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The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All

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The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Mitsuki Koga (left) and Aya Oosawa (right)
気になってる人が男じゃなかった
(Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta)
Genre
Manga
Written bySumiko Arai
Published byKadokawa Shoten
English publisher
MagazinePixiv Comic
DemographicShōjo
Original runApril 29, 2023 – present
Volumes2
icon Anime and manga portal

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All (Japanese: 気になってる人が男じゃなかった, Hepburn: Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sumiko Arai. Originating as a short story posted on Arai's Twitter account from July to September 2021, it started its current weekly run in April 2022, before being serialized on Pixiv Comic in April 2023. Kadokawa Shoten published the series in print, with its first volume releasing that same month.

The series has been a critical and commercial success, with critics praising the story, artwork, and characters. It won the 2023 Next Manga Award in the web manga category.

Plot

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Aya Oosawa has developed a crush towards the clerk of the record store she frequents. Unbeknownst to her, the store clerk is her classmate Mitsuki Koga. The manga follows the budding relationship between Aya and Mitsuki and their shared love for music as they experience daily high school life.

Characters

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Aya Oosawa (大沢 綾, Ōsawa Aya)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō (drama CD)[3]
A gyaru high school girl who has an interest in rock music; however, she is unable to share her interests to her closest friends due to her friends preferring contemporary music and out of fear of being alienated. She first gets acquainted with Mitsuki through stumbling upon the record store by chance and develops a crush on Mitsuki's workplace persona as she continues to frequent the shop and they connect through rock music, not knowing that it is her classmate.
Mitsuki Koga (古賀 美月, Koga Mitsuki)
Voiced by: Mariya Ise (drama CD)[3]
A nerdy high school girl and classmate of Aya who also has an interest in rock music and works part-time at the record store with her uncle. To maintain anonymity during work, she wears unisex clothing, a face mask, and contacts in place of her glasses and school uniform, causing her to be mistaken for a boy and be dubbed by Aya and her friends as Onii-san (おにーさん). After Aya falls for her workplace persona, Mitsuki takes measures for Aya to not connect it with her school persona. She also learns how to play the guitar.
Joe (ジョー, Jō)
Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (drama CD)[3]
Mitsuki's uncle who manages the record store and serves as her parental figure and guardian, often showing concern for his niece's introverted nature. It is later revealed he was in a previous relationship with Kanna when Mitsuki was young, but they had to end the relationship as he was prioritizing on taking care of Mitsuki when Kanna proposed moving to Los Angeles with him.
Megumu Narita (成田 恵, Narita Megumu)
Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka (drama CD)[3]
A friend and classmate of Aya and Mitsuki who is the first to connect Mitsuki's workplace and school personas after noticing similarities between the two. He makes efforts in making both Aya and Mitsuki interact and get close with each other and avoid miscommunication.
Chizuru (ちづる)
Voiced by: Erina Koga (drama CD)[4]
A friend and classmate of Aya's. She tends to offer Aya advice on how she can approach her crush on Onii-san, unaware that Onii-san is fellow classmate Mitsuki.
Mao (まお)
Voiced by: Nene Hieda (drama CD)[5]
Another friend and classmate of Aya's.
Kanna (カンナ)
Joe's ex-girlfriend and a friend of Mitsuki's who moved to Los Angeles. She returns to Japan and spends time with Joe and Mitsuki, though she still feels pain with her previous breakup with Joe. She also connects with Aya on their respective struggles towards romance.
Hime (ひめ)
A high school girl who is Aya and Mitsuki's junior and is the daughter of a record producer. She holds Mitsuki's songwriting with high regard.

Production

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In an interview with Shuko Yokoi, Sumiko Arai shared that the concept of The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All originated from her being drawn to stories about individuals from differing backgrounds connecting and wanting to tell a story about girls, so she drew short stories featuring no dialogue which were posted to Twitter, as Arai believed it could thus resonate with international readers.[6] One of these short stories, uploaded between July to September 2021, served as the inspiration to the series.[7]

Since Twitter only allows four images per Tweet, chapters of the series are limited to four pages. As a result, Aya and Mitsuki's interactions have to be depicted concisely.[8] The series' editor commented that the character's faces are illustrated to be detailed enough to understand the story without the dialogue, which makes the series more accessible to Twitter users not from Japan.[8] The yellow-green color which complements the black-and-white illustrations was stated by Arai to be a late addition before the first chapter was uploaded.[6]

Media

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Manga

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Written and illustrated by Sumiko Arai, the series originated on the author's Twitter account on April 10, 2022.[9] It later began serialization on Pixiv Comic on April 29, 2023.[10] Kadokawa Shoten began publishing the series in printed tankōbon volumes in April 2023.[11]

Arai announced on April 3, 2024 that the series is receiving an official English release alongside other international releases, with Yen Press later announcing on April 26 they licensed the series for English publication.[12][13]

