Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - 10
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This episode is one of the few times when a hot mess actually works.
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun's craziness really does wonders for the comedy. A comedy that is tinted with a little bit of shamelessness is always fun to watch, and this episode made use of it rather well.
Each character in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is a little quirky and goofy, which plays into the episode rather well. Each and every one of them seems to be involved in some romantic situation. At this point, it's something like:
- Haru loves Shizuku
- Yamaken loves Shizuku
- Ooshima loves Haru
- Natsume loves Mitchan
- Yamaken's entourage love any girls
One big and complicated mess that just seems to work. It also works well when you have such conflicting. Haru's childlike straightforward attitude completely clashes with Yamaken's calm and collected nature to give some moments of hilarity. Same with Natsume's naivety and Ooshima's embarrassed wallflower act. Plain and simple: it just works.
A major problem that many may have, including me to some extent, is the extremity of the "Will they, won't they " part of the story. Any romance series has this aspect no matter how original it tries to be, but Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun takes it to another level. It's just so hard to keep up with the number of times Shizuku or Haru have confessed to each other. How are they not together by now Personally, I love it. It goes with the hectic style of the storytelling.
Aside from that, Natsume's love story is being slipped in. I wouldn't have a problem with this if there were more episodes, but there are only three left. I fear that the series just doesn't have the time to focus on her unless it's with the remaining episodes.
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun's hectic nature makes it hard to predict for the last episodes. If you haven't read the manga, surely there is no way you could predict the structure of the end. As long as Haru and Shizuku work their relationship out for the last time, everyone should be happy.