Hapless Haruna needs help finding a boyfriend! After failing to win the eye of any guy in high school, Haruna enlists the help of cute upperclassmen Yoh to coach her on how to make herself more appealing to the male species. Yoh agress, with one catch: Haruna had better not fall for him!
With Yoh's help, Haruna starts to discover all sorts of things--how to dress better, what guys to avoid, and what it feels like to fall in love for the first time. Haruna's foray into love has its ups and downs, but nothing's going to prepare her for when she actually lands herself a boyfriend!
• Birth Date: March 11th, 1972 • Blood Type: A • Zodiac: Pisces
Kazune Kawahara (河原和音) made her manga debut at age 18 with Kare no Ichiban Sukina Hito (His Most Favorite Person). Also, while thinking of her manga, she often spaces out and brings grocery baskets home. Adores her nieces.
Ok but this was so good???? I need to buy the rest of the volumes asap. This manga made me laugh out loud so many times, cry, scream, smile...I just really loved this!
Having just started high school, Haruna decides that she needs to find a boyfriend. But just how can she make that happen? She's had no experience dating or anything. Softball, studying, and shojo manga are all she knows. She enlists the help of good-looking upperclassman, Yoh, to coach her on how to attract a boyfriend. He agrees to help, but warns her not to fall for him. No points for guessing where this is all going as it’s a plot development so obvious even a shojo heroine could see it coming …
That said, this is quite fun. Haruna and Yoh and their friends are all loveable and awkward and teenage-y. My own teenage years may have been some time ago, but so much of this manga makes me smile in recognition. Haruna wants a concrete list of steps to take that will ensure her a boyfriend. If only it were that easy. Still, she's got heart, and doesn't let setbacks get her down, which is half the battle right there. I know that this story continues for a number of volumes. I’m kind of curious to see where it goes from here. Recommended!
This was a pretty cute manga about a girl trying to get a boyfriend. Not sure if I will continue the series or not, the third volume ended in a good place so I may just stop there.
Oh. My. Goodness. This manga is every ounce of adorable. I couldn’t stop reading it, I couldn’t stop smiling and getting anxious the same times Haruna did! This is a very close second to Maid-Sama. MAN! Everything I loved about this is a spoiler! Aside from just the lovable cliche romcom storyline of “hiring” an attractive person to help you be attractive or help you get a significant other and then of course things don’t go as planned in the cutest way! AHHH!!!! SO HEARTWARMING! I needed this book on a rainy day. I might just add a shelf “rainy day reads”.
I absolutely loved Haruna and Yoh. Seeing how Yoh supports and comforts Haruna made my cold heart feel warm🥺. Haruna came across to me as an amazing and brave girl, plus she's so precious and I just wanted to protect her forever🥺💙. Yoh is that typical handsome and bad boy, but he has a huge heart of gold, so he already had me at his feet.
I feel like a lot happened in this first volume, but it's understandable because it's 3 volumes in 1 lmao
can i say that i adore this cover?? it’s so pretty, i might just get the book for the cover alone haha
that being said, i really loved Yoh!! he’s such a good ML imo (probably one of the best ones ive seen so far in the shoujo manga ive read). I liked haruna as well too! (tho maybe not as much as yoh) she was a bit 😵💫 at times but we love her for it 😌 yohs sister on the other hand….hm yeah no for now lmao but i loved mami!! (wish we’d seen more of her)
It was so good and so cute and everything that I remembered about it was an understatement of how much I ended up enjoying it this time around! I love the characters dynamics it’s all so very cute and I can’t wait to read more!
Depending on how the rest plays out - and if I can find the elusive fifth volume - this could easily be a new favorite shoujo series.
It has so many elements I like, the main one being that the female lead is fantastic. Haruna was a jock in middle school, the star pitcher of her softball team, and had a lot of fun and a lot of friends. She loves reading sappy shoujo manga, though, and decides that when she gets to high school, she's giving herself a makeover and getting a boyfriend. Because that's what all her books told her high school life was supposed to be like!
Except...she's still the same straightforward, athletic, fashion-ignorant, not terribly "feminine" girl, and for some reason putting on a flowery dress and a pair of heels and standing out in a public plaza for a few hours doesn't cause anyone to hit on her.
