Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

This anime right from the get go was DOA (dead on arrival), when i first added this to my planning list a long time ago it struck me as a cute romance kinda of story with many funny misunderstandings that would help drive the plot.

Yet by the second i begun and got through episode 1 i was already left with a sour taste in my mouth by the reality of what this was about, firstly ill outline that Sakura having an interest in Nozaki was one of the few things that actually somewhat kept my interest however do let me finish by saying this one good part of the anime is quickly spoilt by an abundance of characters who from what i can see are in no way capable of driving the plot forward it just kind of felt sloppy.

Its as if the creator of this anime chose to take a decent love story and within moments ruin it, the show is driven by a multitude of misunderstandings that are comedic and grasp the audience in the hopes that they will watch and enjoy but alas this is short lived as these misunderstandings quickly grow boring, within 4 episodes i was moved to tears. Not by the show's incredible story or comedic genius but instead tears of boredom and sadness and how god awful this truly was to watch.

The characters from the start feel bland and rather unlikeable as if they only gave a singular character trait to them and left it at that, almost like kickstarter games when they write a rushed plot with basic character backgrounds in the hopes of making a quick buck. Nozaki as the main focus was incredibly boring from the start and i couldn't really understand Sakura's obsession with him but that's not what ruins this for me. However Mikoshiba i found to be one of only characters i could get behind and the reason behind that is quite simple, his personality is a relatable and realistic one, he's insecure, uncertain of how to act outside his comfort zone and what he is used to and in some ways represents the weaker side of most men that they tend to hide and that spoke to me i could relate to sometimes worrying about being unable to think of how to react in certain circumstances.

Ultimately my dislike for this anime comes down to the feel that its just a repetition of bland jokes and misunderstandings that are only funny for a episode or two before quickly becoming redundant and repetitive. It pokes fun at a lot of old shoujo manga clichés however those clichés need to remain as cliché as when this anime came out in order to be remotely amusing and as a result it just feels like an anime that is repeating old jokes and gags that no longer have the same power essentially giving this anime the feel of "it's past it's prime". The characters are bland and while the overall animation is good for the time this came out the characters truly feel generic. The lack of communication between the characters is infuriating and the misunderstandings become more and more annoying as you cant help but feel as the characters are just complete morons.

The opening is fine i suppose though i cant listen to it more then twice before it became grating and the outro soundtrack is beyond irritating, its just the repetition of a single word sounding like someone just breathed in helium, was the outro's goal to frustrate people?...... Because it sure felt like it. Sadly this show has very few half decent points and even less actually good points to write about.

I tend to have a lower standard as to watch i enjoy in anime and tend to be rather generous with my scoring as I'm told by my friends however this anime just didn't do it for me and if you cant stand repetitive jokes or a lack of personality on the majority of this anime's cast then I don't recommend watching this but if you are into romcoms and enjoy awkward jokes and misunderstandings that forward the plot if only barely then this is for you.

If you enjoy this then i respect that but i just couldn't enjoy it sadly.