Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun was actually the first fall anime season title that I got around to watching. I ended up enjoying it so much, I felt absolutely positive about the rest of the anime titles for the season. It turned out that I was mostly right, only dropping a few of the titles that I started out with.
Although, I think I would still be happy if Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun was the only title left in my fall anime must-watch viewing list.
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun or The Monster Seated Next to Me begins when academics-obsessed Mizutani Shizuku was asked by her teacher to deliver printouts to Yoshida Haru, a classmate who has yet to attend class since the day he got suspended for beating up other students in their school. Thinking that Shizuku delivered the notes out of good will, Haru assumes that they're friends and starts going to school. Soon after, Haru declares that he is in love with Shizuku. Despite being labeled and acting like a delinquent, Shizuku realizes that Haru, who just doesn't know how to express himself properly, is actually just misunderstood after spending time with him (though not by her choice and more because Haru keeps following her around).
After watching previous seasons that only introduced romance in the form of harem-themed series with plenty of ecchi fan service (I'm looking at you, summer anime season), it was refreshing to watch Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, which featured a story that's straight up in the romantic comedy genre. Although, saying that the characters and central story they feature in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun are normal would be misleading. This is an anime series, after all.
Aside from Shizuku and Haru, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun features a lineup of supporting characters, whose stories Shizuku points out early in series as those that she would also be telling to the audience. Despite Shizuku and Haru's natural tendency to be isolated from people, they somehow ended up finding themselves as part of a group that's dysfunctional enough to drive Shizuku crazy at times, yet everything she and Haru needed in order to learn how to be with others. Their classmate Natsume Asako is about as clueless as Haru when it comes to making friends, mostly because of her experiences of being shunned by former female classmates because of her popularity with boys. Sasahara Sohei or Sasayan is another classmate and can be considered the most normal among their group, with his ability to easily make friends with people. Yamaguchi Kenji or Yamaken is a former classmate of Haru and has a horrible sense of direction, who ends up falling for Shizuku despite thinking to himself that there's nothing special about her. Oshima Chizuru is from a different class, but somehow comes across the group frequently after Haru beats up upperclassmen for bullying her, which leads to her falling in love with him. And then, there's Haru's cousin, Misawa Mitsuyoshi, an arcade owner who usually plays host and chaperone for the group during study sessions, parties and other major events a teenager should experience. Oh, and there's a chicken named Nagoya, too.
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is slice of life storytelling at its best, despite the fact that the group of characters at its center tend to find themselves in ridiculous situations. Their experiences can range from the mundane to the comedic, with misunderstandings aplenty that you can expect from socially inept people. Yet, the series strikes a chord when it tackles self-realizations and when characters make leaps of faith when it comes to making friends, undertaking new experiences and declaring how they feel. However eccentric the characters are, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun somehow manages to tell stories that are relate-able. If you can get past all the laughing and all the Shizuku-Haru shipping, that is.
While the series turned out to be an ensemble piece, it's Shizuku, Haru and their relationship that remain the core of the series. I have to admit that I originally thought that the two main characters would be showcasing stereotypical characteristics, pegging Shizuku as a tsundere braniac and Haru a straight up delinquent whose life will be changed by a study freak. What's surprising, and much appreciated at every episode viewing, is the fact that Shizuku and Haru were more than just your generic anime characters.
While it seems that Shizuku is only capable of focusing on studying, she has a wider understanding of the human condition and is quick to realize that she has her own shortcomings (and also quick to address them). And her honesty, while lacking in finesse, is something that she also directs in self-reflections and in admitting her faults to others. On the other hand, Haru, while continuously plagued by his instincts towards violence and clueless to a fault when it comes to dealing with people, is endearing, even if he does have a dark side that scared the crap out of Yamaken (and me). I just have to mention that I love the twist that the delinquent is actually smarter than the study freak, as evidenced by Haru's constant trumping of Shizuku in their exam results.
One of the strengths of Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is the chemistry among its different characters, but most especially in the chemistry between Shizuku and Haru. Even when the romantic aspect of their relationship isn't being tackled, you get a sense that they are at their best (and sometimes at their confusing worst... you know, in a good way) when they are together. While it might seem that they're constantly out of sync, they actually need each other, which Shizuku initially struggles to comprehend and which Haru believes wholeheartedly, with his rather distortedly innocent view on relationships.
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun proves to anime viewers that, sometimes, fan service doesn't have to be ecchi at all in order to tell a good story about boys and girls falling in love. The series strikes a wonderful blend in its storytelling, with the romance never taking a step towards cheesiness and the comedy always done just right, especially if you can appreciate silliness and don't take your comedy too seriously. If there was a flaw in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, it's the fact that it's so damn short, which means that there are elements in the original manga the thirteen episode series was adapted from that we might be missing out on.
Shizuku ends the series with a narration on how she isn't done telling the stories of the different characters of Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. But despite the allusion to the fact that there are more chapters in their lives that we have yet to witness, they were able to tell a solid story that featured an ending that gave audiences more than just an assurance that everything will be alright for Shizuku and Haru.
But if they do choose to continue that story in the form of another anime season, then you know I'll be there to watch it. If not, then I'll find that ending by reading the Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun manga, which will soon feature the conclusion of the series in its final volume.
Either way, I'll definitely be a Shizuku-Haru shipper until the end. And proudly so.
Happy viewing!!Labels: Adaptation, Anime, Comedy, Must-Watch, Romance, Slice of Life, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, TV
