What's “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog?”
Trying to find a new anime series to watch can be as messy as adolescent romance, but “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog” is here to play Cupid. Each week we provide additional information and cultural context to help fans determine whether or not they'd like to take an unknown series for a test drive.
What's My Little Monster?
My Little Monster is a 2012 romantic comedy TV anime directed by Hiro Kaburaki and featuring animation by Brain's Base. The series is based on the Tonari no Kaibutsu manga by Robico, which was serialized in Kodansha's Dessert shōjo manga magazine from 2008 – 2013. Crunchyroll describes the series as follows:
“Impassive girl meets trouble maker in a brand new love story! After Mizutani Shizuku, a girl whose sole interest is studying, is asked to deliver some handouts to Yoshida Haru, a boy who hasn't come to school after spilling blood on the first day, she finds herself the target of his affection. This is a story about a boy and a girl who struggle with love and friendship. Opening yourself up to other people forces you to be honest with yourself.”
From this description, you might think that My Little Monster is stereotypically shōjo, but in many respects, it's not.
Overturning Stereotypes.
One of the first things you'll notice if you're familiar with the unspoken conventions of romantic shōjo manga is that the protagonists of My Little Monster are not your typical romantic leads. Often, shōjo heroines are defined as being warm-hearted but a bit clumsy and perhaps a bit dim for comedic effect. Think Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon Crystal or Mamiko in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun.
Shizuku Mizutani is none of these things. She is self-directed, driven, hyper-competent, and so focused on her studies that she routinely performs poorly when it comes to supporting her friends. Even as a child, her lack of sympathy earned her the nickname of “Dry Ice”. She's a far cry from your typical romantic shōjo manga heroine.
Similarly, male romantic leads in shōjo manga are often either paragons of virtue with one glaring character flaw or bad-boy rockers with a secret heart of gold. Haru Yoshida goes far beyond either stereotype. Handsome, effortlessly brilliant, and physically fit, Haru is also socially impaired to the point where I suspect he's not neuro-typical.
Haru struggles with social cues. He tramples over personal boundaries and sometimes flies into an inarticulate rage and tries to solve his problems with his fists. He also has no sense of metaphor and is honest to the point of being blunt, qualities which put him at odds in a society that values non-directness and discretion. Prince Charming he ain't, but it's clear that Haru values his friends, and throughout the series he makes a serious effort to improve his ability to interact with other people.
Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back.
Another common element in many shōjo manga is that often the romantic relationships develop slowly, sometimes taking dozens of chapters to make any serious headway. My Little Monster zooms right past this stylistic choice: the main duo have exchanged their first kiss by the conclusion of the first episode, and have exchanged confessions of love by the end of the second one.
The course of true love never did run smooth, though, and for the rest of the series Shizuku and Haru are like oil and water while they try to determine exactly what their relationship with one another means, so there's no shortage of romantic conflict. It defies the old adage that once a couple gets together, the romance story is over. In the case of Shizuku and Haru, their struggles have only just begun.
Subtle Sound Design.
Another suprisingly effective aspect of My Little Monster are the sounds effects by Emi Takanashi. I don't often notice the sound design while watching a series, but My Little Monster uses audio cues to great effect. Sometimes the sound effects are used for humor, such as when Haru jumps out a window to avoid someone and you hear him crash into trashcans in the alleyway below, but the sound design also reinforces the mental and emotional state of the characters.
For example, in one scene focusing on Shizuku, the sound of a tea kettle whistling in the background suggests that her frustrations have reached their boiling point. In another scene, the sound of a gust of wind represents the idea that Shizuka has realized that her feelings for Haru run deeper than she's willing to admit.
The Rampage Continues.
Crunchryoll currently streams My Little Monster in 77 countries in the original Japanese language with subtitles in English, Latin American Spanish, and Portuguese. The series is also released on Bluray / DVD in North America by NIS America, and can be purchased from online vendors such as RightStuf and the Crunchyroll Store.
For those who can't get enough My Little Monster in their lives, an English language version of the manga is published by Kodansha Comics, which collects the entire series in 13 volumes. There was also an OAV produced in 2013 and packaged with the special, limited edition Japanese release of the 12th volume of the manga, but unfortunately no official English language release for this animation currently exists.
If you're interested in exploring an atypical shōjo romance with deeply flawed characters and a somewhat cynical sense of humor, consider giving My Little Monster a try.
Special thanks go to resident romantic monster Aaron Bell (@AttentionAaron) for suggesting the series for this week's "Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog". Is there a series in Crunchyroll's catalog that you think needs some more love and attention? Please send in your suggestions to cruisingcrunchy@gmail.com. Your pick could inspire the next installment of “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog”!
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