The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All (review? kinda)

This manga has been such an amazing read, and currently at ch. 115 I am on the edge of my seat, quite literally teetering over my sanity, to see if Aya and Mitsuki kiss next chapter!!! If they do not, there will be a generational crash out happening, I fear I may fail all of my classes as a result of the devastation and rage I will go through.

I started 'The guy she wasn't interested in wasn't a guy at all' (referred to as 'the guy wasn't a guy' from here on out) on a whim; I had heard great things about it, but I personally didn't have many high hopes for it. It is an accumulation of several things I dislike in my manga: slice of life, 4-koma (not 100%, but the format is similar), slow-burn romance. However, within the first few chapters I was hooked.

The story, while is slow with the actual getting together, doesn't really beat around the bush when it comes to their feelings. Stuff is drawn out, but not so much that it feels like I'm reading 50+ chapters of 'omg I like her, but I can't just tell her!' The author also does a very good job of making the story not totally revolve around Aya/Mitsuki's feelings. There is an emphasis on Aya and Mitsuki existing outside of each other, especially when it comes to Mitsuki and her music. It may be fueled to some degree by her feelings for Aya, but not the sole drive which I appreciate. I for one am also a very big fan of the side plot happening with Mitsuki's dad and his ex. Depth is given to all of the characters and the world around them.

The art for this manga has been one of my favorites. I am an absolute sucker for limited color palettes, especially when it is white, black, and one bold color. It just looks so stunning and really allows 'the guy wasn't a guy' to differentiate itself from other manga from the get-go. The art style itself is very clean, I have no concrete opinions on it. The attention to detail, however, is another plus. A lot of the backgrounds, especially when it involves music in some sort of way is thoughtful and shows the author's knowledge of rock/alt music in a more subtle way. My favorite little details have been the "Her's" poster (a band I have not listened to, but I know several friends who have deeply enjoyed and grieved), and the 'Porcupine Tree' poster (this one was very hard to trace tho, I was unfamiliar with the band and only had the letters -pine tree. I had to hunt for it lol).

My absolute favorite part of this manga has to be the music though. As someone who also grew up on classic rock and only fell further and further down the rock pipeline as I got older, I just enjoy seeing the music I love appreciated and loved by others. I relate a lot to Aya/Mitsuki in that for the longest time I had no friends to share my music with. While I do enjoy other genres that my friends do, rock is something near and dear to my heart and it sucked not having anyone to talk about it with. I would love to see some heavier bands mentioned in the future, as I always though the rock to heavy metal progression was a very normal progression, maybe a poster or passing mention of Gojira or something.

I can't wait for the anime adaptation either! I have been disappointed in some the recent adaptations for manga I enjoy (fucking side eye to Blue Lock, good god what a let down those poor animators) I hope it turns out ok. I am wondering how they will deal with all of the music, the logistics and money for getting any of the songs mentioned will likely be more than most anime studios are willing to spend I worry. It would be strange if there have to be work around considering just how central some of the music is to the story. I have high hopes though, and am ready for it!!!