Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

This could also have been titled Domestic Violence:Origin Story. Shizuku is smart, focussed, hard-working. Unfortunately, one day she crosses paths with Haru. He is violent, jealous, and has no understanding of, or interest in, how anyone else thinks or feels. In other words, someone who Shizuku should stay well away from. He is an incipient abuser who needs therapy, not a girlfriend.

Unfortuntely, Shizuku falls in love and forgives every red flag. Haru's default reaction to every stress is violence. See a friend talking to Shizuku? Attack. Encounter his brother? Grab the class president by the throat and hold her hostage.

The worst of it is that ... not only does he never understand the harm he is doing, not only does everyone keep forgiving him, but the victims blame themselves. He's misundetstood. He had a hard childhood. It is their fault for not trying harder to understand him.

Having reasons for abusive behaviour does not excuse that behaviour. Every violent criminal has "reasons" they think justify their acts. They never do. This story just disgusted me as I saw Shizuku's fate laid out, a spiral of self-recrimination and coping as Haru crosses one boundary after another in his fits of jealous rage until she ends up as one more domestic violence statistic.

This is domestic violence made 'romantic'.

- The guy has temper issues and is always swinging from being cheerful to literally throwing kicks at everyone around him

- When he is cheerful he completely ignores the desires and decisions of the main girl. Even trying to prevent her from going out.

- He tries to control her friends and even treatens them with violence, one of them was almost pushed out of a fucking building.

- **HE BEATS HER MANY TIMES** No seriously, more than once he made her bleed from punching her and then gave a pathetic excuse "sorry i was angry".

Only watch this if you enjoyed movies ... like twighlight

Girl with a bad attitude meets an immature controlling psycho and they fall in love and have an extremely toxic relationship. Not cute. I think this anime would have been many times better with a different male lead. Blond guy is way way way better in every imaginable way and isn't actively violent and horrible. Taming a habitually violent person (who hurts and threatens FL several times) with major emotional and psychological problems is so far not romantic, it's insane and dangerous. ML here should not be in a relationship, but in therapy.

I think you can have one half of a couple in a ... romance who has a bad attitude or major problem, but not both. FL is barely mature enough for a relationship, but ML is not in any way, shape, or form and a relationship with him would be abusive because he doesn't know how to control himself or his emotions. He is the kind of romantic partner who needs fixing, which is a sign of toxicity. The drama is high in this one and I would say it's 75:25 probability of her getting killed because of him vs. them having a happily ever after. I watch this kind of thing for romance, not drama rooted in violence and toxicity. Everything about this anime that doesn't involve him, though, is actually good. I just cannot stand characters like him.

A lot of people have a problem with the FL, but she is similar to a lot of romance heroines (bad at communication, bookworm, etc.) but the emphasis is more on her negatives. She needed a kindhearted ML who could draw her out and help her realize her misconceptions and flaws, but instead she gets an incipient criminal and wife beater who leads her to rationalize, minimize, and accept violent abuse and stalking. I would say this is one of the rare romance anime where the main couple ending up separated forever at the end would be a good thing. Why watch a romance with such a terrible ill-suited couple at its heart?

THE STAFF
- Animated by Brain’s Base, a studio with very good production values and a mostly mediocre roster. Their best works to date are Baccano and Penguindrum and even them were just lively and colorful but not exactly masterpieces.
- Directed by Kaburaki Hiro, who has experience with the romance genre but didn’t produce anything amazing.
- Based on a manga by someone whose this is the only work adapted.

PROPER MINDSET
My Little Monster is in a way like Kare Kano, one of the most memorable school life anime of the 90’s. It has characters that are pretending to be someone else, or even to actively not enjoining ... their teen lives. All that for the sake of being likable to others and to increase their chances of success in their goals. It is a very commonplace and reasonable thing most teenagers do and it’s nice to see how they would deal with the psychological pressure such issues create.

CAST
The comedy factor of the show is very high though, so most of the conflict is presented in a comical and light way. They address them but don’t expect a realistic handling of them. Take the main two characters for example.
- Shizuku, the heroine, cares only for her studies, until she meets Haru who completely messes her organized life.
- Haru, the co-protagonist, is a crazy teenager with extremely anti-social behavior, violent, vulgar, never takes something seriously, and acts as he likes without thinking much. He comes to the conclusion Shizuku is in love with him, just because she cared a bit about him and never leaves her side thereafter.

