First Love Monster (???????, Hatsukoi Monsut?) or Hatsukoi Monster is a Japanese sh?jo manga series written by Akira Hiyoshimaru and published in Kodansha's Aria magazine. An anime television adaptation aired from July to September 2016.
Video First Love Monster
Plot
The story follows 15-year-old Kaho Nikaid? as she leaves home to live in a high school dormitory. Almost getting hit by a truck, she is saved by a boy named Kanade Takahashi. She falls in love with him, only to discover that he is her landlord's son and a fifth grader.
Maps First Love Monster
Characters
- Kaho Nikaid? (??? ??, Nikaid? Kaho)
- Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English)
- Kaho is a 15-year-old girl and is the main protagonist of First Love Monster. She falls in love with Kanade after he saves her from an accident. As the spoiled daughter of an elderly rich couple, she has found it difficult to make friends.
- Kanade Takahashi (?? ?, Takahashi Kanade)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)
- A fifth grader and the object of Kaho's affections. He is in fifth grade, but looks significantly older. Although he mostly behaves his age, he at times shows mature behaviour, passed on from his deceased mother who serves as his role model.
- Tomu Kaneko (?? ??, Kaneko Tomu)
- Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo (Japanese); Austin Tindle (English)
- One of Kanade's friends and a delinquent. Like Kanade he's also considerably tall for his age.
- Ginjir? Sannomiya (?? ???, Sannomiya Ginjir?)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); Chris Ryan (English)
- A grade schooler and another of Kanade's friends. Like Kanade he's also considerably tall for his age. His father is an OB/GYN where he is groomed to follow his father's profession.
- Kazuo Noguchi (?? ??, Noguchi Kazuo)
- Voiced by: Ayumu Murase (Japanese); Dallas Reid (English)
- Another of Kanade's friends, but of normal size. Contrary to his age, he is far more mature, level-headed and insightful than his peers, to the point that it surprises Kaho and Kanade's circle consider him their leader. He disapproves of their relationship due to their age difference and believing that Kanade only clings to her out of lack of a maternal figure. Despite of this he still addresses Kaho respectfully. Since he has a butler it is hinted he comes from a rich family.
- J?ji Takahashi (?? ??, Takahashi J?ji)
- Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese); Anthony Bowling (English)
- Kanade's cousin. He has a strong kansai dialect and is one year older than Kanade. Both him and Kanade get along very well. He has an interest on Kaho.
- K?ta Shinohara (?? ??, Shinohara K?ta)
- Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (Japanese); Chris Burnett (English)
- A first-year high schooler who was in love with Kaho. He's one of the residents of Kaho's dorm. Due to being a shy individual he's often the victim of many of Kanade's circles stunts, as well as being teased frequently by Chiaki due to his crush on Kaho and his inability to act and being easily scared on several matters. He hides an effeminate face under his bangs.
- Atsushi Taga (?? ??, Taga Atsushi)
- Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese); Ian Sinclair (English)
- A college student and Kaho's rival. He bears an extremely hostile attitude towards Kaho. He claims to be interested in Kanade though as the anime progresses he seems to develop feelings for Kaho.
- Arashi Nagasawa (?? ?, Nagasawa Arashi)
- Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda
- Kaho's strange neighbor. He likes and collects cute things and is a hardcore fan of the idol Renren. He dates Chiaki who accepts him as he is, although she is often annoyed with his otaku fanaticism.
- Daikoku Nikaid? (??? ??, Nikaid? Daikoku)
- Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa
- Kaho's older brother. He went to America for some time. Despite calling himself a "doting brother" he in fact has a morbid obsession with Kaho, going as far as collect items she has used (such as chopsticks or leftovers) and place them in a plastic bag.
- Chiaki Yok?chi (?? ??, Yok?chi Chiaki)
- Voiced by: Mizuki Wai (Japanese); Dawn M. Bennett (English)
- One of the residents at Kaho's dorm. She is serious and level-headed and often serves as a voice of reason. She finds the relationship between Kaho and Kanade to be amusing and frequently teases Shinohara for his personality. She dates and accepts Arashi despite his weird tendencies.
- Mafuyu Hayashi (? ??, Hayashi Mafuyu)
- Voiced by: Ai Kayano
- One of the residents at Kaho's dorm. While she tends to be composed on the outside, deep down she has a morbid obsession with Sh?go, going as far as stealing his underwears and sniffing them. When noticed or denied her fetish by others, she can enter into a frenzy where she demonstrates animalistic behavior, which cannot be stopped unless she gets what she wants. When provoked she speaks on a deeply foul language.
- Sh?go Takahashi (?? ??, Takahashi Sh?go)
- Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi
- Kanade's father and the landlord of the dorm.
- Yuki Fukaya (?? ??, Fukaya Y?ki)
- Voiced by: Iori Nomizu (Japanese); Skyler McIntosh (English)
- One of Kanade's classmates, who has a crush on him.
- Munemitsu Makurazaki (?? ??, Makurazaki Munemitsu)
- Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English)
- A butler for Kazuo.
- Renren (????)
- Voiced by: Shouta Aoi (Japanese); Aaron Roberts (English)
- An androgynous boy, who is also a cross-dressing idol. He's the object of fanaticism by Arashi, much to Chiaki's chagrin.
Media
Manga
First Love Monster is written by Akira Hiyoshimaru, who began publishing the manga in Kodansha's sh?jo magazine Aria in March 2013. Yen Press announced in October 2014 that it had acquired the rights to republish the series in English.
Volume list
Audio drama
The limited edition versions of volumes three, four, and five include an audio drama CD.
Anime
An anime adaptation of the series was announced in the August issue of Aria. The cast of the audio dramas will reprise their roles for the anime. The series aired from July to September 2016. Studio Deen produced the anime, with Takayuki Inagaki directed the series and Mariko Oka designed the characters. The anime has been licensed by Funimation and by Madman Entertainment for streaming. The anime will consist of 12 episodes, released over 6 Blu-ray and DVD volumes. An OVA episode will be bundled with the manga's 8th volume and released on February 17, 2017.
Episode list
Reception
Rebecca Silverman, reviewing the first volume for Anime News Network, gave it an overall grade of C-. She criticized the series for its attempts at serious romance in what was essentially a comedy, and also found fault with author's skill at drawing people. She was most heavily critical of the age gap between the two romantic leads, commenting that upon examination, "First Love Monster's comedy is overwhelmed by its creepy factor." She did, however, praise the series' dialogue, stating that "the way Kanade talks is a fun mixture of childlike and more adult."
References
External links
- First Love Monster at Aria (in Japanese)
- Anime official website (in Japanese)
- First Love Monster (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Source of article : Wikipedia
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