Miniamaru Kareshi

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

First of all, I'd like to comment on the negative reviews by just saying that people are 100% overreacting, this manga contains nothing harmfull or abusive in it, and if you've read more than a half of it you'd know. I am the first in line to abandon the story that contains abusive (lead) characters and this was NOT it!
The male protagonist is very possesive in the beggining, however, that DOES NOT, in any way, endanger the female protagonist. I feel like the author made his personality like that having in mind the comedic effect each time Haruki (mc) acts like a stalker, which ... only even lasts for a few chapters. He is one of the most caring and wholesome characters, he has no doubts about his love life, he doesn't care about what he has to do to make his girlfriend happy - he will do it. When he unknowingly and unintentionally makes Iroha (fc) feel insecure they always talk it out and come to an understanding, they support and love each other so much and their relationship is anything but toxic. Their love for each other radiates from the pages and conversations they have. He has so much respect for his girlfriend and is very patient. The two of them are portrayed as polar opposites - Haruki is extremely intelligent and Iroha is an airhead. I don't really like that trope, but the fc isn't portrayed as a stupid girl, she is portrayed as someone who does bad at school and as someone who speaks their mind freely.

On the comedic effect - there are a lot of fun panels, it's mostly just Haruki's exaggerated agression while threatining other boys over jealousy (he is actually not agressive at all, just seems scary because of his words/facial expressions). I would also like to mention that we also see quite a bit of Iroha's jealousy and possesiveness, so it's mutual and it NEVER gets out of hand, they are also extremely reasonable as a couple.

The author is amazing, the attention to details in their conversations, the realness (which is beyond needed in the shoujo manga world!!) is awesome.

Three main "complaints" I have are about Haruki's mother and her actions towards him and Iroha - there wasn't any closure with that and was just glided over at the end even though some things are pretty disturbing and traumatic. I'm also not the biggest fan of the ending, in the meaning that the thing that happened was too fast (I'm trying to write this without spoilers so yeah). And my final complaint is about the side couples and characters - it would've been fun if we got to see more of them and their life.

I think only those with very particular tastes are likely to enjoy Miniamaru Kareshi. There's really no two ways about it, Kusakabe is a literal stalker, even going so far as to secretly follow his new girlfriend Iroha on a social outing to which he wasn't invited. I'm really not into this kind of thing, so the only details that make it at all palatable to me is that the manga is written in such a way that it clearly recognizes how this behavior is creepy, and that Iroha as far as I have read, says she's okay with it (though I suspect it may ... be because she is so inexperienced, she doesn't quite comprehend how creepy it is.) I know there are people out there who enjoy reading romances about possessive guys, and so it may have appeal to them, but for me there really wasn't any.

This is the best shoujo manga I have read in a dang while. This is not your typical shoujo manga, the male MC has a super strong personality of what we call unapologetically obsessive and possessive. He is smart, good looking, and knows damn well he is a "heavy" person. It can be, and is scary at times. He meets this girl who is a novice at dating, and don't blame her if she cant read red flags. Don't say she is super dense, you have to understand this is a 16-year old, sheltered, inexperienced girl we are talking about. Don't bring your logic in ... your 20s or 30s to expect her to know better.

But hey, the author is so good at balancing it out with actual sound voice of reason coming from the female MC's friends. They guide her along the way to show her what is reasonable and what is not. The author brings up a lot of details about how this obsessive guy can actually manipulate the novice girl to consider what is NOT normal as normal. It is scary how real it can get.

Will the guy go down the scarier, and more extreme altitude? Or will the novice girl show the guy to be less of a suffocating person? FIND OUT MORE BY READING.

TRIGGER WARNING FOR ABUSIVE/POSSESSIVE RELATIONSHIP

I couldn't pass chapter 6, so I don't know if things get better, but for me this is not a romance, it's a horror. The male lead needs therapy immediately. He has all the toxic behaviours that you could think about. And the female lead just ACCEPTS EVERYTHING. If it was for a different demographic I wouldn't be complaining, it's okay to portrait a toxic behavior and a bad relationship, but this is a story for teenage girls, where's the responsibility? I know because when I was growing up we had a lot of stories like this and guess what? ... For me and my friends this obsessive toxic relationships was "our goals", for us it was romantic. When you're writing for a young audience you need to have responsibility of how you're portraying things.

