Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun discussion thread

[Fencedude]

So yeah, I have some issues with this show.

More extensive thoughts (by someone else) here.

[something]

Episode 1:

- I really like Shizuku already. Tomatsu Harukaaaaaaaaas!
- Ahaha great reaction from Shizuku when Haru jumps out the window.
- Ohhhh, so I guess this was the show with the "rape" comment I'd been hearing about. Um... it went by and was forgotten so fast that I almost missed it. I dunno. Finding myself not terribly outraged. I mean it's not okay to casual threaten to rape someone and using it in a comedic/lighthearted context is, in some ways, "worse". But unless it becomes a recurring theme with Haru I'm just writing it off as a very awkwardly written line that likely has no bearing on the course of the show and isn't at all indicative of the show's message or values. All in all, this scores maybe a 1.5 out of 10, tops, on a scale measuring the questionable ways anime has referenced or used sexual assault. So, moving along.

- Man Haru is so gullible when he hears "friend".
- Ahaha off to a great start. Soda and milkshake hair.
- Well that's much better. She stands up for him against the fake friends, and he steps in to help her when they approach her.
- And it rapidly turns into a confession. Shizuku going over to hug him made for a pretty damn sweet scene.

- Heh. Haru has his head filled with very strange ideas.
- Shizuku's desperate attempts to not give a fuck are adorable.
- Ahahahaha that look on her face when he hugs her. <3
- Oh and to top it off, he turns out to be her rival for top of the class. Heh.
- XD She gets abducted by delinquents (who feed her snacks... more of those girls please) and she still finds time to study.
- Ouch. Would have liked to hear a "sorry" for punching her in the face, but I think it's obvious he didn't realize what he had done at first, and certainly that wasn't his intention since he was hell-bent on beating up the people he thought hurt her. Somewhat awkwardly done scene though. Feels incomplete.
- Haha oh god, just as she falls for him, he decides he's not sexually attracted to her at all. Still loves her though!

Things moved a bit too quickly at the end there but the rest of the episode was gold. There are at least as many ways a shoujo romance can go horribly wrong as there are for shounen, so many pitfalls do remain, but I call this first episode great, with no particularly major reservations.

[Draneor]

So yes. There's pushing Shizuku down on the ground, the rape threat, bringing her to an animal despite her fear of them, his anger at the fast food joint, dumping the soda on Shizuku's head, calling her a bad person, the lack of concern for her space, slapping her away when she said "let's go," the forced kiss...

The thing is had none of that been there, I'd actually find Haru's awkwardness, dejection, and smiles very attractive. There has to be a way to make a male tsundere character that doesn't come across as abusive as hell.

I don't believe I have the right to have an opinion on this show. But had the first paragraph of crap not been there... it would have had a lot of potential, I think. Well, the genius thing was kind of not needed. Not really sure if I can stick around for this one.

[ookamigirl]

That guy is a total good-hearted airhead.
She is sooo totally in love with him it's ROFL!
Haru & Shizuku such a weird, yet really well suited couple.
Hope this isn't turning into Sket Dance....
Looks like Shizuku was going through all the hoops of being in love.
That sure was a new and unusual experience for her.

[stardf29]

This episode managed to be even better than the first. The addition of Natsume and the chicken helps. Natsume is adorable and maybe just a little bit psycho, and chickens just make everything better.

Shizuku continues to be awesome while showing some more heart in this episode. Haru is more interesting this episode as well.

[FUNiOP]

Definitely not as good as the first episode, but this show is still loads of fun. I continue to be surprised at how many shoujo tropes I find myself getting into, and some of the weirdness of the characters and situations catches me off guard and amuses me greatly. I feel like the writing and direction really show a great sense of comedic timing that works really well with the bizarre characters that just keep coming.

[Fencedude]

Natsume was nice, but not enough to keep me watching.

[bear]

Two episodes in and she's confessed? Right, going from a total studydroid to confessing in less than a semester. One minute she's complaining that her father can't figure out unit pricing, now she's in love with a nutcase that fights at the drop of the hat and has no social skills. If you ever back off or he feels you betrayed him, girl you are in real danger.

[Draneor]

I thought this episode was a lot better than the first one (if only it had been the first one). Natsume's a great addition to the cast as well as the rooster (please don't get made into karaage). Yes, the internet is better than real life. I'm glad Shizuku found a friend. Haru was a lot better (but see below). I liked that Shizuku confessed, but it seemed kind of rushed.

I didn't like Haru's "I'm gonna do you" line nor that he forcefully pushed her down on the rooftop to continue her nap (or that Natsume left them alone). The former could have been due to a bad translation, but, assuming it wasn't, I would have preferred it be phrased in a consensual way...

Of the three shoujo this season, I do find it the most interesting. So I'm gonna give it a few more episodes despite my reservations with it, I guess.

[dsmith]

Still can't wrap my head around Haru's god-level intelligence (he apparently didn't go to school at all during 3 years of junior high), though I suppose I'm considering it from the perspective that more intelligent students tend to get put in higher-tier classes (AP classes, etc).

Because Shizuku is clearly intelligent, I expect her to be in a higher level class rather than mixing with the mundanes (and certainly not stressing over the effort to get top marks in an ordinary class). Because Haru is in the same class with her, I was considering him from the perspective of effortlessly getting 100's in an advanced course.

If, however, Shizuku is in an ordinary class (as must be necessary for Natsume), then Haru being quite intelligent and being able to get top marks with minimal studying is not nearly as unrealistic.

I guess it depends on how they approach class distribution in Japan. Since all classmates tend to stick together, just rotating the teachers into each classroom, there's less opportunity for the really intelligent students to push forward.

Of course that also reflects negatively on Shizuku's actual intelligence. She's just a hardworking girl who might be somewhat better than average with numbers, but no actual exceptional talent.


On the episode itself, I enjoyed it a lot more than the first episode. Shizuku in particular is just a wonderful character, and it's great that she's giving serious thought to her feelings throughout the episode, without tempermental rejections clouding things to artificially delay any romantic matchups.

It still feels like Haru is just being made extra intelligent because of some literary requirement that the male romantic lead has to be better than the female lead in whatever her primary focus is (and thus the subtle nudge that her -actual- focus should be "get back in the kitchen and make me a sammich"). However overall there weren't really any real grating moments, and there were several sympathizable moments.