Namratha's Reviews > となりのメタラーさん

An introverted metalhead with social anxiety and his extroverted neighbor with buried insecurities come together in this gentle, exquisitely drawn Manga.

During a particularly harsh winter when it was snowing heavily, hapless undergraduate Sakaki Kento finds himself freezing to death just outside his shabby new apartment. Luckily, he is rescued by Soushi, his grim, seemingly-taciturn neighbor with a piercing death-glare.

Soushi rarely opens his mouth, and prefers to lose himself in the throbbing beats of heavy metal rather than make awkward conversations with people. He is not rude by any stretch of the imagination, but his long hair, black clothes, glaring eyes, and menacing air tend to give off a ‘stay-away’ warning…something that he has carefully cultivated after a series of bad interactions in his past.

But Kento with his sunshine personality forms an easy friendship with his new neighbor and they are soon sharing meals with a non-intrusive camaraderie.

As time passes, the two glaringly opposite personalities realize that they have feelings for each other. But both have immense chips on their shoulders, and neither has the guts to take the next step.
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I adored this manga. Soushi has been drawn so beautifully with his gently waving dark hair, sudden bouts of crippling shyness, and quiet demeanour. The man rocks a man-bun with such aplomb too. Reading about his backstory makes me want to hug the stuffing out of this sweet lad, and the much repeated “we must protect him at all costs” comment is something that I strongly agree with.

Although it was a quick read, the creator has managed to pack in emotions, humour, and informative snippets into oft-misunderstood metalhead culture.

An atmospheric, slow-burn romance with a lot of intuitive grace, I enjoyed this book.