Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is a romantic comedy that mostly revolves around Mizutani Shizuku and Yoshida Haru. Shizuku has no interest for anything except studying. One day, she is tasked to deliver printouts to Haru, her classmate who hasn’t attended school for a long time, and is immediately greeted as a friend. Later, they make friends with their classmates Natsume Ayano and Sohei Sasahara, nicknamed “Sasayan”. This anime focuses on the ups and downs of the relationship between Shizuku and Haru.
I’ve read the manga before watching the anime, though I stopped halfway because it was getting too roundabout. It’s a bit like the two of them are passing the love baton around, and that they’re never on the same page. Still, I love Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun because of its humour. It’ the best romantic comedy I’ve watched so far. Shizuku’s indecisiveness about her feelings towards Haru is a bit annoying, but the humour and the rest of the characters make up for that. The fact that Nagoya the rooster played a significant role into the development of friendship among the characters is strange, but in a good way. I think what makes the series so hilarious is Haru’s naivety and eccentric behaviour.
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is the only shoujo anime where I never detested the ‘rivals’. I never hated Ooshima or Yamaken. Ooshima doesn’t do anything wrong and keeps her distance. Yamaken, well, he’s pretty funny in the way that he gets lost very easily but doesn’t like to ask for help. In other anime, I would be telling the rivals off in my mind, threatening them to stay away from the main characters (okay that’s a bit extreme). Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun manages to make all the characters likable. Yamaken and his friends never got any hate from me even from the beginning.
This ending of the anime was pleasant. Shizuku might still be confused about her true feelings, but Haru just enjoys being with her so it’s fine. With only thirteen episodes, many people feel that it deserves a season two, but since it’s a shoujo anime, I think it’s enough. I’m quite contented with the ending of the series already. I might return to the manga in the future once it’s completed so I know what really happens to Shizuku and Haru in the end. To be honest, I’m more interested in what happens to Natsume. I know she likes Mi-chan, but I’m sure Sasayan likes her. It’s likely that Shizuku and Haru’s relationship will continue to be a bit “on and off” so I think whatever happens to Natsume is more interesting.
Rating: 8/10
Watch Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun at http://www.animeultima.tv/watch/tonari-no-kaibutsu-kun-english-subbed-dubbed-online/
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