Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun Overview:
In Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun, Sakura Chiyo has a crush on Nozaki but when she tries to confess she mistakenly tells him she is his fan. To her surprise he gives her an autograph. It isn’t until later she realises that Nozaki is actually a famous shoujo manga artist and she’s just been recruited as an assistant.
Surrounded by a cast of zany characters this show follows Sakura’s quest to get Nozaki’s attention and Nozaki’s ongoing search for manga inspiration.
Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun Review:
Previously, Nozaki landed himself a place on the list of boring title characters. The guy is seriously dull as an individual having almost no variation in his expression or tone at any point and essentially just being the rock around which all the other characters interact in this anime.
However, just because I find the title character a little bit lacking doesn’t mean this isn’t a fun anime. The support cast for Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun are phenomenal and even Nozaki and Sakura’s interactions stay pretty fun even if they are repetitive with her making puppy dog eyes at him and Nozaki completely missing the point.
However, the show seems to acknowledge that its set up isn’t very original and often links the events in the character’s lives to the events Nozaki is using as inspiration in his manga. The reversal of gender roles from characters in reality to the manga works well as a point of humour with the Mikoshiba (Mikorin) being the unknowing model for the heroine of the manga he assists Nozaki to produce.
Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun also seems to understand that a little goes a long way.
As a main character, Mikoshiba would annoy me. However, in the support role and with Sakura and Nozaki’s fairly deadpan reactions to his silliness, he works quite well at injecting some needed colour and energy into the series and doesn’t overstay his welcome.
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The same is true of the rest of the cast who slowly get introduced as the story goes on. When on the search for a Prince type character, Mikoshiba introduces Sakura and Nozaki to Kashima, star of the drama department and super annoying human being to the director even as it is clear he has quite the crush on her. Their antics deliver physical humour and liven up the screen with short bursts of action.
When looking for a side story, Sakura introduces Nozaki to Seo, a classmate where the gap between her angelic voice and her personality couldn’t be wider. Through a series of events that could only happen in a manga or an anime, Seo ends up on a date with Wakamatsu, a stressed out guy who can only sleep when listening to a tape of Seo’s voice even though Seo is actually the cause of his stress.
For a comedy anime that really is just a series of set ups and punch lines and repetition of its core jokes over and over, Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun manages to keep things fresh enough through the slow introduction of new cast members and comedic elements, and through its overall set up of Nozaki being a manga artist which allows for discussions about the nature of some of the set ups which gives them slightly more impact.
While this one isn’t going to win my heart over for best anime ever or anything like that, it is a pleasant watch and while it might be a bit silly it never crosses a line into just ridiculous. The support cast each have their charming and annoying points but because of the range of characters the focus never lingers to long on any one of them and overall it is quite an enjoyable viewing experience.
I’d love to know your thoughts on it is you’ve given it a watch.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
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Karandi James
There seem to be an increasing number of anime series that I am dropping half-way through…I never used to do this, but now seem to be doing it a lot. This was one such series. Not sure why. I didn’t hate it. I just…didn’t want to continue watching it. Maybe I’m getting too old and jaded…
I go through moments where nothing really appeals and I drop series’ quickly but usually when I go back and try again in a different mood sometimes I end up quite enjoying it.
Yes, you’re probably right. A few candidates in that category at the moment, certainly…
I want to say I’ve watched this show twice already and I usually don’t rewatch stuff. While it won’t make it into my top 5 or 10 I just really enjoyed/loved this show. I found it hilarious and I love Kashima and Mikorin and maybe I feel kinda sad for the MC (wow can’t remember her name, Sakura?) But also she’s gotten pretty close to Nozaki so that’s a win too right? XD nice review
The support cast definitely overshadow the two main characters here. And they are pretty hilarious.
I like the manga, and so I watched some of the anime. I thought the anime pushed through the jokes a little too fast and didn’t give them enough punch. I guess it goes with turning a 4-koma into a more regular series, but I though the manga had more comedic oomph.
I found this series to be fun and sweet. 🙂 And I really enjoyed getting a bit of an inside perspective on creating manga, much like I enjoyed the “how anime is made” side of Anime-Gataris. And I think the main girl is adorable. Nozaki-kun is, unfortunately, as inexplicably clueless as young male protagonists always are…
I wouldn’t mind him being clueless if I found him entertaining but other than a couple of odd responses he’s so dead pan he just fails to have a presence in some scenes.
I adore fireworks…. But really I personally love this show and since it’s nothing but a pure comedy, I’ll consider it a true compliment that a self proclaimed non fan of the genre enjoyed it at all.
I read the manga of this, and the series is basically the title of this blog. It was funny at the beginning of the series, but it got repetitive afterwards, so I dropped the manga (despite it still being an ongoing series).
I loved this show so much, I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time.
Hmm, after reading your review, and all the comments above, even though it’s not my usual cup of tea, I guess I will add it to my list anyway. Probably won’t watch this anytime soon though, but still mildly interested for it 😊😊
That’s about it for Nozaki. It is interesting enough and you’ll probably get a smile or two out of it, but it isn’t one you will need to rush to see.
I like this anime 🙂
This show was just a good slice of life with some great moments. The pajama party for instance, is something I will always remember fondly.
That scene was pretty fun.
Just watched this one recently and I enjoyed it a lot. The characters are the strongest point of the series as the contradictions in the characters really make the comedy tick. The series executes the simple things extremely well. I would agree that it’s not the best comedy out there but it was good enough to certainly make my recommendations list.
I for one enjoyed the manga, despite preferring the other series Oresama Teacher by the same author much much more~
An anime I enjoyed also and I had true LOL moments for me. I hope it continues.
I really loved this anime and I felt it kind of funny and even the manga is funny 🙂
This was one of my favorites when it aired. It’s based on a 4-panel manga (I think those have a specific name, but I forget what it is right now) and the manga has had me laughing to the point of tears. The show had me laughing quite a bit as well. They do make Nozaki a bit more deadpan in the show, but I still enjoyed the dry humor from him.
4 koma, right?
I think so!
I would have liked a little more from Nozaki’s character however the rest of the cast do an excellent job of distracting you from him.
I thought the series was just a fun romp through shoujo tropes, being quite self-aware and knowledgeable. So I’d agree with you, it won’t win any awards but it surely is a fun if at times forgettable watch. I am just a fan at playing with tropes XD
Oohh, Nozaki-kun. I enjoyed this series because of the comedic elements, though I don’t think it will be as much fun if I’d re-watch it. It never even crossed my mind to take a look at it again. ._.
It is definitely a series I forget about until I see the title or see someone talking about it.
That’s the best part about the show: it doesn’t stick anything up the viewer’s bum for too long which is highly appreciated!
If we want more, we will get more; just not in the next scene, maybe in the next episode.
I definitely did appreciate that nothing felt overused at the time.