This is what a shounen romance should feel like. A heart-warming story between a yankee; a delinquent, and an ordinary guy who fell in love after their first encounter with each other. It’s cheesy at times but it feels more shoujo than any shoujo I’ve read so far. It’s not filled with drama but is filled with happiness.
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| Yandere Kanojo Volume 1 |
When a gag manga gives you something bigger than gags and comedy, you know that you’re reading a jewel of a story. I will apologize for fangirling about this series because I’m falling in love head over heels with this series because it’s so light and lovely, it feels like I’ve found the one I want to be with. She doesn’t look outstanding, she might swear a bit here and there but overall she’s just a really nice girl. I met her when I was browsing a certain manga hosting site, looking for a gag manga and she looked like a fun manga to read. She describes herself modestly but she’s so amazing and unique, she should be licensed. As of now, I’m still enjoying her company but we’re going to go through a long distance relationship soon. I hate it but I have to endure.
The mangaka’s pen name is Shinobi which translates to ninja. Her works are mostly 4 koma gag manga and all share the same kind of art style. She is prolific in that she works on two versions of Yandere Kanojo; one for the magazine and one for online publication. Her other works are “Nekura Musume to Internet (Miss Depressing and the Internet)” and “Musuko no Yome (My Son’s Wife).”
Spoiler Alert! If you are gonna read this post, please read the actual manga first!
Summary: Manabu Tanaka was walking carefree through the campus garden when she met her; Ryuuzaki Reina—the leader of the ladies (girls that are delinquents) in her school. Under the falling Sakura leaves, their eyes met and both fell in love at first sight and that’s when Reina’s delinquent reflexes kicked in and she punched Tanaka.
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Sakura furishikiru naka Futari wa deau
Subete wa koko kara Hajimatta
Nan gan kurete nda Shi nite ̄ no ka temē
Tada kanojo wa baribari no Yandere (yankīdere) datta nodesu
Under the falling Sakura leaves, both of
our lives started.
Move it or die, a$$hole!
The thing is, she's a yandere (a lovestruck delinquent). |
Reina couldn’t stop thinking about this plain-looking guy but little did she know that this bland guy is also in the same situation. She asked about his information and she learned that his name is Manabu Tanaka of class 2-A. Before the day ends, she receives a letter telling her to meet the sender behind the school after school. The person she meets behind the school is none other than Tanaka!
Tanaka confesses to Reina but she thought of all the bad things he’ll get into if they went with what they wanted. He was eager to date Reina and so he pursued her with the intent of going out with her even if they do it in secret. They become a couple but they still have a lot of things to work out.
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Ni-dome mashite
Fun~tsu yoku kangaetara an'na yatsu Nidoto au kutomo ne ̄ nda!
Wasureyo wasureyo
Wasu...... Ah!
KYAAAAAAAAA----!!!
WAAAA-----!!!
That guy, I probably won't see him again!
Forget about it, Forget about it...
Forget... Ah!
KYAAAAAA!!!
WAAAA!!! |
Throughout the story, Reina and Tanaka acquire friends and know of more characters, rivals and enemies included. This is a summary of each character that they will encounter throughout the series so far:
1.
A good girl with high grades
2.
A masochistic little sister
3.
An annoying rival in grades/future friend and ally
4.
A gluttonous ghost
5.
The Kuroboshi High (Reina’s sworn enemies)
6.
A cool grandfather
7.
A scaredy-cat of a father
8.
A yankee-turned-yandere housewife
9.
A girl with chuunibyou/ghost hunter
10.
An bishounen otaku who likes to wear masks
11.
A good/evil principal (depending on your view and grades)
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Hajimemashite
Kya ̄biddobatto |
The cast keeps growing and the story keeps on giving! Will their love ever stop from growing and will Tanaka and Reina tie the knot? Is it too early to say?
Art: Who drew this? Was it a grade schooler with a potential to draw great manga when he grows up that drew this? Sorry to disappoint you but this is one of this manga’s appeals. It doesn’t have any good looks but it draws you in with its other positives.
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| Kokoroatari... (I can't read the next stuff) |
The art is shounen, edgy but simple. Curves and circles are only used to soften some parts but it mostly consists of straight lines that make it feel rigid. Despite of the stiffness in the art, I can’t help but love it for its simplicity. It’s like a girl who doesn’t wear any make up and still look decent. That’s how I see this; it describes a scene without the heavy use of ink, screen tone or detail.
