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Kiss Him, Not Me! #1
Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 1
Hi there! My name is Serinuma Kae.
I’m the kind of girl who loves checking out boys and fantasizing about them getting friendly (and more) with each other—I’m what you might call a fujoshi.
One day, my beloved (yes, he’s an anime character) died, and the shock of it all was more than I could have ever prepared for! My grief over his passing resulted in some ridiculous weight-loss!
And you won’t believe what happened next! Soon after my change, the four most divinely gorgeous boys in my school asked me out on dates! I accepted them all, and you’d think I’d be happy with my sudden popularity, but the truth is, my heart only yearns for a prince to be next to his prince. Ahh, yes, boys, I’d much prefer that you turn your affections elsewhere and KISS HIM, NOT ME!
I’m the kind of girl who loves checking out boys and fantasizing about them getting friendly (and more) with each other—I’m what you might call a fujoshi.
One day, my beloved (yes, he’s an anime character) died, and the shock of it all was more than I could have ever prepared for! My grief over his passing resulted in some ridiculous weight-loss!
And you won’t believe what happened next! Soon after my change, the four most divinely gorgeous boys in my school asked me out on dates! I accepted them all, and you’d think I’d be happy with my sudden popularity, but the truth is, my heart only yearns for a prince to be next to his prince. Ahh, yes, boys, I’d much prefer that you turn your affections elsewhere and KISS HIM, NOT ME!
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
December 22, 2016
Hahaha this was hilarious! Just mindless fun!
March 14, 2017
Soy team Mutsumi-senpai hasta el fin de mis días.
December 27, 2016
1.5 stars. The art, as always with Junko, is shoujo-beautiful; I surprised myself with a couple of laughs: those are the good things.
I have major problems with the basic story: it's not presented as a ridiculous, fantastical social satire; rather, the reader is asked to see it as a believable reality (for shoujo, at least). Considering that, it is superficial on a subject that cannot be taken superficially in a book marketed to young women (or men, for that matter). She loses many pounds in a single week, and there is no mention of the corresponding negative health issues, only amazement at her "successful" transformation. The sudden attention, approval, desirability and lovability based on her losing weight is hurtful and insulting. But she brainlessly la-de-dahs along. (Caveat: There is one guy who treats her the same as before--with respect, but not sexual interest.)
Perhaps these serious concerns will be address later, but I'm left too disappointed by the shallowness and callousness of the story to bother picking up the second volume.
I have major problems with the basic story: it's not presented as a ridiculous, fantastical social satire; rather, the reader is asked to see it as a believable reality (for shoujo, at least). Considering that, it is superficial on a subject that cannot be taken superficially in a book marketed to young women (or men, for that matter). She loses many pounds in a single week, and there is no mention of the corresponding negative health issues, only amazement at her "successful" transformation. The sudden attention, approval, desirability and lovability based on her losing weight is hurtful and insulting. But she brainlessly la-de-dahs along. (Caveat: There is one guy who treats her the same as before--with respect, but not sexual interest.)
Perhaps these serious concerns will be address later, but I'm left too disappointed by the shallowness and callousness of the story to bother picking up the second volume.
December 10, 2015
OMG. This manga.
I'm not usually one that reviews first volumes of manga but...
This manga is my love.
It reminds me of Senpai Club.
It makes fun of the tropes usually found in reverse-harem stuff.
Yeah, the little piece about her losing weight and becoming pretty was kind of...insensitive but I'm willing to let it slide. It's a funny manga and I don't want to think too much while reading it.
So yeah, can't wait to see where it goes...
Also this is part of one of the best scenes:
I'm not usually one that reviews first volumes of manga but...
This manga is my love.
It reminds me of Senpai Club.
It makes fun of the tropes usually found in reverse-harem stuff.
Yeah, the little piece about her losing weight and becoming pretty was kind of...insensitive but I'm willing to let it slide. It's a funny manga and I don't want to think too much while reading it.
So yeah, can't wait to see where it goes...
Also this is part of one of the best scenes:
June 26, 2016
Reseña del tomo uno al seis:
6/10
Os la recomiendo, es divertidisima y tiene momentos muy emotivos y otros de fangirl y otros de fujoshi total. Te ríes mucho con la serie, es una muy buena comedia escolar pero a mi me empezó a dejar como una sensación de frustración en el pecho. Estaba totalmente inmersa en lo que estaba leyendo y por un lado me estaba encantando pero por otro estaba viendo que no íbamos a llegar a ninguna parte.
(...)
Con esta obra Junko anima a ser uno mismo, cosa que es una gran lección porque jamás se puede fingir ser otro para gustarle a alguien, porque estaríamos renegando de quien somos. También te enseña que por amor todos esos preciosos niños han encontrado algo mucho más importante que un romance, una amistad que sabe totalmente a familia. Yo se que estos seis chicos podrán contar siempre unos con otros.
En este enlace podréis encontrar mi reseña completa en:
http://saranghaeunnie.blogspot.com.es...
6/10
Os la recomiendo, es divertidisima y tiene momentos muy emotivos y otros de fangirl y otros de fujoshi total. Te ríes mucho con la serie, es una muy buena comedia escolar pero a mi me empezó a dejar como una sensación de frustración en el pecho. Estaba totalmente inmersa en lo que estaba leyendo y por un lado me estaba encantando pero por otro estaba viendo que no íbamos a llegar a ninguna parte.
(...)
Con esta obra Junko anima a ser uno mismo, cosa que es una gran lección porque jamás se puede fingir ser otro para gustarle a alguien, porque estaríamos renegando de quien somos. También te enseña que por amor todos esos preciosos niños han encontrado algo mucho más importante que un romance, una amistad que sabe totalmente a familia. Yo se que estos seis chicos podrán contar siempre unos con otros.