A thing you must accept right away is Haru’s behavior. He does some really horrible things from time to time, such as threatening to rape Shizuku, punches her hard to the point of bleeding, undresses in public, and constantly gets into fights for close to no reason. Normally such problematic people would not be allowed in typical schools, but since the show is mostly comedy whatever he does never has negative consequences. You must also accept Shizuku’s passive acceptance to all that. You would expect she would be devastated and would hate Haru for all the terrible things he constantly does to her. But instead she just becomes his best friend (and possible sweetheart) without much of consideration.

SCRIPT
There isn’t much of a plot; it’s basically the small daily problems teenagers face while trying to socialize or get good grades. There is close to no continuity and character development is close to zero. So in case you are watching this just to see the two main characters getting all serious in their relationship, don’t expect anything to happen. The characters are eccentric and full of emotional angst for you to like them right away but they are otherwise bricks when it comes to simply saying “I love you” or the more expected “let’s mate like rabbits, since we are crazy”. It is questionable how far they can remain interesting without developing their relationship or something actually important happening in their lives. I for example lost interest in 4 episodes before the lack of serious handling of its themes and the commonplace setting made me lose interest. This didn’t happen with Kare Kano, thanks to its weird animation (or lack of it).

PRODUCTION VALUES
Ok in terms of colors and character figures, but don’t go looking for anything special in them. They still have lots of choppy animation and the setting is just another typical high school with typical teenagers. Voice acting is very good for the roles each one of them has and the songs are ok for this sort of show, but still overall nothing memorable.

LEGACY
Just like all romances, it’s a good time waster for the slice of life or comedy fans but nothing that will be remembered in a few years from now.

And now for some excused scorings.
ART SECTION: 6/10
General Artwork 1/2 (generic)
Character Figures 1/2 (generic)
Backgrounds 2/2 (basic but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Animation 1/2 (basic)
Visual Effects 1/2 (basic)

SOUND SECTION: 6/10
Voice Acting 2/3 (corny but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Music Themes 2/4 (average)
Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess)

STORY SECTION: 2/10
Premise 1/2 (simple)
Pacing 0/2 (loose)
Complexity 1/2 (not much)
Plausibility 0/2 (none)
Conclusion 0/2 (doesn’t exist)

CHARACTER SECTION: 4/10
Presence 1/2 (generic)
Personality 2/2 (eccentric)
Backdrop 1/2 (generic and simplistic but it’s there)
Development 0/2 (none)
Catharsis 0/2 (none)

VALUE SECTION: 2/10
Historical Value 0/3 (none)
Rewatchability 0/3 (no reason to rewatch)
Memorability 2/4 (the main duo make it slightly memorable)

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 2/10
Art 0/1 (looks typical)
Sound 0/2 (sounds meh)
Story 0/3 (what story?)
Characters 2/4 (eccentric but don’t develop)

VERDICT: 3.5/10

THIS A QUICK REVIEW I POSTED TO FACEBOOK AND COPIED TO HERE BUT ITS WORTH A READ AND SORRY ABOUT THE GRAMMAR ..

CONTAINS SPOILERS

I just finished the Anime "My Little Monster" and the ending so SO DISAPPOINTING .. Even though i enjoyed the series and it was very different from the normal Rom Com the ending was just so bad it practically ruined the whole show for me . with all of Shizuku's studying it left for no romance or the promised picnic at the end and any other relationships the other main characters were trying to have never happened either . they led ... it up like every couple at the end would be together and it would be very romantic but nothing happened between anyone and they left multiple cliff hangers and there will be no second season . and even if they did Shizuku wouldn't even put down her text book to develop any romance with haru anyways .They should have atleast given us an ova of the promised group picnic they were supposed to have . i had alot of hope for the ending due to all the signals and the put offs she gave haru but i was so let down ...

The story sure is unique, but the story is frustrating, there are some personality difference which is a good factor. The Fl was unique at first but soon enough it was clear that she was selfish or maybe self centred,she doesnt come close to an understanding human being and on the other side the Ml is childish earnest, even clumsy but he still understands stuff and is all over an entertaining character.
I really liked this anime in the beginning but by the end of it the things were just the same there was no change all together other than some relationship forming. There was no ... character development evryone was the same.
Ofc Haru being the main lead would be the root of everything but... Thats it other characters where just there... Its like everything revolves around him even if noones there its still about him. Its not a typical rom com but the other characters should atleast have a role of their own other than just boosting the Male lead.
In conclusion it was not an anime i would persinally like if you like frustrating animes like this where there is just no change in anything other than normal relationship then this anime is for you.

