Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a heartwarming, slice-of-life romance manga currently being serialized in Shonen Jump+. It's scheduled to be adapted into an anime series starting in April 2022. Today, we'd like to introduce you to Mizu Asato, the author of Aharen-san wa Hakarenai!
Introducing Mizu Asato's Profile!
Mizu Asato made her debut in 2007 with "Masked Scarf Justice" in Monthly Shonen Sirius, winning the Newcomer Award and publishing it as a one-off. That same year, she made her serial debut with "World Conquest Sekirara Girls' Academy." Since then, she has been serializing "Denkigai no Honya-san" in Comic Flapper since 2011, which was adapted into an anime in 2014. She also served as an assistant to Yasuda Suzuhito on "Yozakura Quartet."
Asa Mizu is originally from Okinawa Prefecture! Are there any Okinawan surnames in her work?
Asa Mizu is originally from Okinawa Prefecture, and surnames originating from Okinawa also appear in Aharen's work. The surname Aharen from Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is also a real surname of Okinawan origin. Other examples include Okinawan-origin surnames such as Tamanaha, Momohara, and Heianyama.
The original idea for "Aharen-san wa Hakarenai" came from his own doujin work!
Mizu Asato is also active in doujin circles, and is active in a circle called Millmake Orange (now Orange Mill). The original idea for "Aharen-san wa Hakarenai" was based on his doujin work "I Can't Measure the Distance Between You," and the structure is almost the same as the first episode. This doujin work was featured in Shonen Jump+.
Orange Mill is a circle formed with Iwami Suzuri
こちらC99おしながきになります pic.twitter.com/N8A1EhSxyZ
— 水あさと (@mizuasato) December 28, 2021
Milmake Orange was Mizuasato's personal circle, but Orange Mill is now a joint circle formed with Iwami Suzuri. Given the current situation, Comic Market itself is in jeopardy, but we will be participating in the 2021 Winter Comiket.
What kind of work is Aharen-san wa Hakarenai?
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai centers around the concept of a girl who is extremely bad at gauging the distance between people, and yet the silent, expressionless Aharen closes the distance in an unconventional way. The protagonist, Raido, is also a man who never loses his expression, but he possesses a bodhisattva-level tolerance that keeps him almost unfazed even when Aharen closes the distance, so they manage to get along miraculously. Aharen, who has an extremely clumsy personality, is eccentric, and Raido tries to interpret her behavior in a completely different way and accept it, but the misunderstanding is quickly cleared up. This is the typical story.
About the work Aharen-san wa Hakarenai
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai is a heartwarming, slice-of-life romance manga featuring cute, warm-hearted characters and absurd comedy elements that make you think things might not be as they should be. The characters are unique and tend to be rather unfortunate, making normal characters seem outlandish in this work.
Mizu Asato's Style as Seen in His Doujin Works
Some of Mizu Asato's works have been posted on pixiv, and you can see a glimpse of them here. His style is characterized by warm, adorable characters, absurd humor, and humorous elements that highlight the cruelty of character treatment in licensed works, such as characters being forced to hold their pee, sudden dirty jokes, and crying faces. While Aharen's works also contain absurd humor, his style is cruel in a good way, making it hilarious. While Aharen's work has a fairly diluted version of this element, you can still sense a glimpse of it.
Is Mizu Asato's Twitter account terrible? Is it not?
今年も阿波連さんをよろしくお願いします！ pic.twitter.com/SyNG3L8NmI
— 水あさと (@mizuasato) December 31, 2021
Aharen aside, Mizu Asato's work is known for its humorous depictions of cute characters being treated badly. In addition to posting on pixiv, she also shares information via Twitter. Given her style, you'd expect her tweets to be quite harsh, but the content of her tweets is limited to announcements of new titles and anime information, so there's nothing particularly harsh about them.
What are Mizu Asato's signature works?
Denkigai no Honya-san
Serialized in Monthly Comic Flapper from the July 2011 issue to the December 2017 issue. A total of 18 volumes, including 15 volumes and 3 short story collections. A drama CD was released in August 2013, and a TV anime began airing in October 2014.
About the Denki-gai Bookstore
Set in the fictional bookstore "COMIC Umanohone" in a "certain Japanese electronics district," this is a slice-of-life romantic comedy centered around seven unique store employees, featuring stories about otaku culture and the intense workload of busy periods.
Many of the characters are unique in unfortunate ways, and the setting is, needless to say, modeled after Akihabara, with the store likely modeled after Comic Toranoana.
World Uniform Sekirara Girls' Academy
Serialized in Monthly Shonen Sirius from the February 2008 issue to the January 2010 issue. Three volumes in total. This is the author's serialized debut work. A best-of album was released in 2014, and includes content previously published in doujinshi.
About World Conquest Clear Girls' Academy
Transfer student Mai Tomisaki transfers to a high school filled with extremely sexually charged female students. It's a school where students learn the art of socializing at night, fending off molesters, infiltrating spies, and other naive skills like honey traps. Mai, who transferred here without knowing anything, finds herself being pursued by her classmates... This is the author's signature debut work, featuring a plethora of both adorable and unfortunate characters.
It's Hard Being Transferred to a Death Game in Another World
Serialized in Monthly Comic Flapper from the February 2018 issue to the August 2019 issue. It's a three-volume series. It's not a fantasy story that combines elements of an alternate world transfer and a death game, but rather a comedy about a useless grim reaper who runs the alternate world transfer death game, and Himi, a capable corporate slave who often gets caught up in it.
About It's Hard Being Transferred to a Death Game in Another World
Himi, a sullen-eyed corporate slave who's been forced to die by her boss's unreasonable demands, suddenly finds herself caught up in a death game in another world. However, he complains and finds fault with Mei, the Grim Reaper who is running the game, and due to Mei's carelessness, the game ends up being a mess. Clad in a Grim Reaper mask and black robe, Mei is a pathetic Grim Reaper girl who suits a crying face. Unable to fulfill her duties as a Grim Reaper, Mei bursts into tears, and Himi is able to return to her original world, but even after that, he finds himself constantly getting caught up in Mei's mischief...
A Summary of Mizu Asato, the Author of [Aharen-san wa Hakarenai]
This article introduces Mizu Asato, the author of Aharen-san wa Hakarenai. While Aharen's work became popular enough to be adapted into an anime, his other works are also characterized by their cute, everyday character designs, unfortunate personalities, and crying faces. The gags woven by characters who are treated poorly, rather than just unfortunate, are hilarious, so be sure to check out Aharen's other works and the upcoming anime starting in April!
