Before I begin this review, I would like to say that I literally just binge read the whole series, even chapter 52 which updated TODAY. I saw on mangahere that this series was going to end soon, which is did in chapter 48, but I waited it out till now so I can have a fresh perspective on it. I shall avoid major spoilers of course, but I am planning on writing a very lengthy 'rant' blog on this (once I find more time) because I'm not exactly too happy with the story (even though I enjoyed it). So... let's begin.

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= Story =
- Love at almost first site. Yoshida, the cute delinquent turned sweetheart, "falls" for the cold Shizuku. Please read the full synopsis on the manga page.
The plot wasn't too complicated. Romance wise, the story makes it quite linear who ends up with who, but the reoccurring themes about individuality and friendships. I had read through a few forums and this manga was a reoccurring title in which the internet seems to love and adore. Judging the book by it's cover, I automatically assumed ------- Character Section ----------. The overall summary sounded decent enough and I was expecting a SUPER COMPLICATED PLOT. Thank goodness it wasn't.
SOOOOO story wise, if you love brain teasers, a look into life morals, friendships that seem to last, cutesy love and quite a bit of harem with a decent/mediocre complexity rating, try 'Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun.'

= Art =
- The art is lovely. I quite fancy Shoujo manga without the HUGE eyes. The drawings were smooth, the clothing looked original enough to the mangaka's style. Again, absolutely gorgeous. -

= Character =
- JUDGING THE BOOK BY IT'S COVER, I AUTOMATICALLY ASSUMED... (without reading the summary) that Shizuku and Yoshida were delinquents considering she has a dog collar around him and he looked menacing enough. I was wrong of course.

I'm picky when it comes to manga series that expect me to take hours out of my time to read. Usually once I read the first chapter, I either continue or I stop right there. I considered stopping for this manga. The characters to me, at that point in time which was roughly 3 hours ago, had no potential to grow in an exponential way for the next 51 chapters. "Why's she so picky?" you may ask. Like video games, I like spending money on one game with replay value so I can get my $60 worth as opposed to spending money on multiple cheap games that I'll only play once. I've read a lot of manga already so now I'm just being picky on what I want to spend on leisure time reading.

Back to the characters. Shizuku is a cold person who is more aware of some emotions around her. She's straight forward and in the beginning likes to put a distance between her and other people. Seemingly enough, all she did was study as opposed to having fun. I found her character to be bland. She does however develop once their social group expands, but she wasn't my most favorite character.

Yoshida (Haru, either or) was a character I didn't like. People who have read this series would be all "WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU HE'S ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND IS SO SWEET ASDFGHJKL!" His character was flawed from the beginning being that he is a violent person to start out. However, in a few chapters it all changes and he becomes less violent and less scarred and it's as if that Haru who had potential for psychological development never existed. He was a sweetheart with a blunt mouth, but after the change from delinquent to puppy, his character stayed linear for the rest of the series.

A character that I did like a lot and was shipping with Shizuku, like, REALLY hard, did not get a fair trial. Yamaguchi (Kenji) was a pretty forgettable character in the beginning. I didn't start liking him until 1/3 of the way through because he got no page time before that. I thought he was just a side character (or an extra) because of his lack of presence in the beginning, but once Robic(k?)o, the mangaka, changed the pace of the story by having him come out as "I MAY SEEM LIKE A JERK AND I AM BUT I REALLY AM A PRACTICAL AND SWEET GUY AT HEART," I was sold. I wish the ending after the official end did him justice, but alas, it was not meant to be.

Lastly, I'd like to point out that there are a lot of "supporting" characters that I didn't fine memorable. They felt more like extras added into the plot for the convenience of relevant characters. For example, (tiny spoiler, but it doesn't affect anything to me, but still) one of Yamaguchi's hommies just happens to own/have access to a 'resort' (more like a cabin in the woods to me) which, again, was convenient for the relevant characters to deepen their friendship. -

= Enjoyment =
- Considering I binge read all 52 chapters, I'd say i enjoyed it quite a bit, even if I wasn't took happy about the ending and character development.-

= Overall =
- RECOMMENDED. Very sweet, cute, funny and it puts a smile on your face. (: