My Little Monster Manga Volumes: Full 13-Volume Guide

If you’ve been eyeing My Little Monster (となりの怪物くん / Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, the original Japanese title) and wondering how many My Little Monster manga volumes you’d need to collect — good news. This is a finished manga that wraps up in exactly 13 volumes, and every one of them is available in English. No cliffhangers, no indefinite hiatuses, no waiting. Just a complete romance from first page to last.

For anyone new to the format: manga are Japanese comics, and they’re typically read right-to-left — you open the book from what would be the “back” cover in a Western book and read panels from right to left across each page. It feels strange for about five minutes, then becomes second nature. Each volume collects several serialized chapters into a single bound book, so the 13 volumes here contain the entire story from beginning to end.

My Little Monster Manga Volumes at a Glance

My Little Monster is a romance and school life manga created by Robico. It was serialized in Kodansha’s Dessert magazine — meaning the chapters were originally published in that magazine over time before being collected into the tankōbon (individual volumes) you can buy today. The English edition is published by Kodansha USA and comes in both print and digital formats — 13 volumes total, matching the Japanese release exactly.

The series is rated 13+, making it accessible to teens and older readers. The tone stays grounded in high school life — awkward confessions, study sessions, friendships forming and fracturing — rather than veering into heavy or mature territory.

And because the series is complete, you can read the whole thing at your own pace. There’s something genuinely satisfying about picking up a romance manga and knowing the story has an ending waiting for you.

What Happens in Each Story Arc

The premise is deceptively simple. Shizuku Mizutani is a girl who cares about exactly one thing: her grades. She has no interest in socializing, no patience for distractions, and an iron-clad routine. Then there’s Haru Yoshida, a classmate who’s been suspended from school and has a reputation for being violent and unpredictable. When Shizuku is asked to deliver class handouts to Haru, their unlikely connection begins — and neither of them is remotely equipped to deal with it.

An “arc” here just means a distinct phase of the story — a stretch of volumes where the characters face a particular set of challenges or changes before the plot moves forward.

Early Volumes (Vols 1–4)

The opening stretch establishes the push and pull between these two leads. Haru latches onto Shizuku almost immediately, declaring his feelings with zero filter. Shizuku, who has never prioritized another person over her test scores, doesn’t know what to make of him. These volumes are funny and sharp, built on the comedy of two people who are each socially dysfunctional in completely different ways. Their classmates orbit around them — some baffled, some entertained — as the two leads start sorting through unfamiliar emotions.

Middle Volumes (Vols 5–9)

This is where the story broadens. The supporting cast steps forward — friends, rivals, and family members all get room to develop. Robico doesn’t let the series coast on romantic tension alone. Both Shizuku and Haru face questions about what they want from life beyond each other, and their personal growth carries as much weight as the romance. The middle stretch rewards patient readers; the character work here makes everything that follows land harder.

Final Volumes (Vols 10–13)

The last four volumes bring the central relationship and the full cast toward resolution. Without spoiling specifics, readers who are wondering whether the romance actually pays off — whether these two genuinely grow and earn the ending — can relax. Robico takes time to address the threads that matter, and both leads arrive at places that feel earned rather than convenient. The emotional payoff is real. The finale feels like a proper conclusion rather than an abrupt stop.

Volume 13 deserves a special mention. It’s extra-long and includes over 60 pages of bonus content after the main story wraps up. That’s not filler — it’s additional material that gives fans more time with these characters after the central plot concludes. For a 13-volume series, that’s a generous send-off.

Manga vs. Anime — What the Adaptation Covers

A TV anime adaptation began airing in October 2012, and an OVA (Original Video Animation — a standalone animated release separate from the broadcast series) followed in August 2013. If you watched the anime and loved it, you should know: the anime only adapts a portion of the manga. The story continues well beyond where the show ends.

