Abnormal-kei Joshi is brief manga that went on hiatus and died in the interim, but it is fascinating one that had significant potential. Its exploration of deviancy and abnormality, expressed in different ways, let to some keenly fascinating scenarios which unfortunately ended on a cliff so sharp the reader ends up cutting themselves from the frustration of the untimely end. Shiina Shinya is well on his way to misogyny before he manfully steers into misanthropy as he comes to the conclusion that strange people are strange, and he simply does not understand them. Women in particular. The reason for that is that he attracts abnormal womanthe way a magnet attracts iron shavings in a mill. The first chapter introduces four of these abnormalities, although once you've read that first chapter, you realize that Shinya himself is abnormal. Takes one to know one, right?

It's genuinely fascinating, since each character has not only a distinct archetype, but distinct ways to express their personalities, at times without reference to their archetype. Further, the girls all interact with each other in different ways, with their relations varying (many of those relationships are quite bad, though, since their main point of contact is competing for Shinya's attention). Shinya keeps the secrets of each of these abnormal girls, and the results speak for themselves. Absurd humor, mystery, psychological mind games, murder, it's a great deal of fun, which makes it extra frustrating that it got cancelled.

The art work is on the rougher side of the spectrum, but it does its job well, so there's not much point in complaining. The real source of my complaint is that the cancellation, since it was in the middle of a very interesting arc. Without an ending, it's basically storytelling blue balls, but it's still a very fun ride while it lasts.