My Oh My Atami-kun Volume 1
Writers and Artists: Tanuma Sect
Publisher: Yen Press (Print and digital)
translate: Amanda Haley
Engraving: Elena Pizarro Lanzas
Publication date: July 23, 2024
grade: older teenager
type: Manga (Japan), LGBTQ+, Slice of Life, Romance
My oh my Atami-kun yes Tanuma Sectdebuted in the English market and was launched in October this year by Yen Press. The series is currently ongoing in Japan, with three volumes released. Let’s see if I can get along with this young, confused high school student!
Atami-kun thinks he is too handsome. Since he’s interested in men, he doesn’t know how to politely say no to girls who keep asking him out. He thought they must have taken a fancy to his face. I haven’t even said hello before, so what other excuse can there be?
In addition, he has only a handful of feelings left. Whenever he changed seats, classes or schools, he soon fell in love with another boy nearby, enough in total to make a schedule. Every crush he had was genuine and he knew it. So why did the boy he admitted to say he was wrong?
I will leave you in suspense: I absolutely loved This is the first volume. The art style is simple without looking barren or unexpressive. The plot is driven largely by the casual exchanges between the characters and the occasional interjection of the narrator. Since the volume has more dialogue, you can expect the story to be more reflective and focus on relationships, rather than following a series of arcs with clear beginnings and endings.
Even though the plot of the series isn’t about solving mysteries, I still found myself turning the pages wanting to explore more about how Atami interacts with his classmates, the families of the upperclassmen he talks to regularly, and our protagonists Thoughts on what love and friendship mean.
As a reader, caring about Atami is effortless. He is an honest and serious kid trying to navigate life to the best of his ability. Early in the first chapter, it’s revealed that he lives in a single-father household, with Enthusiasm defining their interactions as “business correspondence.” Although this theme has not been studied in depth, its influence on Atami’s view of love is still there. Despite this, Atami doesn’t shy away from trying to build lasting friendships with those he’s interested in, honestly conveying his feelings and opinions.
The first crush we met in Atami was senior Adachi. They would occasionally have lunch together, chat casually, or sit quietly in the same place, a secluded staircase in the yard. This is how Adachi invites Atami to dinner one day, and Atami becomes a regular at their table, getting along well with Adachi’s sisters and mother.
This layer surprise meas it’s not often that a character’s ongoing relationship with another family member receives so much attention. It’s refreshing and we’ll see if it becomes a more significant parallel to Atami in the upcoming volumes own family situation.
My oh my Atami-kun is Atami’s clumsy yet sincere attempt at human connection. As a fan of Boys Love, my first impression was that this series would take a somewhat similar route to that genre. Instead, what I saw was Atami’s coming-of-age story, filled with his worries, questions, embarrassments, and excitement as a gay young man who fell in love too easily.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who is Interested in growth stories. However, fans Come on, Nakamura-kun! would feel most at home, since neither series cares too much about whether the protagonist ends up getting like Interested or not, and more about sweet, adolescent longings. There are still a few months until volume two hits shelves, but I’m already eagerly anticipating it!
The header image is taken from Asa Tanuma’s X (formerly Twitter) account.
My Oh My Atami-kun Volume 1 is available digitally and in print on the Yen Press website and other retailers.