En este enlace podréis encontrar mi reseña completa en:
http://saranghaeunnie.blogspot.com.es...
September 23, 2021
While I really loved the beautiful art, and the story was funny and entertaining, I can't move past the fact that the main character only became likable after her depression caused her to lose weight. Seriously could have started numerous other ways, but the author chose to highlight that our main character was overweight and only became beautiful due to a weight drop, and not just even any weight drop, but one due to a hit to her mental health. Definitely lost 2.5 stars there.
Other than the extremely problematic start, the male characters are funny (and not toooo pushy) the girls are honest and weird and unapologetic about it, and the idea that our main character Kae Serinuma would rather ship the boys together than date them was relatable to any BL fan.
Other than the extremely problematic start, the male characters are funny (and not toooo pushy) the girls are honest and weird and unapologetic about it, and the idea that our main character Kae Serinuma would rather ship the boys together than date them was relatable to any BL fan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2022
my partner got me this for a joke but it actually kinda slaps ngl
February 13, 2016
OMG this manga is brilliant! I loved it and I will be sure to buy this series when they come out in English. :) This is a must read to all!
Our main girl is (at the beginning) an overweight, but very happy girl. She is also a fujoshi and loves to pair up boys from her school. And in her eyes, normal things as passing a towel turn to full blown shounen-ai fantasies. Then she loses weight and attracts the attention of the 4 hottest boys in school. However, she doesn't want that attention, she just wants them to kiss each other, not her!
I really loved our main girl, and I loved how she saw pairings everywhere, and even saw 2d guys in 3d guys. I loved how even when she is experiencing doki doki moments with the guys, she still prefers them to kiss each other.
I recognized quite a few things in her that I also have, though I am not that extreme.
There are various other characters and I all loved them. I also loved how even though our main character was overweight at the beginning, no one really seemed to mind it. She has a great bond with her classmates and even has friends. You don't often see that happen, in a lot of stories if you are fat you are out. You get bullied or teased.
I loved our four hot guys (and they were indeed very hot!). They were great and I also loved that they weren't shallow. Instead they cared for our main character and even accepted her and her fujoshi ways.
The story is hilarious and I really enjoyed it. I would really recommend this manga to everyone.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Our main girl is (at the beginning) an overweight, but very happy girl. She is also a fujoshi and loves to pair up boys from her school. And in her eyes, normal things as passing a towel turn to full blown shounen-ai fantasies. Then she loses weight and attracts the attention of the 4 hottest boys in school. However, she doesn't want that attention, she just wants them to kiss each other, not her!
I really loved our main girl, and I loved how she saw pairings everywhere, and even saw 2d guys in 3d guys. I loved how even when she is experiencing doki doki moments with the guys, she still prefers them to kiss each other.
I recognized quite a few things in her that I also have, though I am not that extreme.
There are various other characters and I all loved them. I also loved how even though our main character was overweight at the beginning, no one really seemed to mind it. She has a great bond with her classmates and even has friends. You don't often see that happen, in a lot of stories if you are fat you are out. You get bullied or teased.
I loved our four hot guys (and they were indeed very hot!). They were great and I also loved that they weren't shallow. Instead they cared for our main character and even accepted her and her fujoshi ways.
The story is hilarious and I really enjoyed it. I would really recommend this manga to everyone.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
March 3, 2019
This is a review of the entire series.
When I first read the synopsis of Kiss Him, Not Me! I instantly knew that I had to watch it. Kae Serinuma is a true otaku (a fujioshi specifically) who ships her male classmates with each other. When one of her favorite anime characters dies she becomes so sad that she locks herself up in her room for a week. In this time she rapidly loses weight and miraculously becomes extremely beautiful. Because of this she gains a harem of boys from her school who all try to win her over, but all she wants is for them to love each other!
The anime just finished airing last week and it’s safe to say it has become a new favorite. Because of this I knew I had to continue with the series by reading the manga. The anime and manga are exactly the same (except for one slight exception which I will explain later), so you can pick either one and have a good time.
Except I never found myself laughing when I read the manga, only when I watched the anime. But that could be because I read the manga second, so I already knew the jokes so that’s why I didn’t laugh. It was still a joy re-experiencing the series though. *Edit* This review was originally written directly after reading up to and including the eighth volume (aka everything the anime adapted), so it was all essentially a re-read. However, once I got to the content I had never seen before, I kid you not, this series DESTROYED ME with how funny it is and how much it made me laugh! This series is so good that at one point I literally felt withdrawal while I had to wait for the next volume to get published in English.
The exception I mentioned earlier is pretty much only relevant if you’re someone who has watched the anime and would like to continue on with the manga without re-reading all of it. The exception is that one of the key moments in the series was presented at a different point in the anime than it was in the manga, so this is something you need to be aware of if you’re transferring from anime to manga. So click the spoiler tag below to learn that, and also to find out where the anime drops off so you know where to continue in the manga. Don’t click the spoiler if you haven’t read up to chapter 22 (volume 6), or if you haven’t completely finished the anime.