(Is this really how people get boyfriends? Seems...unpleasant.)
She does, however, happen to run into the most popular guy at school, a grumpy-looking but very kind older classmate named Yoh. With her sports background, she figures that if she's not able to teach herself how to get a boyfriend on her own, she needs a coach...and who better than the guy all the girls thirst over? He must know what guys like and what would make her appealing!
It's a little bit of a silly concept, but the mere fact that Yoh finds her...interesting and kind of charming, instead of scary or creepy, shows you exactly how this is going to go. Over the course of the three volumes in this omnibus, Haruna and Yoh become really good friends. They go shopping together, they talk about life, Yoh pretty much pulls his hair out trying to find a skirt that fits her aesthetic, and he puts on major protector mode and makes sure she isn't duped or hurt by guys who don't have particularly good intentions.
I'm not always a fan of girls becoming more traditionally feminine on their pathway to a happy romantic ending, but I like how Haruna's approaching it, and how Yoh encourages and helps guide her. She initially tries to just borrow Yoh's sister's clothing, but they're such different types, it looks really out of place on her. But she wants to wear skirts and dresses sometimes, just to feel different from her usual comfortable tracksuits and sweatpants self.
And Yoh, while initially criticizing some parts of her appearance, like the visible muscles in her arms and calves, gradually starts telling her to highlight her good points instead of trying to hide them. It's good that she wants to work on herself, but she shouldn't ever try to pretend she's someone else...like when he gets mad at her for slowing down her pitches at a school softball tournament because she was embarrassed at some random guys making fun of her.
The right guys are going to find that part of her attractive, so she shouldn't change it. And...well...Yoh takes a while to realize that he's that kind of guy.
They just have such an interesting relationship built on a great friendship and pretty open communication, which of course lines up with a lot of my favorite things. The fact that it's only a fifth of a way through the series and they're already dating is interesting, but I think this mangaka has a tendency to do that - spending real time on the relationship once it's been established, and figuring out how it works from there. Because the two of them turn out to be equally inexperienced in dating, and it's going to take them some time to test things out and see how it works for them.
I didn't particularly like Yoh's sister's selfish attitude and the way she stole Haruna's first crush away from her, but the resolution for that was decent, too. Haruna's just such a good person. Can't wait to see more of her growth, and more of Yoh falling head over heels for her.
This is about a girl Haruna, who just started high school. She dedicated herself to sport in middle school and wants now to dedicate her life to finding love. Except, she is completely clueless. She asks for upperclassman Yoh's help in finding what clothes she should wear, how she should act and finally achieve her goals of finding love.
This is my second time reading this volume and I actually enjoyed it more this time around. This overall is a really simple story of finding oneself, friendship, and ultimately love.
I really liked how naive and clueless Haruna is. She tries so hard and does everything wrong anyway. It's endearing... She is however a really nice person and I definitely cheer her on in finding her path. She evolves quite a lot during this first 3 volumes and I loved how much friendships also played a part in the story. Haruna is not popular whatsoever, but is incredibly friendly and she gives her all for other people.
Yoh is a very closed person that has suffered from love. He didn't even have time to get experienced before it all got complicated. But one thing he knows, is how Haruna should look like if she wants to get male attention. He is beautiful but slightly rude and silent, it was a breeze of fresh air to see him form a relationship with Haruna. To see him smile. If I wasn't rooting for Haruna, I might just root for me with him.
One of my favorite characters has to be Fumiya tho. He is aloof and adorable! He is simple and easy to love, and his scenes are always cute and I look forward to them. I want to read more about Yoh's other friend too.
I love Haruna and Yoh and I can't wait to see how it all will develop.
Overall this is simple, easy to read, fun and nostalgic.
I read the single volume of the first volume then realized this existed. So review for that one is with the actual individual volume 1.
Volume 2: Haruna goes on a date with Fumi and she thinks she's in love with him. Yoh's younger sister Asa (who demands attention all the time from everyone, including her brother) decides to ask out Fumi after Haruna's date and they are suddenly going out. Haruna's heart is broken. Yoh tells Asa how much of a b**** she is being and she apologizes to Haruna. Haruna finally realizes that she likes Yoh and that's why she can't find any other guy hot.
