Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - 11, 12

Both of these episodes have nothing to do with the main romance. Confusing right

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun 11

Yamaken's episode was amusing like always.

He's a little like Natsume in the sense that he's too good-looking and attracts all girls. This is what makes him a great comedic addition to Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, as he struggles with his feelings for Shizuku in a humorous way.

The serious side to him comes from his and Haru's past. He has a lot of history with Haru and that makes things complicated, not just because of Shizuku. There could be any number of things but because there aren't enough episodes, for us to discover most of this.

Towards the end, things got serious and we got a nice romantic moment for Haru and Shizuku. Like I've mentioned in my other episodic reviews, Haru's more damaged than the average male shojo lead. He's clinging to Shizuku as a life-raft in fear that she too will abandon him (evidently Yuzan did just that).

It was a nice beautiful moment. Not Bakemonogatari levels of great, but the best one so far.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun 12

This episode was a lot like the previous one. Replace Natsume for Yamaken and you get pretty much the same thing.

The main difference is that with Natsume we get more drama than comedy. Not the best drama either, but she is one of the more emotionally damaged characters in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. There's still something about her that makes me think about why I like her.

At times she comes of downright annoying. Wanting to keep things as they are by wishing Haru and Shizuku to not get together quite yet, certainly makes her selfish and unlikeable. Even with her fragility, it doesn't excuse her behaviour or make me forgive her.

I guess I've never understood Natsume's problems fully. I've laughed at the "too pretty" problem has and it's unfortunate that we only touch upon her crush and insecurities in this one episode. If there is a season 2, I hope it'll show us more about her and why she acts this way.

Not my favourite episode. It's times like this when you curse the lack of episodes to cover everything the anime touches upon from the manga.