So, since this is a harem (albeit a reversed one), this means that there is one important question that must be asked… Who is best
A sort of… motif… you might say… Throughout my chosen images…
If you haven’t caught on yet, Nana (blond one) and Igarashi (other one) are my favorite boys. Nana because… Well… Just LOOK at him. Quite nice, quite nice indeed. But personality-wise he’s a dick, so he’s not actually BEST boy. That title belongs to Igarashi, hence why he’s the poster boy for the banner I made for this review. Speaking of which—HOW FREAKING EXTRA AM I!?!? I made a freaking banner for this review, for frick’s sake. Also I took the time to Photoshop all the images together to create the anime-manga comparisons. I never cease to amaze myself, like I seriously need to calm down. *Edit*: Photoshopping the banner for this review was so fun that it actually spurned a new tradition for my reviews: all my reviews of the first volume of a manga now have a banner I personally photoshopped for it (even my old ones)! Click here to see a gallery of all of them.✧ Bonus: Click here to see this review's original banner (the one you see now is an improved version I made after I gained more banner-making experience)! My username was Lizgigler back then, teehee
So yeaaah. I found this series very enjoyable and funny. I read some discussions about episodes as I was watching them weekly, so I know that there are other people who somehow didn’t get as much enjoyment out of it as I did, which is unfortunate. I think that if you’re out of the target demographic you won’t like it as much. Like, if you’re a straight male. I think there’s just something about this series that doesn’t appeal to that group as much as it did to me. It won’t give them the giddiness that it gave me. By the way, this is NOT a yaoi series, if you thought that’s what I was implying (especially since this is made by a yaoi author). But anyway, as a teenage girl I thought this series was very fun.
Please consider giving this review a "Like" if you've made it this far, it helps me out a lot! And follow me if you want more!
Click to read my other Kiss Him, Not Me! reviews:
Volumes: 1*, 2, 3-8 (N/A), 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
*Current review
February 25, 2017
"This reality is unbelievable!"
Sweet otaku Serinuma Kae is just your average fangirl who is also overweight. She's really nice, pretty smart and, of course, has a very active fantasy life as a fujoshi. While daydreaming about her classmates Igarashi and Nanashima with her friend Ah, one of the boys falls on top of her, letting us see her interactions with them as well as the other two boys in this story, Mutsumi, an older student and fellow History club member and Shinomiyo, a younger and very cold student.
From tumblr (unknown)
After the latest episode of her favorite anime airs, her favorite character (who happens to look a lot like Nanashima) dies in a sword fight (I think???) and she falls into a depression so deep she doesn't eat for a week, arising on the eighth day looking like a model. Of course, the boys fall over themselves to date her (except Mutsumi who is cool, knew it was her immediately and maybe just wants to study???).
"Can she do it? A real life Otome game"
Hijinks ensue.
Kae is typical to many manga leads, except she isn't exactly pining to go out with any of the boys who want to go out with her. As the title suggests, she'd rather they dated each other. Of course, when flirted with, she blushes and when showered with attention, her heart races, but I know plenty who still act that way*.
From tumblr
Of course, an unreal fantasy wouldn't be complete without our heroine being fully accepted for her socially stigmatized ways. Is it impossible, no, especially considering the treatment these boys gave her before her transformation.
"Can she get along with the ball?"
I'm actually looking forward to seeing the friendship of these five develop (and forgive my fujoshi heart, but I'm really hoping that a relationship between two of the boys actually does develop) as the series goes on. I've already pre-ordered the next two books.
I'm already kind of rooting for Mutsumi because he recognized her kindness, knows her more than the others, as they are in history club together. I've never been one for the whole senpai-madness, but I, as perhaps is typical, enjoy the idea of an older student with a younger student. He helps her study, is mature and sweet... The realist in me really can't tell yet who she will end up with (and with five volumes already out, maybe Junko doesn't know yet?) but am getting vibes from Igarashi as a potential front-runner. Though in this chapter (the sports chapter) we see growth in one character, perhaps as the series goes on, we will see the more positive things about each character. Though I wonder if I can get any more positive about Mutsumi!
From tumblr
"The strange room and the four high-school boys"
My biggest qualm was that the characters of Kae's mother and brother were so two-dimensional (her mother, literally) only really reacting to a specific aspect of Kae, her physical beauty, previously her being overweight. Her brother is so fashionable, he's either just a caricature I don't completely grasp, or he's destined to confuse Kae's fantasies by being the object of desire for one of her admirers... I honestly have no idea where this will go.
Though sometimes questionable, I find this first volume very enjoyable. I definitely laughed out loud a couple of times.
*Me, I mean me.
160pp. Kodansha Comics. 13 Oct. 2015.
Read more of my reviews at www.auroralector.com
Sweet otaku Serinuma Kae is just your average fangirl who is also overweight. She's really nice, pretty smart and, of course, has a very active fantasy life as a fujoshi. While daydreaming about her classmates Igarashi and Nanashima with her friend Ah, one of the boys falls on top of her, letting us see her interactions with them as well as the other two boys in this story, Mutsumi, an older student and fellow History club member and Shinomiyo, a younger and very cold student.
From tumblr (unknown)
After the latest episode of her favorite anime airs, her favorite character (who happens to look a lot like Nanashima) dies in a sword fight (I think???) and she falls into a depression so deep she doesn't eat for a week, arising on the eighth day looking like a model. Of course, the boys fall over themselves to date her (except Mutsumi who is cool, knew it was her immediately and maybe just wants to study???).
"Can she do it? A real life Otome game"
Hijinks ensue.
Kae is typical to many manga leads, except she isn't exactly pining to go out with any of the boys who want to go out with her. As the title suggests, she'd rather they dated each other. Of course, when flirted with, she blushes and when showered with attention, her heart races, but I know plenty who still act that way*.
From tumblr
Of course, an unreal fantasy wouldn't be complete without our heroine being fully accepted for her socially stigmatized ways. Is it impossible, no, especially considering the treatment these boys gave her before her transformation.
"Can she get along with the ball?"
I'm actually looking forward to seeing the friendship of these five develop (and forgive my fujoshi heart, but I'm really hoping that a relationship between two of the boys actually does develop) as the series goes on. I've already pre-ordered the next two books.
I'm already kind of rooting for Mutsumi because he recognized her kindness, knows her more than the others, as they are in history club together. I've never been one for the whole senpai-madness, but I, as perhaps is typical, enjoy the idea of an older student with a younger student. He helps her study, is mature and sweet... The realist in me really can't tell yet who she will end up with (and with five volumes already out, maybe Junko doesn't know yet?) but am getting vibes from Igarashi as a potential front-runner. Though in this chapter (the sports chapter) we see growth in one character, perhaps as the series goes on, we will see the more positive things about each character. Though I wonder if I can get any more positive about Mutsumi!
From tumblr
"The strange room and the four high-school boys"
My biggest qualm was that the characters of Kae's mother and brother were so two-dimensional (her mother, literally) only really reacting to a specific aspect of Kae, her physical beauty, previously her being overweight. Her brother is so fashionable, he's either just a caricature I don't completely grasp, or he's destined to confuse Kae's fantasies by being the object of desire for one of her admirers... I honestly have no idea where this will go.
Though sometimes questionable, I find this first volume very enjoyable. I definitely laughed out loud a couple of times.
*Me, I mean me.
160pp. Kodansha Comics. 13 Oct. 2015.
Read more of my reviews at www.auroralector.com
December 22, 2019
Yo this manga is problematic but the characters are so much fun and as a person who loves manga and anime I love the story! So fun :)
January 2, 2017
Be prepared to bombarded with ridiculous situations. An overweight girl miraculously bevomes svelte after being cooped up in her room, not eating anything. And the was because she went into mourning over a character's death in her favourite Yaoi manga.
Then her ridiculous fascination imagining her handsome school mates in gay relationships.
And the four guys. Yikes!
Basically, if I hadn't stopped reading after volume 1, I would have definitely torn my ab muscles.
Then her ridiculous fascination imagining her handsome school mates in gay relationships.
And the four guys. Yikes!
Basically, if I hadn't stopped reading after volume 1, I would have definitely torn my ab muscles.
May 25, 2019
Ciò che colpisce a primo impatto è il titolo insolito di questo manga: pur essendo adolescente, la protagonista non sembra interessata a trovarsi un ragazzo; in realtà, preferisce immaginare i suoi compagni di classe in una relazione omosessuale.
Kiss Him, Not Me è un’esilarante commedia scolastica, originale e romantica. Si legge in meno di un’ora e conduce il lettore nel “magico” mondo delle fujoshi, fan incallite dell’amore tra maschi.
Il cambiamento esteriore di Kae le permette di uscire con quattro aitanti compagni di scuola: Nanashima, Igarashi, Shinomiya e Mutsumi.
I quattro giovani decidono di aiutarla nello sport o nello studio. Penso che molte ragazze sarebbero contente di avere intorno così tanto ragazzi, pronti a sostenerle e a invitarle fuori.
Una domanda sorge spontanea: hanno iniziato a interessarsi a lei soltanto perché è diventata carina? Il ragionamento è superficiale, seppur comprensibile data la loro giovane età. L’unico che sembra apprezzarla per il suo modo di essere è il senpai Mutsumi, compagno di scuola più grande nonché membro del Club di studi storici.
Per paura di non essere accettata o di essere presa in giro, la ragazza cerca di celare le sue passioni, creando situazioni ancora più assurde e divertenti.
Un primo volume che invoglia il lettore a continuare la serie per poter conoscere meglio i protagonisti e immergersi di nuovo nelle disavventure della simpatica Kae.
Insomma, le risate sono assicurate!
Kiss Him, Not Me è un’esilarante commedia scolastica, originale e romantica. Si legge in meno di un’ora e conduce il lettore nel “magico” mondo delle fujoshi, fan incallite dell’amore tra maschi.
Il cambiamento esteriore di Kae le permette di uscire con quattro aitanti compagni di scuola: Nanashima, Igarashi, Shinomiya e Mutsumi.
I quattro giovani decidono di aiutarla nello sport o nello studio. Penso che molte ragazze sarebbero contente di avere intorno così tanto ragazzi, pronti a sostenerle e a invitarle fuori.
Una domanda sorge spontanea: hanno iniziato a interessarsi a lei soltanto perché è diventata carina? Il ragionamento è superficiale, seppur comprensibile data la loro giovane età. L’unico che sembra apprezzarla per il suo modo di essere è il senpai Mutsumi, compagno di scuola più grande nonché membro del Club di studi storici.
Per paura di non essere accettata o di essere presa in giro, la ragazza cerca di celare le sue passioni, creando situazioni ancora più assurde e divertenti.
Un primo volume che invoglia il lettore a continuare la serie per poter conoscere meglio i protagonisti e immergersi di nuovo nelle disavventure della simpatica Kae.
Insomma, le risate sono assicurate!
April 16, 2023
Yeah I think maybe I just don’t get this.
The hard core real life shipping that veers into fetishization, the fat girl somewhat magically becomes a thin gorgeous anime girl and ONLY THEN do all the boys like her…….wow. No thanks.
The hard core real life shipping that veers into fetishization, the fat girl somewhat magically becomes a thin gorgeous anime girl and ONLY THEN do all the boys like her…….wow. No thanks.
July 20, 2019
Hello and welcome everyone, my name is Meepelous and this is Literally Graphic.
And today we're talking about my initial thoughts about a manga series that really took me by surprise, namely Kiss Him, Not Me! by Junko. While I've fallen way off the bandwagon for Manga Hoarder's 2019 Reading Challenge, this book does seem, to my mind, to count for challenge number 17 "A manga featuring manga" (or other otaku culture).
Originally published in Japan by Kodansha comics from 2013 - 2018, it appears to have been published on crunchyroll in english simultaneously. As usual, however, I'm reading physical copies of the book which have been published, once again by Kodansha, from 2015 - 2018.
