Tonari no Seki-kun

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Tonari no Seki-kun

Cover of Tonari no Seki-kun volume 1.
となりの関くん
Genre Comedy
Manga
Written by Takuma Morishige
Published by Media Factory
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Comic Flapper
Original run November 2010 – ongoing
Volumes 5
Original animation DVD
Directed by Yūji Mutoh
Studio Shin-Ei Animation
Released January 4, 2014
Anime television series
Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time
Directed by Yūji Mutoh
Studio Shin-Ei Animation
Network TV Tokyo, AT-X
Original run January 5, 2014 – ongoing

Tonari no Seki-kun (となりの関くん) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takuma Morishige. Originally published as a one-shot in 2010, it started serialization in the November 2010 issue of Media Factory's Comic Flapper magazine. An anime DVD was released bundled with the limited edition of the manga's fifth volume on January 4, 2014, and a television series adaptation began airing in Japan on January 5, 2014.[1]

Plot

These are the observations by Rumi Yokoi of her classmate, Toshinari Seki, as he plays incredibly elaborate games at his desk and somehow never gets caught in the process.

Characters

Rumi Yokoi (横井 るみ Yokoi Rumi)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa
Rumi is the main protagonist and narrator of Seki's games. She continuously attempts to pay attention in class but is almost always distracted by her neighbor's antics. She sometimes tries to make Seki concentrate on class by sabotaging his projects, but usually finds herself joining in on them, though Seki misunderstands these attempts. She has bob-cut white hair that grades down to pink, brown eyes, and is rumored to like Seki.
Toshinari Seki (関 俊成 Seki Toshinari)
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono
Normally referred to by his surname, Seki is Rumi's classmate and is the cheerful and mysterious titular character. He is always playing games at his desk, from intermediate to incredibly complex, though he never seems to study. In his desk is a complex array of well-organized objects arranged in a way that if disturbed by anyone but himself it will be impossible to put back together. He almost never speaks. He has short black hair, green eyes, and is somewhat enigmatic.
Gotō (後藤)
Gotō is Rumi's friend. She thinks that Seki and Rumi are dating.

Media

Manga

Tonari no Seki-kun is written and illustrated by Takuma Morishige. It began as a one-shot manga published in the August 2010 issue of Media Factory's Comic Flapper magazine and later started serialization in the magazine's November 2010 issue. The first tankōbon volume was published on April 23, 2011,[2] and five volumes have been released as of January 4, 2014.[3][4] The fifth volume was released simultaneously with a limited edition, bundled with an original animation DVD.[1][4] The two back-to-back episodes on the DVD were produced alongside the anime, but do not feature the same opening or ending sequence.

Anime

The anime television series, directed by Yūji Mutoh and produced by Shin-Ei Animation, began airing on January 5, 2014. The episodes range from seven to eight minutes long. The opening theme is "Meiwaku Spectacle" (迷惑スペクタクル, "Nuisance Spectacle") by Kana Hanazawa, and the ending theme is "Set Them Free" by Akira Jimbo.

Episode list

No. Title Original air date
OAD"Topple the Flag"
"Bōtaoshi" (棒倒し)		January 4, 2014
"Cat"
"Neko" (猫)

Seki pours a bucket of sand onto his desk, then sticks a small flag into the top. He begins to pull sand away from the base in a beach game Rumi recognizes. When the structure becomes unstable, he takes a spray bottle from his bag and uses water to harden the exterior while still carefully shaping. Finally, he is left with an almost impossibly-thin tower of sand, still delicately supporting the flag at the top. Suddenly called upon by the teacher, Seki is reluctant to stand. Interpreting this as him not knowing the answer, their teacher instead asks Rumi, who is surprised by the request and jumps to her feet, her motion causing the tower to crumble. Seki stares her down, but she returns his glare and retorts that he is in the wrong for not paying attention in class. Seki appears embarrassed and looks away, while Rumi silently notes she grew a little stronger that day.

Later, Seki takes two cats out of his schoolbag and begins patting them at his desk. Rumi is overcome by the cuteness of the animals, then jealous that Seki is keeping both to himself. Her attempts to lure the cats away are casually foiled by Seki, who has proper cat toys and small dried fish. When Seki notices Rumi has begun crying, he silently motions to offer her one. Rumi appears delighted with her chance to pat one of the cats, but it is shortly revealed that Seki only gave her a piece of dried fish, as he snacks on one himself.

