Sometimes when you focus just on your school life, things will go in a very different direction.
What They Say:
Sitting Next To Yoshida-Kun
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the manga series Tornari no Kaibutsu-kun by Robico, My Little Monster is a new series from Brain’s Base that works with the nine volume and ongoing manga show that fits squarely in the shoujo camp. Originally running in the Kodansha magazine Dessert, you can get a pretty good idea of what to expect quickly. Shoujo series aren’t quite as common as they once were, but there are new ones regularly and they can vary pretty wildly. With My Little Monster, we get a show that’s definitely slice of life in the real world while hitting some good comedic elements along the way that should make for a fun and engaging watch.
The show revolves around the straight laced and focused Shizuku a high school student who is all about school and getting through it to her other plans for life. She’s got little else going on in her life outside of school, but there’s an oddity to her school life. She sits next to another student named Haru Yoshida, except that Yoshida hardly ever comes to school. Partially because he’s just a hooligan delinquent of sorts but also because he got into a fair bit of trouble after a recent fight there that caused several others to go to the hospital. For Shizuku, her life takes the odd turn when class circumstances force her to go to his home to drop off some papers. He initially thinks she’s just after him like other students or faculty are, but he realizes she’s not and instantly treats her like the best friend he has in the world. Which is pretty scary.
The show hits a lot in the first half as it has Shizuku being forced into dealing with Yoshida a bit outside of school (not that he makes himself a good impression at school with an awkward threat of raping her). She ends up seeing how he’s taken advantage of in several ways and she does a fair bit to help him in her own way. Even more problematic for her is that her nature ends up getting him to come back to school in full and he’s really, really awkward there. It’s like he has no concept of what a normal school life is supposed to be like so he’s a little out of control and keeps coming back to her for help, or just getting her involved in what goes on. Seeing how this awkward relationship progresses is a fair bit of fun to watch, especially since Yoshida has a good bit of anger to him, something that goes badly for Shizuku towards the end of the episode as well, really giving her a challenge in her life that has never been there before.
In Summary:
With so many shows featuring either bland male leads, goody two-shoes or just your everyman in some way, it’s refreshing to get a series where the lead is actually really rough. And not just around the edges. It’s a huge part of who he is. Seeing the way that Shizuku and Yoshida are brought together here is a little awkward and it feels a bit rushed in some ways, especially with the month skip that comes into play here, but we see a kind of friendship at the start that’s different from the norm and a lot of fun. Yoshida’s definitely like someone who was raised by apes that’s now in the civilized world trying to figure out what the deal is. Shizuku gives him the calming balance, but she ends up meaning a lot more to him than she realizes at first and that sets the stage for where the show can go. The difficult point here is whether Yoshida’s attitude and style will grow and change before he gets to be too annoying and problematic like this. But the episode ends with a great tease that definitely has me wanting to come back for more.
Grade: B
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
