Imperfect Girl was a pretty good manga. I read it all in one sitting as it was rather intriguing and kept me reading until the end which does come off as rather quick and abrupt, I'll say, but that's all intention because it was all so simple to begin with. The solution was to simply reach out and get help and the healing would begin, but the MC kept overthinking things, putting it off, thinking about himself, getting out of there and just not caring what happens to her after.
Anyway, you're probably wonder what the actual plot is. Now, on his way to school, a boy sees a few girls run over by truck-kun, but the girl who wasn't hit looks like she doesn't care as she first hits pause on her game and puts it away before running to them like it's all a facade. Yup, something's definitely up there. However, she notices that the MC saw her do that and after sneaking into his apartment and hiding under his desk the following day, she brings him back to her house at knife-point and locks him in the closet as her personal pet, and thus begins our descent into madness. Or rather, the MC overthinking everything like when he doesn't think about leaving the closet and when he steps into the living room when the answer is actually so simple. Well, he is a failed writer so thinking a lot does make sense in this regard, and the manga does well the explain why all these events happen. Thumbs up.
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| God, I wish that were me |
First off, you'll wonder "why doesn't he just phone the police, this is stupid" like I have seen many people say about it, but the manga itself explains why he wouldn't. I mean, try explaining to the police that a yandere loli trailed you back to her house at knife-point and forced you to live in her closet. See what I mean? You'd be the one to get in trouble. However, that's literally what he should have done as it would have solved the mystery immediately and get the girl the help that she needed.
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| That must be one pretty fucking comfy closet |
In short, she lives by insane rules that her parents drilled into her and like what a child does, they obey their parents especially when they beat you when you make mistakes. She lives by them and to her, they're a matter of life and death. That's why she does the things that she does and acts that way. It's not because she wants to be mean or weird, it's just that it's what her parents taught her to do. Our MC wanders about the house days into his captivity, discovers no food in the fridge (she ate everything including the frozen food and she ate them frozen), her notebook with her rules repeated over and over, heaps full of laundry, and her dead parents who strangled each other in their bedroom among other things. But this is all because she is a literal child. She doesn't know how to do such things herself and she doesn't understand what it is to die, and this is all done very realistically especially when you consider the difference of raising a child in Japan and how they develop. Don't judge it by Western standards as you'll only annoy yourself.
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| "Always feed your pets". She brings him her school lunch to make sure he is fed at her own expense. That part hurt, and so did the part where her school lunch money ran out for next month. Food in school should be a right for fuck sake. |
The manga does very well to subvert and deconstruct (yes, that word) many things as well as your expectations. I went into it thinking it was some yandere thing, but I came out like "Whoa, bro, she's messed up in the head. Poor thing. Please be daijoubu". It gives off a certain thriller and horror vibe and the atmosphere is done very well, but when you realise the truth of the matter, things are not so sinister. It's a tale of a young girl who has been mentally and physically traumatised who desperately needs help and the only thing that somebody needed to do was take notice and get it for her which is what the MC does after discovering the truth.
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| Don't expect it to go the hentai route. Pure dread here. |
Overall, Imperfect Girl was a rather interesting and entertaining read. You may feel disappointed at the abrupt ending and how things played out, but you have to think about the meaning of the story and not judge it based on what you want it to be. It ends so quickly after he calls the police because that's just how simple and quick it could have been handled. Art-wise, it has a really nice style to it which the manga really benefited from, but I really wonder what those HxH-tier floating fish were about. Probably just to be weird, but it also probably means something. Don't ask me because I have no clue.
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And she ends up a normal, functioning
person in the end... OR DOES SHE!!! |
Also, I think this would make a pretty good anime, but I'm unsure how they would execute it, or if people would enjoy it considering it isn't yandere loli as from first glance. Lastly, I actually bought all the volumes of this to use for scanlation before it was officially licensed, but I kept it in my backlog as I worked through other things. However, I'm glad it was officially licensed. It would have been literal gobshite in comparison to this official release. Also, now I don't have to debind them and can keep them as a little souvenir. Besides, I got all the volumes for like £6 off ebay including delivery from Japan so I'm a busy little bee about it. At any rate, I would recommend Imperfect Girl since it's rather distinct and an enjoyable read. I give a 7.5/10. Check it out.
