REVIEW Yandere Kanojo [No, Not That Kind of Yandere]

     Yandere Kanojo is not about the super jealous, mostly murder-y, and possessive archetype. Now that that is out of the way lets proceed. Yandere Kanojo is about a yankee-dere girl, meaning a delinquent on the outside but a sweet and loving person on the inside, and her seemingly simple and boring boyfriend. Through the trail and tribulations of this manga, they overcome family obstacles, personal flaws, and life's little problems. And unlike other romance stories, they get together in the first chapter. But also please note this is a 4-koma gag manga.

     Now onto the main reasons to read this manga. It is full of good natured humor. No joke feels truly meanspireted. With any and all jabs at people's character being made in what feels to be good fun on the characters point. Most every character that would benefit from a character arc get one. Most of the conflict in the relationship do not come from within but, from external sources. Ultimately this series is sweet and comfortable. If you don't want any more information regarding the series, like characters, story arcs, and the such, please stop reading now. Just know I highly recommend this manga, and go read it.
   
     Now like most gag-manga, the characters is where this story shines. All of them are well rounded, but flawed individuals. So let me introduce them. First up is Reina, the titular Yandere Kanojo. She is the product of a very healthy and loving marriage, so why is she a delinquent? Well the fact that her mother before her was one might have skewed the balance. Not only is her mother as hot tempered and strong as she is, her father who appears at first to be a really bad guy, is really a shy, meek, and timed man. Her boyfriend, Manabu on the other hand, is a straight laced, calm, and easy going. For most of the proceedings he is pretty much the straight man. However his milk-toast looks, and good grades hide something underneath the surface. There is also their friends and family. Reina's best friend is Hijiri, an a typical girly-girl characters, who helps Reina with more feminine things that she want to do.  Reina also has a couple subordinates called A-ko and B-ko. Manabu best friend is a guy whose grades are only second to Manabu, Tsubasa. He tends to be the groups punching bag early on before he really became friends with the lot. There is also Manabu's younger sister, Mayami. She happens to work at a maid cafe with a gas mask wearing manager/owner. She also happens to be a masochist. Along with a cool grandfather, a gay cook, a devilish principal, a ghost girl, a chuunibyou, a rival delinquent at another school, and a magic clown there is no shortages for unique characters.

     Most stories follow a simple slice of life/sitcom format. A situation happens, and through wacky hi-jinks they must solve the problem. However I would like to mention a few types of stories that are on display. The first kind involve the aforementioned magic clown. Through monkey paw like wish granting, they give our main characters a new look and perspective on their lives. For example, switching the minds of our two main characters so that they have a deeper empathy and sympathy for the other. Or transporting Manabu one year into the past to see just how good his life has become. The other kind of stories are the flashback, giving side characters a little bit of that needed added depth. For example, a story showing of the grandfathers chivalry, or one about why the manager wears masks, and even how Reina's parents got together.

     Is this the gag-manga to end all gag-manga, no. But it is a damn good one. With most every chapter what starts out with simple premise melts away into something with deeper character study. While there is no *ahem* legal way of enjoying it, there has been some fan translations. The jokes may not be a laugh a second it is certainly worth a read.