Tonari no Metaller-san
The Metalhead Next Door

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HOW does something as heartfelt and warm as this exist without any reviews? Does anyone care to explain to me this blasphemy? It's dead serious. I wish to cry a bit right now.
Don't worry Metaller-san, I'm on it.

Bored of conventional storytelling and crave something fresh, but also close to real life? Go read this.
Prefer to have characters with hobbies or professions that add to their charm? Read this.
Crave a slow-developing relationship, where intimacy is earned and toxicity is nowhere to be found? If you read this far, how do you still didn't open a new tab and proceed to read it? ...
Do you like seeing how extreme introvert finds love and courage to interact with others? Me, too. (anything that adds hope to my life)
Wishing to see a child acting like a psychotherapist you visited to solve your relationship dilemmas? Not a real question. I just wanted to commemorate my wish to have a daughter like that.
Are you willing to defend a slice of life to death? If yes, stop reading this already, and move on. Geez. No one actually reads the whole review nowadays, you know?

TL: DR (are you real right now?) I solemnly promise you this manga has one of the cutest boys you have ever seen, ok? So hit that Plan to Read (someday maybe) already, and go on with your day.

Stay safe and mentally semi-stable.

If you want to see a reaaally critic review, then stop right now. I just need to talk about how this work really warms my heart everytime I read. It may contain light spoilers!

First, I have to be clear: I'm the biggest fan of fluffy stories, all the healthy and cute relationships, really tooth rotting scenarios. And 'Tonari no Metaller-san' have all of this and much for an one-shot publication in a light mood.

Everything begins with Soushi, a strange looking man, saving a passed out Kento in front of his apartment from a cold, freezing day and give him some warm food. I will try ... to not spoil so much about the details for a better experience, but this first encounter is really important. And, oh, yeah, they're neighbours.

After this, we discover a year passing with them enjoying eating together. This may be one of the little flaws of this precious work: from the first to the second chapter, we just jumped the time, nothing that will end your experience. Soushi, in fact, isn't that strange, he's just a metalhead and have a lot of difficulties with comunication in general. Kento, on the other hand, is much more friendly and extroverted, and nothing will stop them from being friends. They're friends... Right?

'Tonari no Metaller-san' will show us that funny contrast of people's appearence, hobbies and even their jobs. But more than this, it's about share, either being food, company or time. This slice-of-life feeling and falling in love thing, and do it slowly.

Obviously, we have some troubles our protagonists have to deal, like being bad at talking. Soushi being extremely shy and even Kento, who is an extroverted, faces the consequences of bad comunication, but we learn with them that we can't live alone forever, without talking to people or even trying to, hiding things from others and running from our actions. And this point is just so good in this story, we can see their difficulties treated with so much care in the plot. With respect.

I'll quickly mention how the art is good, you can see for yourself, the characters are beautiful and they can perceive the beauty in each other. It's all really soft, including their relantionship. We go with them slowly, they're adults, they learn about each other and their limitations, their desires and sexualities, but above all this, we have comprehension, acceptance and, again, respect. We don't need to see anything rushed and this is so great from this BL, which is currently my favorite.

It's a short story, we have 5 chapters and 1 extra, but it's worth your time. Please, give 'Tonari no Metaller-san' a chance, I'd love to see this BL becoming more popular!

Thanks for reading my short review (I just wanted to say how good 'Tonari no Metaller-san' is) and sorry for any mistakes, English isn't my native language. ;)

This manga is so pure and wholesome, it melts my heart. The art is beautiful and delicate and the story flows well in its own time and it doesn't rush through small - but significant - moments. They range from tender, amusing, cute to bittersweet (and a lot of them were quite relatable for me personally). Goes to show that you don't need a long story or many things to happen for emotions to come across *just right*. In fact, I think it's even more impressive when an artist manages to convey emotions in such a short time and without delving into someone's past.

Bonus ... point: As someone who was previously in the metal scene themselves, I thought that aspect was portrayed really nicely without resorting to stale, exaggerated stereotypes.

It was beautiful to see their love/relationship bloom so softly over the six slice-of-life chapters (although I wish there were more, truth be told). If you want to feel warm and fuzzy inside, give this one a go. It certainly deserves more attention!