“My Neighbor Seki” is a manga series that I enjoy but because it’s a story that focuses primarily on two characters, often in their desks during class, it’s like reading a comic strip about Toshinari’s antics of the day. It’s great to read a few chapters but it’s a series that can grow a little old because of its limitations. But it’s an enjoyable and funny manga series taken in small doses!
Image courtesy of © Takuma Morishige 2011 All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: My Neighbor Seki (Tonari no Seki-kun) Vol. 8
STORY AND ART BY: Takuma Morishige
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Kadokawa Corporation
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: Vertical Inc.
RATED: N/A
Available on October 4, 2016
The high-school hi-jinks continue in My Neighbor Seki Volume 8 as Seki continues to find new ways to keep himself, and classmate Rumi, distracted from the depths of boredom.
As Rumi continues to be annoyed by Toshinari Seki’s antics in class, what new antics will Seki be up to this time around?
Find out in volume 8 of Takuma Morishige’s “Tonari no Seki-kun” (My Neighbor Seki).
What is “My Neighbor Seki”?
In 2010, a one-shot of “Tonari no Seki-kun” (My Neighbor Seki) was published and months later, the manga would become serialized in Media Factory’s Comic Flapper Magazine.
With a total of nine tankobon volumes printed , a 21-episode anime series having aired in Japan in 2014 and a live-action drama series in 2015, the manga series for “My Neighbor Seki” was released in the U.S. courtesy of Vertical, Inc.
“My Neighbor Seki” is a manga series in which each chapter features an unrelated story about a girl named Rumi Yokoi who is often distracted by the antics of her classmate, Toshinari Seki. No one in class is bothered by him except Rumi, and quite often, she tries to sabotage him and so, she is the one that gets in trouble by the teacher, not Toshinari.
In one chapter, Toshinari is creating a coupon and Rumi is ticked that Toshinari is only offering a one-minute massage to his mother, another chapter features Toshinari playing invisible tops; another chapter features Toshinari experimenting with a box filled with the scent of natto and what happens when Toshinari is pitting Go vs. Shogi during music class?
All this and more in volume 8 of “My Neighbor Seki”.
“My Neighbor Seki” is a fun and entertaining manga series.
A series about a girl named Rumi, who is always distracted by Toshinari’s antics, she is surprised no one else is drawn to his antics but her and she is the one to get in trouble for it.
Toshinari on the other hand is a character that does whatever he wants on his desk and never gets caught.
In some ways, the manga series reminds me of the way “Azumanga Daioh” was created in terms of short stories, many taking place on school campus but so short that you can read a few chapters at a time and enjoy it. But where “Azumanga Daioh” shines is that there is a connection often with each short story and there are many characters that are featured and you watch these characters grow.
In “My Neighbor Seki”, the storyline is contained down to two characters and when you do see another character, it’s brief.
In volume 8, Seki creates a massage coupon for his mother but when Rumi thinks Seki-kun is cool for doing it, when he changes the coupon to one minute, she is shocked and wants him to change it. But can she get him to do it without disrupting class?
Another chapter has Seki creating a clay block character to play with his toy characters but can a clay and toy character co-exist?
Another chapter features Seki playing invisible tops mystifying Rumi. Meanwhile, when Rumi spies on Seki going to a birdhouse and changing it, her friend is spying on them and thinks Rumi is jealous of Seki playing with birds.
Another chapter features an airtight box that Seki created but he fills it up with stinky Natto. Will the vapors escape the box?
Another chapter features Seki giving Maeda (the baseball player that sits in front of Seki) his special baseball glove. But what tricks does Seki have with this baseball glove?
All this and more of Seki’s antics in this latest volume 8 of “My Neighbor Seki”!
As I said in my previous reviews, while I do enjoy “My Neighbor Seki”, because of how the manga and its stories are constructed, I can only read a little of it each day because so much is restricted to the classroom and the two sitting in their desk, I didn’t want to grow to bored reading it all in one setting too quickly.
It’s almost like a comic strip that you read in the newspaper each Sunday, great to read once a week or a few at a time but in one setting, it can be a bit much and you can easily grow bored of it.
The artwork by Takuma Morishige is good yet simple, relying on character facial expressions for Rumi and for Toshinari, showcasing his crazy antics on his desk. A lot of panels are restricted to the characters without much detail for the backgrounds. Sometimes it’s just a plain white background.
Overall, “My Neighbor Seki” is a manga series that I enjoy but because it’s a story that focuses primarily on two characters, often in their desks during class, it’s like reading a comic strip about Toshinari’s antics of the day. It’s great to read a few chapters but it’s a series that can grow a little old because of its limitations. But it’s an enjoyable and funny manga series taken in small doses!
Still, an entertaining and hilarious series worth reading, “My Neighbor Seki” is recommended!