Vol 3: She gets mad at him for suggesting she date another of his friends, and declares he's "fired" from his coaching job. Then of course, he is told by another of his friend Asaoka that Haruna likes him, and Yoh buys her a necklace. She decides to tell him (after he confronts her) and they end up becoming girlfriend and boyfriend. She gets bullied by some older girls, but stands up for herself. I loved how he got all flirty after he found out for sure, and how she was researching how to date properly as both of them were clueless (totally what I would do), after they went on a date and it failed miserably. Their make-up date is just as bad, but it ends alright b/c he gets to see how she was in junior high. My favorite part is when they're talking about what happens when people get together and she mentions that they "generally hold hands and kiss," and he asks "Did you want to?" and she gets completely embarrassed and screams "No, I'm okay for now!!!" and puts him at arm's length. Her facial expression is genius. Recommended for ages 13+, 5 stars.
Once again, I’ve found myself in the kind of mood to reread a series I have fond memories of and see how it holds up years down the line….
High School Debut is one of only a few shoujou series I continued to collect into my early college years, though eventually they all had to be sold to sustain my apartment bills (city living, amirite?). I love the live action movie just as much as the series, and I’ve always hoped they would return to this as a jdrama.
For those potentially stumbling upon this review that haven’t yet read this series, it’s a cute romance about a tomboy who decides to become feminine and find love now that she’s entered high school, and the unwillingly-popular boy she convinces to be her love coach on the condition that she doesn’t fall in love with him. It’s full of ups and downs high schoolers experience in love and friendship, and Haruna, our main female lead, is not your typical heroine even as she works hard to become what she thinks that is. All in all, it’s an utterly charming series.
STAR BREAKDOWN AS OF 3.15.22: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Series Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Art ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Standard RomCom “Drama”
[[I've left this same review on the first volume of the individual volume version of High School Debut because...Goodreads doesn't have a better way to review manga 🤷♂️]]
Standard shojo cute, fluffy, high school romance. I like Haruna because she is determined and always gets up, but I do wish she would stand up for herself more. I hope this aspect of her character is a writing choice and she will get better. Another small thing that irritated me was how quickly Haruna "fell in love". Like, no girl, this is just a crush. This is the first time a guy has ever been nice to you. I also don't understand why/how in manga two characters can be dating but not even kiss?? Maybe you're just friends? Any way, I like how fast paced this was (maybe the fact that this is an omnibus contributed to that). I have no idea how the next 12(!) volumes are going to go but I am excited to continue reading.
I really enjoyed this I just kind of wish he was so down bad for her. I wish he had confessed to her not the other way. Like I want/need him to be more open I don't like how that responsibility falls on her and I think what his sister did was really crappy. I am still upset about it. And honestly, I don't like how he just tries to pawn her off on his guy friends and when she is more honest with him he gives her the silent treatment.
But i still enjoyed this, I like the art and her bestie. I like that she is so good at softball and she seems like she loves her classmates and enjoys being around them.
I really enjoy the growth that Haruna goes on. Though she is a bit awkward in the beginning, it's hard to not root for her to find her happiness. Yoh is really a good boy in a grumpy, attractive package, and we love to see it.
The cast of characters in this series are really enjoyable as well! Some favorites being Mami and Fumi! They all feed into what the main couple needs, and it works really well.
I wish I could have tweaked a couple of things, but other than that, I genuinely enjoyed the reading experience on this one!
I absolutely loved this. This first 3-in-1 volume made me laugh out loud sometimes, and made me cry at one point. Haruna is such a sweet and brave girl. I really like her. And can i just say i hate Asa for what she did with Fumi. Yoh is such a good guy. He seems kinda heartless but he got a big heart. And i loved the way Yoh comforts Haruna. I like them as a couple. They fit so well together. Im excited to see how their relationship will develop. Also i really like Fumi he’s so cute and sweet.
This was the one I was talking about! The one that had volumes 1,2, and 3 in it. I just reviewed volume one since it's a very typical thing. I'm probably not gonna review them all since I'll just be repeating myself over and over. I'm just gonna mark most of them as read, and see how it goes!
A bit like My Fair Lady, jocky Haruna wants a boyfriend in high school but needs a coach, so she asks super popular Yoh to teach her to attract a man. Lots of love-triangles and high school angst but oh, I love it.