Aharen-san wa Hakarenai

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Reina Aharen
阿波連さんははかれない
Genre	Romantic comedy
Manga
Written by	Asato Mizu
Published by	Shueisha
Imprint	Jump Comics+
Magazine	Shōnen Jump+
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	January 29, 2017 – April 30, 2023
Volumes	17
Anime television series
Directed by	Yasutaka Yamamoto Tomoe Makino
Written by	Takao Yoshioka
Music by	Satoru Kōsaki Monaca
Studio	Felix Film
Licensed by	Crunchyroll SEA: Bilibili
Original network	MBS, TBS, BS-TBS
Original run	April 2, 2022 – present
Episodes	12

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (Japanese: 阿波連さんははかれない, lit. 'Aharen Is Indecipherable') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Asato Mizu. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ service from January 2017 to April 2023 and was compiled into seventeen tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Felix Film aired from April to June 2022 on the Animeism programming block. A second season has been announced.

Premise

In his first year of high school, making friends is not so easy for Raido Matsuboshi. One day in class, Raido tries to talk to his classmate next to him and thinks she is ignoring him, but later realizes she was shunned by her previous classmates for being clingy, awkward, and timid. Raido decides to help said classmate, Reina Aharen, to come out of her shell and befriend her for whatever it takes, and in turn coming out of his own rather odd shell.

Characters

Reina Aharen (阿波連 れいな, Aharen Reina)

Voiced by: Inori Minase (Japanese); Dani Chambers (English)

An expressionless female high school student who is talented in many fields, such as cooking and arts. She is Raidou’s girlfriend. In her third year of high school, she wants to attend an arts school in another prefecture.

Raidō (来堂, Raido)

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (Japanese); Ben Balmaceda (English)

An expressionless male high school student with a tendency to overthink. He is Reina’s boyfriend. He is aware that he has a scary face, which led to him not being able to make friends during junior high. However, despite his face, he is a kind and considerate person who puts his family and friends above himself.

Mitsuki Ōshiro (大城 みつき, Ōshiro Mitsuki)

Voiced by: M.A.O (Japanese); Kristen McGuire (English)

A tall high school girl who used to be in the same class as Reina and Riku during her elementary school years. Initially wary of Raidou due to his scary face, she soon opens up to him after Reina tells her Raidou’s good points. She is very skilled in martial arts, hiding, surveillance, and beauty care. Her parents own a barbershop.

Ms. Tōbaru (桃原先生, Tōbaru-sensei)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Katelyn Barr (English)

A classical Japanese literature teacher who is also the main characters’ homeroom teacher during their second year. She has a habit of getting a nosebleed whenever she looks at the Raidou-Aharen couple because she sees them as “wholesome”. She is best friends with Miyahira-sensei and usually spends much free time with her.

Ishikawa (石川)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese); Kevin D. Thelwell (English)

Raidou’s classmate and friend, also Hanako’s childhood friend. He is very popular among his peers, though he has an inferiority complex that causes him to be distant from Hanako. He calls Hanako “Hana-chan”.

Hanako Satō (佐藤 ハナコ, Satō Hanako)

Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki (Japanese); Veronica Laux (English)

Raidou’s classmate and friend, also Ishikawa’s childhood friend. She is concerned about the distance between her and Ishikawa.

Ms. Miyahira (宮平先生, Miyahira-sensei)

Voiced by: Yurie Kozakai (Japanese); Tia Ballard (English)

A PE teacher and the main characters’ homeroom teacher during their first-year. She is best friends with Toubaru-sensei but is concerned with her gluttony whenever they eat out together.

Raidō's Little Sister (ライドウ妹, Raidō Imōto)

Voiced by: Rika Nagae (Japanese); Jalitza Delgado (English)

A middle school student who’s friends with Eru. Despite her somewhat cold attitude towards her brother, she actually cares a lot for him.

Atsushi (あつし)

Voiced by: Natsumi Fujiwara (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English)

A neighborhood boy who worships the Aharen siblings and believes that they are talented in sports and games, which may not necessarily be true. He, along with his friends, always badgers the Aharen siblings to teach them new games or play with them.

