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"That Girl Who Can't Get a Girlfriend," might be Mieri Hiranishi's debut manga, but it has already been picked up by VIZ Media.
The fact that it started as a webcomic and eventually got widely read is also fascinating.
A genuine rollercoaster of emotions, Mieri Hiranishi’s first manga takes readers through the many highs and lows of her life, and the lessons she learned on the way. An autobiographical story about her struggles to find a girlfriend, the mangaka is incredibly open about her experiences, both positive and negative.
It’s an amazing manga for not just LGBTQ+ individuals who have struggled, or currently struggle in their love lives. Anyone can pick up this manga, read it, and take away a great deal.
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I, for one, loved it, and it was my genuine pleasure to sit down and chat with Mieri Hiranishi about her work, inspirations, her FFXIV main, and more. While some of this manga can be saddening to read, it is also elevating in its own right. I can't say enough good things about it. The following are excerpts from my lovely conversation with Mieri Hiranishi.
Mieri Hiranishi discusses "That Girl Who Can't Get a Girlfriend" and more
Q. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us! First off, congratulations on getting your first manga published The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend. How does it feel to have accomplished this?
Mieri Hiranishi: Thank you for having me! And it still hasn’t sunk in really, and I don’t know if it will (haha)! Life is going on as usual even after the book has come out. I still go to my day job, come home, do some chores, play Final Fantasy 14, and do some art-related tasks every day.
It’s good to know that something I’ve been working on for so long is finally out though. Publishing a book has also been a long-time dream of mine so it’s good to get that checked off the bucket list.
Q. What led to your decision to make your first manga an autobiographical piece?
Mieri Hiranishi: I never really made that decision. I posted my autobio manga online as a vent, and it happened to get popular. I didn’t think so many people would read it when I initially posted it online. It was just meant to be quick, thoughtless, word-vomit to get out my pent-up feelings 😂.
Since I got some positive reception online, I decided to continue the series but I would have preferred to become well-known for a fictional story if I’m being honest. I’m still very grateful and happy that people liked it though.
Q. Early in the manga, you stated you had a crush on a fictional girl in Middle School, which female character was it?
Mieri: Haruka Tenoh from Sailor Moon!! She STILL makes me melt!!
Q. Was it especially difficult to publish your own personal experiences - both the triumphs and heartaches - in this way?
Mieri Hiranishi: Not really! I don’t really have issues exposing my life to the public. Readers do not know me in real life, so I don’t care too much about how I’m perceived.
That’s one great thing about being anonymous/private on the internet! Manga is also a really good medium where I can take time to think about what I want to say, so I can be really honest and thorough.
Q. On that note, do you feel like it will help empower and give hope to other girls who feel nervous or afraid to pursue same-sex relationships?
Mieri Hiranishi: I hope so! All readers receive the book’s message differently, but I hope it influences them in some kind of positive way.
Q. What do you hope readers get out of The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend when it comes to a message or meaning?
Mieri Hiranishi: I don’t have a specific message/meaning that I wish for people to take away. It’s up to the reader's interpretation. I just hope it was entertaining, and I didn’t waste their time, haha!
Q. The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend highlights a lot of emotions, from love to despair, in a very real, relatable way. Were there any hurdles in putting your emotions and thoughts out there in a manga?
Mieri Hiranishi: I cried sometimes while writing this manga but it was really important to get back into those moments to write about the feelings accurately.
It was like picking at scabs that are already starting to heal. It helped me get pent-up feelings out, so in the end, it was therapeutic. I rarely ever think about the ex in the story anymore, so it definitely worked.
Hopefully, the emotional moments will have an impact on the readers as well.
Q. One of the big lessons Mieri in the manga seems to learn is to love herself, and not hold emotions in, during the later parts of the manga. Is that something you hope to teach others through your manga?