I wasn't gonna write a review on this anime but all the hype that people have over this anime I just don't see it???

Haru's and Shizuku's relationship just annoyed me, their unsure feelings towards each other is just making so many unnecessary dramas for the plot.

It would've been amazing to see more character development for the main characters....everything just became so plain and I just wasn't satisfied.
Haru was so sweet towards Shizuku since the first episode but all she cared for was her studies. Yes, school is important but it just hurts me to see Shizuku shut herself in with her books and ... ignore everyone and especially Haru.

I was happy when Haru confesses his love to her but it took her so damn long to say it back that when she actually confesses it was so anti-climatic and disappointing.

I DO NOT recommend. I have to admit this is the worst romance anime I have ever watched.

Okay, so I'm 24, and maybe that's why I'm a bit critical about "My Little Monster." But let's talk about it!

First up, the good stuff: Yamaken, Natsume, Sasahara, and Misawa. These characters had some real development and watching them change and grow was a highlight for me. It was genuinely nice to see their journeys throughout the series.

But, let's talk about the rest. Shizuku, honestly, she just didn't do it for me. She came across as arrogant and kind of oblivious to her friends' feelings, which was frustrating. And Haru? His whole thing with being tough and into fist-fights felt a bit too much. Together, ... they kind of had this toxic, co-dependent vibe going on, which was a bit concerning.

Maybe this kind of dynamic works in a high school setting where clichés about how boys and girls 'should' act in relationships are still a thing. You know, the whole idea of guys hiding their feelings and girls putting up with it.

But comparing it to other shoujo animes, I'm not sure it's worth the watch if you're looking for something that'll warm your heart. If you're into dramas that kind of play with your emotions, then yeah, maybe give it a go.

What exactly was My Little Monster? A bowl full of potential poured down the drain. A group of characters who would be interesting to watch in many kinds os stories, if well developed, but it wasn't the case here.

First of all I'm letting Oshima the class rep out of this because she entered the story late, didn't do anything useful and then left, even if Shizuku narrated in the first episode that she had "a lot to talk about her".
Out of the main 5 characters, Sasayan is by far the least developed. As being part of the group, he is expected to have a role ... in the story, but it just passes around him. He's a friendly baseball player, and that's it.

Only 4 characters had some kind of arc, and Yamaken surprised me. I first thought he would be just a douchebag antagonist, but his view of the world changing when he fell in love with Shizuku was the most interesting thing in the later episodes. He doesn't stop acting like a sociopath, though. The only result of these changes is being the third-wheel of the main couple, but for some reason he just gives up in the end.

The main guy, Haru, has a rough backstory with his brother, father and deceased aunt. That influenced him to be the way he is with Shizuku, but what about the "evil brother's evil plan"? Forgotten, just like Yuzan, who vanishes after his third appearance. He's a great guy, though, and deserved someone way better than Shizuku, but the plot dragged his one-sided crush for too long and never did something with it.

As for Shizuku, the protagonist, I've got to say she changed A LOT. She was cold, emotionless, felt no remorse regards anything and only cared about her studies. She stopped being like that, experienced new sensations, and found a new way of living in general... in the first 3 episodes. All of it is discarded. She comes back to study, being like a robot for the rest of the season. Sometimes she goes out to do something else, only when the story forces her to do so (like when a friend is in serious trouble).

A lot happens to imply that she is changing her way of being, like the conversation she had with Yamaken at the library. But what exactly changes? In every episode, she has a "Yeah it would be fun to date Haru" moment, and then she goes back to being a study-slave.

Damn, even in vacation she doesn't stop solving math problems. And what is the reason why she is so obsessed with being the best one in school? What are her motivations? We never know. Same with her brief family introduction.

And the most wronged character, the bookmark girl Natsume, the main reason I started watched this show. Having a cheerful, best girl personality, you are expected to like her, and I did. But her story is like a car who loses its track, crashes into a gas tank and explodes.

