Have you tried confessing to someone? No—not about something wrong that you've done, but about a romantic feeling? Well, personally I haven't tried that one, but I've witnessed a lot of that way back in my younger years—from the cringy, awkward, cute, and sweet to discreet, sad, hopeless, and tragic confessions; I've seen those! It's always amusing to watch them, and like the one who confessed, I also anticipate the answer. Will it be a sweet affirmative, a hard rejection, or a vague maybe? But what if the one you confessed to misunderstood what you said? I haven't witnessed a confession like that... However, what if it turned out that way?
That's basically what happened to the FMC in the anime I binge-watched last Saturday. After gathering all the courage she had, she confessed her pent-up feelings for her crush, but she kinda messed it up, and that confession ended up as a misunderstanding. It's really funny how she tried to salvage her confession, but anyway, the damage has been done, and the boy was totally oblivious, so with no choice, she just go with the flow. So now join me as I share a bit (really?) of Sakura's attempts to let her feelings be known in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun.
About the Anime
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun) is an anime series that premiered in the summer of 2014. It's a 12-episode anime that aired from July 7, 2014, to September 22, 2014. It was animated by Doga Kobo, and its genres are comedy and romance. Since it featured school life and manga, its themes are otaku culture and school. This was based on the 4-koma manga written and illustrated by Izumi Tsubaki.
Finally mustering enough courage to confess to the boy she liked, Sakura approached him after class. However, it didn't go according to her plan because as soon as she uttered the words that were supposed to convey her feelings to him, she messed up. She said she was a fan, which Nozaki misunderstood. This misunderstanding led to a revelation because it turns out he was actually a known shoujo manga artist. Thinking that Sakura was just expressing her appreciation to him as a mangaka, Nozaki gave her an autograph.
Sakura was both shocked and disappointed with how her confession turned out. Who would have thought that her crush was the mangaka of one of the shoujo manga she's reading? This misunderstanding led to another, then another, and another until one day she found herself helping Nozaki-kun as an assistant for his manga. Her help in Nozaki's manga somehow allowed her to spend time with him and know more about him. Despite how obvious she is in expressing her feelings, Nozaki still remains oblivious because even though he claims to be the spokesperson of girls' feelings, Nozaki himself is completely naive about love and relationships. However, Sakura intends not to give up on him as she is determined to make her feelings known to him. But can he notice it?
I somehow expected that it would end that way, though there's a part of me that was hoping that it would end in a more resolved manner. It was fun and entertaining, and honestly the comedy made me somehow forget the plot's supposed to be goal. But of 'course, I was quite disappointed on how it ended—I mean, is that it? Was their story supposed to end that way? Also, the romance part wasn't that much; it's more like comedy with the usual slice-of-life. The beginning was promising, but if you're looking for a really well-written plot, then it's best to steer clear of this anime.
Anyway, for their characters, I like how diverse they are. Like the usual romance anime, there are already obvious pairings of characters. Each pairing could potentially be the protagonist of their own romcom stories, but the pairing that frustrates me the most is the main one—Sakura and Nozaki. I thought that they would have at least a tidbit improvement on their characters—like Nozaki's obliviousness would lessen a notch, but it seems it worsened. He's good at analyzing other people—especially other girls—but it seems he can't see Sakura's intentions even though it's too obvious. Also, Sakura annoys me a bit because why can't she be straightforward and confess it directly to Nozaki? But I think she's being reasonable somehow because even I would be content being with the person I like rather than being honest and risking the friendship we've built... (yikes why do I sound like a hopeless romantic teenager? eekkk)
Moving on from that, although their art style is not that great, but it's nice enough for a romcom anime. The animation doesn't stand out that much, but it's decent to portray comedic gags that will entertain you and make you laugh. The bicycle part particularly stood out among them, and just thinking about that made me giggle. The amount of secondhand embarrassment I felt in that part was really something else, and that part indeed showed how eccentric Nozaki is and how insensitive he is when it comes to what Sakura feels.
Setting aside those mediocre aspects, one of the reasons why it's not that completely forgettable is the way it gave us a gist of what usually is the life of a mangaka. The way he struggles to draw something that's not his forte, to meet his grueling deadlines, and to make revisions that would pass his editor's liking—they portrayed it in a seemingly entertaining and lighthearted manner, but I think it's harder to handle in real life. Honestly, I'm not really fond of shoujo manga, but I really admire those mangaka who make them because I think it's really hard to make an interesting plot with engaging dialogues—especially if you're like Nozaki, who has no experience with romance.
Although its plot and art style weren't that impressive, its soundtrack somehow captivated me. Its opening song was particularly the one that I really like the most because the instrumentals in the beginning of it were catchy. I thought the lyrics would not be related to the anime, but upon watching its opening in its last episode, I realized how the lyrics really fit it well. If you analyze it closely, you will really understand that it's somehow a spoiler of the entire story, so ahahaha, jokes on me because I didn't realize it until I finished the anime. Unlike the funky opening song, its ending song was kinda laid-back and really cute. The voice of VAs did really match the personalities of the characters, and overall its soundtrack was nice and probably one of the things I like in this anime.
Overall, my personal rating for this anime is 8/10. It's an ideal anime if you just want to watch something that doesn't have a complicated and heavy plot. Also, it's entertaining and enjoyable to watch if you're into comedy and subtle romance. However, I wished there was at least a little improvement in Nozaki's awareness, but who knows? What if Nozaki really knows about Sakura's feelings, but he preferred to get to know her more first? I do really have a gut feeling that he somehow likes her unconsciously, and I think I'm not the only one who noticed this (but if I am, just don't mind this because I'm prolly just in my usual delusional fangirl state lol).
Also, like I said, steer clear if you're into a well-written romance plot because you can't really expect much from it. So if you're up for a lighthearted romance and enjoyable comedy, then you definitely need to try watching Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun.
Before I end this review, I gladly share with you its trailer, so—
Have you watched this anime already? Or is this your first time seeing it? Feel free to share your thoughts about this one. That's all for now, minna-san! I hope you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime while the last picture was edited in Canva.