Futaba (ふたば)

Voiced by: Maria Sashide (Japanese); Jill Harris (English)

Atsushi’s friend who is in love with him. She mistakenly believes the entire Aharen family to be her enemy because they are trying to steal Atsushi away from her. She is a tsundere to everyone, not just to Atsushi.

Ren Aharen (阿波連 れん, Aharen Ren)

Voiced by: Misaki Kuno (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)

Reina’s younger brother who is in elementary school. He likes dressing up as his sister, though this habit causes many misunderstandings among the characters.

Eru Aharen (阿波連 える, Aharen Eru)

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Japanese); Natalie Rose (English)

Reina’s younger sister who is in junior high school. She is also friends with Raidou’s little sister, though ironically she is hostile towards Raidou himself. This hostility is because Eru believes she cannot be Reina’s number one and is always relying on her big sister. Though, over time, she seems to soften towards Raidou when he continuously demonstrates his kindness towards everyone.

Ai Aharen (阿波連 あい, Aharen Ai)

Reina’s mother. She approves of her daughter’s relationship with Raidou. She cares about her children a lot, and stops them from doing dangerous things. However, she herself tends to bite more than she can chew when she wants to try something new, such as skateboarding or card games.

Riku Tamanaha (玉那覇 りく, Tamanaha Riku)

A gyaru transfer student who appears during the main characters’ second year. Despite her appearances, she is a shy and introverted girl who just wants to make lasting friendships. She was also Reina and Mitsuki’s classmate in elementary school, though does not remember Mitsuki in particular because her family moved around many times.

Ms. Henzan (平安山先生, Henzan-sensei)

An English teacher and the main characters’ homeroom teacher in their final year of high school. She is a new teacher with a passion for education and uses the government curriculum guidelines to deal with the Raidou-Aharen couple, whom she mistakenly believes to be delinquents. Her notable feature is her double tooth.

Takashi (たかし, Takashi)

An elementary school student despite his gakuran, flashy hairstyle, and delinquent manner of speaking. After losing a duel to Raidou in a park when Ren is playing, Takashi worships Raidou as his “Master”. He is actually a kind boy who follows rules and plays with his friends normally.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Asato Mizu, Aharen-san wa Hakarenai was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ service from January 29, 2017, to April 30, 2023. Seventeen tankōbon volumes were released from August 2017 to August 2023.

No.	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	August 4, 2017	978-4-08-881090-4
2	December 4, 2017	978-4-08-881301-1
3	April 4, 2018	978-4-08-881396-7
4	July 4, 2018	978-4-08-881525-1
5	November 2, 2018	978-4-08-881635-7
6	April 4, 2019	978-4-08-881805-4
7	August 2, 2019	978-4-08-882023-1
8	January 4, 2020	978-4-08-882181-8
9	May 13, 2020	978-4-08-882287-7
10	October 2, 2020	978-4-08-882434-5
11	March 4, 2021	978-4-08-882563-2
12	August 4, 2021	978-4-08-882737-7
13	April 4, 2022	978-4-08-883075-9
14	June 3, 2022	978-4-08-883124-4
15	October 4, 2022	978-4-08-883276-0
16	April 4, 2023	978-4-08-883466-5
17	August 4, 2023	978-4-08-883611-9

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on July 31, 2021. The series was produced by Felix Film and was directed by Tomoe Makino, with Yasutaka Yamamoto serving as chief director, Takao Yoshioka overseeing the scripts, Yūko Yahiro designing the characters, and Satoru Kōsaki and Monaca composing the music. It aired from April 2 to June 18, 2022, on the Animeism programming block on MBS, TBS, and BS-TBS. The opening theme song is "Hanarenai Kyori" (はなれない距離, "Inseparable Distance") by TrySail, while the ending theme song is "Kyorikan" (キョリ感, "A Sense of Distance") by HaKoniwalily. Crunchyroll has licensed the series.

