, also popularly known as the Green Yuri due to its distinct green accent color, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sumiko Arai. Originating as a short story posted on Arai's Twitter account from July to September 2021, the series has been self-published on the platform since April 2022. It has been also serialized on Pixiv Comic and published in print by Kadokawa Shoten since April 2023, with its chapters collected in four volumes as of February 2026.
The series follows the friendship and eventual romantic relationship between high school girls Aya Osawa and Mitsuki Koga, who connect through their love for rock music and reflect on how much they value each other in their daily lives. An anime television series adaptation produced by CloverWorks is set to premiere in January 2027. The series has been a critical and commercial success, with critics praising the story, artwork, and characters. It won the 2023 Next Manga Award in the web manga category.
Plot Aya Osawa develops a crush on the masked clerk of the record store she frequents where they discuss and share their love for rock music. Unbeknownst to her, the record store clerk is her female classmate Mitsuki Koga, who tries to conceal her double life. Amidst their day-to-day experiences within and beyond high school with their friends, Aya and Mitsuki jointly discover how much they mean to each other, as their friendship formed through music blossoms into a deeper love for one another.
Characters Main
An extroverted high school girl who has an interest in rock music after becoming intrigued with the cover art of The Dark Side of the Moon and listening to it. However, she is unable to share it to Chizuru and Mao due to their preference for contemporary pop music and out of fear of being alienated. Harboring no romantic interest towards men, Aya first develops a crush on Mitsuki's workplace persona, prompting her to dub the enigmatic clerk as . She continues to frequent the shop to see Onii-san while becoming acquainted with Mitsuki at school, not knowing that she is Onii-san. After learning of her identity and formally befriending her, Aya supports her hobbies and aspirations while making her own decisions and becoming more free-spirited, leading to them dating.
An aloof high school girl and classmate of Aya who also has an interest in rock music and works part-time at the record store with her uncle Joe. She experienced an introverted upbringing due to her desire to stay true to herself and not compromise on it. To maintain anonymity during work, Mitsuki wears a facemask and androgynous clothing in place of her school uniform, causing her to be mistaken for a guy and be dubbed by Aya and her friends as Onii-san. After Aya falls for Onii-san, she takes measures for Aya to not figure out her identity at school. Eventually, as time passes, Mitsuki also falls for Aya and becomes confident in expressing her true self to her, allowing them to begin dating. She also learns how to play the electric guitar, which she would utilize to compose her own songs.
Supporting
Mitsuki's uncle who manages the record store and serves as her parental figure and guardian, often showing concern for his niece's introverted upbringing. It is later revealed he was in a romantic relationship with Kanna when Mitsuki was young, but they broke up as he was prioritizing taking care of Mitsuki when Kanna proposed moving to Los Angeles with him. Despite this, he continues to harbor feelings for Kanna, especially after they reconnect.
A friend and classmate of Aya and Mitsuki who was the first to connect Mitsuki and Onii-san being the same person after noticing their similarities. Highly supportive of Aya and Mitsuki's relationship, he makes efforts to have both girls interact, get close to each other, and avoid miscommunication.
A friend and classmate of Aya. She tends to offer Aya advice on how she can approach her crush on Onii-san, unaware that Onii-san is fellow classmate Mitsuki. She is also close friends with Mao and Narita.
Another friend and classmate of Aya, who is highly supportive of Aya's efforts to connect with Onii-san. She is also shown to be very friendly to others, especially Mitsuki and Narita.
Aya's boisterous younger twin brothers. They both view and adore Mitsuki as their role model, openly showing support for the two girls' relationship.
Joe's ex-girlfriend and a friend of Mitsuki who works as a stylist in Los Angeles. She returns to Japan and spends time with Joe and Mitsuki, though she still experiences lingering feelings towards Joe despite their previous breakup. She also bonds with Aya on their respective struggles towards romance.
A high school girl who is Aya and Mitsuki's junior and is the daughter of a record producer. She holds Mitsuki's songwriting with high regard.
Aya and Narita's college classmate who begrudgingly hangs out with them. She finds herself feeling bothered yet drawn to Aya's free-spirited demeanor and personality.
Mitsuki's colleague at a bar that was the former site of the record store. She is self-conscious of her tall height and lack of social skills and deeply admires Mitsuki's confidence.
