Pre-conceptions are a powerful thing, people judge each other fairly quickly, reach conclusions before even talking to someone and let that define their (lack of) interactions. But, sometimes, it is possible to ignore those conceptions and build something new in its place. This is the basis for Chikan Otoko.
Chikan Otoko (Molester Man) is a romance doujin (Japanese indie comic) that adapts a story out of 2chan thread, popularly known as Molester Man. Takuma Yokota, most famous for his work on Onanie Master Kurosawa, adapted the story to the doujin format. Before starting, none of the characters have "real names", they are only known by the nicknames Molester Man gave them.
One day, while walking back home from work, Molester Man notices a small woman walking in front of him, and she keeps looking over her shoulder. It starts to rain and Molester Man, who has no umbrella, starts to run and so does the girl. Molester Man notices that she thinks he is a stalker and tries to stop her, which makes him look even more like a pervert. The police gets involved and it becomes clear that Molester Man is not actually a molester, so the girl, nicknamed Miss Understanding, offers the protagonist a lunch together as an apology. This eventually results in Molester Man meeting Understanding's friends, Loli Jugs and Kansai. The story then becomes a romance.
While not entirely free of clichés, Chikan Otoko knows how to subvert most of them and create unusual and unpredictable situations. The romance is completely different from the usual boy meets girl by chance -> they fall in love -> they confess dramatically -> everyone lives happily ever after.
Chikan Otoko also deals with its themes with maturity and care, while also making the most of the more light-hearted moments. That is to say, when it needs to be serious, it manages to be, and when it wants to be absolutely hilarious, it delivers.
The characters are easily relatable, to say the least. The protagonist, in some ways, is the image of the internet aficionado, with all of its slobness and social-awkardness. But he also develops beyond that, becoming a more confident and socially acceptable person as the story develops.
Miss Understanding is, well, understanding and easily trusts everyone else, but Spoilers she isn't the focus of the story, which means she isn't incredibly developed. End of spoilers. Kansai is an incredibly deep character with a lot of contradictions, for example, she is very decided most of the time, but there is one moment where she simply can't do that. It is not a fault of characterization as it is portrayed, it is a virtue of realism.
Loli Jugs is not as deep as Kansai, but she also has some very interesting interactions with most of the cast. Speaking of the cast, the supporting one is wonderfully comedic. Rather than using these character, with close to no emotional connection to the reader, for drama, they are (brilliantly) used for comedy.
The art is also unusual, with a rough, almost sketched art style. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it has always had a way of gripping me. It is not the most detailed or the most beautiful art, but it such a recognizable style of the author that it became a novelty in and of itself.
Chikan Otoko is a completely unusual romance with a lot of interesting twists and several hilarious scenes. I would recommend it to basically anyone. But, to be fair, the ones that would enjoy it the most are the people who want an unpredictable romance.