Without much easily accessed english language information, the following was what I was able to dig up on the author artist Junko aka Clip Clop. They identify as female, live in Tokyo and are a Sagittarius blood type A. Besides Kiss Him, Not Me, she has also been the author/artist on Rough Boyfriend/Rowdy Boyfriend, Under the Umbrella with you, Your Note/Your Scent, Mr. Mini Mart, Manga Sake, My Bodyguard/I shall protect you no matter where, Ouji no Kikan, Prince of Recipe, Star like Words, Walking With You, Youthful Love, and a lot of Yaoi Doujinshi based off of sports manga. Needless to say, as we dive into the synopsis of the series itself, Junko seems to have a lot in common with the main character of Kiss Him, Not Me.
Flipping to the back of the book, the description from the publisher as is follows: " Hi there! My name is Serinuma Kae. I’m the kind of girl who loves checking out boys and fantasizing about them getting friendly (and more) with each other—I’m what you might call a fujoshi. One day, my beloved (yes, he’s an anime character) died, and the shock of it all was more than I could have ever prepared for! My grief over his passing resulted in some ridiculous weight-loss! And you won’t believe what happened next! Soon after my change, the four most divinely gorgeous boys in my school asked me out on dates! I accepted them all, and you’d think I’d be happy with my sudden popularity, but the truth is, my heart only yearns for a prince to be next to his prince. Ahh, yes, boys, I’d much prefer that you turn your affections elsewhere and KISS HIM, NOT ME!"
And if you were paying attention to all of that you may have noticed that one of the major plot points is dramatic weightloss. While I would certainly not tell anyone who doesn't want to read about that that they have to, I do think that the way in which it is handled in this volume is much better then other weight loss plots I have seen or read and wanted to talk about it. While it's only briefly at the very beginning that Serinuma Kae is "overweight" we still get the chance to see her interact with many of the same people she will become more involved with later in the volume. While there's the obvious change of how interested her attractive male classmates are in her, but people are still generally nice and conversational before. She is not a social pariah (either because of her weight or because she's Otaku) which feels like a really important point to me. The other big point is just how accidental her weight loss is, never before it happens does Serinuma wish she weighed less, and she's pretty confused after it happens. Trying to think of this critically, beyond it simply existing, I guess the wieght loss is generally framed as a positive thing. And while there's no one else shamed for still being fat, in this first volume at least there are no other people who are the size that Serinuma was before or larger. Which is probably the weakest point on this front.
Looking at gender representation in this volume, since it's a male harem story of sorts the high school boys represented do tend to fall into various tropes, although I think this is more good then bad. Because tropes used well, give creators a precreated list of knowns, and lets stories explore different things. In this case, flipping the idea of women wanting to be attractive to men on its head in yet another way.
As far as female representation goes, it's nice that unlike fat representation (which disappears when Serinuma loses weight) Serinuma does have other female friends and she's not even in competition with them. Drawing wise, Serinuma definitely has boobs, but I can't work up any sort of offense. I assume they jiggle in the anime, which can be rather eye roll inducing at times, but in this case we have yet to even hit any cleavage shots so... I have boobs, she has boobs, they aren't ridiculously unbelievable and don't place the female character in as any sort of automatically subordinate space like crotch shots often do.
As far as representation goes, unsurprisingly for better or worse, class and race are not really touched on in this volume. I am very exited about the upswing in translated representation of female identified otaku like Princess Jellyfish.
And today we're talking about my initial thoughts about a manga series that really took me by surprise, namely Kiss Him, Not Me! by Junko. While I've fallen way off the bandwagon for Manga Hoarder's 2019 Reading Challenge, this book does seem, to my mind, to count for challenge number 17 "A manga featuring manga" (or other otaku culture).
Originally published in Japan by Kodansha comics from 2013 - 2018, it appears to have been published on crunchyroll in english simultaneously. As usual, however, I'm reading physical copies of the book which have been published, once again by Kodansha, from 2015 - 2018.
Without much easily accessed english language information, the following was what I was able to dig up on the author artist Junko aka Clip Clop. They identify as female, live in Tokyo and are a Sagittarius blood type A. Besides Kiss Him, Not Me, she has also been the author/artist on Rough Boyfriend/Rowdy Boyfriend, Under the Umbrella with you, Your Note/Your Scent, Mr. Mini Mart, Manga Sake, My Bodyguard/I shall protect you no matter where, Ouji no Kikan, Prince of Recipe, Star like Words, Walking With You, Youthful Love, and a lot of Yaoi Doujinshi based off of sports manga. Needless to say, as we dive into the synopsis of the series itself, Junko seems to have a lot in common with the main character of Kiss Him, Not Me.
Flipping to the back of the book, the description from the publisher as is follows: " Hi there! My name is Serinuma Kae. I’m the kind of girl who loves checking out boys and fantasizing about them getting friendly (and more) with each other—I’m what you might call a fujoshi. One day, my beloved (yes, he’s an anime character) died, and the shock of it all was more than I could have ever prepared for! My grief over his passing resulted in some ridiculous weight-loss! And you won’t believe what happened next! Soon after my change, the four most divinely gorgeous boys in my school asked me out on dates! I accepted them all, and you’d think I’d be happy with my sudden popularity, but the truth is, my heart only yearns for a prince to be next to his prince. Ahh, yes, boys, I’d much prefer that you turn your affections elsewhere and KISS HIM, NOT ME!"
