What They Say:
Series Finale.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the new year here and the gang celebrating with the first sunrise viewing, things don’t go exactly to plan since Shizuku has a particular sense of technicality that must be followed, which is amusing since Haru is kind of the same way when it comes to things. Still, there’s some enjoyment to be had from seeing this group come together after a late night like this and have a good experience overall that can set the mood for the new year. While we spent little time with the lead pair in the previous episode, they blend well into things from the start here while the subplots aren’t ignored entirely, which is welcome since we did get time focusing on Natsume and her issues previously which made her a rather engaging character.
Not surprisingly, the series goes for a mix of silly and serious as it works through things here. Shizuku is working hard studying for the upcoming mock exam, made easier by nobody being home for awhile, but Haru adds the silly as he’s desperately looking for someone who has gone missing. And he’s hitting up seemingly everyone he knows in a panic while wearing an amusing outfit, complete with a net, to try and find the one who is missing, which is pretty obvious. The situation ends up bringing both Natsume and Shizuku to Haru’s place at different times, but eventually together which has them looking just a little askew at each other. Not that there’s real tension, but it’s just a bit of a surprise on both counts.
Of course, the situation turns more and more and everyone that he ran into eventually ends up back at his place, including the missing rooster. Unfortunately, Haru doesn’t know what’s going on since he left his phone along the way, among other things, so it makes for a stupidly complicated situation. Unfortunately, as cute as certain bits are and the way the group reconfigures itself over the course of it, the show loses a lot of what makes it fun by being the second episode in a row that has little of the two leads. Shizuku has some decent time here and there, but with Haru largely off screen and him rarely together with Shizuku after the opening bit until near the end, it’s just not all that engaging to watch since these are the two that I really want to see.
In Summary:
While I’ve enjoyed parts of My Little Monster overall, and definitely those first episodes of the season with the way it almost gave us a show that dealt with relationships, the series lost steam along the way. It had some fun moments here and there and definitely some intriguing character exploration and growth at times, such as the heavy focus on Natsume in the previous episode. There was a real flair of what a high school romance is like with its off and on nature, but it never felt like it was cemented enough to work because of the way it was executed. The show is one that I had a lot of hope for after the start, but it just lost its way as it went further and further on. The finale here makes it all the clearer since it really couldn’t even give us the two leads together for much of it and even shunted Haru off screen for the majority of it. My Little Monster had a lot of potential but just didn’t know what to do with it and dropped the ball far too often.
Grade: C+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
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.