A second season was announced on August 4, 2024, with the staff and main cast returning to reprise their roles.

On April 11, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the series would receive an English dub, which premiered on April 15.

Episode list

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboarded by	Original air date
1	"Isn't This Too Close?" Transliteration: "Chika Sugi ja ne?" (Japanese: 近すぎじゃね？)	Tomoe Makino	Takao Yoshioka	Tomoe Makino	April 2, 2022 (2022-04-02)
Raido begins his first year of high school. Due to possessing a naturally unfriendly face, he struggles to fit in and tries to become friends with Reina Aharen, who sits beside him in class. He is baffled when she either ignores him or speaks too softly to be heard. Aharen becomes extremely close to Raido after he retrieves her fallen eraser. Raido asks for an explanation of her behaviour, so she tells him she has a warped sense of distance which makes it difficult for her to judge when she is invading someone's personal space. When she stands too close she seems clingy, and when she stands too far away she appears anti-social, so she struggles to make friends. Initially Raido struggles to hear her when she speaks but eventually finds he is able to hear her better as he practice listening more sensitively to small noises. At an arcade, Aharen's warped sense of distance makes her an expert on claw machines, and wins many stuffed plushies from the game. She gives most of them to Raido, but accepting one from him. As time passes, Aharen keeps getting increasingly closer to Raido, even falling asleep on his lap after being exhausted from making him lunch in morning. At the same time, they are menacingly observed from afar by a girl.
2	"Are We Being Followed?" Transliteration: "Tsukerareterun ja ne?" (Japanese: 尾行(つけ)られてるんじゃね？)	Shō Hamada	Ayumu Hisao	Saori Yamamoto	April 9, 2022 (2022-04-09)
Aharen has something in her eye so Raido administers eye drops. Aharen claims having him close to her face is embarrassing, confusing Raido as she often comes closer on her own. Raido senses someone spying on him, so Aharen makes him feel better with a hug. The spy is Aharen's childhood friend Mitsuki Oshiro, a tall, nervous girl who cries a lot and doesn't trust boys. She declares she will protect Aharen, but from a distance to avoid Raido. Aharen tries to communicate to Raido his zipper is exposing his underwear, but ultimately has to spend the day blocking his lower body from view when he does not understand her. Oshiro notices Aharen hasn't gone home and, suspecting she doesn't have an umbrella, tries to covertly give Aharen her own but is caught. She and Aharen share an umbrella, but due to their height difference Aharen still gets wet. She thanks Oshiro anyway, pointing out she knows Oshiro follows her and Raido home every day but isn't good at hiding. The next day, Oshiro watches Aharen from even further away using binoculars. Raido challenges Aharen to a game of Reversi. He realises with her unusual vision Aharen is actually a skilled Reversi player, ultimately calling a draw after the bell rings.
3	"We're Changing Seats, Huh?" Transliteration: "Sekigae ja ne?" (Japanese: 席替えじゃね？)	Ken Andō	Kotsukotsu	Yoshihiro Takamoto	April 16, 2022 (2022-04-16)
Aharen comes to school with bed head. Oshiro's family owns a hair salon so she is able to give Aharen a haircut. She also cuts Raido's hair despite being tempted to shave him bald. Aharen is suffering from dry lips so Raido attempts to apply lip balm but messes up. Oshiro steps in again with makeup and a skin massage. Aharen later reveals she is stressed due to the growth spurt of the boy who sits in front of her, so now she can't see the chalkboard from her desk. Raido attempts several increasingly ludicrous methods of helping her but eventually just moves her desk closer to his own. A seat change is announced, meaning Raido and Aharen might no longer be sat next to each other. Deciding to do something nice for her, Raido tries to help her win at baseball, then cooks for her, in spite of his terrible food. He also helps her record them dancing together, believing she wants to be a U-Tube idol, though it turns out it was a class project and the video is a U-Tube failure. On seat moving day, Aharen hugs Raido as a goodbye, only to remain in the same place, as by chance they are reassigned their original seats beside each other.