And if you were paying attention to all of that you may have noticed that one of the major plot points is dramatic weightloss. While I would certainly not tell anyone who doesn't want to read about that that they have to, I do think that the way in which it is handled in this volume is much better then other weight loss plots I have seen or read and wanted to talk about it. While it's only briefly at the very beginning that Serinuma Kae is "overweight" we still get the chance to see her interact with many of the same people she will become more involved with later in the volume. While there's the obvious change of how interested her attractive male classmates are in her, but people are still generally nice and conversational before. She is not a social pariah (either because of her weight or because she's Otaku) which feels like a really important point to me. The other big point is just how accidental her weight loss is, never before it happens does Serinuma wish she weighed less, and she's pretty confused after it happens. Trying to think of this critically, beyond it simply existing, I guess the wieght loss is generally framed as a positive thing. And while there's no one else shamed for still being fat, in this first volume at least there are no other people who are the size that Serinuma was before or larger. Which is probably the weakest point on this front.
Looking at gender representation in this volume, since it's a male harem story of sorts the high school boys represented do tend to fall into various tropes, although I think this is more good then bad. Because tropes used well, give creators a precreated list of knowns, and lets stories explore different things. In this case, flipping the idea of women wanting to be attractive to men on its head in yet another way.
As far as female representation goes, it's nice that unlike fat representation (which disappears when Serinuma loses weight) Serinuma does have other female friends and she's not even in competition with them. Drawing wise, Serinuma definitely has boobs, but I can't work up any sort of offense. I assume they jiggle in the anime, which can be rather eye roll inducing at times, but in this case we have yet to even hit any cleavage shots so... I have boobs, she has boobs, they aren't ridiculously unbelievable and don't place the female character in as any sort of automatically subordinate space like crotch shots often do.
As far as representation goes, unsurprisingly for better or worse, class and race are not really touched on in this volume. I am very exited about the upswing in translated representation of female identified otaku like Princess Jellyfish.
July 28, 2019
~ 3.5 stars ~
Serinuma is a shy otaku who prefers shipping boys at her school together, rather than having crushes of her own. But when her favourite anime character dies, she spends a week curled up in bed and loses a bizarre amount of weight. When she returns to school, all the boys she ship begin noticing her and things get a bit more complicated.
This story is meant to be cheesy fun, but the message is rather shallow. One of the boys 'interested' in Serinuma clearly respected and liked her before losing weight, and values what is inside rather than on the outside, which could redeem this story. It is also the kind of story that even if you extend your belief, you still can't help but shake your head a little. It was fun and I think you could very easily get addicted to this if you try not to concern yourself with the message it is sending.
Serinuma is a shy otaku who prefers shipping boys at her school together, rather than having crushes of her own. But when her favourite anime character dies, she spends a week curled up in bed and loses a bizarre amount of weight. When she returns to school, all the boys she ship begin noticing her and things get a bit more complicated.
This story is meant to be cheesy fun, but the message is rather shallow. One of the boys 'interested' in Serinuma clearly respected and liked her before losing weight, and values what is inside rather than on the outside, which could redeem this story. It is also the kind of story that even if you extend your belief, you still can't help but shake your head a little. It was fun and I think you could very easily get addicted to this if you try not to concern yourself with the message it is sending.
March 18, 2018
Actualización: Los especiales han hecho que este manga suba de 2 a 3 estrellas! Guiño guiño yaoi guiño...
Estado: todos los tomos leídos.
Este manga me frustró mucho, especialmente la protagonista. Si no me vuelvo a topar con otra Kae seré muy feliz. El único punto favorecedor, de verdad, es Senpai y por él seguí leyendo.
Para ser el primer manga shoujo de Junko, lo hizo bastante bien, se nota el esfuerzo,
sin embargo lo sentí muy genérico y superficial (de nuevo, la excepción es Senpai). La autora se dedicó a seguir todos los clichés de la Biblia shoujo y varios le jugaron una mala pasada: no había fluidez entre los arcos, los personajes secundarios eran acartonados, Kae es insoportable. Pese a ello, sentí que le faltó el corazón de un shoujo; tenía todos los tópicos y aún así se sentía carente.
Sinceramente, espero que Junko se siga dedicando al BL (yaoi) y le deje el shoujo a autoras más capacitadas.
Estado: todos los tomos leídos.
Este manga me frustró mucho, especialmente la protagonista. Si no me vuelvo a topar con otra Kae seré muy feliz. El único punto favorecedor, de verdad, es Senpai y por él seguí leyendo.
Para ser el primer manga shoujo de Junko, lo hizo bastante bien, se nota el esfuerzo,
sin embargo lo sentí muy genérico y superficial (de nuevo, la excepción es Senpai). La autora se dedicó a seguir todos los clichés de la Biblia shoujo y varios le jugaron una mala pasada: no había fluidez entre los arcos, los personajes secundarios eran acartonados, Kae es insoportable. Pese a ello, sentí que le faltó el corazón de un shoujo; tenía todos los tópicos y aún así se sentía carente.
Sinceramente, espero que Junko se siga dedicando al BL (yaoi) y le deje el shoujo a autoras más capacitadas.
January 19, 2023
I started watching the anime adaptation of this series mostly out of morbid curiosity -- the premise as was presented to me was suuuper fatphobic -- but then I fell in love with it, and since it probably isn't getting a season 2 I figured I'd read the manga. I still have some issues with the way fatness is presented in the story, but the way the guys in Kae's unwanted harem talk about her sudden transformation is pretty telling about their character/personalities, and aside from that I can put it aside and enjoy this very silly story about an awkward fangirl in high school suddenly having a reverse harem she doesn't know what to do with and doesn't want. She's recognizable -- I was kind of a gen-only snob in high school but I had friends who were super into m/m and awkward about it in similar ways, and back then the shaaame of being into fandom generally was pretty prevalent especially if there was any aspect of shipping in your fandom (one of the reasons I was a gen-only snob!) but also oh nooo, honey, you shouldn't ship people you actually know, that's a bad scene. (While I was never as bad as Kae is in this affectionate parody of fujoshi culture, I will confess that in high school I did come up with a FictionAlley-style ship name for a couple of friends I knew who were actually dating and it did not last but the breakup was amicable. This is probably the best-case scenario for shipping your actual friends and it's still awkward af. High school... is a time for bad ideas that will make you cringe about them for the rest of your life.) Anyway, because of the terrible knowledge of what it's like to be an awkward fangirl in high school, to some extent this straddles the line between humor and horror for me, but in a good way, and I'll probably keep reading.
