Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is a rather interesting manga to me, since while it does have extensive Will They or Won't They? it is created using an excuse other than denial and Cannot Spit It Out.

The main couple have both already confessed to each other early in the manga, yet they still aren't together. Apparently because they both have some rather severe emotional issues due to their parents being screwed up.

Also great opening line for the male lead: "You brought this on yourself! Now Mark is going to die!"

The female lead is almost as good: "I have a dream: To make 10 million Yen a year. To achieve this goal, there is only one thing I can be interested in... Calculus."

Also, I'm a bit confused as to if it's shoujo or shounen, since it seems to use mainly shoujo tropes but with a shounen type twist to them... if that makes any sense.

I'm curious as to what others think of it.

edited 2nd Oct '12 2:41:14 AM by lu127

It's apparently serialized in a Shoujo magazine called "Dessert".

So there you have it.

Well... this is now an anime.

A fun first episode

Pretty good adaptation here.

By which I mean it's word-for-word what happened in the manga, IIRC.

I question the choice on the official English title. The "Monster" in the Japanese title refers to Haru, and he's certainly not "Little".

Interestingly enough many watchers NOT familiar with how the manga started were very unnerved by the near-rape in the anime. Though I suppose anyone would be, given the circumstances. What was the author thinking, really, when social awkwardness could have been shown in another way...

edited 1st Oct '12 7:11:56 PM by MyssaRei

It was unnerving in the manga.

Haru is rather scary when we first met him.

Pretty typical in shoujo for the male lead to threaten to rape the heroine isn't it though? Inevitably we find out later that he's just a misunderstood hedgehog who's full of bluster.

The main difference is Mitty's reaction, which is not typical shoujo.

Watching this because of Haruka-chan. Hopefully I won't be disappointed. Don't turn into Kimi Ni Todoke, or the various soap operas/telenovelas, please? Although I doubt that it won't...

A shojo without a godawful art style that makes the characters' eyes look like plates? Colour me interested.

Okay, that was a fun first episode. Haru and Shizuku are an entertaining duo.

There's some excellent reaction faces.

My wife (who watched the anime) wondered if Haru is a high-functioning autistic. I haven't watched it—Shoujo is never my taste—but just by reading the work page I have to agree with her. And let's say, I tend to be very strict when trying to "diagnose" fictional characters of any mental disorder...

Well 2nd episode, and we already have mutual confession.

Plus, cute girls vomiting in the streets... and still cute while doing it.

This shoujo feels so refreshing.

For one thing, I can't recall another series wherein we have mutual confession by episode 2.

Hilarious. Episode 2 confirms that I'll keep watching this anime probably all the way to the end.

I never thought bringing a rooster to school could be so funny.

Well maybe that's just Haru. If there was a male equivalent of Chitanda Eru he would be it, dog motifs and all.

He's a male Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

This series is making me realize (yet again) why All Girls Want Bad Boys is such a popular trope, and no - I ain't referring to the male lead. Yamaken's reactions is currently entertaining me more than Haru's.

My wife (who watched the anime) wondered if Haru is a high-functioning autistic. I haven't watched it—shoujo is never my taste—but just by reading the work page I have to agree with her. And let's say, I tend to be very strict when trying to "diagnose" fictional characters of any mental disorder...

Haru? No. Mizutani? Yes.

Think Shizuku is just trying to be like her mother, who btw acts like how most stern, workaholic, successful (dismissive of their spouses) fathers act in fiction.

Have caught up on the manga, definitely on watch list.

Another thing that I like about the series is that the LUV are spread out. The mains are the stars, but the supporting characters also get a lot of LUV, including admirers of their own. It feels balanced gender-wise.

For example, both Natsume and Yamaken probably have the most number of admirers. So it's like the supporting characters are in a reverse harem and harem respectively.

No.

Yeah, in no way is Shizuku autistic. You can make the case for Haru due to his overall lack of understanding of socialization and the rules implicit, but it's pretty clear Shizuku knows about socialization and chooses not to engage in it.

Also, I love Natsume. And the chicken.

Haru doesn't really seem autistic. The social cues autistic people tend to miss are usually based on attentional focus and reading very basic body language rather than understanding cultural and social norms (Ami Kiln and Robert Schultz's Virginia Woolf experiment provides a pretty good example of what I mean), and Haru doesn't seem to have any trouble with keeping his attention on people during conversations. He also lacks any of the sensory-seeking or repetitive behaviors that tend to characterize autistic spectrum disorders. I'm guessing most of Haru's issues are learned rather than inherent - the bits we've seen of his home life don't exactly look ideal. /psych nerd

But yes, Natsume is adorable.

edited 10th Oct '12 2:50:42 AM by Sparkysharps

Chicken chicken chicken!

Interesting and cute anime. I agree with both a better-than-average shoujo art style, and a refreshing start with the confessions. Especially as they even as much as made an attempt at clearing up what their feelings were, more exactly.

Episode 3

The rooster scares cats. Well, it does give off some pretty creepy vibes.

Granny clothes!

Sleeping Haru is so peaceful looking.

I look forward to finding out what the deal with the new character is.

Roosters are fucking mean. Yeah, they'd scare a cat.