My Neighbor Seki, Vol. 5

Tonari no Seki-kun #5

by Takuma Morishige

Globe-trotting Goof

Seki, Rumi and the rest are on a school trip. But even with so much to see and do, Seki continues to look for ways to goof around. Rumi is not going to miss the opportunity to keep him in check.

Genres: Manga, Humor, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Teen, Realistic Fiction, School

174 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2014

About the author

MORISHIGE Takuma: 森繁拓真

Older sister is the mangaka Akiko Higashimura.

Reviews

[Mariota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desconocía al escritor, y eso que me gustan los mangas. El escritor es Takuma Morishige, al final del libro hay una entrevista en la que nos dice que este manga va a convertirse en serie anime. No sé muy bien si cuadrará ya que el personaje de Seki nunca dice nada.
Me esperaba un libro mucho más divertido, con el que me reiría más, pero sólo me ha arrancado algunas sonrisas.
El libro se centra en 2 compañeros de clase que se sientan en la última fila. Seki y Yokoi. Seki es un niño callado con mucha vida interior. Cada día de clase, lo pasa con un pasatiempo: cultiva plantas, hace pantalones, etc... Y siempre lo hace en silencio ante la impotencia de su compañera. En cada uno de los días, vemos la curiosidad de Yokoi por ver qué nueva idea se le ocurre, qué nuevo pasatiempo tiene para pasar el día de clase, y luego vemos la exasperación al ver que no habla con ella, y pasa de ella.
Para mí el mejor capítulo es el de los padres. Ese día, los padres visitan la clase para ver cómo es un día en clase. Incluso ese día inventa un nuevo juego, pero ese día se encuentra un rival, jejejeje.
En general me ha parecido una historia bastante simple, pero con creatividad para ver qué actividad realiza Seki cada día para pasar el día del colegio.
Me entra curiosidad por el personaje de Seki, quiero ver más allá y qué tipo de personalidad tiene, pero estoy segura que el escritor no se plantea adentrarnos en la personalidad de Seki, o si incluso tiene algún tipo de trastorno.
Muchas gracias por darme la oportunidad de leerlo.

[Raquelle Element · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goto's reaction towards "the couple" are hilarious.

[LadyKim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny but not as much as some of them earlier ones in my opinion. But I did enjoy seeing the One-Shot with Seki's Mom. Probably one of my new Favorite short.

[Perla Villa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still loving some of the things Seki does.

[Spaghett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read in Japanese)

Five volumes in and I'm still not tired of Seki-Kun's zany antics. There's plenty of crazy time-wasting in this one, but the dynamic is starting to change which I think helps to keep the formula fresh. Seki still has a ton of surprises up his sleeve that show his unique skills and interests, but outside forces are starting to encroach upon his games more frequently and seeing which ones go how he plans and which ones fall apart is a lot of fun and still keeps his character intact without making him impossibly good at everything which might have gotten stale at this point.

Vocab-wise variety there's still a ton of variety. This one felt slightly easier but there's a pretty dense explanation of how condensation works that you'll like pick up a few chemistry-related words from. The author's notes at the end are still a bit tricky with some of the squiggly handwriting, but the grammar in general is still easy so if you're looking for a good series to mine some unique vocab from, Seki's got you covered.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remembered this series and decided to read some more of it. It was entertaining, though it took me a few chapters into the book to get into the mind-set to appreciate it. It is entirely episodic, and though there are some minor developments with time (Goto becomes more convinced that Rumi and Seki are going out, Rumi builds on previous interactions with the robot family) it would feel weird for there to be too much plot development. I'm unclear if the series is still ongoing or not, but I will see about reading at least through the 10 volumes that I know are published in English.

Also, interesting note: I learned of this series from the short anime made from it. The end of this volume includes the announcement of the anime series, though given the approximately year delay between the Japanese and English publication I'm not sure how relevant it would have been.

[Raechel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A field trip and more are the highlights of this volume. Seki and Yokoi are amazing characters that show how one person goofing off can sometimes draw in those who are easily distracted. These volumes are a perfect way to relax.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

So silly and nothing ever happens, but I still like it.

[Caity McPhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

His mom is awesome!

