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A review by ruthsic
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Vol. 10 by Izumi Tsubaki
4.0
I started this manga because I absolutely love the anime (I watched it for the second time recently) and needed more of these characters in my life. For those who want to know, it is a shoujo manga that kind of parodies and subverts most romance shoujo manga. The basic story goes like this - Chiyo gathers courage and asks her crush (the broody-seeming Nozaki) out, but instead gets recruited into being his assistant for his manga work. Nozaki writes shoujo manga (under a psuedonymn) and though he is pretty good at it, he fails to sense romance in real life. He is clueless and focused on his storylines, so much that almost every interaction in his daily life is like inspiration or story ideas for him.
The manga doesn't have a linear plot - it is mostly anecdotal in style, and each joke/story is mostly one-page panel with these characters that are introduced slowly to the main gang. (It also made me realize how well the anime people worked on adapting this, because they strung together all of that into a plotline for the anime) The character set is amazing, and there are interesting twists to tropes long seen in shoujo romances. There is Mikorin, who despite seeming like a playboy with his one-liners but has no actual dating experience. Kashima is the 'prince' of the school but she is a girl (and I am hoping a genderfluid icon) and is kinda in love (but doesn't realize it yet) with her senior Hori (who is the head of the drama club and Nozaki's assistant too). It is a bundle of laughs and almost-romance moments, without having any actual romance. I wished it also had queer characters but aside from one subplot where Nozaki writes a shonen-ai fancomic about a dating sim game, there isn't much.
The artwork is nice - clean lines, and shows slightly different styles when it comes to Nozaki's or Miyako's work. It goes a bit into the making of a manga, as well as the publishing industry, but mostly with respect to Nozaki's experiences with it. I love this first volume, but yes, the fact that it doesn't have a plot does make it seem more like I'm just reading a collection of 'extra' scenes that usually accompany a traditional manga. It is awesome to read, but I think I love the flow of the anime better. Nevertheless, I am still going to continue this series because I can't get enough of these characters!
The manga doesn't have a linear plot - it is mostly anecdotal in style, and each joke/story is mostly one-page panel with these characters that are introduced slowly to the main gang. (It also made me realize how well the anime people worked on adapting this, because they strung together all of that into a plotline for the anime) The character set is amazing, and there are interesting twists to tropes long seen in shoujo romances. There is Mikorin, who despite seeming like a playboy with his one-liners but has no actual dating experience. Kashima is the 'prince' of the school but she is a girl (and I am hoping a genderfluid icon) and is kinda in love (but doesn't realize it yet) with her senior Hori (who is the head of the drama club and Nozaki's assistant too). It is a bundle of laughs and almost-romance moments, without having any actual romance. I wished it also had queer characters but aside from one subplot where Nozaki writes a shonen-ai fancomic about a dating sim game, there isn't much.
The artwork is nice - clean lines, and shows slightly different styles when it comes to Nozaki's or Miyako's work. It goes a bit into the making of a manga, as well as the publishing industry, but mostly with respect to Nozaki's experiences with it. I love this first volume, but yes, the fact that it doesn't have a plot does make it seem more like I'm just reading a collection of 'extra' scenes that usually accompany a traditional manga. It is awesome to read, but I think I love the flow of the anime better. Nevertheless, I am still going to continue this series because I can't get enough of these characters!