Ponderings on Manga Series I would like to see Animated

Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu

I enjoy this series because of two things primarily, the characters and their relationship. I think these two things are the core of the series and why I believe the series works.

The manga might seem very simplistic but there is  significant layer of complexity specially in the characters most notably Ichikawa's character. Initially, I believe a lot of people misunderstood ichikawa as some sort of psychopath but his delusions build for me a loner character that struggled to make friends. It also clearly shows from the small glimpses of his experience in elementary school  that he was not always like this.  Of course, we have not really being shown why he became like this in middle school. However, the fact he was not always like this actually explains the initial 'killer' delusion of the start of the series. After all, Ichikawa seems to be easily influenced by what he reads, recent chapter expresses this further. The fact, he reads gore killer stories probably developed this persona and it felt more like a coping mechanism to deal with his loneliness and his low self-esteem that developed from that. The phasing out of this illustrates this character development because as his developing relationship with Yamada evolved and he gradually comes to enjoy school more and more because of this the 'killer' delusion completely dissipates. It is precisely because its a subtle development that it feels natural and makes the series feel simpler than it actually is and digestible for a wider audience.

A very important thing for this to work is the fact the story is only told from Ichikawa point of view. We have to see his biases and insecurities whilst we have no clue on how Yamada sees everything apart from her actions. This is relevant because this series is a much as a story of youth and school
as one of romance. After all, Ichikawa character is the way it is because of his loner status in the school setting. Of course through his encounters with Yamada his character gradually changes but it never feels abrupt because he still struggles with his inner doubts and in the way the reader can relate as we are equally anxious to know if Yamada feels the same way and we can only know from her increasingly assertive actions.

The growth of Ichikawa's character is enthralling and it explores many different themes but the series focus and its sweetness comes from the relationship between Ichikawa and Yamada. Unlike, Takagi for example, the relationship between Ichikawa and Yamada starts of from the basically zero a key part of the series is how it develops as they gradually converse and accompany each other in the library for the most part. I will not spoil the actual build up but it feels rather sweet because once again it is subtle which makes it feel natural and its precisely because of that its hard to pinpoint any exact part of the series in which the relationship changed. The relationship feels more natural as a result because it develops gradually since the characters do not fall for each other instantly.

Another part of this is also the fact that It was Ichikawa interest in Yamada  and his clumsy attempts to grab her attention initially that led her become interested in him. Occasionally in romcoms, interest is usually stroked by plot devices but in this case it was caused by Ichikawa peculiarity and his attempts to get close to Yamada. Yamada's responds to this and also strives to also know more about him by giving many subtle signs which he does not always perceive because of his strong low self esteem. This shapes the growth of the relationship as Yamada becomes more assertive and Ichikawa struggles to respond to it and the development of their relationship and his character are innately tied as a result.


As an anime

 The series is very likely to receive an anime in the future. It might be thin in content at the moment for one full season but it could easily be padded out with the many twitter extras drawn by Sakurai Norio herself.

The series does not have anything that would seem hard to adapt, it is not action packed and series of similarly genre like Takagi-san have received anime recently. In terms of animation, it would also not need anything high profile but competent voice actors would probably be plus since there are various different scenarios which would need varying tones. However, the quality of voice actors in anime tend to be decent at the very least so in this regard there is no problem at all.

Neko Musume Michikusa Nikki

This is a very interesting series that has been ongoing for a long time. Its premise and goal is significantly different from Boku Yaba. In fact, this series is mainly a comedy slice of life series with no real overarching plot. It is a story focusing on neko youkai that lives with an elderly couple as their cat. However, it drifts off and encounters many other youkai and sometimes humans. The story is precisely about these encounters and ensuing hijinks these youkai get up to that involve not only themselves but also other humans.

This series is a window on Japanese folklore and it showcases many different youkai and it shows them as beings that live in our world but not as evil creatures but just as an odd group of neighbours that tend to stay away from humans.

This is not a series with complex ideas or themes, but it often deeps into waters exploring the different between youkais and humans and how they can coexist but in their own separate worlds. However, of course the main character blurs this tacit understanding and the series sometimes wonder if it is possible for them to interact in their own different ways. Of course, this can be interpreted in many ways such as the conflict between modernity and tradition or even coexistence between humans and the environment or even humans. One can take of this what they perceive.

In addition to that you will get to meet many youkai and get to know more about these creatures that are often featured in manga series because of their large cultural influence in Japan.

As an anime, this series would simply be one the best iyashikei healing and slice of life genre. Not only, because its a rather comfortable series that rarely dips in darker stories, in fact most stories are either fun or upbringing. So of course, because of that music would be a very important aspect for this series to work as an anime.

The animation would have to be of a good standard because it would need to animate the youkai and their many escapades unlike something like Boku Yaba it has way more action, not in battle but in terms of things moving. Consequently, there would be a greater need for the animation to be good.

I do think this series takes way more effort to make a good anime adaptation of than something like Boku Yaba. It also perhaps might never even get an anime, it has been ongoing for a long time and its publisher Tokuma Shoten is on the smaller end, so it has less financial muscle to market and look for investor for an anime.  However, I do have a linger of hope to see this series animated.