Mieri Hiranishi: Sure, that seems like a positive takeaway! Let’s run with that! 😂 To be honest, I try not to focus too much on “teaching the audience” when writing because I don’t want my stuff to come across as lecture-y, but it’s good that people are getting some substance out of it along with the entertainment aspect.
Q. I found this manga to be moving, and genuinely enjoyed reading it. Have you heard similar feedback from other male readers?
Mieri Hiranishi: That’s great to hear, thank you! I have heard from my male readers that they’ve enjoyed it but now that you ask I haven’t heard their rationale for enjoying it. That’s something I would definitely like to know too.
Q. At the end of your manga you highlight that you've been playing Final Fantasy XIV. Do you have a main/favored class, and how do you feel about the game's storytelling?
Mieri Hiranishi: Finally an IMPORTANT question (jk)!! My favorite jobs are Astrologian, Dragoon, and Paladin!! Dragoon was my first job, but if I'm doing harder content I feel more comfortable with Astrologian.
I PVP mostly on Black Mage, however (recently got the gold rank on Crystalline Conflict, yayyyy)!
I've only played up to Shadowbringers, but I love the storytelling so far. I think Shadowbringers was written excellently. My favorite is Heavensward, however, since it’s where I met my favorite NPC (Haurchefant). I’m excited for Endwalker.
Q. Did any particular mangaka inspire your art style or storytelling style in your own work?
Mieri Hiranishi: Masashi Kishimoto-sensei (creator of Naruto) is extremely skilled in the use of perspective when drawing characters, so I remember mimicking his style a lot to get better at drawing.
I also traced a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh! anime screenshots because the hands in that anime are really well animated. I also read Monster by Naoki Urasawa in college and was shocked because I had never read much seinen manga before that.
I was blown away by the depth of the characters and the “gray” morality that was prevalent throughout the story and have been inspired to write something like that for a while now.
Q. Are there any mangaka that inspired you to create your own manga in the first place?
Mieri Hiranishi: D.Gray-man by Katsura Hoshino is the reason why I started writing manga and I emulated her style a lot when I initially started writing manga around middle school.
Q. In your manga, Ash sort of reminded me physically of Haruka Tenoh (Sailormoon). Was this by design or did you draw her true-to-life?
Mieri Hiranishi: To be honest, real-life Ash had a very similar aesthetic to Haruka, so I would say it was true to life.
Q. How do you feel about the manga industry as a whole right now? Was it especially challenging to get started?
Mieri Hirasnishi: There’s a ton of variety nowadays which makes me happy. It may be challenging to get started, but I personally think it’s easier nowadays to get your work noticed with social media being prevalent.
Q. Do you think the audience for manga has shifted in reading preferences has shifted over the last few years? Do you feel like manga like yours is more popular now than it would have been years ago?
Mieri Hiranishi: Probably, I couldn’t say for sure how reading preferences have changed, but trends and interests should be constantly changing. My manga probably would not have been popular a few years ago, since being gay was a little more taboo back then (especially between two masculine girls!).
Q. How do you feel about slice-of-life as a genre, as a whole?
Mieri Hiranishi: I read slice-of-life books on occasion, but I think it’s a lot of fun to see what other people’s lives/thought processes are like. Some people live completely different lives than me, so it’s good knowing what the experience is like without directly having to go through it.
Q. What does the future hold for you, in the world of manga? Any stories that you wish to tell, whether autobiographical or in the world of fiction?
Mieri Hiranishi: I would prefer to draw something fictional next, but I’m open to doing autobiographical as well! Regardless, I want to write something I’m proud of and something that’s not specifically in the romance genre (action, sci-fi, or fantasy would be cool!).
Q. Do you have a message you'd like to share with people who are reading your work?
Mieri Hiranishi: Thank you for taking your valuable time and hard-earned money to read my manga. I hope you enjoyed it and hope we cross paths in the future again :)
Mieri Hiranishi's first manga, “The Girl Who Can’t Get a Girlfriend” is now available through VIZ Media.