I liked the dynamic between the two leads. Their characters/personas were somewhat unique. The interactions between them were unique, sweet, and heart-warming. It had stereotypical elements of a shoujo (kabedon, etc.) but the author clearly wasn't afraid to deviate from the norm and depict their romance in a more creative and intimate manner. I loved how the female protagonist wasn't afraid to initiate such moments.

I really, really loved the art. It was cute and clean. The artist depicted the dramatic and sweet moments and emotional expressions so well.

The story started off so well, but began to go downhill. It had so much potential! However, ... as the story progressed, the plot and relationship development became poor.

Gradually, the plot began to go off track, and the relationship development began to slow down immensely. Instead of focusing on the romance and character development, the story began to follow the friend group and their shenanigans. Developments between the main leads became sparse. I would have liked to see more interaction between the lead couple more frequently.. the interactions between the group of friends was just annoying.

minor spoilers ahead !!!

The protagonist is innocent, assertive, and honest. I liked how she is pretty upfront with her feelings (in a very innocent and endearing way). This made the communication between her and the male lead (who has trust (and other..) issues) much smoother. Not only was it refreshing to see a characters who can communicate well and in healthy way, but also satisfying to not have misunderstandings drive the plot. This aspect is one of the story's charms and a major reason why I liked this manga.

While the main character remained innocent and honest as her journey through her first love progressed, the male lead changed painstakingly slow and became OOC. He has trust issues, is obsessive, and very possessive of his lover. When he began to date the MC, she was accepting for the most part, but wasn't afraid to remind him that he doesn't need to go to such extreme lengths (such as stalking her) in their relationship. Her innocent, naive, and assertive nature complemented his deeply-feeling, obsessive nature. As she learned what love is, he learned how to love (properly). I liked this aspect of their dynamic a lot. However. . . as the story progressed, he abruptly went from hiding his true nature under a calm, sweet countenance to being openly aggressive about his love for her. When he yelled at Miyanishi on the train, in front of all their friends, I found that very abrupt and OOC. *Especially* since it was done in a comedic way. From that moment on, his jealousy was showcased in a comedic manner, which was unpleasantly unexpected. He stopped making any efforts to hide his obsessive and aggressive nature, which I thought was one of the story's major aspects and charms and what I thought would be a plot driver.

Ironically, it felt like the first couple chapters just set up false expectations.

I don't know how others view this since it was rated low as of 7/3/2022, must be because of the boy's possessiveness, but for me I think this deserves a bit more love.

Why should you give this a chance to built-up it's story? (cause I think some drop this starting on chapter 4)

Being upfront with her feelings towards the boy makes their relationship a lot better than the rest of the couples in other series, a healthy communication keeps the spark ongoing, it was very good since it compensates the boy's possessive nature with a lot of trust issues which I don't really like, but ... I think the author just want a little complications to the story.

-spoiler warning- (please refrain from reading further if you don't want any spoilers)

The way she honestly tells the boy right away that she got confessed to, and trying her best to avoid those mistakes again of not being careful to another guy is just so sweet of her, sensing red flags should be commonplace to girls..., and boys too obviously, well at least that what I hoped for every couples in every series.

The boy on the other hand is trying to hold his jealousy which I think is hard for a possessive person (salute to you my boy) and how he keeps on understanding the girl, keeping the trust alive between them (yes the boy has trust issues, not on the girl but to those around her especially other guys) makes me love them as a couple even more.

The supporting characters which is their friends is very helpful on giving advices, at first they were against the boy but along the way they were never toxic who tries to destroy their relationship, at the very least they only wanted to help, and then accepted the boy later in the chapters.

When the 2nd rival appears I was infuriated, thinking he might be a big threat to the relationship, but how the boy and the girl handles the situation so well makes him irrelevant to the story.

The power of communication between couples never ceases to amaze me, boy asserting his dominance and the girl giving him assurance is just picture perfect. That's why I'm not that worried about the future rivals.

Edit:
I've Finished the series, all I can say is that it is worth reading till the end, don't be fixated about the boy's traits instead try to appreciate the dynamics with in their relationship.