We see her as a cute girl who is excluded from society and doesn't have any friends in real life. Her main goals is to be friends with Shizuku and Haru and having them be together. In the mid-season she falls for Min, Haru's cousin, and tries to show him her feelings. When she does this in new years party, all she gets is a silent rejection and a depressing, solitary walk home. This could be where Sasayan might be handful, but he decides to leave her suffering alone.

And what was the point of her story? Like most of the other ones', it has no conclusion, just suffering after suffering without any changes.

What to say about the last episode? Horrifying. After Nagoya went missing and most of the characters met again, I thought it would be a chance for something to happen. But nothing actually happens. Yamaken has a chance to make a move but he just leaves. His last encounter with Shizuku on the streets, such as all the characters' meeting, was meaningless.

The last scene with the stagnated main couple was also awful, and makes you think that they're now worse than when they started. Natsume doesn't getting a talk with her crush's unfinished business and being bullied by some pervs for the rest of the episode, just to end the season walking back with Sasayan after a pointless search, was by far the worst thing to see.

Don't get me wrong, this anime is not a very bad one. It's just meaningless, the characters have no actual development and their stories are pointless.

Overall, I think the protagonist is a self insert of someone with no personality and Haru is put here as the dream guy who will love her and be submissive to her no matter how bad she mistreats him. I enjoyed some scenes of the anime and some of it was funny, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Doomed by possibly the worst couple I've seen in anime- and I've watched Oreimo.

Here's the thing about high school romcoms like My Little Monster: they pretty much live or die on the quality of the main couple. That's why shows like Lovely Complex or Kimi ni Todoke succeed despite not necessarily doing anything to re-invent the wheel, so to speak. On that note, I ask 3 simple questions. Is the protagonist likable? Is the main love interest likable? Is their chemistry good? In the case of this particular show, it's a resounding 0 for 3.

Let's start with the main character, Shizuku. She likes to study ... and is generally cold to others around her. Not off to a great start. But what's worse is how much the author attempted to make the connection between the two. As if it is literally impossible to take school seriously and be a decent human being. It was honestly borderline insulting. And as far as development, don't get your hopes up. Overall, just a really, really poor main character.

Moving on to the main love interest, Haru. Aka the "monster" in the title. He is wild delinquent, and apparently that characteristic was supposed to explain away all his abhorrent behavior. He inexplicably falls in love with our charmless protagonist and things go from bad to worse for his character. A brief overview of some of his actions to follow: he essentially threatens to sexually assault Shizuku, aggressively stalks her, gets violently jealous anytime a guy as much as talks to her, gets into fights because of this, accidentally punches her and draws blood twice, and in one instance when he's in the dog house licks her hand when she is handing him something. Really think about that last one. Another human being, whom do not want licking your hand, suddenly doing so out of the blue. *shudders* But, like Shizuku, this is all sort of shrugged off, like it's just "Haru being Haru, what a goofball". And again, if you're wondering about development, don't get your hopes up. Overall, maybe the worst love interest I've come across in the genre.

But you might be thinking, hey, maybe they're not super likable, but they could be cute together. Noooope. Individually they're pretty awful, and yet they somehow find a way to come together to make something even worse. None of their interactions are the least bit endearing or natural. Do you know that "aww" feeling you get watching a cute anime couple? Whatever the opposite of "aww" is, that would described this couple. My ideal fanfiction for this series would be for one of them to move to the other side of the planet and never see the other again. But for now, I'll just be satisfied knowing they have yet to invade our screens for a 2nd season.

At this point you might be asking why I devoted so much time to talking about the main couple. And the answer to that is there just isn't much else going on. Haru's brother showed up at one point to try to get him to return home and one of Shizuku's friends had a crush on Haru's older cousin, but neither of those story-lines went anywhere interesting. So, like I said at the beginning, the whole anime basically hinged on the main couple.

But as far as the art and sound go, they were both solid. The OP was quite catchy and colorful in particular. I don't really have any strong thoughts on the VA's performances, but they were at least adequate. The character designs were pleasant to look at, but maybe not memorable.

Overall: 4/10
tl;dr: awful, awful, awful main couple turn what would've been an average high school romcom into the worst shoujo I've had the displeasure of watching.

While I came here because I found TNKK in a top romance anime list, my expectations where betrayed by far.

