Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - 38

Remember that brilliant little shoujo anime last Fall? Here's where it all began.

Well, not chapter 38 specifically, but this manga is one of the few shoujo series I still follow religiously and find brilliant to read. I wish more manga was as funny and direct as this one, but alas, it is not to be.

Regardless, there's a lot going on during Shizuku's school festival this time around. Sasayan and Natsume are having a difficult time pretending that Sasayan's confession didn't happen, though mostly this is because Natsume is so thrown off by it. Sasayan, as always, is completely unfazed and natural, while Natsume is convinced he's betrayed her trust by falling in love with her. Natsume has always been self-centered, and while it's easy to see why she doesn't like men, she's also completely unfair to them. After all, her ostracism comes from girls who are jealous of her, not from the boys themselves. Even though she might be bothered by their affection, they have every right to like her and it doesn't necessarily make them pigs or creeps, like she imagines. It's a little sad to see that she's applying that logic to Sasayan, who's not only a great guy but also considerate of her by not pushing the issue. However, Sasayan isn't without problems either. His middle school baseball team has come to the festival, and he's not particularly happy to find out that a certain person has come with them, though we're not explicitly told who or why this is a problem.

On Mitty and Haru's end, things are as complicated as ever. Their new relationship as a couple is progressing well, but as always Yuuzan shows up to throw chaos into the mix. He's hosting a birthday party and requires Haru to attend in order to save face in front of his relatives, and while Haru likes to pretend that he doesn't give a damn, he eventually and reluctantly agrees to attend at Shizuku's urging. I've never thought that Yuuzan and Haru really hated each other, and I think that the fact that Haru is willing to back Yuuzan up at all proves that. Whatever baggage still remains between them, it's slowly fading away.