Demelza

My Little Monster, yet another romantic comedy in a season stuffed full of anime trying to fit into that genre, the sad thing in My Little Monster's case is that it isn't strong enough by any means to hold its own against the other, arguably better, shows it was put against. Even if it hadn't fallen into a season like this, it's still quite weak for its genre.

We have our lead female character, Shizuku, and our male, Haru. Shizuku mets Haru after being asked to get him to come to school (he's the type of guy who gets into fights and generally isn't liked all that much, and thus has decided to stay at home). Shizuku succeeds in what she sets out to do, however after spending so much time around her, Haru quickly falls for our young student and all madness breaks out. But this is really where the show begins to struggle, the first couple of episodes work up to the big moment where Haru tells Shizuke that he loves her, to which she turns him down for the moment, and then things go very slowly. It's clear the two characters have some feelings for one another, but not a lot of progress is made in their relationship, which isn't really helped by the fact the two just don't seem suited to one another, and Shizuke would much rather study than get too involved with Haru. The show seems to hope that the comedy it offers will make up for the lack of real romantics, but it tends to get old after the first few episodes and can't continue to hold your interest as much as it may have done at the start.

So what does the show offer to keep viewers? Well, it has to be said that Shizuke actually is quite an interesting character. Watching how she works through problems, such as why she gets so hot and bothered around Haru, or what it's like to have friends, is always amusing and she feels very real in what she thinks and feels. Of course, the fact she'd rather look after herself and study hard can only be looked on as a good thing too. That said, one interesting character doesn't really make a show and nothing else will grab you off the bat and the rest of the side characters, while interesting in their own right, aren't enough to grab your interest. A rival for Shizuke's love is introduced halfway through the series, and while seeing Haru's reaction is highly amusing, the move backfires on itself because again Shizuke is just not interested in a relationship with either of them even if she does have feelings for Haru, to have her really act on them seems to be asking a little too much of the show. But then, summed up that is the show; a slow moving love story which never quite gets there in the end. The characters, setting and story are an interesting idea, but it just can't hold its own against the better shows out there, especially once its comedy loses its charm. The ending is suitably cute and touching for what the series set out to do, but again it isn't quite enough to make it feel like the story was worth bothering with.

When it comes to animation the show actually is quite nice. More attention has been put into character designs than it has any scenery, but that isn't too much of a bad thing as it tends to suit the overall feel quite well. The animation doesn't feel as lifelike as other shows of the genre, but that too works in its favour offering fans of the genre a nice change if they want it.

Where music comes into things the show has a very nice opening and ending theme which suits the overall fun feel of the show quite well. Anything used within the episodes tends to feel overused (even if it isn't the same piece of music, they'll often feel alike), and certain tunes feel just a little bit too soft for a show which is trying so hard to be a somewhat crazy comedy, but it doesn't ruin things by any means.

Overall the show tries its best, the romantic side of things may feel quite lost, and the comedy gets quite old fast, but if you can overlook that and become fond of the many characters it isn't an awful show, just one which got a bit lost on its path and feels like it would have suited just being a comedy perfectly well, at least then enough focus could have been on that side of things where it could have worked really well for all 13 episodes.