March 2, 2016
~3.5-4/5
"Who decided the prince should be with the princess?"
First of all, I was a little wary of this book when I heard about the weight thing. That is an issue that’s not okay to handle badly, or too blasé like Let’s Dance a Waltz did. But in this book, it took a more comedic route, and it wasn’t ignored. Which, at least for me, made it okay (or at least standable).
Especially since, while the boys weren’t flirting with her when she was bigger, at least she wasn’t being bullied over it. It was just part of who she was then. No big deal. Much like her otaku side, it’s just part of her.
As soon as Serinuma gets smaller waisted, three boys in particular start clinging to her, plus one who’s just her friend. She doesn’t know how to handle it, especially since she just wants them to fall in love with each other, not her. But she agrees to go on a date with them all at once. Then some of them agree to help her practice soccer and study.
I like how open Serinuma is. She doesn’t hide her otaku side, even when told she should. She doesn’t decide on one of them, she gives them all a shot when she can’t decide. When she finds out how out of shape she is, she still keeps practicing like crazy for soccer. She doesn’t hide who she is, and only makes the boys like her even more.
I think I’ve already got a favorite, or two, out of the boys, but I’m still not sure who’s going to get closer to her. They’re all fighting pretty hard at this point. And I like the humor, the heroine, and the characterization so far. I’m looking forward to reading more.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
"Who decided the prince should be with the princess?"
First of all, I was a little wary of this book when I heard about the weight thing. That is an issue that’s not okay to handle badly, or too blasé like Let’s Dance a Waltz did. But in this book, it took a more comedic route, and it wasn’t ignored. Which, at least for me, made it okay (or at least standable).
Especially since, while the boys weren’t flirting with her when she was bigger, at least she wasn’t being bullied over it. It was just part of who she was then. No big deal. Much like her otaku side, it’s just part of her.
As soon as Serinuma gets smaller waisted, three boys in particular start clinging to her, plus one who’s just her friend. She doesn’t know how to handle it, especially since she just wants them to fall in love with each other, not her. But she agrees to go on a date with them all at once. Then some of them agree to help her practice soccer and study.
I like how open Serinuma is. She doesn’t hide her otaku side, even when told she should. She doesn’t decide on one of them, she gives them all a shot when she can’t decide. When she finds out how out of shape she is, she still keeps practicing like crazy for soccer. She doesn’t hide who she is, and only makes the boys like her even more.
I think I’ve already got a favorite, or two, out of the boys, but I’m still not sure who’s going to get closer to her. They’re all fighting pretty hard at this point. And I like the humor, the heroine, and the characterization so far. I’m looking forward to reading more.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
October 1, 2019
So, if you can ignore/aren't bothered by the non-satirical depiction of someone losing a ton of weight from a week-long period of mourning and suddenly getting a lot of attention from the opposite sex, aaand the fact that fujoshi are most known for fetishizing gay men...
This series is hilarious, with beautiful art and an interesting cast of characters.
Three of the four guys might not have the best of reasons for suddenly developing an interest in our heroine, but they're pretty accepting of her quirks as they discover them. That being said, it's also quite possibly because of their attraction to her and the obvious competition between them, but...I just kind of want to give this a few more points to offset the ickiness of the stuff I started my review with.
I don't think those things would have bothered me as much as a teen reader, but I'm 28 now, and a bit more aware of the negative impacts of those themes. (Kind of like how one might claim to be an otaku, but the implications of that are wildly different in the States when compared to Japan.)
All of that said, I still liked this a lot. It's an easy read, it's cute and funny, and there's definitely room for Kae's character to develop and blossom.
This series is hilarious, with beautiful art and an interesting cast of characters.
Three of the four guys might not have the best of reasons for suddenly developing an interest in our heroine, but they're pretty accepting of her quirks as they discover them. That being said, it's also quite possibly because of their attraction to her and the obvious competition between them, but...I just kind of want to give this a few more points to offset the ickiness of the stuff I started my review with.
I don't think those things would have bothered me as much as a teen reader, but I'm 28 now, and a bit more aware of the negative impacts of those themes. (Kind of like how one might claim to be an otaku, but the implications of that are wildly different in the States when compared to Japan.)
All of that said, I still liked this a lot. It's an easy read, it's cute and funny, and there's definitely room for Kae's character to develop and blossom.
February 16, 2019
I thought this manga was pretty sizest and wasn't a great message for young adults. First of all, the protagonist loses a large amount of weight in one week because she refuses to eat because she is in mourning for a fictional character. Yes I believe you can lose your appetite while in mourning and I don't have a problem with mourning over the loss of a fictional character, but one week? No. Then all of these guys suddenly notice her in an attractive way. Yes, it's flattering but also extremely irritating that they only fine her attractive and want to spend time with her when she is skinny. She says yes to going out with all four of these guys who continue to make it a competitive game against one another with her as the butt of every joke. I'm sorry. I thought it was offensive, sexist, sizest and it's not a series I'm interested in continuing.
March 10, 2020
Super cute!! I’m excited to read more!
