Television series

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

Name: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Genre: Comedy, Anime, Romance
Released: 2014
Cast: Ari Ozawa, Mai Nakahara, Miyuki Sawashiro, Yuichi Nakamura, Nobuhiko Okamoto

Comedy
Romantic comedy
Light-hearted

A high school girl confesses to her crush and gets mistaken for a fan of his manga instead. She ends up helping him write romance comics while he remains blissfully unaware of her feelings. It's a comedy about the gap between how romance actually works and how it's drawn on the page—smart, silly, and genuinely fond of its characters.

TVMaze rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy deadpan, quietly absurd comedy where the joke lives in the gap between what characters feel and what they manage to say, and the everyday routines of a shoujo manga studio are funny enough on their own.

Skip it if you want a romance that moves toward its couple with urgency, since this one is content to circle its awkward crush for a long stretch and fills the time with small digressions.

What it asks of you: Twelve episodes of about twenty-five minutes each, so it is easy to dip into; it asks you to stay alert to small reactions and background gags rather than to follow a plot closely.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Ouran High School Host Club2006

Shares the same chemistry of romantic miscommunication played for laughs, with a cast of weirdly charming misfits who grow on you. The humor comes from character interaction, not just gags.

But It's older and the animation shows it. Some of the comedy lands on dated tropes that feel thin on rewatch.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War?2019

Two people in love but too proud to admit it, turning everyday moments into elaborate psychological warfare. The comedy is razor-sharp and the emotional beats actually land.

But The first season relies heavily on the same joke structure repeated. It gets better, but early episodes can feel repetitive.

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.2013

Teenagers who don't fit the mold, stuck together helping others while avoiding their own feelings. Genuinely tender beneath the deadpan humor, with real character growth.

But It gets melodramatic in later seasons. If you want pure comedy, the shift to drama might feel like tonal whiplash.

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Shirobako2014

Both are about the gap between the fiction people make and the lives they're actually living. Nozaki writes romance; Shirobako's characters are living through the chaos of making it.

Women working in anime production, stumbling through their actual jobs while their personal lives stay messy and real. It's about the industry Nozaki-kun represents, but the comedy comes from real obstacles, not romantic confusion.

But It's a workplace comedy, not a romance, and it moves at its own pace. Episode one is slow. You're committing to watching actual people struggle.

Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou2014

Similar setup—girl chases boy, boy is clueless, they share space—but with a household of lovable weirdos creating chaos. More grounded and sincere than you'd expect.

But Less polished animation and the humor skews broader. It's gentler but also duller in stretches.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu2006

A girl with reality-warping powers surrounded by people pretending everything is normal. The confusion about what's actually happening mirrors Nozaki's confusion about Sakura.

But Notoriously hard to watch in broadcast order, and the endless eight episode is genuinely tedious even if it's 'the point.'

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!2012

High schoolers with elaborate delusions about themselves trying to connect with others. Sweet chemistry, funny enough, and refreshingly sincere about why people hide behind fantasies.

But The fanservice gets distracting and the humor sometimes leans on it rather than character. Later seasons lose the charm.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho A Story that leads to the Antarctica2018

Both understand that the funniest, most touching moments come from people trying to be honest with each other while being fundamentally awkward. The difference is Nozaki's group creates fiction, while these girls create their own story.

Four girls with wildly different personalities united by one bonkers goal, learning to trust each other through genuine adversity. It's funny and moving in the way a group project becomes friendship.

But It's not about romance at all. If you want a love story, this will disappoint you—it's about something better.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho A Story that leads to the Antarctica poster

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!2020

Nozaki creates manga in isolation, struggling to admit vulnerability. Eizouken is about making art *with* others as an act of trust and intimacy. Same medium, opposite approach to connection.

Three high school girls making manga together, with animation that gets giddy about the act of creation. Joyful, clever, bursting with visual ideas, and genuinely about why people make art for each other.

But It's very stylized and experimental. If you want traditional narrative, the form gets in the way. Some people find it exhausting rather than delightful.