Character Review of Haru Yoshida from My Little Monster

A note to my guests: My review includes spoilers as I do not see the point of entering a serious discussion of a work by separating my opinions and interpretations from close readings of the events in a story. There are no “SPOILERS!!” warnings in the text because I want to maintain the flow and logic of my writing argument, so if you have not seen all of the events in a work being reviewed, you will have to read at your own discretion.

Let’s talk about My Little Monster. I have a lot to say about the series, but I want to focus on the character most viewers have a problem with: Haru Yoshida. Haru is openly and excessively violent, socially awkward, and jealous of his love interest Shizuku Mizutani. He is repeatedly inconsiderate of Shizuku’s boundaries, grabbing her and covering her mouth to prevent her screaming on multiple occasions and, in one instance, infamously threatening to rape her if she makes a sound. These behaviors are all indeed problematic, and I, along with many other viewers who have vehemently written negative reviews about the show,  was shocked and appalled when I saw them take place. As a feminist and civil human being, I can’t justify these actions.

My Little Monster, AKA Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. Created by Robico and published by Kodansha.

However, as a viewer, I can’t hate Haru or stop liking the show to the extent that I do, and I don’t think Haru’s character should be disregarded as a misogynist pig. I prefer to think there is a reason for Haru’s behavior since the show seems to emphasize thoughtfulness not only as a theme but also as a quality of production and storytelling. In fact, I argue that Haru acts the way he does because I interpret his character as a combination of two things: (1) a representation of a boy living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) such as Asperger syndrome and (2) a representation of the male population as a whole.

I watched the first, and currently only, season of My Little Monster with my younger sister, and we shared this thought during the first episode: Haru’s got to have some kind of autism spectrum disorder. We have a half-sister in elementary school who has been diagnosed with ASD, and although she has never exhibited violent impulses, her emotional volatility and difficulty with understanding social cues are traits that we easily identified in Haru. Because Haru functions well physically and cognitively, we think he demonstrates the following aspects associated with Asperger syndrome:

• limited or inappropriate social interactions

This symptom manifests in his difficulty with making friends and consequent isolation as well as his inability to regulate his emotions and tendency to act too impulsively and extremely in social situations (including clingy, obsessive behavior with Shizuku; severely beating a schoolmate on at least three occasions in elementary school, middle school, and high school; and running away from people or situations he doesn’t like).

• challenges with nonverbal communication (gestures, facial expression, etc.) coupled with average to above average verbal skills

We see Haru’s struggle with understanding why people are afraid of him, and in one episode, Shizuku teaches him that he shouldn’t glare at strangers if he wants to make friends. His verbal communication is blunt and at times impolite, but he is sincere and honest. I actually find this characteristic refreshing and heartwarming not only in Haru but also in almost any character who exhibits it.

• inability to understand social/emotional issues or nonliteral phrases

This point is a little tricky for me to tackle because there are instances when Haru shows that he has a quick wit and appreciation for jokes, especially regarding sexual innuendos. However, Haru remains fairly oblivious to Shizuku’s responses to his advances and doesn’t understand that her desire to go to a college prep school despite the fact that he doesn’t want her to go. He assumes that, because she reciprocates his romantic feelings, she will give up doing what’s important to her for the sake of spending time with him over his rival Yamaken. He is shocked when Asako Natsume tells him that Shizuku is disgusted when he tries to touch her at a time when Shizuku doesn’t like him. He is also completely oblivious to Oshima’s crush on him, misreading her confession to him as a joke.

• lack of eye contact

When Haru learns to try smiling at people and becomes popular with his female classmates, he declares that his social success must be due to “the power of eye contact,” implying that he typically avoids making eye contact.

• obsession with specific, often unusual, topics.

Haru demonstrates very narrow and intense focus at times, particularly when he spends almost an entire episode looking for a firefly. He stops by his friends to ask if they’ve “seen it,” but he never tells them what he’s looking for, and he is so preoccupied with his search mission that he leaves behind several of his belongings during his journey. He is similarly focused when he determines that he will catch a cray fish for Shizuku despite the fact that the river where he fishes will not yield cray fish in the winter. He is also strangely attached to his rooster Nagoya, whom he carries with him all over campus. I suppose he is particularly inclined to animals.

Haru also demonstrates difficulty judging personal space—although his motor skills are exceptional given his tendency to climb up walls, jump out of windows, and aim successful punches—and superior rote memory since he was able to memorize high school-level work in middle school well enough to make perfect grades when he actually began high school.

For more information on Asperger syndrome and the complete list of symptoms associated with the disorder, visit the Autism Speaks website and the Autism Spectrum Education Network (ASPEN):

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/asperger-syndrome

 http://aspennj.org/what-is-asperger-syndrome. 