A pretty notable controversial element that kept this from being 5⭐️ was the unrealistic and offensive (and completely fantastical on purpose because it comedy manga) situation where she loses a ton of weight and then becomes unbelievably beautiful to these boys.
A pretty notable controversial element that kept this from being 5⭐️ was the unrealistic and offensive (and completely fantastical on purpose because it comedy manga) situation where she loses a ton of weight and then becomes unbelievably beautiful to these boys.
February 19, 2017
Man, I'm laughing sooo hard! This manga is amazingly funny, and I feel so similar to the main character in tastes and behaviour that it's almost scary xD
A comic union of shoujo manga and (only dreamed) BL, a light and entertaining reading.
A comic union of shoujo manga and (only dreamed) BL, a light and entertaining reading.
April 13, 2021
I watched the anime first, and since they left it on a cliffhanger I decided to give this series a go. I decided to start with the first book and I already love it!!! Can't wait to read the rest of the series 😁
July 21, 2021
Very funny and absurd manga. There are fat phobic jokes in it and most of the characters, besides Mutsumi don’t like Kae until she is skinny which is just kinda cruel. But besides that it’s very enjoyable and entertaining!
November 14, 2016
Lolol this anime + manga is hilarious. Also Kae is so relatable sometimes
March 28, 2021
While I do love the artwork/ art style, there are a LOT of problematic aspects in this volume alone, which doesn't bode well for the rest of the series.
But first, let me start off by saying that I saw the anime when it came out in 2016 and I LOVED IT. I thought it was hilarious, adorable, and loved the characters. While I knew there were some problematic elements to it, I was able to push them aside because, at the time, they didn't bother me. Welp, it's been nearly 5 years since then and the problematic shit REALLY BOTHERS ME.
I'm not going to discuss the weight issue that much because practically everyone who talks about this series brings that up, but it still bothers me that Mutsumi and Igarashi are the only two that not only a) recognize Serinuma after her weight loss and b) aren't dramatic about it. However, Mutsumi is the only who treats her the same as when she was big, so really he's the only redeeming one out of the bunch.
The biggest issue I have with this volume (and the series as a whole) is that Serinuma is a fujoshi who objectifies boys/ men and fetishizes gay relationships (even if she doesn't see it that way) and that really bothers me. Again, I am not saying that girls/ women can't read BL or enjoy stories with a gay relationship, but Serinuma takes it too far and the story uses it as comedy fodder and that rubs me the wrong way.
Despite my gripes, I have volumes 2 and 3 and will at least read those, but I'm not sure I'll continue with this series past that. If none of what I said bothers you, then by all means give this a try. The guys are pretty cute and Serinuma's interactions with all of them are great, so there's that at least.
But first, let me start off by saying that I saw the anime when it came out in 2016 and I LOVED IT. I thought it was hilarious, adorable, and loved the characters. While I knew there were some problematic elements to it, I was able to push them aside because, at the time, they didn't bother me. Welp, it's been nearly 5 years since then and the problematic shit REALLY BOTHERS ME.
I'm not going to discuss the weight issue that much because practically everyone who talks about this series brings that up, but it still bothers me that Mutsumi and Igarashi are the only two that not only a) recognize Serinuma after her weight loss and b) aren't dramatic about it. However, Mutsumi is the only who treats her the same as when she was big, so really he's the only redeeming one out of the bunch.
The biggest issue I have with this volume (and the series as a whole) is that Serinuma is a fujoshi who objectifies boys/ men and fetishizes gay relationships (even if she doesn't see it that way) and that really bothers me. Again, I am not saying that girls/ women can't read BL or enjoy stories with a gay relationship, but Serinuma takes it too far and the story uses it as comedy fodder and that rubs me the wrong way.
Despite my gripes, I have volumes 2 and 3 and will at least read those, but I'm not sure I'll continue with this series past that. If none of what I said bothers you, then by all means give this a try. The guys are pretty cute and Serinuma's interactions with all of them are great, so there's that at least.
May 4, 2022
Ahhh, como me gusta esta historia.
Estos personajes me hacen reír un montón, Serinuma es super dulce a su manera y no importa que apariencia tenga, ella vive por el BL.
En cuanto a los chicos... obviamente ninguno está a la altura de Mutsumi senpai, este chico es un ángel. Lo adoro.
En fin, que me iré devorando los tomos.
Estos personajes me hacen reír un montón, Serinuma es super dulce a su manera y no importa que apariencia tenga, ella vive por el BL.
En cuanto a los chicos... obviamente ninguno está a la altura de Mutsumi senpai, este chico es un ángel. Lo adoro.
En fin, que me iré devorando los tomos.
October 14, 2018
I picked up the first volume of this manga on a whim, because I thought the title was funny. KHNM follows our protagonist who’s fat and a fujoshi, but when her favorite anime character dies, she spirals and loses a ton of weight. This causes her to get a lot of attention from the boys at her school, but she’d rather them date each other than her.
I went into this expecting the worst, tbh, because of the weight loss element. But surprisingly, this wasn’t as problematic as I expected. There’s a lot of empathy and laughter, as these boys learn her accept her and her “weird” interests. I’m still deciding if I want to continue with the series, but I did enjoy this first volume. 3.5 stars.
I went into this expecting the worst, tbh, because of the weight loss element. But surprisingly, this wasn’t as problematic as I expected. There’s a lot of empathy and laughter, as these boys learn her accept her and her “weird” interests. I’m still deciding if I want to continue with the series, but I did enjoy this first volume. 3.5 stars.
February 22, 2019
This is a cute story. I am not loving how our female protagonist suddenly lost so much weight. I think the fallout from that happening is pretty realistic though, so I can forgive it. I love our fujoshi lead, and am excited to see how this continues.
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