In Review - Gekkan Shoujo: Nozaki-kun

So, I started this article several months ago, and I managed to forget to post it all.  Anyways, here's my review of my favorite anime of the last year.


What do you do when your high school crush is clueless, and treats all human interaction as a chance to research for his monthly shoujo manga?  If you are Chiyo Sakura, you go over to his house and start helping him draw his manga.  This is what happens in the first episode of Monthly Girls': Nozaki-kun, when Chiyo attempts to confess her love to her classmate Umetaro Nozaki, but instead tells him that she is "his biggest fan".  Nozaki gives Chiyo an autograph, and invites her to come to . During the rest of the series, we see the development of Chiyo and Nozaki's friendship, as well as an exaggerated look at the life of a manga artist.

The animation quality in the series is great, and the character designs are intuitive and believable.  So far the series is only available subtitled; the Japanese cast is great, so don't let that turn you off.  The soundtrack is generally unremarkable, playing a supporting role, while not being terribly notable.  The series is great fun, and probably the best recent entry to the high school comedy genre.  Overall, I give this series a 4.5 / 5.