 The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says this about teenagers with ASD:

During the teenage years, adolescents become more aware of other people and their relationships with them. While most teenagers are concerned with acne, popularity, grades, and dates, teens with ASD may become painfully aware that they are different from their peers. For some, this awareness may encourage them to learn new behaviors and try to improve their social skills. For others, hurt feelings and problems connecting with others may lead to depression, anxiety, or other mental disorders. One way that some teens with ASD may express the tension and confusion that can occur during adolescence is through increased autistic or aggressive behavior. Teens with ASD will also need support to help them understand the physical changes and sexual maturation they experience during adolescence. (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml, para. 10, my emphasis)

Haru certainly struggles with maintaining his self-esteem, regulating his emotions, forming normal peer relationships, and understanding other people’s emotions, perspectives, and social responses to his behavior. He is frustrated with his inability to connect to others and knows that he is different, as evidenced in the childhood flashbacks and insecurity he faces with making friends. The anime indicates that Haru has been “different” since early childhood, and his older brother once said that he hated Haru for being a “troublemaker” and blames Haru for creating strain in the family, especially with their father. Haru is lonely and insecure because he doesn’t understand why he can’t be considered “normal.” He tells Shizuku that he’s afraid of being “left behind,” meaning given up or abandoned. He doesn’t want to scare her off, and he becomes moody and volatile when she ignores him. He wears glasses for a day after hearing Oshima jokingly say that she was nominated for a class leadership role because she wears glasses, taking her quip seriously. Haru becomes disheartened and upset when he is predictably not nominated, not understanding why his plan didn’t work even though he had apparently fulfilled the glasses requirement.

His confusion and obliviousness regarding others’ feelings often result in angry and violent outbursts. He often acts on impulse, and Shizuku chides him more than once for not thinking before he acts. Haru genuinely does not recognize that his actions are bad, and ever since childhood, he has never understood why people are afraid of him. Some viewers interpret his self-centeredness as typical male egotism, calling his character a harmful and problematic representation of a bad boy for Shizuku to fix and the anime as a whole a harmful representation of what a relationship should be that normalizes domestic violence and rape. I certainly understand this view, but I contend that there is more to the story.

Haru is not really a cruel or hateful person. He repeatedly shows an investment in helping his friends.

He has no real intention of harming his friends, even though he says occasionally inconsiderate things and misses a punch and hits the wrong person. The rape threat is undoubtedly bad and unjustifiable. However, his learning disorder prevents him from understanding the real implications of this threat from Shizuku’s perspective; all he knows is that he wants her to stay quiet for a moment, that he is strong, and that people respond to him when he intimidates them. 

Because he was isolated and friendless for most of his life and apparently suffered an unhappy childhood with his family, he has no real model of prosocial behavior to guide him. Shizuku unwittingly becomes this model, and Haru does make real behavioral changes. He listens to advice from his friends, taking care not to touch Shizuku after hearing Natsume’s explanation of Shizuku’s feelings and resisting violent impulses when Shizuku intervenes. He also respects Shizuku’s boundaries when she explains to him her reasons for avoiding him and when she explains her decision to continue to attend prep school with a promise to spend more time with him in the future.

Haru is not a bad person; he’s a socially confused and insecure person because of possible ASD. He acts like a dick because, well, many people with ASD simply have trouble recognizing when their behavior does not follow acceptable social rules. He is in the process of learning to be mindful of others and healing his childhood anxieties with the help of Shizuku his new friends. His character makes for an interesting, complex, and realistic representation of living with ASD in adolescence and provides a needed representation of people with ASD in popular media.

As I think about this topic more, I think that Haru’s definitively unfeminist behavior is also representative of heteronormative male behavior in general. His quickness to violence is common in many patriarchal societies, especially in the West, that tell men that the only “safe,” manly emotions for them to express are anger and pride. His inability to think from other people’s, especially women’s, perspectives is a problem that many feminists seek to address in male society. He treats rape like a joke because rape is a joke to many men who simply do not understand its real impact, and he doesn’t respect Shizuku’s boundaries in the same way that many men simply do not perceive females as needing the same space, readily speaking to, touching, and making advances on women and often becoming indignant or hostile when they are refused. Shizuku’s desire to help Haru correct his ways is not necessarily a harmful example for girls: men who are ignorant of women’s problems and points of view are not necessarily bad people; they simply do not have experience with perceiving the world from a difference lens since patriarchal societies reward men for their problematic behavior. Often, sharing open conversations and experience with women can help them reform their views and behavior, and Shizuku handles Haru’s ignorance with compassion and sincerity, even if she becomes impatient at times. Haru takes Shizuku’s and Natsume’s advice to heart and demonstrates a willingness to understand and change when he alters his behavior around Shizuku.