4	"Isn't That Overdoing It?" Transliteration: "Hamari Sugi ja ne?" (Japanese: ハマりすぎじゃね？)	Masahito Otani	Takao Yoshioka	Hatsuki Tsuji	April 23, 2022 (2022-04-23)
Teacher Ms. Tobaru is obsessed with classical romance. She notices Aharen and Raido and determines they are tightly emotionally linked, and is so overcome by passion watching them causing her to faint. Aharen begins acting strangely, causing Raido to think she is demon-possessed. But it turns out she was choking on food. Realizing he needs to understand her better, he tries to teach her facial expressions and fails. Aharen discovers Japanese hip hop and quickly masters rapping everything she says. Also, Raido earns to rap and they begin communicating perfectly, until their microphones are confiscated, as they are banned in school. Raido's sister gives him a fidget spinner, which Aharen becomes obsessed with it and she teaches herself to perform tricks. Watching them, Ms. Tobaru faints again. In the park, Raido learns Aharen's spinner tricks have made her popular with children. One little girl named Futaba is jealous because her friend Akkun admires Aharen and challenges her to Reversi. Aharen lets Futaba win, but despite her victory, Akkun is mean to her. Aharen teaches him and ask him to apologize. Then, Aharen is exhausted by the children and cannot walk, so she summons her giant dog, Nui, whom she rides back home.
5	"Isn't That a Little Too Heavy?" Transliteration: "Futori Sugi ja ne?" (Japanese: 太りすぎじゃね？)	Yoshihisa Iida	Ayumu Hisao	Yoshihisa Iida	April 30, 2022 (2022-04-30)
Aharen becomes obsessed with the game HokeKo. Raido has the strongest creature in the game but is still defeated by Aharen using superior strategy. At an arcade, Aharen sees Futaba attempting to with the stuffed toy of Raido's creature for Akkun, so as to achieve his affection. She fails multiple times while Aharen wins several toys. Insisting on doing it herself, Futaba wins a toy on her last attempt. She later realises Aharen, by winning all the other toys, had been manoeuvring the toy into a better position for Futaba to get it. Aharen gives her toys to Raido, who adds them to his collection. Raido gains a lot of weight and Aharen worries it is because she gives him her lunch every day. Meanwhile Raido mistakenly thinks Aharen is worried about her own weight, and while researching proper diet and exercise routines, he ends up losing the weight overnight. Exams are soon and Raido has not been studying, so he asks for Aharen's help. They study together, determined in finishing in the top 100 in the rankings. After studying, Aharen hugs Raido, so glad she finally was able to help him for once. Thanks to their study sessions, Raido manages to place in the top 100 in the exam.
6	"Are We Too Good?" Transliteration: "Tsuyo Sugi ja ne?" (Japanese: 強すぎじゃね？)	Takanori Yano	Kotsukotsu	Hirohide Shikishima	May 7, 2022 (2022-05-07)
Since Aharen cannot swim, and Raido is not a strong swimmer either, they ask Oshiro to teach them. After grasping the basics, they decide to race in the pool. Aharen wins after discovering when it is easier swimming underwater and she can hold her breath for an extraordinary length of time. They also compete at table tennis, Ten-pin bowling and basketball, though they are both so very bad at sports each game ends in a draw. They finally compete on an arcade shooting game, which Aharen wins due to her warped sense for distance allowing her to score perfect headshots. Aharen excuses herself to go to the bathroom, but when she returns, she suddenly begins acting strangely, and even has trouble winning toys on a crane game, requiring Raido to win one for her. Her continued odd behavior leads Raido to believe either she has sudden amnesia, or was replaced by a clone. The real Aharen suddenly appears, revealing the new Aharen is actually her little brother Ren, who bears a striking resemblance to her. Ren enjoyed playing a prank on Raido, but now returns home where it is revealed he enjoys dressing like a girl and often borrows Aharen's clothes.
7	"A Work of Art, Isn't It?" Transliteration: "Geijutsu ja ne?" (Japanese: 芸術じゃね？)	Yūta Takamura	Takao Yoshioka	Saori Yamamoto	May 14, 2022 (2022-05-14)
Aharen forgets her lunch and decides to shop at the school cafeteria. Aharen ends up crowd surfing over the mob of hungry students, only managing to buy one bun which Raido trades for his own lunch. Aharen's dog Nui appears with her lunch which she trades for Raido's despite him struggling with her massive portions. Aharen and Raido play Old Maid and Raido loses every game. After falling asleep in class Aharen refuses to move to their next class. Raido believes she is becoming a delinquent, though it turns out her legs went numb while sleeping. At the park Futaba refuses to believe Aharen's massive lunch is for only one person and accuses her of trying to seduce Akkun with food, though when she finds Aharen's cooking is superior to her own she asks Aharen for help making a bento. The next day Futaba accuses Aharen of poisoning the bento and making Akkun ill, until Raido points out she forgot to refrigerate it overnight, allowing it to spoil. With an art project due Aharen somehow produces a life size doll of herself so realistic it actually looks like her twin sister. She gives the doll to Raido to add to his collection of toys she won for him. It is so lifelike Raido struggles to sleep with it staring at him.
8	"Time for the Summer Festival, Huh?" Transliteration: "Natsumatsuri ja ne?" (Japanese: 夏祭りじゃね？)	Ken Andō	Ayumu Hisao	Tomoe Makino	May 21, 2022 (2022-05-21)
Ms. Miyahira invites Tobaru for lunch at the rooftop. However, they are soon joined by Raido, Aharen, and Oshiro, and seeing Oshiro's desire to sit close to them, Tobaru has trouble controlling herself. She struggles even further when Raido and Aharen feed Oshiro and sit close to her. She finally collapses when she visualizes them as a family. That night, Tobaru imagines improbable romantic scenarios between Raido and Aharen to prepare, but faints again, with Miyahira finding her unconscious. The next day, Ishikawa and Satō invite Aharen, Raido, and Oshiro to the summer festival. They spread themselves by abilities to win the most prices possible. After playing some games, Aharen and Raido realize they've lost each other. Raido is approached by Futaba, who mistakes him for her father. After he reunites her with her father, Futaba finally thanks Raido, albeit inaudibly. Aharen appears beside Raido, thanking him for finding her. They watch the fireworks, as Aharen tells Raido it is the first time she sees them in full view, as her small stature hindered her. Raido decides to meet back with the group, and offers his hand to Aharen to take her there. She accepts it, blushing profusely.
9	"I'm Sick, Huh?" Transliteration: "Kaze ja ne?" (Japanese: 風邪じゃね？)	Susumu Yamamoto	Kotsukotsu	Yoshihiro Takamoto	May 28, 2022 (2022-05-28)
Raido assumes a seductive, handsome appearance when he suffers from a fever. His reddened face flatters his friends, especially Aharen. Tobaru has a relapse when she sees Raido in this state. They all rush to his aid when he collapses. At home, Raido's sister is uncharacteristically friendly with him. The next day, everything goes back to normal after Raido recovers. At the market, Raido meets with Aharen's cold younger sister, Eru, as she is shopping for their dinner. She explains Aharen's dependency on her, and how much she talks about him. They go to the arcade, where Raido wins a special edition plushie after Eru failed to get it. She tells Raido to hand over the food and plushie to Aharen himself. However, as he arrives, he declares it was all Eru's idea, and Aharen hugs her sister, thanking her for her help. While bathing with Ren, Eru discusses Aharen's closeness to Raido, and they debate if they are dating. The next day, Raido comes across Ren, and helps him shop at the supermarket. He guides Ren after he lost his wallet, as Ren asks him if Aharen is his girlfriend. Aharen and Nui then arrive with the wallet, and after Raido calls Aharen by her first name, she becomes embarrassed.
10	"We're Camping, Huh?" Transliteration: "Kyanpu ja ne?" (Japanese: キャンプじゃね？)	Tomoe Makino Takanori Yano	Takao Yoshioka	Yasutaka Yamamoto Saori Yamamoto	June 4, 2022 (2022-06-04)
