Shizuku Mizutani is one of the most dedicated students you'll ever meet, determined to always be top of her class and put the knowledge gained to endless studying to good use in making her filthy rich. Haru Yoshida is the Phantom Student in her class - suspended early in the year for an excessively bloody punchup, he hasn't been back since - but when their year teacher sends Shizuku to deliver some class printouts to Haru, it marks the beginning of a rather strange relationship, as Haru instantly falls in love with the first person who's made any sort of effort to get to know him. And Shizuku isn't initially impressed by his attention... Based on the shoujo manga Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, this is billed as a romantic comedy - which left me a little confused between Haru's excessive violence against anyone who contradicts him, and his mid-episode meeting with Shizuku that starts with the immortal line, "be quite or I'll rape you". I did mention this was a romantic comedy, right? Haru, it seems, HAS ISSUES. And that's capitalised for a reason, as I can think of several genuine medically-recognised conditions that he could fall under. Shizuku looks likely to be his unlikely saviour - normally something of an ice maiden who shows little in the way of emotion, Haru somehow manages to get past her natural defenses in the way that only boys who are mad, bad and dangerous to know seem capable of - and so a love of sorts is born. Part of me wants to condemn My Little Monster for its (initial?) portrayal of Haru and the casual way in which he throws threats of violence around. He is not a nice person at this point in the story, and if Shizuku were my daughter I'd be having kittens about her being anywhere near him. But Shizuku is far more grounded in reality, a real dose of common sense and the one person able to get through to Haru and stand a chance of being his anchor in the world - which seems to be the approach the show is taking to their relationship. THE GOOD: Shizuku for best girl of the season already. She's an instantly likeable lead, confident, determined and not as cold as she thinks she is. If the story is her taming of Haru, then I think we're onto something here. THE BAD: Haru, as initially portrayed, is a real problem for me, with the "I'll rape you" scene being almost a drop point for me - especially as the scene was done in a way that made you feel he meant it. Cuts from scenes like that to "Hey! A funny!" at the drop of a hat, which can be quite jarring. On balance, I like it - mainly on the back of Shizuku's performance. But Haru's violent tendencies and turns of phrase could yet turn out to be a sticking point for me. My Little Monster is being simulcast by Crunchyroll.
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