An amazing buddy-themed anime which turns out to be a romantic relationship or should I say, a romantic comedy.
Welcome to this one-of-a-kind romantic comedy show called, "My Little Monster" or should you say "Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun" (となりの怪物くん).
This anime follows a highschool girl named Shizuku Mizutani (I'm using the Western style of mentioning names though) who turns out to be quite geeky and emotionless. She has been interested in studying when she was still a kid. The story goes when her adviser asks Shizuku to give some class printouts to Haru Yoshida, an eccentric young man who turns out to be some monster. While both of them have encountered, Haru declares that Shizuku and he are friends. This freaked Shizuku bit, so she carried on with her normal and peaceful school life. After she delivered her task, her adviser, once again, asks Shizuku to convince Haru to come to school as he will be expelled from the school premises. This causes Shizuku to have another encounter with Haru. Since they are "friends" after all, Haru agreed with Shizuku and this is where everything changes especially in Shizuku''s life. This is where their crazy, yet touching relationship happens. Tons of events happen in their relationship. New friends, new rivals, new circumstances and new cunnings start to clash. Now I'll start my review from here.
Story: 8
I liked how thrilling Shizuku and Haru's relationship is with all of the bumps in their way. The plot may be tiresome, but with all of these circumstances happening, you're gonna need a deep laugh. Shizuku and Haru have some disagreements, but despite of this, they've changed their hearts severely. Haru has been chasing his own tail, while Shizuku has been changing her tunes. To be honest, their confessions were not that serious as you think and they haven't accepted each other yet until now. I'm guessing that from the ending that I've watched, this anime is a cliffhanger. The ending is quite abstract as you see. It's still the same issue between Shizuku and Haru although a few things have changed and they were able to enjoy a wonderful experience with one another though this is short. Not really what I've expected. I just hope a second season would come up to clear all of these misunderstandings, but my report is really late and will there be one with this time gap? Who knows? Maybe there could be one, but in a new generation.
Art: 9
The art is really great. Considering how they creatively come up with the opening and ending animations, it's a cream of the crop. Character designs may look bland, but it's still lively for a romantic comedy like this. The CG effects are really simple and unnoticeable. Overall, the art catches someone's eyes with all of this peculiarity.
Sound: 8
The voice acting is great. Haruka Tomatsu really did a great job. She was able to create a perfect geeky and cunning voice for Shizuku. Asuna sounds totally different from Shizuku considering that they have the same voice actress, but I guess this is the secret for the voice actors/actresses. Tatsuhisa Suzuki did a great job with Haru, voicing him with all of his gentle and touching voice. It's not really how a monster sounds like, but I guess this is good enough. The opening theme song is okay. It's quite a good start for an intro. The ending song is also okay. I mean, the song is a Christmas-themed song and only a few episodes are set during Christmas/New Year. It didn't really match the whole romantic theme, but the song is still appealing.
Character: 7
As mentioned earlier, the issue is still there between Shizuku and Haru, but there has been a slight character improvement. Shizuku became more friendly and interactive with others and Haru became more mature though some flaws still remain like his jealous side. Natsume became mature as well, especially with advice, though a kiddie side of her remains. Sometimes, her minds fly. Sasayan-kun remains the same. Yamaken keeps his cool, though he still has feelings for Shizuku. Yamaken's friends are still outrageous as usual. Oshima hasn't changed though she opens up even more. The rest are a bit bland. No resolution has been made yet to their stories.
Enjoyment: 9
The story may be tiresome and unmoving for some with all of these goosebumps, but this is what makes the anime more thrilling and exciting to watch. The anime will always make you smile with all of the outgoings of these characters. Still, it's a cliffhanging anime, and there is no particular resolution to this.
Overall: 8
If you like romantic comedies, then step back and enjoy this show! The show will go all forth with all of the absurdity in this show. If you like a really touching and dramatic show, then this show is not your place. This show may be a bit cliché, but it'll turn out to be a wonderful experience for you! I have no particular description for this anime, but let's just say that this is a "peculiar" show with a tiny cute monster in it. ^^; じゃね！
