The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All Characters Stand Out

With any story, you need a good hook. What keeps you coming back. Why do you want to keep reading, playing, or watching. In the case of manga, it can often come down to either the story or the lead characters. In the case of the first volume, someone’s immediate impression may come down to how good Sumiko Arai is at ensuring all of the characters, from major ones like Mitsuki Koga and Aya Osawa to minor ones like Mitsuki’s uncle and their classmate Megumu Narita, leave a strong impression. While it started due to the limitations of the original method of sharing, it continues even now.

Editor’s Note: There will be some spoilers for the first volume of The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All below.

Aya is the first one of the major characters we meet in The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All, and she’s immediately identifiable and lovable. She’s presented as a complex character who someone might see as a “popular” or “pretty” girl. However, she’s starting out by talking about her love for music, as well as genres that her peers might not as easily embrace. But it isn’t just the fact that there’s more to her than may appear that makes her so much fun. It’s her expressions and reactions to her crush. Every interaction with the person working at the record store is an absolute delight. Plus as the story goes on, seeing her acceptance and behavior towards others is also quite good.

Naturally, Mitsuki ends up being the other standout star. In the case of The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All, it might almost seem like she’s two characters at once. The her at school wants to avoid attention, avoid being noticed, and just get by. The her at the store wants to be herself and enjoy the music she loves. But as we see her interact with Aya, and eventually her classmate Narita and uncle, we see how similar these sides of her personality are. She opens up and grows.

Narita also surprised me with how fun Arai’s depiction of him is. He’s initially portrayed as a sort of player who is trying to find an “in” to potentially hit on Mitsuki. She rejects him! When he’s a bit of a jerk in response, Aya rejects him too! Even though she isn’t even really close to her classmate yet and doesn’t know her secret. To then see him recover from that, then become a supportive friend to both Aya and Mitsuki is a plot beat I didn’t expect considering how stories can go.

And then there’s Mitsuki’s Uncle Joe. Of the characters here, he’s about tied with Narita for time and really is more of a background character. But even so, we see his love and support for Mitsuki come through right away. When he sees Aya come in and their reactions together, he’s delighted Mitsuki has a friend. When he more closely notices the way they relate to each other, he gets that this could be a mutual crush and potential relationship, is accepting of it, and goes on throughout the first volume to support them.

Arai makes the most of the time spent with each of the characters in The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All, and all of us reading the manga benefit as a result. It’s so finely detailed and well-defined. We can tell exactly who these people are, get clear impressions of their personalities, and form immediate connections with them. It’s quite striking!

Volume 1 of The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All is available now via Yen Press, and Volume 2 will launch on February 18, 2025.