Volumes

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No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 April 19, 2023[11]978-4-04-681732-7October 22, 2024[14]978-1-97-539968-9
  1. "Rhythm A"
  2. "Teen Spirit"
  3. "Creep"
  1. "Don't Stop"
  2. "Rhythm B"
2 February 27, 2024[15]978-4-04-683173-6February 18, 2025[16]979-8-85-541259-8
  1. "Caring"
  2. "Rock 'N' Roll"
  1. "Song 1"

Other

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Apple Music and Spotify released an official playlist containing songs that Mitsuki and Aya listen throughout the series to coincide with the release of the first volume, featuring artists such as Nirvana, Turnstile, and Royal Blood, among others.[17]

A pop-up store selling merchandise from the series was open in Ikebukuro from September 15–24 and in Nagoya from September 30 to October 9, 2023.[18]

A drama CD adaptation was released on April 24, 2024.[3]

Reception

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The first volume sold 150,000 copies within a week of its release.[19] By September 2023, the series had 200,000 copies in circulation.[19]

The series won the 2023 Next Manga Award in the web manga category.[20] The series ranked second on the 2023 "Book of the Year" list by Da Vinci magazine.[21] The series ranked second on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2024 for female readers.[22]

A columnist for Animate Times praised the artwork, particularly its use of color, and the story's progression.[23] Momo Tachibana of Real Sound praised the main characters and their interactions, describing them as understandable.[24] Erica Friedman felt the story was "not the first of it's [sic] kind" but that it handled its subject better than similar series. Friedman also praised the artwork and its use of black, white, and green.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Friedman, Erica (August 14, 2023). "Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta, Volume 1". Okazu. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Piedra, Josh (October 20, 2024). "Manga Review: The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All Vol. 1". The Outerhaven. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e ドラマCD「気になってる人が男じゃなかった」【通常盤】. Frontier Works (in Japanese). Frontier Works. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  4. ^ Koga, Erina [@ErinaKoga] (April 8, 2024). お知らせ📢
    4/24(水)より発売開始のドラマCD「気になってる人が男じゃなかった」にて、【ちづる】役で出演させていただきました！
    発売に先駆け、視聴動画も公開されております✨
    ぜひチェックしてみてください🎧♪     (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Hieda, Nene [@nene_hieda] (April 8, 2024). 4月24日(水)より発売開始のドラマCD
    「気になってる人が男じゃなかった」に
    まお役で出演させていただいております！
    元々原作を楽しんでいたいち読者且つ、
    洋楽ロックも大好きな私にとって、
    あまりにも嬉しい告知…！！
    是非是非お楽しみに！🎧🖤
    #気になってる人が男じゃなかった     (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ a b Yokoi, Shuko (April 7, 2024). 『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』新井すみこさんの大人気作品がSNSから広がった理由【横井周子が訊く！ マンガが生まれる場所 vol.7】. Yoi (in Japanese). Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  7. ^ Arai, Sumiko [@agu_knzm] (July 30, 2021). 「…ごめん、気づいてると思ったからなおさら声かけれなくて…」 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2024 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b Sairenji, Kurara (September 8, 2023). 「気になってる人が男じゃなかった」初の期間限定ショップ、池袋＆名古屋パルコで開催. Walkerplus (in Japanese). Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  9. ^ Arai, Sumiko [@agu_knzm] (April 10, 2022). 気になってる人が男じゃなかった (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ 気になってる人が男じゃなかった. Pixiv Comic (in Japanese). Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  11. ^ a b 気になってる人が男じゃなかった VOL.1 (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  12. ^ Tai, Anita (April 3, 2024). "The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All Manga Gets English Release". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Mateo, Alex (April 26, 2024). "Yen Press Licenses 9 Manga, 5 Light Novel Series for October 2024". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  14. ^ "The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All, Vol. 1". Yen Press. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  15. ^ 気になってる人が男じゃなかった VOL.2 (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  16. ^ "The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All, Vol. 2". Yen Press. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  17. ^ 「気になってる人が男じゃなかった」1巻、フルカラー描き下ろしや公式プレイリストも. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. April 20, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  18. ^ 「気になってる人が男じゃなかった」初の期間限定ショップ、池袋＆名古屋パルコで開催. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 8, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  19. ^ a b 『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』発売即重版決定！ 発売1週間で累計15万部に!! (Press release) (in Japanese). Chiyoda, Tokyo: Kadokawa Corporation. May 1, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023 – via PR Times.
  20. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (August 31, 2023). "Seitokai ni mo Ana wa Aru!, Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta Win Next Manga Awards Print, Web Categories". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  21. ^ Tai, Anita (December 5, 2023). "Tomoko Yamashita's Ikoku Nikki Tops Da Vinci Manga Ranking". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Pineda, Rafael (December 11, 2023). "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Editors Unveil 2024 Rankings". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  23. ^ ミステリアスな推しの「おにーさん」の正体は、隣の席の女子だった──人気沸騰の漫画『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』読者の心に響く理由とは？. Animate Times (in Japanese). July 29, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  24. ^ Tachibana, Momo (September 30, 2023). ギャルが好意を抱いた“おにーさん”の正体は……次にくるマンガ大賞で注目『気になってる人が男じゃなかった』. Real Sound (in Japanese). Retrieved November 9, 2023.
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