The Fall 2024 Manga Guide

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

What's It About? 

Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya falls head over heels for an employee at a local CD shop. He's got an air of mystery about him, always dressed well, and has impeccable taste in music. Little does she know―this supposedly male employee is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! Mitsuki generally keeps to herself, but since her seat is right next to Aya's, she can't help but be extremely aware of the other's crush. Revealing the truth is out of the question―but perhaps getting closer to Aya wouldn't be so bad...

The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All has a story and art by Sumiko Arai, with English translation by Ajani Oloye. This volume was lettered by Brandon Bovia. Published by Yen Press (October 22, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

The title implies something that isn't fully present in the story: a confusion about Mitsuki's gender. Yes, Aya at first thinks she's a boy, but it quickly becomes apparent that gender is the least of the things that she finds attractive in her “fangirl crush.” What attracts her to Mitsuki is the fact that, despite aesthetic and cosmetic differences, both of them move to the same rhythm. At first, this just looks like a shared love of 90s rock, but there's more than a love for Beck and Nirvana going on here; the music is just the easiest outward expression of who they are.

It also, for a while, is the only obvious similarity between them. Mitsuki's grunge street style contrasts with Aya's gal flashiness, Mitsuki's a loner to Aya's social butterfly, and so on. But again, this is only on the surface. Mitsuki isn't so much a natural introvert as she's been burned by people not understanding her in the past; an extra chapter at the back of the book does a good job of showing us that as the girls in her class got older, they got meaner and less tolerant of how she was different from them. This makes it feel possible that Aya is playing up her love of girly style to fit in better socially, or at least that she may have done so initially at the start of high school. Having been a middle school girl myself, I can say with authority that girls at that age can be vicious, and maybe Aya's unconventional music taste has played a bigger role in how she presents herself than the story shows. She opens the book talking about how music is best listened to alone, but by the end of the volume, it's looking like that's something she convinced herself of because she'd never found someone who liked the same music.

Either way, the slow build of the girls' relationship in this opening volume is wonderful. The gender misunderstanding turns out not to be a big deal at all, because Aya just likes Mitsuki, and it doesn't matter to her if she's a guy or the girl who sits next to her in class. Although neither of them is overtly talking about crushes at this point, the way Aya's usual friend group reacts to her growing closeness with Mitsuki at the end of the book feels similar to how they'd react if Aya started dating someone, and between them and Narita, a boy in their class actively rooting for them to get together (albeit mostly in his own head), it feels like maybe the couple in question are the only ones who don't see it.

About the only thing I don't love in this book is the color choice. It's printed in black, white, and green, and the green is (to my eyes) a bit harsh as well as an unfortunately putrid shade of pea. But don't let that scare you off, because this is a yuri romance that's more than worth putting up with some green ink to read.

There's been so much buzz about The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All that I instantly recognized the specific shade of lime on its cover. With art that oozes coolness and a story to match, I am not surprised that this manga has been a hit since it first appeared as a short comic on Twitter in 2021. Though it's your typical rom-com based on a critical misunderstanding, its charismatic (and gender envy-inspiring) characters carry it to the top of its genre. With style and substance in spades, I was blown away by this coming-of-age LGBT romance's humor and genuine humanity.

This manga stars two characters with birthdays in 2006, but its musically inclined story will paradoxically appeal to a wider age range in the West. Though the romantic leads have unusual taste in songs according to their peers, all of their favorite artists—Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Radiohead, and more—were the height of coolness in the US when I was their age. There's Aya, a gyaru who can't share her incongruent taste in music with her trendy friends. And there's the “boy” who works at the record shop she frequents and who seems to be on the same musical wavelength as her. Little does Aya realize that when she gushes about the handsome record shop boy to her friends, “he” overhears the whole thing—the employee is actually Mitsuki, her classmate! Romantic comedies based on misunderstandings that could be resolved in one conversation are usually not my thing, but Mitsuki's reasons for not saying a word (not wanting to embarrass Aya, while also enjoying her company) feel all too relatable. As Aya gets closer to her record store crush, Mitsuki needs to make a long-delayed choice. It's a first love story with all the expected high school beats (complete with a pivotal school festival scene), all rendered in Sumiko Arai's trademark black, white, and lime green combo.

When I'm assessing the success of a romance, a lot comes down to chemistry. Aya and Mitsuki make an endearing couple; it's easy to see what draws them together and there's a frisson of electricity between them in each of their scenes alone. Their interactions feel human, sweet, and funny at all the right times. Between this chartreuse winner and Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl, we have been blessed with some incredible yuri this season.

This was one of those manga where I immediately ran to one of my friends and recommended it, only for her to laugh and tell me she had preordered it the moment it became available. I should have foreseen that, but I just had to make sure she knew about it. After all, it's rare to get something with such a strong, distinctive creative voice and art style.

The art is the most attention-grabbing thing about The Guy She Liked Wasn't a Guy at All. The first few pages are in full color, then switch to a limited palette of black-and-white character art over lime-green backgrounds. The greenwash doesn't just give the manga a distinct visual identity; it helps the characters stand out against the background. Sumiko Arai's bold linework and eye for including just the right amount of detail come to life even with the simplest use of color. I know the color makes the volume a bit more expensive since it costs more to print than simple black-and-white, but trust me; the effect is worth it.

Plus, it's a sweet story! In many ways it's a story of self-discovery, as Aya dives into the world of '90s dad rock and when she thinks she has a crush on a guy… well, it's right there in the title, isn't it? Meanwhile, Mitsuki wears unisex clothing partially to avoid being recognized, but also partially because she's kind of butch and prefers masculine clothing over skirts. Both girls are secure in their identities but hesitant to let themselves be vulnerable enough to share their full selves with the world. It's a wonderful expression of what it feels like to meet someone who shares your niche interest, as loath as I admit that '90s grunge rock is probably niche among modern Japanese teenage girls. I could see myself passing manga around among my friends back in high school reflected in the way they shared playlists and recommendations.