The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend

by Mieri Hiranishi (Created by)

Overview

From first crush to first crushed! The autobiographical manga about one woman’s quest for the hot short-haired girlfriend of her dreams!

The autobiographical manga about one woman’s quest for the hot, short-haired girlfriend of her dreams!

Mieri is an awkward, nerdy college student with no dating experience, and her previous crushes on fellow butch women have all ended in disaster. That all changes when she meets Ash and has her feelings returned for the first time. But when first love turns to first heartbreak, Mieri will do everything possible to win Ash back. Based on true events, this is a hilarious and heart-wrenching story about love, loneliness, and the true meaning of finding one’s own happy ending.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781974736591
Publisher:	VIZ Media LLC
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Series:	The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	506,882
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Mieri Hiranishi is a Japanese manga artist currently living abroad in the US. Her debut work, The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend, gained popularity online after she shared it as a hobby while working a full-time office job.

Editorial Reviews

"Mieri Hiranishi's charming, expressive cartooning brings brilliant life to this earnest and sharply hilarious story about hope, heartbreak, and healing! I couldn't put it down!" –Carey Pietsch, artist, The Adventure Zone


"This is a charming and heartfelt first-person account of love, heartbreak, and discovering what it means to be happy."–BookRiot

"This slice-of-life manga provides a bittersweet lens as readers experience her "character" arc and the growth that comes with experience and aging. The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend provides stories of personal embarrassment and youthful mistakes, which will be relatable to manga fans who have similarly struggled to find someone special they can be themselves and feel safe with." –Screenrant

"Every blue moon, a book or film or show comes out that a wide swath of people can grasp and say, "That’s me. I feel this." I deeply believe we have found the 2023 version of that in The Girl That Can’t Get A Girlfriend." –The Mary Sue

"Comedic and at many points bittersweet, this manga dives into why loving oneself is essential. Hiranishi’s honest examination of her past relationships and how she eventually pulled herself out of heartbreak’s grasp make for a truly compelling read." –Booklist

"The book has impeccable pacing and is engaging from start to finish. The humorous art enhances the narrative in a meaningful way, especially in portraying Mieri’s own emotional journey. A delightful exploration of navigating the bumpy road to adulthood." –Kirkus Reviews

"The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend strikes the precarious balance between being universally understandable and being unquestionably unique in its perspective." –AnimeCorner

From the Publisher

04/01/2023

Gr 9 Up—This heartfelt autobiographical manga follows Mieri as she tries to find a hot, short-haired girl to become her girlfriend. Mieri initially despairs that such a girl is more likely attracted to a feminine girl than to her less fashion-conscious self, but, after a few years of dating and college classes, she becomes romantically involved with the girl of her dreams. In this deeply personal manga, readers travel with Mieri through her self-discovery and acceptance of her attractions and sense of worth, but also dive deep into despair and heartbreak with her. Hiranishi employs many popular sh jo elements when illustrating anything pertaining to her crushes, including styling her crushes themselves into the perfect sh jo ideals. Her own self-portrait is basic and undetailed, which adds comedic effect but also speaks volumes to the mangaka's idea of herself. Many young readers will see their struggles in Mieri and relate to her journey, regardless of the types of people to whom they find themselves attracted. This is a more high school—friendly version of the poignant memoir, "X-Gender." VERDICT Recommended for most libraries serving teens, especially where demand for more wholesome yuri is high.—Sara Smith

School Library Journal

2023-02-08
A story of a long-overdue Sapphic coming-of-age.

Through an autobiographical graphic narrative that is at times hysterically funny and at times gut-wrenching, readers follow Mieri, a young Japanese woman living in the U.S. From the lesbian characters in anime that she crushed on to the first real girl Mieri was attracted to, she’s known for a while that she likes butch girls. The fact that she sees fewer butch x butch relationships won’t stop her from trying to find a girlfriend even though the path, in person and on dating apps, is fraught with challenges. After she goes to visit her grandparents, Mieri meets Ash, a White American teaching English in Japan who becomes her first girlfriend. It starts out great: College sophomore Mieri experiences the stress and rewards of making the first move and even has her first kiss. But a month later, Ash breaks up with her, Mieri’s parents get divorced, and her grandparents learn about and aren’t cool with her sexuality. Worst of all, she can’t stop thinking about Ash. As Mieri navigates the aftershocks of the breakup, she also grows into maturity. The book has impeccable pacing and is engaging from start to finish. The humorous art enhances the narrative in a meaningful way, especially in portraying Mieri’s own emotional journey.

A delightful exploration of navigating the bumpy road to adulthood. (extra panels, author’s note, creating a manga, Q&A, bonus gallery) (Manga. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews