Masamune kun's Revenge

Plot

Masamune Makabe was a chubby boy who had a close relationship with Aki Adagaki, a beautiful wealthy girl, until one day she cruelly rejected him and gave him the nickname "Pig's Foot". Seeking revenge against his tormentor, Masamune changed his name, began dieting and working out everyday to become a fit and handsome, albeit vain, high school student. When he encounters Aki once again, she doesn't recognize him and he commits to seduce her into falling in love with him and embarrassingly reject her to exact vengeance, but beneath the surface lies a deeper relationship between the two.

Main characters

Masamune Makabe (真壁 政宗, Makabe Masamune)

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae (Japanese); Josh Grelle (English)Masamune Makabe is the main protagonist of the series. He is a handsome boy, but he was once a chubby kid that people liked to make fun of. In his childhood, he befriended Aki Adagaki but was brutally rejected by her after confessing and nicknamed him "Piggy" (豚足, Tonsoku, Pig's foot), causing him to undergo several diets and training and also changed his family name thanks to his grandfather. He's also committed to getting revenge on Aki; planning to make Aki fall in love with him then cruely reject her - calling this his "Dead or Love" plan.

Aki Adagaki (安達垣 愛姫, Adagaki Aki)

Voiced by: Ayaka Ohashi (Japanese); Morgan Garrett (Teenager), Alexis Tipton (child) (English)Aki is a rich, beautiful girl known for her brutal treatment of men, gaining her the nickname "Cruel Princess" (残虐姫, Zangyaku Hime). Eight years prior, she allegedly rejected Masamune-kun and gave him the nickname "Pig's foot", leading to his transformation and commitment to revenge. She has an enormous appetite, often shown having her maid purchase several whole meals at lunch for her even after she'd consumed five or six. She claimed that fat is a symbol of wealth, implying that chubby guys are her type. It was revealed that Aki's hatred towards men is because of her crush - who turned out to be Masamune - suddenly gone without words, leaving her heart broken. She claimed to never had nicknamed Masamune "Pig's foot" in the first place, and never heard of that nickname before.

Yoshino Koiwai (小岩井 吉乃, Koiwai Yoshino)

Voiced by: Inori Minase (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)Yoshino is Aki's maid and follower. She seems to be a clumsy girl. However, beneath her clumsy and shy appearance she is actually extremely deceptive and cold, able to deceive and hurt Aki without a second thought. Unlike Aki, Yoshino easily gained weight from sweets. Later it was revealed that Yoshino had disguised herself as Aki eight years before, rejected Masamune, and gave him the nickname "Piggy" due to jealously towards Aki's affection to him. She has been regretting this and attempted to repay what she has done after she and Masamune reunited in high school.

Neko Fujinomiya (藤ノ宮 寧子, Fujinomiya Neko)

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori (Japanese); Megan Shipman (English)Neko Fujinomiya is a cute and cheerful rich girl who transferred school after Makabe "helped her" and fell in love with him. She has a frail body, needing to consume many drugs although she often makes jokes about it. Due to her habit of not wearing any panties, Aki and Yoshino nicknamed her "Pantie-less Woman". After Masamune rejected her, Neko's condition got worse and she underwent a surgery abroad, and then came back with better health.

Tae Futaba (双葉 妙, Futaba Tae)

Voiced by: Azusa Tadokoro (Japanese); Caitlin Glass (English)Masamune's class rep who loves BL and claimed to have confessed her feelings to Masamune once, but got rejected.

Kojūrō Shuri (朱里 小十郎, Shuri Kojūrō)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese); Justin Briner (English)Masamune's best friend who looks like a girl, but is actually a guy. He has a small crush on Neko.

Kanetsugu Gasō (雅宗 兼次, Gasō Kanetsugu)

Voiced by: Mitsuki SaigaA chubby guy who claimed to be "Masamune" - Aki's childhood friend in the past. Gaso turns out to be a female pretending to be a male.

Manga

Writer Hazuki Takeoka and Korean female artist Tiv began serializing the manga in the December 2012 issue of Ichijinsha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Comic Rex on October 27, 2012. Eight volumes have been released to date.

A spin-off titled "Masamune-kun's Re??? (Somehow))" (政宗くんのリ○○○（リなんとか）, Masamune-kun no Ri○○○ (Nantoka)) is drawn by Yūki Shinichi and is serialized on Gekkan ComicREX starting from November 2016 issue.

North American publisher Seven Seas Entertainment announced their license to the series on September 4, 2015.

Light novel

A light novel adaptation by Hazuki Takeoka, with art by Tiv, has been published by Ichijinsha in a single volume released on December 20, 2013.

Anime

On June 23, 2016, publisher Ichijinsha announced that the series would receive an anime television series adaptation. The anime is being produced by Silver Link and directed by Mirai Minato, with Michiko Yokote and Kento Shimoyama writing the scripts, and Yuki Sawairi designing the characters. Toshiki Kameyama is the series' sound director while Lantis is producing the music. The opening theme is performed by Ayaka Ohashi titled "Wagamama Mirror Heart" (ワガママMIRROR HEART, "Selfish Mirror Heart") and the ending theme is performed by ChouCho titled "Elemental World" while AT-X's version is titled "Manazashi Silent" (まなざしサイレント, Manazashi Sairento, "Silent Gaze") sung by Mimori Suzuko under her character name Neko Fujinomiya. The series premiered on January 5, 2017, and is broadcast on Tokyo MX, AT-X, and BS Fuji. Funimation has licensed the series in North America. The anime will run for 12 episodes released across six BD/DVD volumes.

Reception

Reviewing the first volume, Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network stated that the combination of revenge comedy and romance was "working thus far." She felt that Aki's servant was the most interesting character, but also enjoyed Masamune, especially how he had to "think about the correct response for each situation he finds himself in". She called Aki "utterly detestable", and noted that it would be difficult for the series to turn around and make her a romantic interest. She wrote that the art was attractive, but noted that the drawings of women were often anatomically incorrect.

The anime series first episode received poor reviews from Anime News Network's staff during the Winter 2017 season previews. Theron Martin enjoyed the series the most, stating that with the clichés he should have hated the first episode, but instead he found it quite entertaining. Other staffers weren't so positive. Nick Creamer called it a "fairly generic romcom premiere starring a very repugnant cast," while Bamboo Dong claimed it was "a plain piece of toast smeared with unresolved childhood memories of rejection" and complained about how males are portrayed as hapless victims of the heartless women. Jacob Chapman called the comedy "dehumanizing" and the episode was not engaging. Paul Jensen was more positive in that he found the story and characters were unusual enough to be interesting, but he had mixed feelings as he was not sure what the series wanted to be. Rebecca Silverman states that the episode walks a fine line between comedy and cruelty and her strong dislike of Aki is definitely coloring this episode for her.