Ishikawa proposes to go camping, and all his friends agree. Miyahira takes them all to the camping site, where Aharen realizes she forgot to pack the food. Upset, she apologizes to her friends, but Raido gets authorized by the camp groundskeeper to pick food from the forest. As such, they all scatter around looking for things to eat. While spearfishing in a creek, Raido is joined by Oshiro. She tells him while she is jealous of the time he spends with Aharen, she has realized he is not a bad person. At night, Ishikawa proposes to go on an adventure. However, they ditch Aharen and Raido, trying to get them together. While stargazing, Aharen attempts to confess to Raido, but she is interrupted by an arriving Nui. Back in their tent, Aharen tells Oshiro she wishes to confess to Raido, and Oshiro surprisingly supports her. Aharen meets with Raido outside, where she kisses him, but runs back to her tent embarrassed, leaving Raido speechless. In school, Ishikawa and Satō wonder if they managed to connect. However, after seeing them act like usual, they conclude things are still the same. As she walks home with Tobaru, Miyahira notes something feels different about them.
11	"It Snowed, Huh?" Transliteration: "Yuki ja ne?" (Japanese: 雪じゃね？)	Hiroshi Tamada	Kotsukotsu	Yoshihisa Iida	June 11, 2022 (2022-06-11)
Aharen has created a café out of snow, and invites Raido inside. After classes, they discover the café has collapsed, so they rebuild it. Afterwards, Raido warms Aharen's hands with his own, embarrassing her. The next day, Raido accompanies Aharen to the nurse office to help her stretch out. After finishing, Raido ends up falling asleep. Aharen goes in for a kiss, but they are interrupted by the nurse. After school, Ishikawa and Satō continue studying Aharen for signs she is dating Raido. However, while Aharen sleeps and Raido is away, Ishikawa and Satō flirt. The next day, Aharen meets up with Raido at the mall, where she tells him her family will do a New Year's meal, and invites him to attend. After hanging out, they come across Futaba and Akkun. Seeing Raido so close to Aharen, Akkun challenges him in the Blade Spinner tournament in the mall. While Raido and Akkun both lose, Aharen and Futaba emerge as champions in their divisions, earning Futaba Akkun's admiration. After Futaba points out Aharen and Raido's activities resemble a date, Aharen gets embarrassed. Absent this whole time, it is revealed Oshiro is undertaking swordsman training to challenge someone.
12	"This Is a Duel, Huh?" Transliteration: "Hatashiai ja ne?" (Japanese: 果たし合いじゃね？)	Naoki Murata Tomoe Makino	Takao Yoshioka	Tomoe Makino	June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18)
In a flashback showing while Raido was away, Oshiro asked Aharen if she and Raido were dating, but Aharen denied it. Believing Raido rejected Aharen, Oshiro began her training, wanting to make him pay. In the present, Raido follows Oshiro's note and gets challenged to a duel in Reversi. As they play, Oshiro remembers when she met Aharen back in middle school. She says since he does not reciprocate Aharen's feelings, he will stop seeing her when she wins. Raido then cuts her lead, and explains at the campsite, Aharen was unable to confess, but he did tell her he liked her. This stuns an arriving Aharen, who explains how happy she was when Raido confessed. Oshiro apologizes, and Aharen finally tells Raido she likes him too, and, alongside Ishikawa and Satō, they all embrace. Sometime later, Raido discovers Aharen's secret lupinus garden, and they begin tending it together. Aharen then invites their friends, Miyahira, and Tobaru to a tea party, where they reflect on the approaching second year. Aharen says she is scared they might be separated, but Raido assures he and their friends will be there for her, as they observe their bloomed lupinus garden while holding hands.

See also

• Denkigai no Honya-san – Another manga series by the same author

External links

• Aharen-san wa Hakarenai official website at Shōnen Jump+ (in Japanese)
• Aharen-san wa Hakarenai official anime website (in Japanese)
• Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia