School romance becomes an ensemble comedy about trust and emotional awkwardness in Robico’s My Little Monster. Shizuku Mizutani is focused almost entirely on grades when she is asked to deliver class notes to Haru Yoshida, a volatile boy who has stopped attending school. Their uneven relationship develops through jealousy, social anxiety, new friendships and the slow discovery that neither of them understands other people as well as they think. The series balances romance with ensemble comedy around classmates such as Natsume and Sasayan rather than narrowing everything to one couple. Robico’s art is clean and expressive, with quick comic reactions beside quieter emotional scenes. The catalogue is best browsed alongside shōjo manga, high-school romance and character-led romantic comedy. Read more Less