Where to Start the Manga After the Anime

If you finished the anime and want to continue the story in manga form, most readers recommend picking up around Volume 4 or Volume 5. The anime covers roughly the first few volumes but rearranges and condenses some material, so starting a volume or two before where the show ends helps you catch scenes and character moments the adaptation skipped or condensed. Some readers prefer to start from Volume 1 to get the full experience in Robico’s original pacing — it’s a short enough series that doubling back doesn’t require a huge time investment.

The later volumes — where character relationships deepen, personal arcs reach their peaks, and the central romance actually resolves — are exclusive to the manga. Readers who come in after the anime will find substantial new material waiting for them, not just a retread of scenes they’ve already watched.

Put plainly: the manga is the only way to experience the complete story and its ending. The anime is a strong introduction, but the full story is on the page.

Which Edition Should You Buy

The English edition from Kodansha USA runs 13 volumes, mirroring the Japanese edition one-to-one. Both print and digital formats are available, so you can choose whichever suits your reading style — or mix and match.

The final English volume (Vol. 13) was released on March 29, 2016, so the complete set has been available for years. Print copies for most volumes shouldn’t be hard to track down through major retailers, and digital availability means you can start or fill gaps in your collection without hunting for out-of-print physical books (meaning volumes the publisher has stopped printing, which can become scarce or expensive on the secondhand market).

Where to Buy Digital

Digital volumes are available through major e-book platforms — Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and BookWalker are common options for manga. If you want to start reading tonight, digital is the fastest route to having the complete series in hand.

A Note on Japanese Special Editions

In Japan, Kodansha released special deluxe editions for a few volumes:

• Volume 7 — Drama CD deluxe edition (Drama CDs are audio dramas featuring voice actors performing scenes from the story)
• Volume 9 — Drama CD deluxe edition
• Volume 12 — DVD deluxe edition

These are Japanese-language collector items and were not included in the English release. They contain no additional story content beyond what’s in the standard volumes, so English readers have the complete narrative with the Kodansha USA editions.

Print vs. Digital

Both formats contain identical story content. If you love displaying manga on a shelf, print is the way to go — 13 volumes makes for a nice, compact set that looks great together. If convenience and instant access matter more, digital lets you grab the whole series without worrying about stock or shipping. Many readers mix both: buy digital to start reading immediately, then pick up print copies for the shelf when they find them at a good price.

How Much Does the Full Set Cost

Since the series runs 13 volumes, budget is a fair consideration. Individual volumes carry a typical manga retail price — the full set at list price generally falls in the range you’d expect for 13 standard-format manga volumes from a major publisher. Digital volumes are sometimes available at a slight discount from list price depending on the platform and any ongoing promotions. Buying used print copies or watching for retailer sales can also bring the total down. Either way, 13 volumes is a manageable commitment compared to longer-running series that stretch into 20, 30, or more books.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many volumes of My Little Monster are there?

13 volumes in both the Japanese and English editions. The series is fully complete.

Is My Little Monster finished?

Yes. The manga is complete, and all 13 volumes are available in English from Kodansha USA.

Who created My Little Monster?

Robico is the author and artist. The series was serialized in Kodansha’s Dessert magazine.

Who publishes My Little Monster in English?

Kodansha USA. The English edition is available in both print and digital formats.

Does the anime cover the whole manga?

No. The anime adaptation covers only a portion of the story. The manga continues further and is the only way to read the full narrative and its ending. If you finished the anime and want to know what happens next, most readers suggest picking up around Volume 4 or 5 to catch material the show condensed or skipped.

Is there bonus content in the final volume?

Yes. Volume 13 is extra-long and includes over 60 pages of bonus material after the main story concludes. It’s a substantial addition that gives the series a generous farewell.

Do I need to read manga right-to-left?

Yes. Like most manga published in English, My Little Monster is printed in the original Japanese right-to-left reading format. You open the book from what would be the back cover of a Western book and read panels from right to left. It takes a few pages to adjust, but most readers find it intuitive very quickly.