紙袋くんは恋してる

KAMIBUKURO-KUN WA KOISHITERU

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
2
RELEASE
October 9, 2020
CHAPTERS
23

DESCRIPTION

A stalker? A pervert?
No, no. I'm just a college boy who is single-mindedly in love with someone.
It's just...I live my life wearing a paper bag on my head, which makes people look at me strangely on campus.

Even though he's extremely timid, he abruptly confessed his love and is pushing forward!
The girl he confessed to, Umi-chan, took it by surprise and soon an unexpected turn of events is about to happen!

Note: Includes 8 extra chapters.

CAST

Kamibukuro-kun
Umi Asagi

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

sadJoe
79/100
Has the Potential to Make a Genuinely Wholesome Anime Movie Adaptation
Kamibukuro-kun wa Koishiteru: An Oddly Satisfying Romance

There are times in our lives when we stumble upon stories, ones which move our hearts in an atypical fashion. These types of tales may not be the best written or even all that unique; regardless, they are capable of reaching into our heart, grabbing it by the steering wheel and taking our emotions on a journey. Indeed, this manga is one of those stories.

In our world, there will always be room for stories of this affectionate simplicity, ones which tug at the heartstrings. "Paperbag-kun Is In Love" is a brief manga which brings us a proper conclusion while simultaneously making us want for more.

When the narrative opens up, we are introduced to the individual known as Paperbag-kun. There is little time for him to waste because by the time that we see him, he is already in hot pursuit after our main girl, Asagi Umi. His approach toward her can be viewed as either a creepy stalker's frenzy or a socially awkward person's hesitant nervousness.

Kudos and a round of applause to the mangaka. This was quite a humorous way to introduce the title character of the story. It is a really good way of drawing in the reader's attention. I continued to gobble this up after being led into the story headfirst like this.

The first chapter only continues to escalate. After getting her attention...

Paperbag-kun pulls out a box...opening it up to reveal...

...yes, a ring. This man does not beat around the bush. His affections for Umi-chan are clearly laid out within the first chapter. His methods are questionable, yet one can't help but be convinced of the genuineness of the decisions that he makes throughout the course of the story. He establishes his intentions early on, and during the remaining parts of the manga he honestly displays his desires on an absurd scale (despite his unwillingness to show his face). This becomes evident later on, as he continues to push himself to his limits for the sake of Umi-chan and their evolving relationship.

It would be somewhat dishonest of me to write this review without discussing some of its issues. There is a blatant moral dilemma that is difficult to overlook: Is Paperbag-kun a stalker?

Regardless of his intentions (or the reasons which come to light later on in the manga), his behavior is probably not the proper way to go about seeking out the one that you love. One could even go so far as to say that this manga is a stalker's daydream or fantasy. I wouldn't go that far, but I do think it may be necessary for some people to suspend their disbelief more than usual to enjoy the sweetness of this story. Don't get me wrong, this manga is plenty sweet and capable of diagnosing readers with plenty of diabeetus; though that is the case, one cannot deny that Paperbag-kun's behavior is questionable.

Regardless of the aforementioned issues, this is a emotional story that engages the hearts of its readers. It may be lacking of substance in different ways, but it is still a good love story that many are capable of enjoying. The fact that the art is seriously cute only helps this.

I honestly feel that this manga is destined for an anime adaptation. Having recently been completed toward the end of 2020, it could be a while if it ever gets this opportunity. I would assume that a studio somewhere would be willing to pick this up after the manga gains some traction and becomes more renowned. I don't feel like this is completely unreasonable as a possibility. I hope it does happen, but who knows if it ever will?
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RoseFaerie
38/100
My perspective on Paperbag-kun and why this manga made me uncomfortable. (Please don't romanticize stalking.)
I was actually debating whether I should write this review at all because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to without getting super personal. I don't think this is a bad manga in the slightest since the art and writing are perfectly fine. It's the overall relationship and the male lead that left me super uncomfortable and with a bad taste in my mouth. I'd go so far as to say it was stressful for me to read and left me feeling negative feelings. This review is going to be more like my Uzumaki review, where I explain my personal experience with the manga and why it didn't work for me.

Umi Asagi is your average college student living an ordinary life until one day a man with a paper bag over his head accosts her. Paperbag-kun is in love with Umi, and, despite his creepy looks, he wants to profess his love to her. He's painfully shy and awkward (going so far as to hide his face at all times), but he's equally devoted to following her around and showing extravagant displays of affection. This is the love story between a man with a paper bag over his head and an unbothered college girl.

Right from the beginning Paperbag-kun creeped me out. If I was approached and basically proposed to by a stranger with a paper bag over his head, I would have run in the opposite direction. He also stalks her, following her around and hiding behind trees. He repeatedly professes his love to her, which is strange because as far as Umi knows, she doesn't know this man. They have never spoken before, and it appears that he has formed a parasocial relationship with her. Most stalkers form fantasies about the women they stalk and interpret meaningless gestures as that person being in love with them, and that's the vibe I was getting from Paperbag-kun. He just seemed super obsessed with her to an unnatural degree and just really made me feel uncomfortable.

I know I'm interpreting everything he's doing as negative and seeing everything in a more twisted light than it was intended, but this is how the manga came off to me. I know it's supposed to be a cute romance about a single-minded but shy person in love, but I couldn't wrap my head around how it was supposed to be cute. Most of this does come from my own personal experiences.

I have known more than my fair share of creepy and obsessive guys, and Paperbag-kun reminded me of these toxic people who made me uncomfortable. Guys who put girls on pedestals, obsess over them, just short of stalking. I remember having a conversation with my friend back when we were juniors in high school about getting a restraining order if a particular guy started showing up at her house, and this guy had to be threatened by her brother in the army to leave her alone. How am I supposed to enjoy this manga when the male lead reminds me of people I knew and who made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe? How am I supposed to root for the female lead to discover her feelings when I'm worried for her safety?

The character I appreciated the most was Umi's friend Tomo because she had the most common sense. She recognized the creepy behavior and planned to call the cops and stuff. Umi was over there like, "I don't think this guy who follows me everywhere and is in love with me despite us never speaking is creepy or dangerous. I accept everyone." And I was just so frustrated. I don't hate Umi since she's a victim in my eyes, but I was genuinely worried about her, especially that she might get taken advantage of. It's not her fault that she's sort of being exploited, but it's just stressful since she wouldn't listen to reason or people who have her best interests at heart.

Granted, Paperbag-kun does have a reason for pursuing Umi, but he makes it so much weirder than it needs to be. I was over here like, "Why have you been obsessing over something mean you said to your crush when you were in like third grade your whole life. You're an adult now. She probably doesn't even remember. I don't remember most of my third-grade classmate's names. You guys were like eight." It just felt super weird that he went undercover and stalked her because of that...

The art is simple, but effective. The character designs are very minimalistic, and I appreciated the rough quality the character designs had. I also genuinely like the idea of a character with a paper bag over their head as a concept. It's nothing to write home about, but it's not bad by any means or painful to look at.

Other than the stalking stuff, the manga is a standard slice of life romance. It's just that it brought back unpleasant memories, and I did not like the character dynamic or the male lead. I don't like stalking romance and that is that. I understand that a lot of people liked it, and narratively it is competently written with the relationship development. It just did not work for me, and I don't think I will ever enjoy it.
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