Haru no Arashi to Monster
Spring Storm and Monster

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Ran-chan might just be my favourite depiction of social anxiety I've seen in anime and manga in the last few years. Unlike in anime like Bocchi and Watamote, her social anxiety isn't just a convenient trope that's constantly played for kicks, and she's not made to be "adorkable" (although she is adorable). She's awkward, yes, and she has trouble speaking to others, but she doesn't froze into a glitched out impressionist painting nor is she constantly plagued by negative thoughts and paranoia for us to laugh at her. She's her own person, or at least she thinks she is: she chose to be like that, ... and it's refreshing and interesting to see her slowly allowing others in her life, and growing out of her desire for solitude. I like her a lot, and for me reading it was worth it just because of her. I'm not saying that those other depictions of social anxiety are bad, but it's just good to see a different approach to it.

Sadly, this is a romance manga and not just a character-driven slice of life story, and everything gets ruined because of the male lead, Kaya. I wish that the "not related by blood" siblings was the most problematic thing about this story.

"Monster" is quite an apt term for this creep, even more than it was in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. If in the latter Haru feels like a "monster" because of a slight disregard for social conventions and immaturity, Kaya feels straight up dangerous. He's forceful and abusive, constantly forcing himself on Ran to prevent her from escaping or forcefully kissing her, stalking her, throwing her things away, trying to prevent her from interacting with others. He acts like a spoiled kid who constantly wishes to be pampered by the girlfriend/mother figure he sees in Ran, only he's a man that's way stronger than her and it all just makes for uncomfortable and weird situations. Not only that, but every time Ran seems to be growing a bit, by accepting herself and others and opening up to them, Kaya comes crashing down and ruin everything because of his narcisism, jealousy and selfishness. The worst thing about it is that the story seemingly try to justify his acts as if they were cute or even "hot", as if he was just a confused guy in love and not an abuser. This feels less like a romance story and more like a thriller sometimes.

I don't think I'll drop this, at least not definitely, but I can't say I'm enjoying reading it as much as I wanted. If only mangaka were bolder enough to use the "third wheel wins" ending more often, then this might come around, but as the story is going, I doubt it will. As it is, this is just getting more painful to read each with each new chapter.

i probably would've rated this lower but i can't shake the feeling this manga is trying to tell me something more than what i'm currently seeing, so i'm willing to give it a chance for now, even though i'm almost certain i will be disappointed. this work seems so indecisive, addressing the toxic dynamic between the main characters and especially the male interest's issues, but at the same time trying to make it all look romantic at specific times - it just doesn't come together well and more than thinking "it manages to be romantic despite everything" you're just left wondering what the author is ... trying to achieve. (plus the wholes step-siblings thing is kinda weird to me even though they added every possible excuse to make it sound less creepy.)
i think that to really address the couple's problems well this manga should be aimed to a much more mature public than the one it seems like it's trying to appeal to (considering the tropes it used up until now), so i really doubt i will ever get a pay-off but at least i'll see where it's heading.

I have been reading this for a while now and the series as a whole developed into a full on disappointment. Recent Ran possibly being the weakest part (more below) together with the story falling flat and most interesting aspects being dropped and shoved aside suddenly.
As the other reviews being "mixed" might indicate, there is some rather divisive themes and writing in this one.
It starts off as a not so usual shoujo with an actual real delinquent (incredibly rare) turning into Ran's brother. There is not many usual tropes and characters are complex, it is pretty hecking interesting and enjoayble.. until it just isn't ... anything of the aforementioned anymore.
It turns into a below average generic manga with the FMC being completely changed into a sad husk of her former self. Spoiler: She now sucks. She is useless. She is clueless. She is weak. She is quite honestly the most disgusting depiction of a selfish damsel shoujo female lead.
All these more complex and deep themes and characters just went "fuck it", and the story devolves into this 100% drama soap opera cringe trope/cliche galore formulaic shoujo abomination. It now is !SHOUJO!. That's it. Just !SHOUJO!, nothing else. Drama for the sake of drama, baby.
The sibling/borderline romantic relationship also was brushed aside by the whole cast pretty much- it actually went something like "haha lol u guys did something like THAT as siblings? crazy, lol, anyways..". It now is a fleeting thought coming up every now and then, baiting fake importance and urgency. It was picked up and dropped across 5 panels like 4 times already. No need to act like the author had any deeper thoughts about it other than ~fetish~.

As for the characters, most of them are consistently good. Well, almost everyone but Ran. Ran in recent chapters (THERE WAS NO ACTUAL CHARACTER PROGRESS/DEVELOPMENT BTW!!! it was more of a one chapter to another change) is NOT a "depiction of social anxiety" as another review mentioned. She also isn't "awkward" or "incapable of speaking to others". She is in a way a master manipulator, playing around with, leashing and dragging along two horny high schoolers for such a long time. I honestly do not get how anyone could characterize her as such.
Ran now is first and foremost selfish. A glutton. She wants it all and lies as she breathes to achieve just that. She is of incredibly weak and shallow mind. Ran is holier-than-thou. A self proclaimed savior. One that promises the world but give an inch.
She altogether is in many ways a relatable and real depiction of a high schooler and I would call her a damn good character.. if she wasn't exaggerated times infinite with her wildly inconsistent and overly plot convenient behavior and feelings. It makes you question if the author meant for her to have been diagnosed bipolar or a pathological liar. It unironically would've worked beautifully in this particular work.
But, as it stands, she just is a poorly thought out tool that is filled to the brim with just about any asspull to be conveniently called upon when time is ripe. It just never feels like the real FMC Ran is standing there from like ch20 onwards.

Yeah, sure, you can look at this as a whole and go "sure, this a bog-standard shoujo and a ~6 would be fair" BUT the first ~18(?)chapters were so incredibly good, it is a shame that this series as a whole was slimmed down to almost less than bones.
Tbh, there is an insane amount of sibling/step-sibling/sibling dynamic works that are worth your time and just plain better than this.