Yamaken’s story in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is a very run-of-the-mill typical sort of side story. After casually talking to Shizuku, he starts having feelings for her. He sees that they’re a perfect match: They’re smart, a bit cold towards others, and are more opinionated than the rest of Tonari’s cast. Still, whatever Yamaken does, Shizuku will probably not consider him as an option. Yamaken’s story is a typical FRIENDZONE story.
You could just feel the arrows piercing Yamaken’s fragile heart.
What sets it apart though is how Yamaken’s little story is portrayed and how emotionally struck I am by it. His story is scarily relatable in so many levels. The whole “writing a map of your feelings on paper” and helping your crush realizing her love . . . it’s something fairly childish yet fairly realistic. Before you know it, you start staggering in your actions – Yamaken is a huge victim of this. His calculating nature suddenly stops as he slowly falls in love.
“Can you feel the love tonight?”
I swear this is why I want MOAR Yamaken. The anime is only slated for 13 episodes and it really isn’t enough to cover all of Yamaken’s failed story so I guess I should be satisfied with what I got and will get (or I can always just reread the manga which always puts a smile in my face).
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Traveler on Revenge 