The Plot:
The romance manga, My Little Monster, was written and illustrated by Robico on August 23rd 2008. Follows an intelligent and studious girl, Shizuku Mizutani, encountering the supposed wild card Haru Yoshida, a boy who stopped going to school a while ago. Shizuku has no interest in the boy Haru, having studied as her priority, rather than making friends. However, Shizuku is touched by Haru's innocence and lack of knowledge of human relationships and decides to acknowledge Haru more than anyone. Haru is viewed as a violent, uncontrollable person at school, but he is actually kind and gentle. After a while, he confesses his love for Shizuku, throwing a huge spanner in her study. What will Shizuku do?
Discovery and Opinion:
Hi everyone, Mocha here, and currently school is around the corner... Help. Soon, I have to do a legal studies report about rehabilitation. I hope that I am not too busy, as I might not be able to upload reviews weekly. Anyways, I discovered My Little Monster during year 5, I believe. Back then was the time I first started discovering many animes, and this one was one of them. I had my fair share of good anime and trash anime. This one, I believe was actually very enjoyable. Heck, I used the male lead's name for Kahoot and used to always win with it in year 6. At the time, I had only watched the anime and wasn't that interested in manga (That was until I discovered Toilet-Bound Hanako Kun). Only this week, I finally gave myself some time to read every volume. It was sort of a refresher, as I forgot a few scenes, such as Asako and her little attraction. I would say the anime really felt like good comedy back when I was young, but maybe now that I'm older, I don't find many things funny. In my opinion, this manga didn't wow me entirely, but it's definitely a good read and a classic romance manga in my opinion. The characters are funny, and the drama honestly doesn't frustrate me. Anyways let me introduce and explain the characters. This manga has also made me realise my interest in being a tuna fisherman.
Characters:
Shizuku Mizutani is the female lead. She has long light brown hair (Usually in two low ponytails) and dark brown eyes. She does not stand out, but her hair design is unique compared to the characters in the manga. I would say she is middle-class and takes her studies very seriously, due to not socialising with people. To everyone, she is 'dry ice', but whenever she is with Haru, she is the exact opposite (Only sometimes, though). She is a modest character and does not care much about appearance. What I enjoyed about her is how brutally honest she can be, having no worries of offending people, even calling out fake friends. She is flawed, but in a way the audience can understand, and I enjoy that part of her. Besides being fairly logical and composed, Haru brings a new side to her and challenges beliefs that even Shizuku has trouble understanding.
Haru Yoshida, the wild card male lead. He has slightly long, wavy hair and black eyes. Haru has a handsome appearance and stands out among people. He lives with his cousin Mitsuyoshi and tends to help out at the baseball place he owns. Haru is a complex character. The way people view him is like a delinquent, but instead, Haru is awkward around people staring at him, and enjoys the company of people he loves. In general, Haru's personality is fairly passionate and very loud, contrasting with Shizuku's quiet and focused exterior. Despite being very talkative, though, he mysteriously hides a part of himself from others, such as his family, questioning whether Haru's relationship with his family may be very torn. I quite like Haru's character; he is talkative but not that talkative, in that he will tell you everything. He is a fairly funny character and tends to make me laugh.
Asako and Sohei are the supporting characters in the manga and become friends with the two as the story progresses. Asako has light brown hair and, to her peers, is one of the most attractive girls in the school. To many, it may seem like an advantage, but to Asako, it is like a curse, in which many girls tend not to talk to her. Sohei, on the other hand, is a popular guy who plays baseball; he is sociable and tends to be very likable. I believe what they contribute to the manga and relationship is comfort and different opinions that people may have. I love these two, especially Asako. Her love life may be all wacky, but in general, she is a great and loyal friend to both Haru and Shizuku. At times, she even tries to get Haru and Shizuku to interact and push away people who may also have affection towards the two. However, Asako also allows people to confess their love towards both of them, not entirely disregarding their feelings.
Kenji Yamaguchi was one of Haru's 'good friends', that was until Shizuku went to confront him about how Yamaguchi handles friendships. He has straight, neat blonde hair and attends a separate high school from many of the characters. His role in the manga is significant in making Haru understand and push to tell his feelings to Shizuku. I also believe he is significant when revealing the past, when Haru was unable or didn't feel like doing so. He and his group of friends really help the comedy aspect of the anime and manga. From having little fights with Haru to running away like they had seen a bear. It also helps develop Haru's character and how the audience can understand how he feels and understands friendships.
Overall, the characters and the art style accompanying them are very well done. In the manga, there is a character I do dislike and wish I got to see more of, or understand more, though. But to be honest, some were just outright creepy.
What did it do well on?
The manga, My Little Monster, is a great classic romance in the shoujo world. I wouldn't say it's entirely the best manga, but it is a good one for when you're trying to find an old romance. I also enjoyed that Haru actually didn't say a line that was in the anime in one of the scenes; it really made me like him more. Despite that, though, I did not like some of the things he did, such as licking her hand without her consent. It does have its good elements, though, such as introducing the balance of relationships and studies, which, in my opinion, is an element most people struggle with. I also liked how light-hearted it was, such as the characters building a chicken coop for the chicken Haru took in. I also enjoyed Haru and how different he was when he was with his family compared to Shizuku. It really made me think about how much he cherishes her.
Overall, this manga was a little treat for me. I like the light heartedness compared to the many works I have read that are just trauma fuel. I am so happy I got to read this manga, as it has been on my mind for about 7 years, which is super long, and I wish I could just turn back time and watch it when I first discovered it.
8/10
Byeeeee
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