Asper Kanojo
That's My Atypical Girl

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

I can't recommend this story enough. However, I will warn you that this is an adult story. Not that this has R-rated content, but it deals with mature topics. I can't praise the mangaka enough for how they handle mental disabilities and heavy subjects like addiction and suicide. A lot of manga tend to dramatize dark subjects so they have more impact on the story or the readers. Not here, here it feels real. I don't think I've ever seen a panic attack depicted so realistically. Even through all those dark things, this is a hopeful story. This is a story about healing and acceptance. ... It has become one of my favorite romance mangas and, in my opinion, deserves that 10/10.

Asper Kanojo is not a story for everyone. It can often times be hard to depict such flawed characters and make them still relatable in a way that doesn't cause self-deprecation. This book definitely toes the line by no means does anyone want to say they affiliate with Saitou or Yokoi but these people are feel truly real in a way I haven't read in many media. Their interactions are so interesting with all the side characters throughout and the new turmoil's they face. One reading one of these sad works of fiction could possibly feel like its just a trauma dump and you should ... feel sad because life sucks. Asper Kanojo isn't that, we see stories told with quite a bit a nuance, and despite having some similar topics spoken on throughout it never felt like a stale read or like a monster of the week equivalency. The struggles Saitou and Yokoi suffer through they all feel like real things and this very loud forefront struggles Saitou deals with we always see what Yokoi deals with in the background.

Aside from a very interesting story written well by Mr. Hagimoto. The art is frankly stellar the way they show the pure terror of things is done so well such as several scenes related to Saitou which are harrowing to see for the first time they just manage take her stare freezingly terrifying.

Overall I can't recommend this work for everyone as it covers some very heavy subject matter and also it's quite hard to read for Americans for free to the end but I would strongly recommend support the artist at Kodansha where you can read the final 2 volumes which give in my opinion one of the more complete endings I've read

10/10 life changing piece of media (for me)

While it is admirable to try to include a character with a disability in a romance designed for a general audience, I think that this manga mostly ends up stigmatizing mental illness. I am conflicted whether it was the author's intention for the manga to come off this way, but it just ended up feeling like the main female love interest was there as a damsel in distress being constantly saved by the allistic protagonist. If you struggled with mental illness, this manga can be quite triggering as it contains pretty explicit images of sh and s****de. It also doesn't help that the disabled female ... love interest in consistently presented through a male gaze.