Rating: 4 Stars ★★★★
Monthly-Girls Nozaki-kun continues to be one of the funniest (& completely underrated) manga series I've ever read!
Everything about this manga from the delightful cast of characters, comedic moments, hilarious misunderstandings, are what make Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun my favorite manga that I can always count to make me laugh & put a smile on my face!
In this volume, the side-characters have a more prominent role throughout the various skits:
-Mikoshiba goes to Nozaki for help on figuring out how group dates work (one of my favorite moments in this volume!)
-Ken Miyame (Nozaki's editor) goes to a high school reunion & there's a running joke that continues where Chiyo is w/ Nozaki and learns more about Ken (which is funny b/c Chiyo has a crush on Nozaki, but Nozaki doesn't really notice & cares more about impressing his editor than anyone else)
-Wakamatsu & Seo go out to the movies (another one of my favorite moments! <3)
-Nozaki & Mikoshiba try to act bad to get into the mindset for character creation in another chapter in Nozaki's manga (the funniest moment of the whole manga)
And more hilarious moments between the "Prince" of the school, Yuu Kashima & Mayuki the drama club director!
I loved that there was more development to the amazing characters aside from Nozaki & Chiyo (though I love them too!)! What also makes this manga so great is the subtle jokes you don't see coming until the end!
The way the author plays with romance tropes and the great cast of characters is what makes Monthly Girls Nozaki such a great series!
Also within each skit, there's always subtle moments where character-development + differing sides to the characters gets expanded on which I love so much! Because it isn't always obvious, Tsubaki not only builds her characters slowly where it works so well, but the humor & use of tropes in a comedic way always gets delivered in ways I don't expect! <3
Mikorin Mikoshiba just continues to try & be more confident & outgoing, but just can' quite get there! He is the shy heart-throb I continue to love & adore!! I love seeing how he's growing little by little with each volume (´▽`ʃƪ)<3 <3 <3
I also loved getting more subtle growth to Kashima & Mayuki's relationship (its really a relationship based on them butting heads with eachother, but it works so perfectly!) Their development is what I look forward to with each volume!
Also another relationship I can't wait to see more of is with Chiyo's friend Seo & Wakamatsu! Their one is just filled with hilarious misunderstandings & they easily become one of my new favorite duos!
Overall what makes Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun such a hilarious + entertaining series is that its just filled with tropes turned upside down and lots of misunderstandings!
The bonds between each character that are clearly seen with each of them continues to be another aspect of this manga series that I love so much!! You see how much this dynamic group of friends get into the wackiest situations, but are always there for each other!
My only critique is that because Vol. 3 is more focused on the character dynamics between each skit and not so much on the weaving of the plot, the pacing seemed a little slower to me. Because its also more character-driven, it does feel a bit different than previous volumes.
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun Vol. 3 continues to build its unique cast of characters and really focuses on the bonds between them as they get into hilarious situations! Though the plot is more episodic compared to previous volumes, this manga continues to brilliantly put twists on tropes, deliver perfect comedic timing, & is filled with hilarious adventures that continue to bring its characters to life!
Can't wait for volume 4!