First Impressions – Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
The trials and tribulations of your not-so average romance.
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Hello hello and welcome to another first impression, this time with a series that I’ve been pretty excited for. However, having read the manga, I did have a fear of a poor adaption since 4komas, at least from the adaptions I’ve seen, tend to get stale quickly. Thankfully, my fears were put to rest, at least from this first episode.~ |
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I love shoujo stories, but I didn’t know anything about this anime, so I didn’t know if it was supposed to be a shoujo story or not. What I got out of the show was something that was similar, yet different, and pretty interesting |
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Rejected?
Starting off the series with Chiyo trying to work up the courage to successfully confess to Nozaki-kun was a great start. Although as it played out, I start to wonder if Nozaki-kun would even have realized she was confessing if she had been able to say it clearly. I was much more worried, at the time, that Chiyo would get the words out and she would get outright rejected, because it certainly felt like that kind of a setup. But instead we get a joke about it, and that really works well. The fact that Chiyo is able to meet Nozaki-kun’s expecatations for inking in his manga is just an extra benefit. But given Chiyo’s inability to actually confess later in the series, I think we’re in for a long ride of Chiyo not confessing, and doing the ramp up, spin out, ramp up, spin out roller coaster.
Not the shoujo you were expecting
Already Gekkan Shoujo has shown that it isn’t going to be your normal love story, despite having the appearance of one. And that’s the beauty of it! What you think of the typical love confession scene gets completely turned around into a pretty hilarious misunderstanding that leads Sakura to learn Nozaki is a shoujo manga author under the pseudonym of Yumeno Sakiko. From there it’s inking beta, plot testing hijinks, and more moments for her to get closer to Nozaki, who’s still oblivious to her feelings for him despite her attempts at conveying them to him. Not to mention handsome-looking Nozaki is a blunt, oblivious, and totally inexperienced-with-love guy writing popular ooey-gooey shoujo manga; definitely not the cool lead boy you would expect.
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So we get a show about shoujo manga that isn’t really a shoujo, but is romantic enough, and from the point of view of the girl, and has that painful teasing of the main couple. So I’ve gotta say that this is really a shoujo romance, even if it’s got a bit more comedy than drama. We still get that empathy for Chiyo, still get that frisson of pain as she tries to confess and can’t. And we get the meddling other guy, who acts like a jerk, but has a heart of gold. I’m kind of wondering which direction the love triangle will go: Mikorin and Chiyo both in love with Nozaki? Or Mikorin in love with Chiyo in love with Nozaki (and will Nozaki be in love with Mikorin? The way he describes him that doesn’t seem out of the picture). But the big key for me is how much fun this show was, and how many laughs it brought. Chiyo’s reactions were great, and the gag with the bicycle riding could easily have been too long, but it just felt right. I hope that the rest of the series can keep this up.
Overall I’m loving this adaption already! I had my doubts, but so far I’m satisfied with how they handled the story/jokes from the original manga. It flows naturally along with the added scenes~ It was also surprisingly relaxing (at least for me), but still funny enough to keep me entertained throughout the episode. My favorite thing about this so far though is Sakura. She really comes alive here, more so than in the manga. I felt like I got better feel for her character with her cute inner thoughts scenes. All in all, this first episode has me even more excited for the appearance of Mikoshiba and Seo, who are sure to bring more comedy next week.~
Preview:
Two new characters are on their way, but just what kind of people are they? All I can say is you definitely can’t judge people by their appearance. Until next week then~!
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I find the idea of Yuzuki played by Miyuki Sawashiro interesting, in that she’s supposed to be a choir star whose voice is so good that she’s nicknamed ‘Lorelei’. All the singing I’ve ever heard Miyuki Sawashiro would be described best somewhere between “adequate” and “insistent”. Maybe “strident”. It wouldn’t get anywhere near “beautiful”, tho.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 167 comments
Is it bad I like this better than Ao rides Haru?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
They are both somewhat different shows. Well, from the ten minutes I kinda devoted to Ao. That being said, I enjoyed this to the end, and will watch the next.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
EVERY SHOUJO IS BETTER THAN AO HARU RIDE (the 2nd half of the manga) *slam manga to the ground*
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I agree with you completely. I SPIT ON IT. AAAGH!
POWUH: 400-499 with 462 comments
Chiiiiyoooo! So cuuuuute! *hugs*
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Hey, I got a laugh out of it. I’ll watch out for more.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Mikorin best girl.
Totally loved this first episode. Sakura’s seiyuu seems to be a newbie but her acting was pretty good, especially that part where Sakura was confessing for a second time. Plus her tsukkomis are delivered well. Definitely keeping an eye on her. I also like Sakura’s looks overall. Orange hair with red ribbons adorned with polka dots. Her blush clashes perfectly with her hair.
I went ahead and read the manga afterwards and the manga is actually more comedy than romance(it’s a 4-koma after all). I don’t mind the added romance spin to it as long as it’s done well which was what drew me into this.
Definitely looking forward to more.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I tend to think the ribbons are a bit too big, but that’s a personal preference.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Note to self: not more than one paragraph in comments for now.
Spammy ;_;
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
it’s not about the length but its wilfulness. We are bombarded with thousands of spam on daily basis now (10–50,000), so you can imagine…
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 163 comments
I don’t know why this episode reminded me of watching B Gata H Kei, but for some reason it did.
Liked it – probably follow this one.
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
I’m conflicted because this is funny as hell, but then I remember that this is a 4-koma. Which means there will be little progress on the romantic relationship between the two, and I can’t stand that. UGH.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, I don’t imagine we’ll get even as much relationship progress as we did in Sakura Trick, which actually did a lot for a 4-koma.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I found this funny and fresh. Imagine a guy drawing shoujo even without any actual experience and a girl whose confession turned into an autograph session…. well, nice comedy start-up there.
PS: I got a kick out of the manga narration being done by Mamo, he’s like the perfect shoujo MC anyway.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
AMAZING EPISODE!!! I laughed so freaking much with the bike section oh my god <3
Chiyo = CUTE-Ooooooooooooooooooo
POWUH: Beginner (20-35) with 29 comments
It is not your regular romance story. You can say that again but at least you’ll be laughing a lot.
The bike scene could have gotten stale but it was funny enough that it worked out well. Too much fun moments with the first episode.