Tonari no Kaibutsukun

I've not blogged about comics for quite awhile! Can't believe how terribly busy I've been. So many things to share about and so little time. ^^

I apologise to all who have been waiting for updates on the various series. Will try to get them out when I'm less tied up.

Having said that, last week, I was near the bookstore with no intention to buy new comics cos there are a few comics sitting at home waiting for me to summarise. Before I knew it, I found myself paying for a new series. Sigh... I could not help it cos this series is so interesting!!!

Tonari no Kaibutsukun. This series is relatively new. It is in its fifth volume in Japan. I have in my hands 4 volumes. Yummilicious!

I love the story. The mangaka, Robico has a humorous way of relating the story and the drawing is beautiful.

Mizutani Shizuku, our female lead, is a straightforward, cold-hearted kind of girl who speaks her mind not caring whether she will hurt a person's feelings. She cares only about her grades and her studies. She was bribed by her teacher to deliver lesson notes to Yoshida Haru, our male lead. (Teacher promised to get Shizuku a book she needed). Haru was in school for the first day and subsequently was suspended because he inflicted serious bodily injuries to a group of students. Shizuku was unaware of Haru's existence even though he was suppose to sit beside her.

Upon hearing that Shizuku was from his school, Haru jumped out of the window (from the 3rd floor!) in a bid to escape from her. He assumed that the class teacher has sent her to get him back to school. When he later found out that she was to deliver lesson notes to him and not to convince him to go back to school, he thought she was a kind classmate who (on her own accord) was concerned about him. (It is hilarious to see the assumptions Haru made....^^) Anyways, he was touched that Shizuku considered him a friend (again, Haru is assuming she cared, in actual fact, she was bribed by the class teacher). At first, Shizuku has no interest in talking to Haru, it is all very one-sided. But later on, through her observations, Shizuku realised that Haru is a very simple-minded, innocent person whose actions are misinterpreted by others. In school, people see Haru as an ultra delinquent who is very violent. In actual fact, Haru is scared of school because he could not understand why people don't like him.

During her visit to deliver the lesson notes, Shizuku realised that a group of deliquents were taking money from Haru by pretending to be his friends, she told him they were not his friends. Haru was so upset, he dumped his drink on her. Later on, Haru found out that Shizuku was right as Shizuku stood up for him against the delinquents and told them off. Haru was so touched he declared that he is in love with her! Haru is even willing to go back to school as long as Shizuku is nearby. Shizuku is convinced that Haru has misunderstood his feelings for her.

I love the humor in this manga. ^^ Apart from that, I like the way the mangaka explained the characters' background. Each character has an intriguing and touching past. I was laughing and crying as I read through 4 volumes in one sitting.

I love a manga with a cold-hearted heroine and a troublesome, innocent hero. What an interesting combination!

Mangafox has uploaded 5 chapters of it. Once I find the time and if you are interested, I will summarize the other chapters.