My Senpai is Annoying Vol 1 Review

Originally a webcomic, Shiromanta’s My Senpai is Annoying is one of those rare manga releases that features colour art! While there is still plenty of white space, it was a fun surprise to open this book and find it full of vibrant colours. The simple, yet endearing, art-style is a perfect fit for this tale of awkward work-place romance.

Synopsis:

Futuba has just entered the work force and things are going well at her new company, except for one, small issue: her senpai, Takeda, is incredibly annoying! While well meaning, Takeda is constantly treating Futuba like a kid. He initially mistook her for a jr. high student, due to her short stature, and seems to be going out of his way to look out for her. It’s driving her crazy! What’s worse, she might just be falling for him!

Review:

The thing is, she really does want that toy…

I found My Senpai is Annoying to be a charming read. Futuba is a stubborn young lady who’s embarrassed by her feelings and doesn’t have any idea what to do about them; meanwhile, Takeda is an affable lug who’s too oblivious to pick up on the clear signs that his adorable kouhai has the hots for him and just wants to be a responsible senior co-worker to her. Watching these idiot lovebirds interact was both cute and funny, especially given that their more worldly friends and co-workers can clearly see what’s going on and are eager to meddle. I wouldn’t characterize this as an uproariously funny manga, it’s too earnest for that, but I certainly had a few good laughs while reading and I found the love story to be very sweet. I’m rooting for Futuba to recognize her true feelings and find a way to get them across to her clueless senpai.

I feel like it’s going to be a long road though…

This volume also introduced several side characters whom I wish we’d gotten to spend a bit more time with. Futuba’s sassy friend, Natsumi seems like quite the character and I’d like to learn how she and the more serious Futuba became friends. There’s also a secondary romance plotline blossoming between two of Futuba and Takeda’s co-workers which seems to have a lot of potential.  Kazama is a pretty average, but reliable, guy and he has feelings for his gorgeous co-worker, Sakurai, but believes that she’s completely out of his league. Unbeknownst to him, Sakurai is very interested in him, but appears to be either too proud or too shy to make the first move. Looks like I’ll have another pair of love-sick idiots to cheer for and, as much as I enjoy watching Futuba spaz out and/or swoon over Takeda, I’d love to see more of these secondary characters in future volumes.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted and humorous romance, then I’d definitely recommend giving My Senpai is Annoying a try. I found it to be a quick, but amusing, read and I personally plan to pick up the next volume and see is these bumbling adults will ever manage to get their feelings sorted out.

Final Score: 7.5 out of 10

For more information on this series, visit Seven Seas Manga’s website.

What did you think of this manga? Who’s your favourite couple: Futuba and Takeda or Kazama and Sakurai? Let me know in the comments.