[Pata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way funnier than the previous ones. I really like the introduction of characters and change of scenery.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is so adorable. And complicated! How does he not get caught?! Haha

[Anoush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knitting is referenced in this one and we meet Seki's mom. That's a hilarious chapter. With rubber bands.

[T E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanto la relación de "amistad" que tenían estos dos lindos personajes, fue el primer manga que leí y no me arrepiento ya que pude fue muy tierno y gracioso.

[Shin Donghae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya menyukai hubungan "intim" yang dimiliki Seki dan Rumi ini LOL, sungguh berbeda dan menarik hati :)).

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with Metta, age 12.

[Ashna · Rating 3 out of 5]

God this is getting boring

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! I love that we get to meet their Moms!

[Allybopolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

6 stars out of ten

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seki continues to goof off, and Yokoi continues to be fascinated/charmed despite herself. Or she tries to thwart him, especially when his games showcase his sadistic streak. In this volume, Seki tries (and fails) to outwit Uzawa. Also, Yokoi teams up with Seki's mom during parent visiting day in an effort to defeat his games. Goto continues to think Yokoi is passionately attracted to Seki. And the robot family is back again. Yokoi tries and fails to get pictures of them vacationing. Other happenings in this volume: Seki builds a subway system inside his desk, tells a superhero story with billiards, and distresses a pair of jeans.

This volume renewed my flagging interest in this series, at least a little. It was nice to see Seki's mom, who turns out to be an expert rubber band shooter. Yokoi continues to be self-deceiving, telling herself that she can ignore Seki anytime she wishes when what she really wants to do is watch and see what his latest game will be.

I'm running out of new things to say about this series...

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite parts: Yokoi "bonding" with Seki's mother and Yokoi's ever-increasing fascination with the robot family.
It's curious that Seki is the focal point in terms of being the character that is notorious for not paying attention, but the joke might actually be that Yokoi is cut from the same cloth because she can't seem to keep herself from being distracted by Seki's antics. In some ways, she's worse off, because her fascination with him seems to spill over into her life outside of school and Seki seems to be more or less oblivious to her attention on him. It's interesting that she would fantasize about spending time with Seki's younger sister--you'd think she'd have friends of her own but that doesn't really seem to be the case. In fact, Seki, seems to get along just fine with the other boys, despite his own rich fantasy life. It's too bad they couldn't make an actual connection, because Seki might appreciate the degree to which Yokoi admires his handiwork. That said, his type is the sort that does what it does regardless of the attention. The "work" is typically its own reward.
I've three more volumes before I'm caught up. I'm curious to see whether or not there will be any movement in Yokoi's relationship with Seki (I'd like to see them become friends, not romantically involved) in at least the next few volumes...

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooray for Seki and all the wonderful antics he gets into! This volume includes the class trip. Seki doesn't stop playing wherever he is, much to Rumi's absolute disgust and fascination. I kind of wish she'd cut him some slack, or at least allow herself to play right along with him more often. I do love how engaged she gets in things though, especially in regards to the robot family.

As a side note, I discovered the anime today. It's absolutely perfect and very much worth watching. :)

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3 or more is good for comics, manga or graphic novels. I never really know how to rate some of these. There are some where I'm totally in love, know automatically it is a 5 star, but then some I am just not sure about in the first couple volumes.*

I love the series as a whole, it is cute and funny.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this thinking it was volume 5 until I got to the end and realized it was book 5. (Not my fault - the cover read Vol 3. ) I was wondering why there were events mentioned that I didn't remember. This book (aside from the wracking my brain for memories I didn't have) was a delight.

[David Doel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a good chapter in this volume about parent visit day. A couple of other chapters covered a field trip. There are ~15 chapters per volume. What varies is what Seki plays with and Yokoi's mental observations. It gets old!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seki's mom is awesome!

[Sean O'Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooo, a bunch of double-sized chapters with actual plot developments, including the arrival of Seki's mum.

[Liz Licata · Rating 5 out of 5]

my theory that Rumi is slowly going insane is being upheld

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good volume. Story keeps getting more and more cute. And those covers are still adorable.

[Sarah Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, as always!

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seki's mum might be my new favourite character