Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun

Episodes 1-8

Girl likes boy. Boy is clueless. Girl confesses her feelings to boy and is rewarded with his autograph...or famous manga artist Sakiko Yumeno's autograph: a woman's name. Girl is left speechless, crushed and utterly confused. So begins Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, a romantic comedy based on a shonen manga that hits all the right notes to appeal to male and female viewers alike.

Plucky high schooler Chiyo Sakura is a member of her school's Art Club and she has it bad for broad-shouldered, lazy-eyed Umetaro Nozaki. She has no idea he's secretly a successful manga artist, let alone a shōjo manga artist with a female pen name. So when Sakura tells Nozaki she's "always been his fan," Nozaki assumes she found out who he is, and she's a fan of his work. Tongue-tied, she tries to clarify by saying she'd "always like to be with him," which he naturally takes to mean she'd like to be his manga assistant. Of course this means getting the poor girl's hopes up—way up—by inviting her to his apartment right then and there...to fill in the black areas of his latest manga manuscript.

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is a comedy of errors that thrives on new characters adding their own over-the-top personalities to the mix. Sakura will continue to awkwardly try to confess her feelings to Nozaki, and Nozaki will continue to assume she's just one of his biggest fans. Nozaki's even-toned, near-emotionless delivery of everything adds a lot to the humor, and even though every scenario inevitably leads back to the strangeness of masculine, tranquil Nozaki penning a melodramatic shōjo romance series, it's far from a one-trick pony. Additional characters are introduced quickly in these first eight episodes, and it's the large cast that gives it so much appeal. Every character is defined by their most obvious characteristic—often one that flips pre-conceived notions on their head.

In episode 2, we meet Mikoto Mikoshiba (nicknamed a feminized "Mikorin"), who is another of Nozaki's assistants and a suave bishōnen who makes ladies' hearts melt with ridiculously suggestive lines—only to die of embarrassment the second they walk away. In the second half, we're introduced to another character, Yuzuki Seo, a crass and aggressive girl who's unable to pick up on social cues and turns even Nozaki's stomach. However, she also has a soft, feminine side as the Glee Club's lovely soprano vocalist, "Lorelei." Episode 3 brings us school "prince" and Drama Club star Yu Kashima, a Takarazuka-style girl who makes other girls weak at the knees. Next, there's Drama Club president Masayuki Hori, who helps Nozaki out with background drawings but spends most of his time getting angry at Kashima's princely conquests, tracking her down and beating her to a bloody pulp whenever she skips out on rehearsal while suppressing his deep romantic feelings for her. It sounds terrible but works comically on screen, and almost makes us hope he never succeeds in capturing her heart! The character introductions keep on rolling with each new episode, and all of them add exponentially to the charm of the experience.

The large cast of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun provides plenty of opportunities for gags, and Nozaki draws inspiration for his manga from almost every one of them—although he molds them into more traditional shōjo fare. Mikorin's cuteness when embarrassed makes him the perfect model for a shōjo heroine. Yuzuki's obliviousness makes her the ideal funny (male) friend of the hero that doesn't have a clue. Shōjo manga is about the only thing on this young man's mind, although (so far) we haven't been given any idea why he even wound up working in the genre to begin with. We only know that his job is a hilarious mismatch for both his appearance and his own cluelessness when it comes to love. (It might also have to do with the fact that his blunt editor thinks he has no future in any other genre.) I'm also a little curious as to how he manages to balance school with such a demanding job. Why hasn't his publisher sent him any professional assistants? He ropes quite a few friends into helping out, probably for no pay. (It makes me wonder why anyone other than Sakura, who has a crush on him, bothers to help.)

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is a comedy series—and a comedy series done right—and that means you won't find dramatic character development or overarching plotlines here. But it's the perfect way to unwind on a hectic day or to round out your languid weekend if you can't wait to watch the new episodes. The series seems to recognize the manga and anime character stereotypes it features and turns them on their heads so well, there's no danger of ever being bored by rehashed jokes.

Rating: A+

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for nearly two decades.