Title: I’m No Angel Omnibus 1
Author: Ai YazaWa
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 432
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Romance
Publication Date: June 2, 2026
The Story
Nothing like taking a trip into the past, as the early 90’s manga series, I’m no Angel, is being compiled into a 4-omnibus set, with each set comprising 2 of the original 8 volumes of manga.
The story follows Midori “Angel” Saejima, who got her nickname when she drew a poster for the student council election, depicting herself as a candidate with angel wings. She’s outgoing, shy, and excitable all at the same time, but that also means she’s kind of clumsy. One day, she saw a boy with a pompadour haircut cuddling with a stray cat, wishing she could have met him. When she finds out that they’re going to the same school together, she wants to know more about the boy who looks like a delinquent, but apparently has a heart of gold.
Well, she gets that chance because the boy, Akira Sudo, was elected as the school’s first-ever student council president, and Midori was elected as the Vice President! Other council members include Midori’s friend Bunta, and two others who knew each other from middle school, a charming boy by the name of Takigawa, and a stuck-up rich girl named Mamiya. The first activity they embark on is to put on a school festival. It is here that Midori and Akira begin to get closer to one another; however, she discovers something that she probably shouldn’t have that could throw her conquest for love off course!
As the volume goes on, we also explore the budding relationship between Takigawa and Mamiya; however, one could say that their spending more time together was forced by a certain girl who earned the nickname of angel. All the while, Midori continues to let the thing she shouldn’t have seen live rent-free in her head. There is a moment when she realizes that it was all for naught, until another moment happens that throws her suspicions right back to the front of her mind.
Meanwhile, a new student shows up in the second year named Shino. Suddenly, there is a bit of drama that could put the school play in jeopardy. All the while, Midori can’t help but worry about that nagging suspicion. Akira senses it and invites her out on a Sunday. There, he confronts her about what she’s been randomly crying, but can Midori bring herself to ask Akira about what’s really going on?
Characters
There are five main characters, along with a sixth that was added towards the end, that the manga focuses on, so let’s dive into them.
Midori Saeijima is just a typical high school girl with a slight twist… she’s very outgoing. She’s not afraid to put herself out there, whether it’s running for student council president, singing in front of the school, drawing posters, or expressing her artistic skills, etc. She’s also a very typical girl with a crush, and that means anything and everything that involves Akira sends her into a spiral of overthinking and jealousy. She worries about a romance that isn’t even official yet, and because of that, she continuously second-guesses herself and her choices. All the while, she does whatever she can to get closer to Akira, to hopefully wedge her way into his heart. She’s a rather run-of-the-mill main character with a diverse set of emotions and talents. She quickly grabbed the admiration of the entire school… even if she tripped and fell on her first day after her election speech, flashing her panties to the whole school. Oops.
Akira gives off the typical bad boy delinquent vibe with his haircut and facial expressions, but underneath it all, he’s caring… even if he’s constantly telling Midori to shut up all the time. Riding a motorcycle doesn’t exactly help matters, though, but despite all of that, he does care about Midori, and even mentions that he wouldn’t mind dating her to his little sister. Despite his demeanor, there are a few skeletons in his past, such as what appeared to be a messy divorce between his parents. He opted to go with his father, while his little sister went with his mother… someone that he seemingly has a deep issue with. We don’t get an exploration for that just yet, but there’s still more past to dig up with him. For now, he’s a solid secondary main character, but there are a few additional secrets that he seems to be hiding.
Takigawa is just a super polite boy who tries to help everyone. It’s because of this that Midori gets the idea to pair him and Mamiya up together. While Takigawa tries to navigate the obvious setup (that he’s seemingly oblivious to), he kind of feels snubbed during the school play incident when Mamiya goes missing. There is a reason for keeping him out of the loop, but again, even though he knows why, he still seems a bit oblivious to it. That’s just the kind of person he is. I guess you could label him as carefree to a fault because there are some things that he says and does where he’s not fully aware of the impact that they have on Mamiya and/or a certain somebody else.
Mamiya is a rich girl, but doesn’t truly act rich. Takigawa knew her from middle school and explained that she is a nice person, but can come off rather cold at times. There wasn’t much of an explanation as to why until the end of the omnibus, and even still… It’s not really an explanation said with words, but rather something you just figure out. For some reason, Mamiya doesn’t care for Midori all that much, but Midori knows this and tells her that no matter if she’s hated, she still likes Mamiya. That seems to get through to her, and could signal a change in her character soon.
Next, we have Shino… a new student who seemingly has a connection to Takigawa and Mamiya, and Maki, a teacher at the school who could be the key to something happening with another one of our characters. Of course, both of these scenarios go into spoiler territory, so I’ll just leave them at that.
I would say stuff about Bunta, but… outside of knowing Midori from middle school, he hardly had a role here. If there ever was a definition of a background character… he would be it.
Final Thoughts
It’s always interesting to see how manga from different time periods is drawn. With this being from the early 1990s, you can tell the style doesn’t look anything like modern manga today, and that’s not a bad thing. I liked the slightly more realistic style as it gave the story a certain charm, and while 432 pages is a lot to chew through in one sitting, the story keeps you engaged with its excellent writing to the point where a couple of hours passed, and I didn’t even realize it.
The characters play off one another very well, and while the mysteries and drama points aren’t all too deep, they do keep you guessing from time to time. One of the things the manga doesn’t do particularly well with those mysteries is conceal them for big reveals. There are clues given out in bits and pieces throughout the story, and as you read through, it’s easy to guess what the true mysteries are. Then, when they are talked about, you don’t feel a sense of relief or shock, but more or less a ‘ah, there’s the confirmation’ moment.
While drama isn’t this manga’s strong suit, before you get any clues to take the bite out of the mystery, it does feel as if some situations have a lot of weight to them. I would say that this series is more wholesome than it is about the drama, and the way the characters are portrayed feels more down-to-Earth and realistic than some of the other romance series out there today. Everything just fit and fit well from the writing, the dialogue, to the natural character interactions, to their little quirks, and all of the tropes. Yes, even back in the 90s, we still had school festivals, talent shows, amusement parks, and even the beach, which proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Obviously, a lot of younger manga readers wouldn’t have seen this series as it came out before their time (mine included), but I would urge you to pick it up. Even with an art style that will look dated versus anything out today, the story and the characters truly hold their own and make this a very enjoyable read!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
