GEKKAN SHOUJO NOZAKI-KUN

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyGekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
SPECIAL ComedyGekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Mini OVA

REVIEWS

• 

  Revisionary

  100/100
  Although more comedic than romantic, this show is a perfect example of romcom anime done right

  Anime humour is kind of a swing and a miss most of the times for Western audience members. Oftentimes, we may chuckle at a few jokes here and there, but it’s very rare that we ever burst out laughing. It’s not that anime tends to have unfunny jokes, but rather that they are not necessarily culturally applicable to us. Unless one is proficient in the Japanese language and culture, it’s likely that most of the wordplays and gags will be completely lost on the average Western anime viewer.

  With that all being said, “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun” is funny.

  Actually, let’s rephrase that sentence.

  “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun” is hilarious.

  It’s hilarious when you have a background knowledge of shoujo tropes, but it’s also hilarious even if you don’t. It’s a show that’s just funny for everyone.

  Focusing around a motley cast of characters, “Nozaki-kun” is the tale of high schooler Chiyo who discovers that her crush, the titular Nozaki, is actually the author of a popular young girls’ romance manga in spite of him being extremely dense when it comes to love. Shenanigans ensue as her encounters with him result in a variety of interesting and hilarious characters to join the fray.

  Parodying common tropes in the genre and turning them on their heads, “Nozaki-kun” is a hilarious romantic comedy that is more comedy than it is romance. Of course, while there are moments where heartstrings are tug, viewers should be aware that the show is really there to make you laugh. Each episode has gags that will make viewers burst out laughing because of how absurd the punchlines are. "Nozaki-kun" never resorts to cheap laughs like many other anime comedies. Almost every single gag is unique, which makes watching this show a fresh one regardless of how many anime you've seen in the past.

  Other aspects of the show are also great as well. The show's opening is perhaps my favourite one of all time, while its voice actors are perfectly cast for their characters. Character designs are great, with each character feeling distinct and easy-to-recognize. While the art is nothing to write home about, it's still pleasant to look at and fits the atmosphere of the show.

  Detractors of this show may criticize it for lacking any real character development, but those concerns are arguably irrelevant as the focus of the show has never been about deep and realistic characters. It's about likable characters who find themselves in extremely absurd situations that will make your sides hurt.

  If you want romantic development, maybe look elsewhere.

  If you want good laughs, fun characters, and just an amazing way to spend a few hours on a rainy day, then this is the perfect show for you.

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• 

  MrChocSalmon

  94/100
  A light-hearted comedy, with outstanding characters and their hilarious ignorance, that seriously needs a 2nd season

  I was actually really excited to watch this one after reading the other review here by "Revisionary", and I must say, this is one of those occasions where my expectations were surprisingly exceeded. The first few minutes of the anime set up the tone and what you can expect from the entire show, and the opening song is both catchy and engaging.

  Of course, it's the entire cast of characters that make this show as great as it is. All of them, including the side characters who only appear once or twice, are not only interesting but also memorable. Even though there's only 12 episodes, each of the supporting characters have their own subplots, which although it detracts time from the main two characters, isn't a bad thing at all, as all characters end up feeling fleshed out and developed. On top of this, all of them have a relationship to at least one other character, and there's deliberate romantic tension that the show plays off without fail.

  I can confidently say that this show is funny. I genuinely laughed and enjoyed the whole experience right from the start of the first episode. A large majority of the humour comes from how oblivious they all are to love and the situations involving it. Even the main character Chiyo Sakura, who is probably the most attentive in this area, has a huge tendency to over-analyze every moment with her crush leading to some entertaining moments. Bathos (setting up something serious and then having an anticlimactic resolution) is used quite a lot in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, yet even though by the end I was expecting it, there seemed to be many times where it still caught me off guard and landed perfectly. Outside of this, there's a lot of recurring jokes, and the whole show is practically a parody on every romance anime. Overall, it has the kind of humour I really enjoy, and as it sets up its premise right from the start, there wasn't any moments that felt dragged out.

  This show doesn't try to do anymore than it should, which is both a good and a bad thing. It sticks to its tone and humour throughout the entire series, but with the entire cast of characters as likeable as they are, you also can't help but desire them to go through more character growth or at explore some romantic potential. All the main cast, however, are so well written that they almost don't need character development to be engaging. All their interactions and conflicts play really well off each other, and almost makes it too easy for the show to craft comedy from it.

  If you go into this show expecting a character driven romance with comedy, you might be disappointed. But if you go in realizing this is a light-hearted comedy with outstanding characters and their hilarious ignorance, you'll definitely enjoy yourself. In fact, I'd say the only major downside to this show is that it has adapted less than 50% of the manga, and we're still waiting for a second season 6 years later.

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• 

  HidamariSeashore

  94/100
  A near-perfect comedy anime.

  Take a love-struck high school girl and make her an assistant for her favorite mangaka, who, as it turns out, is actually her crush. What do you get? You get a shounen anime that actually should be a shoujo yet is hilarious, beautiful, and overall at least close to a work of art that would exceed any expectations you have of it. Trust me, I didn't have a lot of expectations for Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, or Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, at first, but over time, it just got to the point where this would become my favorite anime of July 2014.

  Our protagonist here is Chiyo Sakura, a girl who is in love with her classmate, Umetarou Nozaki. She finally manages to confess, and you know how he responds? He gives her an autograph. After that, Nozaki-kun invited Chiyo to his house, where he makes her help him out with his manga. As Chiyo discovers, Nozaki-kun is actually a shoujo manga artist by the penname of Yumeno Sakiko. In order to get closer to Nozaki-kun, Chiyo ends up becoming his assistant, and over time, she meets a bunch of people who help him and/or serve as inspirations for his manga.

  There may not be a huge story in Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, but it's just one of those anime that relies on comedy. It does an EXCELLENT job with comedy. There aren't that many flops with the comedy, leaving you to just laugh at the many things that Chiyo, Nozaki-kun, and every other character in the series go through in their lives.

  Speaking of characters, this anime provides us with many likable characters. My favorite character is Mikoshiba; he's just so adorable in many ways and has made me laugh from the moment he first appeared. Chiyo is quite outstanding herself (RIBBONS IS LOVE), and Nozaki-kun may be oblivious but in a hilarious way that just makes it likable. Most of the other characters are amazing in their own ways, as well. If there's one Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun character I don't like, it's Maeno, Nozaki-kun's previous editor. He's just so annoying!

  The art and sound here are just plain amazing. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun was animated by Dogakobo, the studio that brought us YuruYuri (another great anime), and trust me when I say that Dogakobo has done a good job with the animation once again. Also, each one of the voice actors fit the character they're playing very well. The music is amazing, as well, especially the OP, "Kimi ja Nakya Dame Mitai" by Masayuki Ooishi. Whenever it plays, I just know that I'm in for another outstanding episode.

  Overall, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is a great anime. I honestly wanted to give it a 10, but the flops in comedy that it's had (not to mention Maeno) made me drop it to a 9. Even so, it's something you won't want to miss. Who knows? You may get a look at exactly how comedic the world of shoujo manga may be!

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