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Stop!! Hibari-kun is a gag manga. In my opinion it has some really good jokes and some that overstay their welcome (and some that overstayed their welcome on their first appearance...). All in all, I quite enjoyed this manga and I'm reviewing it on my second read-through as I remembered having positive feelings about it. But while I liked the manga overall, it is far from perfect. As you get closer to the end of the serialization, the writing does definitely get lazier. Less focus goes on developing the drama/relationships of the characters and just the same gags get repeated over and over. A lot ... of the jokes show how dated this manga really is, but I would still say I recommend this as a read since it's an important piece.

Stop!! Hibari-kun's titular character Hibari Oozora is a transgender girl who presents as a girl when she goes to school. Being a gag manga, there are a ton of jokes which are just a character being shocked by her existence. But in my opinion, even though this manga is a product of an older time, I believe Hibari to be good representation of a transgender character.
Hisashi Eguchi writes her as a normal person, her character is not treated as a joke.

She acts in a reasonable manner (other than being a bit overly flirtatious, though maybe that's common for female leads in rom-com manga in the first place...) and is very convincing in her presentation as a girl. To where all characters who didn't suddenly happen by chance to "find out the truth" just see her as your average girl. (albeit exceptionally beautiful, strong, and smart, lol). So while almost all the characters in the manga are transphobic people by modern standards (though judging by the era they were written, it was the norm to not be educated about transgender identity), the author clearly isn't. Hibari is treated very seriously by the author in her identity, so I think she is quite good representation. Because there's not very many stereotypes in her character I find her trans representation beats even a lot of modern trans representation in how positive it is.

So what will you get however if you read this manga? All I've really done is give you some lame historic rundown of the manga's cultural importance. Probably sounds quite boring at this point. So here's the deal. Stop!! Hibari-kun! is a sometimes funny, sometimes sweet, sometimes dated manga with good trans representation. That last part is the part that probably makes it the MOST unique for it's time. But I'd still say even if you ignore that aspect, the manga is still generally good. It's not too long, and it's quite an easy read so give it a shot! If you're used to old-timey manga humour you'll probably do just fine enjoying this manga.

TLDR:
Stop!! Hibari-kun! is a sometimes funny, sometimes sweet, sometimes dated manga with good trans representation.

Characters: STARTS AT A 9 ENDS AT A 7
Story: 7.5
Art: 8.5 <- character designs are beautiful, but there's rarely a panel that makes you go wow
Comedy: 7
Drama: 8
Cultural importance: 👍

Final score: 7.7

Fun, inspiring and melancholic.
Personally I believe this anime might just be one of those pieces of media that stick with me for a really long time. It had almost everything that I love most in one place, stunning visuals, abstract concepts, deep characterization etc. But it had something that really made it a cut above the rest for me which was the strong core. With all its abstract flashy visuals/concepts it manages to have a consistent and meaningful theme.

It's a coming of age story, which is a concept that's been rehashed over and over again but somehow I've never seen it done like this. Or ... at least like this in a way that's so mature and down to earth. Well to be honest, the plot itself is chock-full of the most abstract sci-fi ridiculousness but the core message is what manages to be down to earth. It's a melancholic take on what it feels like to grow up. Everything that happens is temporary and can mean so little in the recesses of time but that's exactly what makes the moment so important. (LOVE YOU RAJDHANI) Everyone in this story is on a search to find their own meaning in the face of a cruel massive reality. And in the end no one is right, or is it everyone?

But that's just it, there isn't a definitive answer. This show hits you with concept after concept, showering you with these introspective ideas on identity, society, relationships and one's own mind in creative ways. Without ever stopping to spell out some sort of preachy "This is how you should do things" and rather allowing the vastness of these answers to sink in.

The sheer amount of ideas did hold the show back in a couple ways, mostly to do with pacing. Some monologues did drag on, and could have been made more engaging with more animation. While some ideas felt so quick that you could barely process them in time for the next scene. However all in all I feel like the quick pacing of the overall show and many of the concepts will surely make re-watching this show a worthwhile experience.

In the end, I felt like this show was custom-fit for me. But maybe the core message could "custom-fit" anyone who has had to come face to face with growing up/transitioning to adulthood.

As don't you feel so uncertain about how things will end up or how they could have went differently?

Don't you feel that small twinge of regret thinking about all those people who you don't talk to anymore and where they could be now?

Don't you feel melancholic in the face of such a huge punishing world, the pressure not even letting up to let you breathe?

Well, you're not alone in that, in fact I'm pretty sure the vast majority of us feel that way. And I think this show tells us that despite all these feelings, despite the unforgiving world we're in, we have to choose our meaning. Maybe a little cheesy when I say it out loud... but that's what all I got and I hope you take it to heart! Now all I've got to say is that if you haven't seen this anime yet give it a shot. Even if it doesn't resonate as deeply with you as it did for me, its a well-written beautiful experience that has so much to offer in every department.


Oh and shout out to GING NANG BOYZ, the ED is KILLER and makes this anime that much more special.

Wow, very good!
S1 was hard carried by Reigen. S2 was a group effort. They really did a great job with the story-telling in this season. The show was already great but that was probably the weak point of S1. On the other hand S2 goes hard on the story-telling. That episode at the beginning with the confession was incredible, that small arc where Reigen goes through the different levels of fame was beautiful, and in general the growth of both the main characters like Mob and Reigen, as well as letting some other characters shine like my second favourite scene in the series so ... far where the body improvement club fight that one buff bad guy. (My favourite scene was Reigen beating the shit out of the scars in S1)

Overall, though the story-telling was largely improved this season it still was the weak point. This due to the fact that there wasn't really a guiding thread throughout the show. In fact the first season had a more natural build up to the final confrontation with the scars with Reigen coming in clutch. However in this season there wasn't any build up to the claw's return and especially no build up whatsoever about the big bad. In fact we only get to see him fight like 2 people as far as I remember; his son and Mob. Thus we don't hold some sort of resentment towards this guy, nor fear about his powers like the way S1 had made the original scars so intimidating.

But to be fair, other than the climax being slightly underwhelming (it was still very good mind you), the strong character-based story-telling was fantastic and ONE really got into the groove of things at this point in terms of that stuff.

So though there might be some feelings that are because I'm fresh off of watching it I feel like it deserves this score regardless:

9/10