Aug 28, 2021
Imomushi Shoujo to Comyushou Danshi is what you get when you cross Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis" with your girlfriend asking you if you would still love her if she turned into a worm, to surprisingly good results.
A quick tangent before I get to the meat of the review, but this manga's name is officially localized in English as Caterpillar Girl and Bad Texter Boy, which is a bit of an odd translation, considering the boy does not send or receive any texts for the entire duration of the story. It should be more akin to "Bad Communicator Boy" or "Bad Social Skills Boy" or something,
...
but I digress.
This story initially seemingly plays itself as a lighthearted, cutesy comedy, where Suzume (the Caterpillar Girl) and Akane (the Bad Texter Boy) have to adjust to Suzume being turned into large bug, while trying to find a way to turn her back to normal; hilarity ensues. And for early on in the story, that's exactly what happens.
However, its not all fun and games. Akane's self-esteem is in the negatives, and it effects his relationships with those close to him, and Suzume is ever-so-slowly losing parts of her humanity. Akane having to come to terms with how he feels about himself and others was really well done, and aspects of Suzume that were revealed to the reader over the course of the story really tied it all together. I believe this manga's strongest suit is creating sympathetic characters that you still want to route for even though their problems were essentially the result of their own doing.
I do think some aspects such as the arc concerning Akane's mother could have been wrapped up a little more definitively, but overall it told a very solid, complete story.
One thing in particular that I liked was the ending, including the denouement leading up to it. Obviously I can't say too much without spoiling parts of the story, but I would categorize the ending as "happy", but with some melancholic undertones. I'm refraining from using the word "bittersweet" though, because I just feel that word doesn't quite capture the feeling; it, dare I say, hit different.
Honestly, this story could've been super dark if it was written in a different way while still keeping the events and plot basically in tact, but I like the way this story played out. 8/10 mfw no Kafkaesque caterpillar gf
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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