Production In an interview with Shuko Yokoi, Sumiko Arai elaborated that the concept of The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All originated from her being drawn to stories about individuals from differing backgrounds connecting and wanting to tell a story about girls, noting in another interview with Anime News Network that "woman-loving-woman media in general is unique and special as it is". In order for her concepts to also resonate with international readers, she drew short stories featuring no dialogue, which were posted to Twitter. One of these short stories, uploaded between July and September 2021, served as the inspiration to the series.
Arai decided to incorporate music, specifically Western rock music, as a major element in the series after drawing from her own experiences of falling in love with rock through her father introducing her to Beck and his album Guero, as well as growing up listening to other foreign artists such as the Beatles, Half Moon Run, and Deftones. She also expounded on its importance by noting that music allows an individual to relate their emotions and feelings to a given piece, adding it is a great way to "find a community". In creating the characters of Mitsuki Koga and Aya Osawa, Arai shared she used the extroverted and introverted aspects of herself as inspiration in writing them while also referring to the characters of Shelby Goodkind and Toni Shalifoe in The Wilds, creating a "polar-opposite kind of pairing".
Since Twitter only allows four images per tweet, chapters of the series are limited to four pages. Arai has remarked on having to depict Mitsuki and Aya's interactions concisely as a result of the format. The series' editor commented that the character's faces are illustrated to be detailed enough to understand the story without relying on the dialogue, making the series more accessible to international readers. The yellow-green color, which serves as an accent to the series' black-and-white illustrations, was revealed by Arai to be a late addition before the first chapter was uploaded.
Media Manga Written and illustrated by Sumiko Arai, the series began its weekly run on the author's Twitter account on April 10, 2022; it was also serialized on Pixiv Comic on April 29, 2023. Kadokawa Shoten began publishing the series in print in the same month, with its chapters collected in four volumes as of February 2026. Arai announced on April 3, 2024, that the series would be receiving an official English release alongside other international releases, with Yen Press later announcing on April 26 they had licensed the series for English publication.
Volumes
Anime An anime adaptation was announced by Arai on her Twitter account and Kadokawa on February 20, 2025, to coincide with the release of the third volume. It was later revealed at Anime Expo 2026 to be a television series produced by CloverWorks and directed by Masashi Ishihama, with Rino Yamasaki supervising the scripts and Kanna Hirayama handling the character design. It is set to premiere in January 2027. The opening theme song is "Breed", originally from the album Nevermind, by Nirvana. Crunchyroll will stream the series.
Other Universal Music Japan released an official playlist containing songs that Mitsuki and Aya listen throughout the series as part of the first volume's release, featuring songs from rock artists such as Nirvana, Turnstile, and Royal Blood, among others. The playlist is periodically updated after the release of a succeeding volume. Arai has also commented on how select songs from the playlist represent Mitsuki and Aya's progress in their relationship. A pop-up store selling merchandise from the series was open in Ikebukuro from September 15–24 and in Nagoya from September 30 to October 9, 2023. A drama CD adaptation was released on April 24, 2024.
Reception The first volume sold 150,000 copies within a week of its release. The manga had over 200,000 copies in circulation by September 2023; over 400,000 copies in circulation by February 2024; over 840,000 copies in circulation by December 2024; over 1.40 million copies in circulation by November 2025; and over 2.25 million copies in circulation by August 2026.
A columnist for Animate Times praised the artwork, particularly its use of color, and the story's progression. Momo Tachibana of Real Sound praised the main characters and their interactions, describing them as understandable. Erica Friedman felt the story was "not the first of kind" but that it handled its subject better than similar series. Friedman also praised the artwork and its use of black, white, and green. Lucas Kloberdanz-Dyck of Collider praised the manga for its tasteful exploration of queer relationships. Dave Grohl, the frontman of the Foo Fighters and former drummer of Nirvana, endorsed the series following the announcement of the anime licensing "Breed" for its use as the opening theme song, remarking in an interview with Arai that his late bandmate and friend Kurt Cobain "would have loved this".
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result 2023 9th Next Manga Award Web Manga Da Vinci 23rd Annual Book of the Year Book of the Year 2024 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! List of Best Manga Female Readers 2025 Japan Expo Awards Daruma for Best Romance Manga Harvey Awards Best Manga 2nd American Manga Awards Best New Manga 31st Manga Barcelona Awards Best Google Play Best Books Favorite Manga Ridibooks Comic Award Best GL Award 2026 14th Minami Manga Award Minami Manga Prize Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List Grades 9–12
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