The 'story' was all over the place scrambles here and there without any final conclusion.
The romance was a back and forth and just annoying to watch, not the least bit funny or enjoyable.
The drama was brought up in some episode, had a pause for some episodes, came back after some episodes. However, never was the actual drama explained or got into in depth detail, all that was given are some puzzle pieces you *could* put together but without any guarantee.
The slice of life was rather far ... off and got interrupted by the drama without place.
While some characters where interesting there was no depth about them whatsoever making them feel kind of flat and their *touching* moments not touching at all.

However, I really liked the OST but that doesn't really make the anime that much better.
Overall I think it would've been a better experience if it was one of my first romance anime but that's sadly not the case.. Now it kinda just felt like a drag watching through it

To be frank, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (the anime, let me be clear) was a waste of 13 episodes that probably would have been better given to another series. Here's why.

Story:
It is so anti-climactic and unfulfilling. The story ends abruptly, with no closure, leaving so many open threads that it doesn't feel as if the production team behind the anime cared enough about the story to patch it up nicely for the viewers. None of the relationships are solidified. None of the characters have developed. Nothing of substance, within 13 episodes, happened. None of the characters have arcs and development befitting a score higher than 3. ... The only reason why I even gave it a 3 instead of a 1 is because the anime was just so badly produced that it kept me hoping that it would improve itself. The only catch was, it didn't.

Art/Sound:
Endearing art style, and the sound, while not very memorable, complimented what was happening in the story nicely.

Character:
None of the characters developed within 13 episodes. Not one character seemed to have a redeeming quality, nor did they have any kind of complex personality traits or characteristics. Violent, cold, lonely -- these are not complex characters. These are 2D, simple and mediocre characters that the viewer has no reason to sympathize with nor like. I've never watched an anime where I felt so indifferent towards every main character that, regardless of what happened to them in the actual story, I just didn't care that much. The main character is intolerable. Her friends seem to be plot devices instead of actual characters that are meant to add significance to the story. And Haru, the people around him said that he was changing, but I simply couldn't see it.

Enjoyment:
All I can say it, don't watch the anime. Read the manga.

Overall:
Please skip this anime for your own sake. Guaranteed you are not missing out on anything substantial. Save the time it would take to watch 13 episodes to watch something else. Or, better yet, read the manga. I have yet to see a faithful, satisfying, and well done adaptation of a manga.

A good reason to watch Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is to have a standard for bad romance anime. At first sight, even though the art is poor, you even get a slight glimpse of emotion and you think "maybe this will be cute". You wish.

As the story continues, all we get are random situations that could inspire some character development and offer some insights on their background, but everything falls flat and those situations lead to nowhere really. I wanted to like this story, but TNKK kept working against that will.

My biggest disappointment is the main couple. Shizuku is lifeless until the very end ... of the story. Haru, however, is a whole new level of annoying. For starters, he behaves like a rip-off of Disney's Tarzan. And then he goes on to act in the most controlling ways such as trying to stop her from studying, beating random men on the streets for looking at her, ordering her to go straight home from the places she goes to, etc. Not to mention he keeps accidentally beating her. And pays no mind to that.

Overall, it wasn't exactly painful to watch because I'm really into this genre, but it got increasingly bothersome. If you decide to watch it, you will get some cute scenes and it does check on some of the cliches you might be eager to watch, but don't expect your heart to skip a beat, it'll be a pretty forgettable experience.

really loved the female lead and her complications with balancing social life with school but it did not always translate well within the story. It also would have been nice to see some more character development from all of the characters. For the majority of the series, the characters are pretty much the same as when they started. TNKK had a lot of potential for being a really interesting story and had a variety of really entertaining characters but it definitely lost its momentum near the end of the series.

In my opinion the ending was unsatisfying and leaves a lot of crucial questions unanswered. ... I don't mind ambiguous endings for series but this one was a bit much for me

THE MISSED PROTENTIAL OF TONARI NO KAIBUTSU KUN
Story:4
Art:7
Sound:7
Character:6
Enjoyment:4

Story:
The first two episodes of this anime are fucking amazing. I was in shock! They were...lightning fast with establishing our leads and their relationship with each other! They were fucking amazing!!

... Episodes 3 and 4 arent as good as the first two but theyre not...terrible. Altho you can start to see this show slowing down and turning into...just...every other frustrating romance anime ever made.

