Here’s my take after watching 21 episodes of the fun and time-killing: The Master of Killing Time by Shin-Ei Animation Studio.
How should I put this…
Tonari no Seki Kun is a great take on an enjoyable way to kill time. Since each episode is just around 7 minutes it is easy to watch on your phone while on the go and it does not try and stretch itself so that the story or “period” becomes laggy.
But don’t be thrown away with the running time since it remarkably retains the essence of the story, the tension it brings, and the laughs that make you break out in laughter.
The story mainly revolves around the quirky and playful Toshinari Seki and his curious observer/forced participant class neighbor Rumi Yokoi.
Each episode is a period in their class and is a story in itself. During each of those periods, Seki is doing different ways to kill time like toppling a chain of eraser domino, playing weird shogi, buffing his desk, and my favorite playing with his robot family.
The story does not take itself seriously and that is what is great about it!
The art is good enough to make the characters and the story take the lead of the story and the music is fun and catchy, especially the ending song.
You would not regret watching Tonari no Seki Kun and you might be addicted and binge-watch all episodes in one sitting. But if you end up doing that and want more you can continue reading the great manga of the same name by Takuma Morishige as it has currently 73 chapters and still going.
With that said, I will give Tonari no Seki Kun 9 shogi pieces out of 10!
