Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun just makes you want to press the 'Next Episode' button time after time as it just nails it in pretty much every area throughout its 12 episode run. At first, it might take people a little while to adapt to its down-to-earth nature in overall tone and atmosphere (like myself), however, once acclimated, you'll probably not regret your decision. Everything is done to such a comfortable extent, it's as if you're truly being submersed into a Shoujo-normalized world.
Beginning first with the story, which is just so beautifully authentic, with no massive plot building going on, neither on the surface nor in the background, but is rather just a beautifully 'simplistic' Shoujo Anime of a love-sick girl and her relations with the boy of her dreams, which is both honest and comforting. With the development of the entire show being so relaxingly well-paced (never rushing the storyline, never falling short of what it aims to deliver, and consistently delivering something so refreshingly unexpected at just the right time), it just seems to get people into thinking "Maybe just one more", snagging you into pressing that 'Next Episode' button "just one more time" and, if it doesn't, then it should.
Then there are the all-too-real and loveable characters (my gosh, the characters), which distinctly drive this show and make it such a memorable experience. Yes, there are many gag moments found throughout the show where you might hope something big is going to happen only to be hit with something so stupidly hilarious (sometimes irritating), then only to realize that it might just be making you love them even more. With the overall chemistry and interactions between characters being so intoxicating, you cannot help but love watching how things will pan out as they try to deal with the situations ahead.
With all its relatable and conventionally honest direction and storytelling (which simultaneously tug at the heartstrings while making you want to laugh at the top of my lungs), its loveable and relatable characters, the addictive yet simple score, and just overall aesthetic and production, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun is something truly unique and memorable that you honestly wish there were much more of. Though it encapsulates the general Shoujo anime genre clichés, every element is uniquely down-to-earth and special, which might as well give it the right to be a stand-alone example of what a romance/ Shoujo anime could/ ought to be.