This is made for those who love to laugh at jokes and can just make do with little detail. Much like stand-up comedians, this manga portrays a scene without needing much background. It just needs to deliver a joke at the right time and people will laugh.
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| Why does she use this illegible font? |
This series uses the standard 4 panel gag-manga set up most of the time and sometimes Shinobi uses the usual 5-7 panel format. She follows a pattern with her panels, first going with the usual panels and then following it up with the 4 panel style up to the end of a chapter.
Story: It’s the regular romantic comedy movie with serious underlying subplots. Despite it being mostly a gag manga, it still has some serious stuff within it. With this series’ two publications, they share the same timeline which is good since it only means that there is more content to read! As of writing this, I’m approximately 50 chapters in (more like 100 chapters to be exact) and it’s been a roller coaster of seriousness and pure fun.
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| Akiramenaide = Don't give up! |
The story from the Gekkan Gangan Joker magazine is; for me, the main timeline and the online version is just the side story (though sometimes both share the same arc and when that happens it’s amazing). Both revolve around a small arc that is accomplished within 2-3 chapters which is bittersweet since some arcs are boring and some are just so great that you feel like they need to build the side story for that arc. The only disadvantage I see to this is that you don’t know when this is happening because there are side stories and the main timeline which kind of alternate between the online version and the print version but since it is a gag manga that uses a situation (basically a sit-com) to crack jokes.
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Īnde yo = It's okay
Sā sutātoda = And it all started |
Sometimes, I feel like the jokes are in the way of something serious but since this is a gag manga that has “drama/romance” as a subgenre, it cannot be helped.
The audience for this series has got to be shounen and shoujo who are in high school. They know how awkward and how simple people are and I think that they can relate so much to this manga. I can also see older people reading this because they can relate to their past experience, much like I did.
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| Benri aitemu ke itai = A phone is convenient |
Characters: I love Manabu and Reina because they complement each other. I can relate to Manabu, for example, when Reina asked him about his tastes in clothes, he immediately thought of a miniskirt, that is what I would think too! Well, I’m pretty sure every guy would wish for that too. As for Reina, she’s a delinquent but deep down, she’s a girl too and she’s happy for the simple things. Many girls who are inexperienced with relationships would be like her pretty much. Blushing for small things and smiling for every little thing her boyfriend does for her. She gets cuter when she blushes uncontrollably that no one can deny that she’s happy! I’ve said this a million times but I’ll say it again, I love yandere girls who can go crazy but will go deredere on you so much, it gives you a moe heart attack!
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Gujjobu = Good Job!
Akiraka tsukai ko wa shite iru |
There are a lot of side characters that have some chapters set for them. My favorite side character focused chapters are the ones for the ghost. It is one of the depressing parts of the story and I just can’t stop reading that. Aside from that, there is also one such arc where it focused on another couple who are mutual friends of Reina and Manabu. That couple is also a cute one.
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| Nemu nemu kote = I'm guessing this is about being sleepy? |
Character development is obvious as both our flawed characters grow up and know each other more. Especially in the latest chapters, you’ll see Manabu grow up and become a man in a philosophical way. Reina on the other hand is more girly now and more understanding because of her relationship with Manabu. She isn’t as reserved as before when she was still a yankee, only hanging out with other “ladies.” Surprisingly, since the side characters have their own arcs, they too grow to have more depth into their character.
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Kossori haku jōshiki
Can someone tell me what the hell is last hiragana supposed to be? |
Bottomline: It is a must read for all those who want to read something online. It’s light, it’s funny and it’s heartwarming. The reading order is kind of messed up from where I read it, so to help you get it right, read the chapter with the name “Spring, the Season of Love” and move on from there to get to the main story. However, there is a chapter 0 which is the one-shot of the story which is basically the condensed version of chapter 1 and 3.
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| Can't read it man... |
To tell you the truth, I’m just stopping myself from reading this manga up to the latest chapter because I want to finish this review first before catching up to it. Anyway, it’s so addicting that I haven’t read anything besides this series.
Addicting Level: 9/10
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O maji wa i
This is like the crappiest translation ever but
here's my version: "Do something serious" |
So, this is my comeback post and this is my script for my video so if you don't like this, please just wait for the video I'll put together soon. As of now, please read this as an apology. I did an amazing job with this now-reading post and I could've posted it as a series review but since it's not done yet and I'm still reading it as of writing this, I decided to post it as a now-reading. Hope you like it! Thanks! Ja ne!
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