Gekkan shôjo Nozaki-kun

(7/10) A fairly standard romance anime about a girl who is in love with an romantic manga author who is oblivious to emotions unless he is writing about them. This series is cute and funny at times, while it was fairly run of the mill I did enjoy the number of romantic story lines occuring between almost all feature characters.

I watched this show dubbed and honestly, this is one of the only anime's I've ever seen where I was actually laughing out loud at most of the jokes. Comedy aside, the story is great and the characters are funny and relatable. This show would definitely benefit from a second season because some plotlines deserve to be explored further but the way it is right now, it's great.

This is how it goes in high school, don't expect the relationship to be extremely hot. It is adorable and true. Love at this age is often called a friendship between a bot and a girl and this is what it is. This is a teenage romance before the first kiss. If you know that in the manga Nozaki tells his little sister that he had an eye on Sakura from the very beginning, but she was the first to address him, the little events in the anime would seem more meaningful as they are for the teenagers in the show. Besides, such tandem, a huge athletic phlegmatic and his short superactive girlfriend (whom he sometimes carries from place to place) is a couple no one can resist in their sympathies. The way they are monopolizing each other is such a sweet recognizable childish approach. The same goes for the other couples. The emotions and images are very well-balances and the sound background is great.

When I first heard of this title, I thought, "Oh great, another romantic series I have to fake being obsessed over." Now, I am not one to hate every one of these series, but let me tell you, my mind was BLOWN! This series is a gag on shoujo manga, and even other anime titles as well!

Nozaki Umetarou, who goes by another alias called "Sakiko Yumeno", is a renowned manga artist. Sakura Chiyo, the cutest main character I've seen in a while, has a crush on him. Upon confessing her feelings, which Nozaki himself believes to be a fan of his, gives him her autograph. From then on, Chiyo actually discovers that he is a renowned manga artist, and agrees to be his assistant.

The manga they work on, "Let's Fall in Love" also takes inspirations from their fellow classmates, who also assist and encounter them for their work.

Lastly, I started reading the manga right after the TV series concluded, and I must say, I was not at all disappointed. I read from beginning to its present chapter, and I have had not felt good since I read something.

10/10, for the off-the-wall humour, lovable characters, colourful animation, and overall, a story that hasn't made me laugh in forever.

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun just makes you want to press the 'Next Episode' button time after time as it just nails it in pretty much every area throughout its 12 episode run. At first, it might take people a little while to adapt to its down-to-earth nature in overall tone and atmosphere (like myself), however, once acclimated, you'll probably not regret your decision. Everything is done to such a comfortable extent, it's as if you're truly being submersed into a Shoujo-normalized world.

Beginning first with the story, which is just so beautifully authentic, with no massive plot building going on, neither on the surface nor in the background, but is rather just a beautifully 'simplistic' Shoujo Anime of a love-sick girl and her relations with the boy of her dreams, which is both honest and comforting. With the development of the entire show being so relaxingly well-paced (never rushing the storyline, never falling short of what it aims to deliver, and consistently delivering something so refreshingly unexpected at just the right time), it just seems to get people into thinking "Maybe just one more", snagging you into pressing that 'Next Episode' button "just one more time" and, if it doesn't, then it should.

Then there are the all-too-real and loveable characters (my gosh, the characters), which distinctly drive this show and make it such a memorable experience. Yes, there are many gag moments found throughout the show where you might hope something big is going to happen only to be hit with something so stupidly hilarious (sometimes irritating), then only to realize that it might just be making you love them even more. With the overall chemistry and interactions between characters being so intoxicating, you cannot help but love watching how things will pan out as they try to deal with the situations ahead.

With all its relatable and conventionally honest direction and storytelling (which simultaneously tug at the heartstrings while making you want to laugh at the top of my lungs), its loveable and relatable characters, the addictive yet simple score, and just overall aesthetic and production, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun is something truly unique and memorable that you honestly wish there were much more of. Though it encapsulates the general Shoujo anime genre clichés, every element is uniquely down-to-earth and special, which might as well give it the right to be a stand-alone example of what a romance/ Shoujo anime could/ ought to be.