1 "Domino"
"Domino" (ドミノ) 		January 5, 2014
Rumi notices Seki lining up erasers on his desk next to hers. She watches on as he begins to construct an elaborate domino show using the erasers, which appears to culminate in setting off a large firework. Her frantic attempts to prevent him setting the erasers in motion are ineffective, and she takes cover as the ignition of the firework is triggered. After a few moments of undisturbed silence, she looks back and finally notes that the pyrotechnic was not live. When her teacher calls her out on not paying attention, she tries to blame Seki, but he has cleared his desk in a matter of seconds and now appears to be studying. 
2 "Shogi"
"Shōgi" (将棋) 		January 12, 2014
Seki takes out a box of shogi pieces and sets up a game on his desk, however none of his moves would be legal in a real match, as instead he uses the pieces to animate a small story. Becoming emotionally invested in the melodrama playing out beside her, Rumi decides to intervene with the antagonist character, and flicks her eraser at the game board, knocking the shogi piece out the window. Seki lunges to catch it but misses, and turns back to glare at her. Realizing what she has done, Rumi scrambles for her notebook and feigns innocence. 
3 "Desk Polishing"
"Tsukue-migaki" (机みがき) 		January 19, 2014
At first Rumi thinks Seki is taking notes in class for once, however she soon realizes he is actually polishing and waxing his desk, eventually achieving a mirror-like shine. He offers to polish Rumi's desk too, but she refuses. When later noticing Seki idly cleaning his already sparkling desk and sighing, Rumi takes pity and offers her pencilboard. Seki is delighted by the opportunity to polish something else, but when he finishes and hands it back to Rumi, she is horrified as the build-up of static electricity makes her hair stand on-end. She angrily turns to Seki, planning on never being nice to him again, but notices he made a suicide attack, for his hair is also suspended by the static electric charge. 
4 "Go"
"Igo" (囲碁) 		January 26, 2014
Taking out the small stones for a game of Go, Seki instead arranges them in the forms of a bear and rabbit, and moves them around to animate a battle between the animals. Hearing mention of examinable content, Rumi scrambles to take notes while also watching Seki's game, and accidentally copies down a drawing of the creatures fighting. Seki rearranges the stones to reveal the animals have combined into a new character, and Rumi focuses on her work, thinking this the end. However, she looks back and is shocked to see the new character in battle with what appears to be its shadow self. Suddenly scolded by her teacher for daydreaming, Rumi attempts to blame Seki, but as usual his desk is already clear. Without thinking, she presents the picture she drew earlier as proof of Seki's guilt. Greeted with confusion, Rumi realizes that the drawing only seems to confirm she wasn't paying attention. 
5 "Eraser Stamp"
"Keshigomuhanko" (消しゴムはんこ) 		February 2, 2014
During a science class, Rumi notices Seki carving his name into an eraser, then using it as a stamp. However, he quickly hides it away when his neighbor Uzawa comes close to seeing it. Later, Seki continues working on the stamp, putting up with a bored Uzawa going through his belongings. Revealing a special eraser with a hollow inside, Seki puts away the stamp and admires his handiwork, while Rumi and Uzawa realize they're running out of time and hurry to copy down the blackboard. When Uzawa makes a mistake, he grabs the eraser Seki is holding, and Seki watches in horror as it crumbles apart and destroys the stamp within as Uzawa applies pressure to the delicate case. While noting how crestfallen Seki looks, Rumi realizes the board has been cleared and she didn't finish her notes. At the end of the lesson, Uzawa packs up and leaves, while Seki and Rumi both sit dejected at their desks. 
6 "Disaster Drill"
"Hinan kunren" (避難訓練) 		February 9, 2014

Reception

Over 1 million copies of the manga have been sold as of April 2013.[5] The manga was one of the works nominated in the fifth Manga Taishō awards in 2012.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Crunchyroll to Stream Tonari no Seki-kun Comedy Anime". Anime News Network. December 30, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2014. 
  2. ↑ "となりの関くん 1" [Tonari no Seki-kun 1] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved April 2, 2013. 
  3. ↑ "となりの関くん　⑤" [Tonari no Seki-kun 5] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved January 6, 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "となりの関くん　⑤　DVD付き限定版" [Tonari no Seki-kun 5: limited edition bundled with DVD] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved January 6, 2013. 
  5. ↑ "となりの関くん 4" [Tonari no Seki-kun 4] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved April 2, 2013. 
  6. ↑ "15 Titles Nominated for 5th Manga Taisho Awards". Anime News Network. January 16, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2013. 

External links

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