Seki continues to goof off, and Yokoi continues to watch him and occasionally try to thwart him. In this volume, Yokoi has to borrow Seki's Social Studies textbook and learns that

There are zero new developments as far as characters and character relationships go. Goto still thinks Yokoi is under Seki's thrall, and Seki's sister still desperately wants to play with him while he resists and ignores her.

My favorite thing in this volume was the edited textbook. It was really cleverly done and something that I could imagine a bored kid doing in real life.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Seki continues to goof off, and Yokoi continues to be fascinated/charmed despite herself. Or she tries to thwart him, especially when his games showcase his sadistic streak. In this volume, Seki tries (and fails) to outwit Uzawa. Also, Yokoi teams up with Seki's mom during parent visiting day in an effort to defeat his games. Goto continues to think Yokoi is passionately attracted to Seki. And the robot family is back again. Yokoi

This volume renewed my flagging interest in this series, at least a little. It was nice to see Seki's mom, who turns out to be an expert rubber band shooter. Yokoi continues to be self-deceiving, telling herself that she can ignore Seki anytime she wishes when what she really wants to do is watch and see what his latest game will be.

I'm running out of new things to say about this series...

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Yokoi continues to watch (and sometimes thwart) Seki's goofing off, and Goto continues to misunderstand Seki and Yokoi's relationship. Seki

Okay, the premise is now seriously wearing thin. The only reason I'm still reading is because I have a pile of these via the library. They're not bad, but it all feels so same-y, even though Seki's games are always changing.

I like Seki's ingenuity, but it just isn't enough to carry a multi-volume series. Also, sometimes Yokoi frustrates me. Seki's weirdness should be normal to you by now, just ignore him and pay attention during class like you keep saying you want to do!

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Seki continues to goof off, and Yokoi continues to watch in fascination and occasionally try to thwart his crueler games. This time around, Goto actually witnesses Seki's goofing off...and

I've now read enough volumes to get a feel for the role the series' few characters play. Uzawa is Seki's nemesis, the guy who messes with Seki's meticulous creations because he thinks Seki is just goofing off in class in a more normal way and he wants to join in. Goto is the girl who continually misunderstands Seki and Yokoi's relationship, even though she actually sees Seki in action this time. The robots aren't exactly characters, but it's now clear that Morishige plans to have them be series regulars, since they've shown up in every volume. This time around they escaped being found during an inspection.

Seki still hasn't said a word, and I suspect this will continue for the rest of the series. I do wonder what he thinks of Yokoi. Does he see her as a friend? Or at least something close? They have little fights over his meaner games, like his efforts to sink the snow bunny he made, but he doesn't seem to dislike her involvement the way he does Uzawa's.

The premise is starting to wear thin. I accidentally started volume 4 and didn't even realize I'd skipped most of this volume. This series is essentially the same sort of thing happening over and over - just one elaborate game/diversion after another, with Yokoi either enjoying it or getting mad (or both).

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Seki's efforts to entertain himself (and Yokoi?) when he should be paying attention in class continue. Again, many of his activities tell stories - like when Seki pretends to be a Titan eating hot dog warriors, or when he creates snapshots of the life of a Lucky Laughter Game man. Yokoi can't help but get caught up in his stories, sometimes even to the point of getting directly involved and trying to rein in Seki's more sadistic tendencies in order to make his stories happier. In this volume, we meet Goto, a girl who secretly admires Yokoi. Goto misunderstands Seki and Yokoi's relationship and thinks they're secretly dating.

It's a one-note series, but it's cute and strangely fascinating. Seki has yet to say a single word, but Yokoi has painted a mental picture of him as an imaginative and detail-oriented boy who takes pride in his work (too bad he doesn't channel that into his schoolwork). When his classmates see his shoddy childhood creations, he gets embarrassed at the thought that they might find out he was the one who made them.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)