has racked up an impressive list of references, in no small part due to the mangaka being a huge fan of anime and video games.
- Another series has a girl named Reina who once carried a bat around… Even their family names are similar (Ryuuzaki, Ryuugu).
- The weapons shop chapter has a couple - Rena's cleaver makes an appearance and the owner prices everything in Gil (which converts to yen at 10 yen = 1 gil). The owner himself is directly stated to look like Kandar.
- Kinnikuman has several references:
- In the "Freaky Friday" Flip chapter, there's the "Hurion Mixer", a Shout Out to "Hurricane Mixer", Buffaloman's finishing move. Buffaloman's face even appears, but his eyes are censored.
- There it is, one of Reina's 48 killer techniques...
- Then there's the Kinniku Driver in the pacifism chapter.
- After being bitten by Tiny in Chapter 37.1, Manabu has teeth marks on his face that make him "look like Buffaloman".
- In the same chapter, when he's convinced that Manabu isn't himself; Shiratori refers to him as Oyashiro-sama.
- Upon seeing a berserk Reina: "Kireneko!?"
- "This lack of seasonal awareness is gonna get us wrapped up in a Sazae-san type of space-time distortion."
- "Is he a Newtype!?"
- A 4koma title in chapter 17.1, "Pilder on!", is a reference to Mazinger Z.
- The (fantranslated) name of the strip where Reina's dad dyes his hair blond after transferring to a new school is "From Now On, I'm...", a possible translation for Kyō Kara Ore Wa!!!, an older manga whose events are kicked off by a transfer student dying his hair blond (and perming it).
- When trying to think of a possible weakness to exploit against the principal, Manabu mentions Takahashi Meijin and his great dislike of eggplant.
- Trying to come up with reasons for Manabu to wear glasses, Reina suggests he uses them to catch criminals, while Shiratori suggests he uses them to see how strong his enemies are.
- "I'm not some cat-like robot from the 22nd Century that's here to help you damn it!"
- Chapter 24.1, about Akira's quest to become more feminine, is entitled "Femininity, that is, My Fair Lady". Sure enough, for the opening page, Akira is wearing the same outfit as Eliza Doolittle.
- The landlady of Shuu's new apartment is an exact copy of Otonashi Kyouko from Maison Ikkoku, right down to the cutesy animal apron.
- Kuroko's entire story can be considered a shoutout/sendup/parody of Tasogare Otome X Amnesia, which runs in the same magazine.
- And then we have a little shout-out to Iori Yagami, where Ran, Reina's mom, basically tries to kill Eiko. Pose looks like Iori's SDM version of his Maiden Masher and the title even has Iori's catchphrase.
- The cats in chapter 37.1 act like the cats from Azumanga Daioh around Sakaki. Well, to be fair, Chibita attacks first...
- "A Cruel Caste System's Thesis".
- "Nothing beats the last of the 36 strategies, retreat."
- Reina gets Manabu a light saber for his birthday.
- During the cultural festival Reina dresses up as Marisa Kirisame while Hijiri dresses as Horaki Hikari.
- For her class' Cosplay Arm Wrestling Cafe, Reina dresses up as Marisa.
- Vol 1 Chap 3. If Tsubasa Shiratori loses the bet, he has to eat spaghetti through his nose. Or chopped peanuts with his eyes.
- Hiromichi's adoptive dad was basically an Indiana Jones expy, which gets heavily lampshaded.
- Mayami references "Miss Machiko", an old manga, in chapter 39.1.
- The big fight in 39.1 references Pokémon and Rocky.
- Reina's train of thought in chapter 12.1 takes her from Al Pacino to The Godfather.
- "She's so strong she'd be able to beat the last boss in one hit with a cypress stick... and her power level is so high that using a scouter to try and measure it would just make the scouter explode."
- "What the heck did she do!? Eat a mermaid!? Use a damn philosopher stone!!!?" Reina angrily lampshades the fact that the Principal's wife is much Older Than She Looks.
- "You know what they say, St*nd users attract each other." Manabu lampshades the fact that their school is full of Bunny-Ears Lawyer girls.
- Chapter 12's opening art has Reina and Koichirou mimic a pose similar to Jolyne and Jotaro. Reina even has Jolyne's hairstyle and animal motif (butterflies).
- "They're an especially short type of shorts, and if you were to rank things in terms of magic spells, regular shorts would be Blaze, short shorts would be Blazemore, and hotpants would be Blazemost."
- In 47.1, going from Super Mario Bros. to Popeye to Mobile Suit Gundam in quick succession, with a lampshade by Reina that they're pushing the laws of copyright and her yelling they need to stop doing this.
- Mayami compares Manabu and Reina to Romeo and Juliet, before going on to mention they end up dead.
- 4-koma gaijin/reaction guys show up in chapter 44 in the Joker edition.
- Chapter 59.5 is My Little Sister, That Is, She's Not That Cute. And yes, the second page does parody the cover of the first volume of Oreimo.
- The title page of Chapter 66 features Reina making a familiar pose.
- A chapter titled "My Guardian? Well, it's that Good for Nothing..." has Hijiri thinking Reina's dad will eat her with fava beans and chianti.
