Hiro Momose just wants a quiet, uneventful high school life. What she gets instead is the discovery that Dan Ichikura — the quiet, unremarkable boy with glasses sitting near the back of her class — used to be one of the most feared delinquents in his middle school.
The gap between how Dan looks and who he actually was is the engine of this series, which has been running in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Friend since 2021. It didn’t start as a long-runner: the manga was originally a short, limited serialization. Reader demand changed that. After volume 2 sold well enough to trigger an unusual reprint, the series was brought back for regular serialization in 2022, and it’s been building a devoted readership ever since. As of writing, it’s up to volume 11 and has sold over a million copies — numbers that helped push a TV anime adaptation into motion, announced in April 2026.
The Story
Hiro has a personal reason to be wary of delinquents: she spent part of middle school being pushed around by them. So when she learns that the quiet boy sitting near her — Dan — was once one of the most talked-about delinquents in his own middle school, her first instinct is to keep her distance. That doesn’t last. What starts to win her over isn’t Dan’s reputation, it’s the opposite of it: the clumsy, understated kindness underneath, and a loyalty to his word that doesn’t waver even when it costs him. Hiro’s arc runs alongside his — from someone who wants to be protected, to someone who starts wanting to protect back.
The Characters
Dan Ichikura
Quiet, serious, glasses, dark hair — on the surface, Dan is the last person anyone would peg as a former delinquent. Underneath, he’s exactly that: someone with a real fighting reputation from his middle school years, now living a deliberately unremarkable life. What makes him more than a stock “gap moe” love interest is how far his loyalty goes — there’s a well-known moment in the series where he refuses to break a promise to Hiro even when it means taking a hit rather than fighting back. Strong enough to be genuinely dangerous, and disciplined enough to never use it carelessly — that contradiction is the whole appeal.
Hiro Momose
An ordinary high school girl with a real, specific fear of delinquents. She starts the series keeping Dan at arm’s length and ends up one of the people who understands him best. Her growth — from someone shaped by needing protection to someone actively choosing to protect the people she cares about — is one of the more quietly satisfying arcs in the genre.
Igarashi
Dan’s friend, and the kind of character who reads as easygoing on the surface while carrying something more complicated underneath. His own history with Dan, and how he shifts through his proximity to Hiro, add real weight to the friend-group dynamics.
Why Readers Keep Coming Back
- The delinquent-versus-honor-student contrast, played for maximum gap moe
- Dan’s near-unshakable loyalty to the people he cares about
- Hiro’s shift from wanting protection to offering it
- A surprisingly thoughtful take on the codes and pride that structure the delinquent world in the story, rather than treating it as pure background menace
Anime Adaptation: What’s Confirmed So Far
A TV anime adaptation was officially confirmed on April 23, 2026, alongside the launch of an official website and official X, Instagram, and TikTok accounts. A special PV built from panels of the original manga has been rolling out on those accounts since April 24. As of this writing, the broadcast timing, cast, animation studio, and streaming availability have not been announced. We’ll update this guide as official details come in.
Where the Manga Stands Right Now
Volume 11 released on May 13, 2026. Volume 12 is scheduled for November 13, 2026.
Read more: Dan Ichikura character essay and Hiro Momose character essay.
