Title: Otaku x Gal Vol. 2
Author: 138neco (Story), Souchu (Art)
Publisher: Square Enix
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: June 23, 2026
The Story
We open up with quite the perilous situation… Otakura has terrible fashion, and this must be corrected at once! Yua and Riko are going out shopping, so they invite him along, but he insists that he has normal clothes already. When he showed them what he had, they both agreed that it would not do. After they pick out an outfit for him, it’s their turn. In the process of shopping, they realize that he has a much better fashion sense for women’s clothes than they had anticipated!
Once the little shopping arc is over, it’s time to head to the pool for some fanservice! Once Otakura joins them, he reveals another surprise about himself (this becomes a running gag, by the way)! This new revelation attracts some unwanted attention, so it’s up to Yua and Riko to protect him at all costs!
We then move on to karaoke, where, you guessed it… Otakura has, yet, another hidden talent in the fact that he can sing! When Yua steps out, though, he and Riko perform a duet and get a surprising score. This leads Riko to want some more head pats, but the problem here is that Yua saw everything!
Lastly, the remainder of the volume is spent fixing how much of a dunce Yua is. She completely flunked her midterms, so it’s up to Otakura and Riko to get her up-to-speed. Despite doing, um, better… on the next test, she still needs some serious help, so Otakura invites her over for a study session. She wants to prepare for it, so she ends up going to the second literary club to ask Otakura’s fellow club members some things. They didn’t think she’d take their suggestions to heart, but when she does, she shows up at Otakura’s house in quite the way!
Characters
With the main premise of this series established, a second volume is typically used to develop its characters, and that’s what we got here!
Otakura received the most development, but not in the sense of his persona shifting or anything. Instead, we learned about the multitude of hidden talents he possessed. From impeccable fashion sense in women’s clothes, to a surprising routine to help keep himself healthy, to being able to sing majestically, to preparing foods and snacks, to even his study habits and methods, Otakura was just one surprise after another, and you can tell how these surprising facts impacted both Yua and Riko’s perception of him. Moreso, unveiling all of this to them is giving him quite the confidence boost, too.
Yua and Riko fall under the same development boat as they both are developing feelings for Otakura, and they are not hiding it whatsoever. From feeling his body up at the pool, to also literally hanging off of him there, as well, to getting head pats, and blushing… only someone like Otakura, who is dense to this kind of stuff, wouldn’t realize that he was being hit on. However, out of the girls, Riko is the one who is changing the most. It seemed as if with every panel, she was losing her tsundere status more and more. She’s becoming much more open around Otakura, and by the end of the volume, she’s starting to become jealous of Yua.
Final Thoughts
One thing that I can appreciate in this volume is that the Gen Z/Gen Alpha speak was toned down. Sure, it was still there, and I had to endure a random No Cap here and there, but at least the dialogue was setting into something more normal. That made this volume way more enjoyable than the first. I really like the dynamic between Otakura, Yua, and Riko because it still holds onto the premise of an undetermined love triangle… somewhat.
There were some instances in this volume that showed Yua as the favored girl, and while it wasn’t said through dialogue, some of Riko’s facial expressions and mannerisms suggest that she’s beginning to realize that she might not have a chance. Whether this will cause her to step up and try to win his heart or not remains to be seen, but what looked to be a true love triangle is slowly shifting into Yua’s favor, which again shows that whoever the first girl introduced is, will most likely be the one Otakura ends up with.
I wish that wasn’t the case because I would love to see a true competition between two girls over their crush, but I still don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion just yet. Riko might still have some fight left in her, so we’ll see what volume three brings.
Until then, there was a lot of variety here, and I liked how they showed Otakura being this “Superman” type character who could do anything. It sent a nice message that you should never underestimate an otaku because they might just be hiding hidden talents and the physique of a Greek god under their homely clothing! Can’t wait to check out more of this series!
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