I'm No Angel, Vol. 1

by Ai Yazawa

In a brand-new high school of only first-years, Midori, a girl who gives her all, runs for a spot on the student council alongside Akira, a guy who sees things through. Once elected, they start a new legacy at the school while also falling in love.

Genres: Manga, Romance

432 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

Ai Yazawa (Japanese: 矢沢あい, Yazawa Ai) is a Japanese manga author and illustrator. Her pen name comes from singer Eikichi Yazawa, of whom she is a fan.
Yazawa started her comics career in 1985. She specialises in shojo manga (girls' comics). Most of her works have been serialised in the magazines 'Ribon', 'Cookie' and 'Zipper'.
Yazawa's stories focus on young, often rebellious women and their relationships. The characters are always very stylish, and Yazawa herself is known for her sense of fashion. (She even attended a fashion school for some time after high school.)
Among her most famous manga are Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai (I'm No Angel, 1992–1995), Neighborhood Story (1995-1998), Paradise Kiss (1999-2004), and Nana (2000-2009), the latter awarded a Shogakukan Manga Award in 2003. Some of these works have been adapted into anime and live action movies.

Reviews

[Ebony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the woes of being a teen girl with a crush. If you’re a fan of Neighborhood Story, you’ll love this one! I can’t wait to read the other volumes!

[Tiffany Seward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Manga | Teen Crushes | School life

Thank you to VIZ Media LLC for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

• Plot:
I’m No Angel Vol 1 starts off with the MC crushing on a guy who she feels is a bad boy, as he has a pompadour, drives a motorcycle, and cares for a stray cat. Despite his appearances, the MC feels he’s truly kind deep down. He’s always in the back of her mind as she goes about her day. Her classmates see her as an angel and want her to join the student council, which her crush is also running to join. There’s another mystery girl in her crush's life, and the MC tries to look past it to focus on the fun times she has with him at school, until crossing paths with the other girl.

• What I Liked:
Her crush drives her somewhere on his motorcycle, and while she’s shy and doesn’t want to hold on, he encourages her to hold onto him if she values her life.

• What Didn’t Work for Me:
The student council jokes about girls performing a striptease for a school activity to make their school appear “fun”. Even though it’s supposed to be a joke, they’re preteens to teens, it’s kind of odd that it was suggested and joked about. The manga has slow pacing overall.

• Themes / Ideas:
Teens crushing, young love, being overly emotional, etc.

• Who I’d Recommend It To:
If you like high school manga stories with teens who are in love with someone and want to be with them, this might interest you.

• Overall Thoughts: The main characters create a festival together and get to spend time together. Most of their time is spent bonding through the student council. Midori, the MC, is always running off when she’s upset with Akira, her crush, to chase behind her. It happens more than 3 times. She is overly emotional and prone to crying as she is a young teen. This manga feels longer than 432 pages due to its slow pacing. I think I’d rather see more of Akira's life than Midori's. I guess the next volume will expand on his life more, since it ends with him confessing some things to Midori after they have fun at an amusement park.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading and loving Nana by Ai Yazawa, so I was excited to learn that some of her earlier work is being translated and rereleased in English. This series is about a schoolgirl named Midori who runs for student council to get closer to her crush, Akira. Shenanigans ensue, and the two have a sort of enemies to friends to lovers dynamic that evolves over the course of the volume, along with their school friends having relationship drama and general teenage anxiety going on amongst themselves. I felt that a lot of the worries Midori had were very accurate to being a teenage girl, especially when you feel yourself going crazy over a crush that you have (you do silly, embarrassing, sometimes irrational things). Although I wasn't totally sold on the relationship between Midori and Akira (I just don't trust him), I'm still interested in reading the next volumes in the series as they are rereleased. The artwork is beautiful, and makes me nostalgic for 90s/early 2000s anime!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jack Goff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first time reading Ai Yazawa’s work, but a friend of mine had been singing Yazawa’s praises so much I decided to give this one a try. I am so glad that I did.

This is such a cute slice-of-life romance. It really captures the way that high school feels, where there are constant ups and downs, and even small things can seem like huge worries that keep popping up at the most inopportune times. It felt very nostalgic. All of the characters were very distinct and even though there were a lot of them, I never had any trouble remembering who was who. The only thing I might say is that sometimes the scene changes felt a little abrupt, but that might just be Yazawa’s style. We would go from one thing and then the next panel, we would be somewhere else, which felt a little jarring. Even so, it didn’t hinder my ability to enjoy and follow the story.

The art style also felt so nostalgic. It reminded me of manga and anime from when I was younger, which was really nice!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and VIZ Media for the DRC!

[Kiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'm No Angel, Vol. 1" is a manga published in Japan in the early 1990's and is now being released in the USA. It follows a first year student named Midori as she navigates school and being in love with her fellow student council member Akira. I read author Ai Yazawa's works as a teen and really like her art style. The story has both serious and cute moments, accumulating in a bittersweet, typical high school romance. I enjoyed the read overall, but I have two main issues. The first being that I'm not so fond of romance manga tropes where the main characters are on and off again due to miscommunication and/or unresolved former romances. The second being, and this is very typical of older manga especially, romance between adults and teens. (Thankfully this manga kind of toes the line, but I still don't care for it.) It's a cute read if you want some fluff with a good amount of drama.

[♡ zuly ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read most of Ai Yazawa's work, so I was excited to get the chance to finally read this. While the artwork is gorgeous as her work always is, you can tell that she was still developing her style, which is fun to see as a longtime fan of hers. If you take the melodrama from Nana and the high school comedy/shenanigans from Neighborhood Story, it's close to what you can expect from I'm No Angel. Midori and the rest of the student council are likable characters that feel authentic, it's very easy to care about all of them. This was a hefty omnibus, with over 400 pages of story, and it kept me interested the entire time. I'd definitely recommend this to any fan of Yazawa's work, or anyone looking for a great shoujo title with a high-school setting! Thank you to Viz and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Heather Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review

This is a great 90's nostalgic romance. I enjoyed the characters and artwork, but what really sold it to me was the comedic moments. These were fantastic and I love a story that can deliver funny moments while still holding true to the trials and drama that inherently come with young love. I also liked that while this is a volume 1 in a series, it told a complete story. There are still things left unanswered and I look forward to seeing how things go, but if another volume was never released, the story would still feel complete. I truly appreciate that.

Thank you NetGalley and VIZ media for the ARC!

[Casey Halvorsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much NetGalley and Viz Media for this arc!

5/5 stars

I have been waiting for so long for this manga to be translated into English! I absolutely loved this volume. The storyline is so much more upbeat than some of her other works - how long will it stay this way? I loooove the art style, its so nostalgic! Midori, Akira, and the others in their student council are such well rounded characters, which I'd expect no less from Ai Yazawa. I'm excited to continue this series, and see how they will grow and mature as the series continues. I can already tell this will be one of my favourites!!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ai Yazawa so much and I was ecstatic when I discovered her earlier works were finally getting translated into English. What a delight to get to see how her art has evolved over the years. This was such a sweet and charming manga, I can't wait to see what Midori and Akira will get up to next. Fans of "Neighborhood Story" are going to absolutely eat this one up!

[Jourdain · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I loved this! Ai Yazawa is one of the best shojo manga writers. I love her characters and the rom com aspect of her storylines. Midori and Milk are the best and I can't wait to read about them in the next volume. Thanks NetGalley!