Epsodes 5,6,7,8,9 are some of the most torturous experiences of my life. These episodes are HORESHIT!!!! THEYRE TERRIBLE!!! THEYRE FRUSTRATING TO WATCH!!! IM PISSED OF!!! And the worst part is that they mean NOTHING TO THE STORY!!! THEYRE FUCKING FILLERS!!!! I am afraid to watch another romance anime after hearing BlackCriticGuy describing these episodes as going back to the roots of the genre. Oh my god...this genre is so bad...its...its shit! How am I ever gonna be excited to watch another romance anime?? I mean...Im watching Kare Kano next directed by hideaki ano and made by studio gainax back when it was good! Nothing's wrong will ever happen...but...what about the other romance anime? These episodes scarred me.

Episode 10 isnt as bad as those horseshit, but its not as good as the other good episodes either. The last few minutes are fine. Theyre...not bad! However the rest of the episode is just pointless shit. Urgh!

Epsiode 11,12,13 are good! They were charming and cute! They take away from haru and shizuku's relationship a bit for friendship and bonding! Theyre good! Not much else to say since these episodes will never be as meaningful, well written, and romantic as the first two.

Characters:
Haru is cute and is very understandable. He's emotional and you get why he would love someone like shizuku. He does point out her despicable attitude and I like that!
Shizuku has two guys crushing on her, one is haru and the other is this blonde hair kid who's confused to why he likes her. He's pretty irrelevant. Shizuku is...boring, bland, heartless, sometimes courageous, and overall unlikable. While the show does explain why these two would fall in love with one another, it doesnt make its main girl likeable or shit even interesting! I've survived this romance through Haru. If you like her, I dont care.
The supporting cast is extremely likeable! They're the reason why the last few episodes are so enjoyable. Not much else to say except I just love watching them.

Art/Animation:
Animation is above average due to the characters not being too complicated. But obviously no where near as good as toradora's animation.
Art is a little dif than what Im used to which is nice. Shizuku's character design is ridiculously bland and I think they made her too much of a loser! Does it really make sense to have her dress like an old lady, have her friends point it out and then have her be embarrased about it? It would fit her character if she says I dont give a shit! Also, HARU IS SUPER CUTE AND HIS VOICE FITS HIM PERFECTLY!!! The character designs represents the characters pretty well! But seriously tho does shizuku really have to be that bland?

Romance:
The first two episodes are so gosh darn romatic!! But the story fucked it up and by the end the romance doesnt go anywhere...the cute girl even points it out how theyre making no progress right after those 5 agonizing episodes!!! THIS FEELS LIKE A REALLY BAD ATTEMPT AT META ROMANCE ANIME!!!!

Overall, I would still recommend you watching this anime even tho I gave it a 4. I a lot of people seem to like this anime just fine so maybe you will too. Join the crowd and enjoy an anime! Its just...not for me. Those 5 episodes are shit...peace out.

Well, I am no English major but I will try to sum up my experience.
A waste of time? Hmph.

Where to start. The entire series was a complete mess story-wise. It felt like they wanted to just add various cliches from other series and just make a show out of that.

What do I mean by that?
- They tried to add all these funny moments. Those were the only legit enjoyable moments in the show for me, for us.
- They tried to make it all edgy and dark. I had no clue why they've done that as it added nothing to the story.
- Love and romance ... were all over the place while making barely any sense.
- They added this ultra-smart character cliche too which added nothing to the story.
- Zero character development through the season.

After watching the entire season I feel the same as if I never watched a single episode.

Don't get me wrong, the show could have been good. Maybe if they came up with a story, great even. The art and animation were superb. They nailed all the details, it was nicely drawn, they made some great action movements, it was good. Voice overs too were good.

I also enjoyed the funny moments and I feel it could have been good if they had a clear aim of what they are trying to make. It could have been an easy silly romance serious with goofy characters and moments. Great. Would have worked. It could have been a love triangle kind of thing. The same could work. But like this? Sorry, that's a 3 at best. Shame.

