Scary-Looking High Schooler is Crushing on Popular Boy
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Go For It, Nakamura!. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to implied killing of animals, bullying, homomisia, real-life shipping, animal abuse, obsession, violence, sexism, mentions of death in the context of a play, mentions of starvation in the context of a play, and homelessness in the context of a play, manipulation, occult, attempted sexual assault, peer pressure, and gossiping, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Nakamura is your average high school student. He has a pet octopus, little to no friends, and an unrelenting obsession with his classmate Hirose – totally average. And everything that happens to him is average, too. Being recruited into an occult club, being forced into a play where his crush is cross-dressing, and having the girl who has a crush on him draw BL of him and his crush are just a few of the goofs and gags Nakamura gets into in his average life. Everything he does, though, is for one thing: to get closer to Hirose.
Will Nakamura be able to work up the courage and finally get close to Hirose? Or will he have to watch Hirose from afar forever?
Review:
To be honest, I am not a fan of this art style. It has a classic style reminiscent of Ranma ½ and the like. Is it nostalgic? Sure. Is it super well done here? Definitely, but it’s still not my preferred style. However, I will say that the style really emphasizes the fun and goofiness of this story. So many wild things happen to Nakamura, and I think the art style really elevates the humor and light-hearted air to the story. I still don’t care for it all that much, but I can appreciate how well it works with the tone of the overall narrative.
Now, if you’ve read the other title by Syundei I’ve reviewed, Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart, while the classic manga style is the same, the content is jarringly different. So, if you love Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart, you might despise this, and vice versa. I do find it interesting that the style helps emphasize the tones in each work despite being polar opposites. However, while Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart was a single cohesive narrative, this is episodic. I’m not a huge fan of this in written work. This is going to be an anime, which I think will probably work better, but for an experience meant to be read, I’m not a fan. There are some ties between “episodes,” which ultimately lead to Hirose and Nakamura’s relationship evolving, but not by much.
Where Total Eclipse of the Eternal Heart is similar is in the disappointing ending. Though there is a sequel, I was anticipating some closure within this volume since it is self-contained, but I was very disappointed. It is a cute ending, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad Hirose and Nakamura are officially friends. However, I expect a more romantic ending when this is referred to as BL. Maybe I was expecting far too much for this comedic title, but I just feel like if it’s categorized under the BL umbrella, there should be some kind of romantic ending in some capacity. I do like that there is some semblance of a confession, with Nakamura asking Hirose to be friends, but I still wanted more.
Before I close out, I think it’s important to bring up what I love about this title: how weird Nakamura is. As much as I don’t like to admit it out loud, I am an elder weeb. I remember going to the local thrift store (back when it was actually cheap, and you could get things for a penny) and finding homemade VHS tapes with an episode of a random anime on them. That’s how I first saw Evangelion before waking up to it on Toonami. With that said, as an anime-obsessed youth, I was your classic weeb, and Nakamura reminds me of some of those weird and embarrassing things I used to do. He isn’t a true weeb until he discovers BL and then starts requesting BL comics between him and Hirose, but that super introversion leads to many of his goofy incidents, which takes me back to my awkward and less funny-in-the-moment youth, and I love it.
Results:
While this is categorized as BL, specifically shounen-ai, it is very light on the BL. It’s all one-sided on Nakamura’s side, with little to no payoff. If you’re fine with the perpetual pining in an episodic comedy format, what’s not to love here? It’s not for me, but I look forward to seeing how this plays out in anime. I also did get the sequel, and I will be reviewing that soon, as well.
Have you read Go For It, Nakamura!? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!