Title: Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?! Vol. 1
Author: Norishirochan (story), Sakana Uozumi (art)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 176
Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance
Publication Date: November 4, 2025
The Story
Takuya Seo is a huge Glittermon fan; however, the anime isn’t all that popular… and it’s made for little girls. Embarrassed by the fact that he’s an otaku for this show, he thinks that he’ll forever sink into the darkness and be unrecognized for the rest of his life. That changes when the girl in front of him, Ijichi, asks to borrow his special edition Glittermon eraser. Ijichi has a best friend named Amane, who is quite aloof with an RBF. That doesn’t matter when she sees the eraser and geeks out over it. With her being one of the most popular gyarus in the school, she can’t let the fact that she’s an otaku slip out, so she covers it up by stating she only knows about the show because it’s her little sister’s favorite.
Takuya is scared because he thinks they are making fun of him, but when Amane suggests that Ijichi look into the manga and agrees, he’s quite surprised. Being quite extroverted, Ijichi tries to get closer to Takuya, asking him to show her his Insta account. Even though Ijichi isn’t an otaku, she starts to become hooked on Glittermon, even if it’s nowhere near the level that Takuya and Amane are hooked on it.
This leads to them talking more. Eventually, they end up at Takuya’s house to watch some of the anime together. This brings them closer together as friends, even going as far as to exchange Insta account info and begin DMing one another. This leads to them simultaneously inviting Takuya out on their next holiday. Not wanting to choose one over the other, he suggested hanging out together, which leaves them a bit perturbed, but they agree to each spend an hour alone with him. Amane takes him to an anime store, while Ijichi forces him to take TikTak photos and videos with her.
Finally, Midterms are coming up. Both Takuya and Amane admit that they suck at academics; however, instead of studying, they get too obsessed with Glittermon and end up flunking their exams, while Ijichi scores a 44/50. This makes them want to put their noses to the grindstone, but Glittermon gets in the way again! All the while, Amane and Ijichi are beginning to realize that they have a crush on Takuya!
Characters
Takuya Seo is an otaku who loves Glittermon, but outside of being a massive fan of the show, he’s portrayed quite normally. Sure, he gets a little nervous when he’s around Amane and Ijichi, but he doesn’t completely flip out, nor is he super awkward about it. Whenever they talk about Glittermon, however, he goes off like it’s the only thing in the world he knows. As the manga continuously points out #JustOtakuThings. I really love the balance he has. He’s not some spineless recluse, nor is he the type to truly shy away from situations. He’s honest about his shortcomings, and even though he has two of the most popular girls in school hanging out and talking with him, he’s not freaking out (too much) over it. Most of the time, he’s just in denial, which gives him a sweet and humble quality. I like him as a main character. It’s like the mangaka actually understands the perfect balance and portrays otakus with a bit more realism than most other series.
Amane is a fun character. She comes off quite cold in her appearance, and she’s pretty defensive about the way others might see her, which his why she’s constantly denying the fact that she’s an otaku. Even if Ijichi can see right through her and doesn’t care, she’s probably afraid of what the rest of the school would do if they found out about her secret passion. Despite denying the fact that she’s an otaku and blaming it on her “little sister,” she gets super giddy, just like Takuya, about Glittermon. She knows WAY too much about the franchise to not be an otaku, to where the little sister excuse is just a running gag that this point. Still, she’s happy that she has Takuya to talk about Glittermon with, and that makes her realize that she’s developing a crush on him! I like her balance between fun and serious… another well-developed main character.
Ijichi is your run-of-the-mill extroverted high school girl. She gets excited over just about everything and is not oblivious to the fact that she’s good-looking and popular, but she doesn’t act like a snob about it. She takes it all in stride and doesn’t care about other people’s statuses. Even though she starts by borrowing things from Takuya, like his eraser, his ruler, etc., she slowly starts to open up to him by talking to him as if he were a normal human being. They organically become friends, and despite them living in completely different worlds, she enjoys the time she spends with him. She’s also smart, studious, loves taking care of her family (even her two PITA brothers), and is quite responsible. You wouldn’t think that from the way she acts at school, but she’s far more mature than she lets on. Plus, they say that opposites attract, and despite just getting into Glittermon through Amane, she’s finding herself falling for Takuya, too! A third well-rounded character, which is quite shocking. Normally, you don’t get this many balanced characters in a series, especially when all three of them hold the position of being a main character!
Final Thoughts
I’m just going to say it… I think I found my Holy Grail of romance manga. Don’t read too much into that statement because I don’t mean that it’s my favorite. That honor will belong to The Dangers in My Heart, and it will probably hold that honor for a VERY long time. So, what do I mean?
In a vast majority of romance manga, it’s painfully obvious from the very first chapter who your two main characters are, and that the entire series exists solely to ship them as a couple. Then, later on in the series, you get the third wheel thrown in to try and create some useless drama. This secondary threat never gets the girl/guy and always ends up on the losing end. Then, the manga ships the main couple anyway, making the third wheel’s inclusion feel completely artificial and useless. Whenever I read something like this, I always say the same thing: I wish there were a manga that set up two love interests straight out of the gate on equal footing so that it wasn’t painfully obvious who the true main character will end up with. Just once, I want to be kept guessing the whole way through.
Enter Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?! We have Takuya… a Glittermon addict. We have Amane, a closet otaku who loves Glittermon. We have Ijichi, a popular girl who is responsible, down-to-earth, and is just starting to like Glittermon. All three were introduced at the same time. All three on a level playing field. All three with an equal shot at being shipped with the main character. No painfully obvious scenario. I almost want to cry because it’s like my prayers have been answered. On top of that, the whole story is built on otaku culture with a main character that is portrayed in a realistic manner that doesn’t insult the way otakus are in real life.
The ONLY complaint that I have is that they are interested in. Why did it have to be something like a Pokémon rip-off? Couldn’t it have been something cooler? Oh well, if you’re going to rip off something popular that a lot of young people can relate to, Pokémon is the safest choice you can make, so I can understand why Glittermon exists in this series. Whatever, though. I got my wish, and now I can FINALLY enjoy a romance series with the perfect triangle of love setup.
I’m sure that there are other series out there that exist like this. I just haven’t found all that many like that. The only other one I’ve read that comes close is I Want a Gal Gamer to Praise Me, although the two main characters were introduced a bit apart from one another. Still, this is a unicorn in the world of rom-com manga, and with the way the first volume played out, I think this is going to be a series I am going to have a TON of fun with!
One little note that might be confusing to readers. Yen Press looks to be compiling the comics into chapters, but the comics are still indicated by their original numbers. The table of contents says that there are 7 chapters in the first volume, but each comic is just a couple of pages. It’s not like a typical 4-koma manga because it’s not episodic. It’s one long continuing story like a normal manga, but the comics are micro in size like a 4-koma (except there are more than 4 panels. I know… confusing… but if you read it, it’ll make sense). So, I’m unsure how to mark this on AniList. Yes, the official English release is 7 chapters, but if you go by the comic’s numbering, then there are 34 chapters in this first volume. So, I added it to my list by the original comic numbering. Reading 34 chapters sounds more impressive than 7, but I just felt as if I should point that out because the numbering system is a bit mismatched, and I think that was overlooked (or maybe not?)
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press.