The two first episodes were pretty good. The male lead is this protagonist who resorts to violence at every second. The female lead hasn't really dealt with people before and is quite standoffish. Naturally, as the protagonists, they are destined to fall in love. Surprisingly by the 2nd episode, this happens. And once again there's the sufferance of not knowing what to do with a couple who is together so they have these two characters dance this little, love don't love game that's unsatisfying. It's the same fight, in different fights. From the getgo, it's established these two characters are suffering from an inability ... to properly talk to each other. That is to say, she can't actually think about the problem, and he reacts to violence in every situation. After the 2nd episode, they regress and keep being stuck in that regression, having the same tired argument over and over. I had such high hopes for this.

I’ve never written a review, but I have never felt so inclined. I went into this show with pretty standard and basic expectations; my expectations weren’t even met, I would say.

STORY - 1

My Little Monster seems to be an interesting concept in the beginning; a well-disciplined, studious girl (Shizuku) and a delinquent boy (Haru). You would probably wonder what kind of relationship or how a relationship would blossom between the two types, be it a little cliche.

Instead, the 13 episodes are filled with constant back and forth of misunderstandings that, frankly, don’t even seem to make sense. The pining between the main characters is dragged ... on throughout the whole show to make an illusion of plot that doesn’t exist. Haru immediately confesses his love for Shizuku within the /first episode/, despite them having just met. It feels extremely awkward and out of place, but there is still a bit of charm that makes the first two episodes have some potential. It is all quickly gone, however, by the third episode, when there is still no progress made despite both of the main characters confessing their love to each other.

Shizuku actually tells Haru she loves him, only to get a response that made it seem as if he was still unsure about his feelings.. but there was no hint of this in the first two episodes? There was no conflict to even explain why he would be nervous about dating her despite genuinely believing he loves her.

Even worse, multiple side characters are introduced, literally only to each have a crush on Haru and Shizuku respectively and to cause random, nothing conflict where nothing happens. Hell, Haru gets inexplicably defensive to Yamaken (one of the side characters) showing romantic interest in Shizuku, despite them /not even deciding to date, multiple times, for no reason/. Meaning, there is no right for Haru to feel that way. He even goes as far as to almost kill Yamaken by pushing him off the side of a building because he simply states he likes Shizuku.

Character development is nonexistent, too. Any resemblance of a plot line, background, etc is never resolved. None of the many, many annoying love triangles are solved or even barely touched upon. Even when the main characters seemed slightly interesting, it is ruined by how one-dimensional they are throughout the rest of the series.


ART - 3

The first two episodes of this show were actually very, very beautifully animated. You can tell in certain frames they really tried too and it is nice to look at.. until you get to the third episode. The animation and art both drop so badly that it’s impossible to not notice, and personally, has a huge effect on the viewing experience.


SOUND - 2

Every music in the show becomes extremely irritating to hear by the last couple of episodes. There is nothing special about it.


ENJOYMENT - 1

Getting through this show felt like the worst drag I’ve ever felt watching an anime. It is genuinely the first show I’ve ever rated at such a low rating, but I have nothing to make me change my mind. I wanted to stop watching in the middle, but my boyfriend convinced me to keep going because he enjoyed it. Of course, by the end, he was completely on my side. The ending of the show simply put the nail in the coffin, making it concrete how within the 13 episodes, nothing had happened to make me believe that the last episode felt climatic, even in the slightest.


Overall, this show was so bad, I wish that I never wasted time on it. I would not recommend this show, especially for a romance. Watch Toradora or Chunbiyou instead

The only anime I've ever dropped (as of August 22')
This was unbearable to watch, I despise my little monster so much istg, first of all the good things about this show
The art is pretty good, and the animation is above average cookie cutter generic Isekai anime so I can give it praise for that.
The first 4 episodes are very good, you might even be tricked into thinking that this show has some charm or promise to it, but of course like all anime at this point the second half is so shit that I had to drop it.
Now I thought there'd be a side plot ... about the romance of the 2 side characters, but I didn't see any of that, and that's the tip of the iceberg for how shit kaibutsu Kun is
Mizutani is one of my least favorite characters ever, anytime that bitch is on screen I wanna strangle her so much, even though it's a shoujo show, which is meant for girls to self insert, idk a single person who'd willingly choose to be like Mizutani.
It's also so fucking dragged out for no reason, in a time where horimiya exists you cannot be putting these fake confessions that go no where and expect anyone to be entertained
Overall 4/10 don't bother watching it's a literal waste of time, if you want something kinda similar I'd say just watch horimiya, and if you want something moderately long in this genre check out OreGairu