Monthly Girl’s Nozaki-kun (Gekkan Shōjo Nozaki-kun) is a romantic comedy anime adapted from the manga of the same name. The studio behind it is Dogakobo, who have also done Majestic Prince and other shows. The director was Mitsue Yamazaki and the music by Yukari Hashimoto. The manga is published Square Enix in Gangan Online and is currently still running.
The show revolves around the relationship (or lack of) our main two protagonists: Chiyo Sakura and Umetarō Nozaki. Sakura one day confesses her love for Nozaki, however he mistakes her as his fan and gives her his autograph, and she then tries to tell him that she wants to be with him forever. Nozaki takes this the wrong way and takes her to his house where he tells her that he is actually the mangaka for a Shōjo series called Let’s Fall in Love. He then enlists her help as an assistant which Sakura takes to try and get closer to him.
The plot itself is simple but entertaining. Each episode is pretty episodic however still follows the overall plot of the show, Sakura trying to get Nozaki to notice her love for him. All the episodes revolve around Sakura helping Nozaki with his manga or helping him find inspiration for it. There are many reoccurring side characters in the show that either provide inspiration or help Nozaki with his manga. The plotlines are very well done and the comedy hits the mark.
There are a lot of characters in the show and it can feel a bit overwhelming. Each either helps Nozaki with the manga or provides inspiration for characters. Each character has their own story which adds to show, giving us the viewer a reason to care for them and like them. But since there is such a big cast sometimes characters felt a little under developed even with this. However when it comes to them being on screen they were well voice acted and very likeable. The main two protagonists Sakura and Nozaki were well crafted. Sakura was cheerful, bubbly and caring whilst Nozaki was stern but eccentric. They both complimented each other. However as the series got on it was easy to tell what the reactions and actions were going to be. The character designs suited the show but nothing revolutionary.
The animation was good. It was fluid when it needed to be and very colourful. The series involved a lot of talking so the animation didn’t need to be balls to the walls epic, but it was still good. The animations on the opening and ending were also good and captured what the show was about.
The music fitted the show but it was not outstanding. It was cutesy and it helped with comedic effect when needed. The opening did a good job drawing you in and the ending was nice and cutesy fitting the show. However overall the music was good and did its job.
Overall the Monthly Girl’s Nozaki-kun is a nice, sweet romantic comedy which doesn’t fail to make you laugh or put a smile on your face. I would definitely recommend it if you need a break from the more serious anime out there. The show is incomplete as it ended with an opening for another season. At the moment there has been no announcement of a second season but take that how you may. Overall I found this show very entertaining and a good escape. It is currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks and is available on Crunchyroll for streaming. I will leave a link and if you want you can sign up to a two week free trial of Crunchyroll to watch Monthly Girl’s Nozaki-kun in HD with no ads. Thank you for reading my review and till next time sayonara!
