My Awkward Senpai

My Awkward Senpai (Japanese: 不器用な先輩。, Hepburn: Bukiyō na Senpai) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Kudo. It initially began as a webcomic published on Kudo's Twitter account in March 2019. It later began serialization in Square Enix's seinen manga magazine Young Gangan in December 2019. An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Elle premiered in October 2025.

My Awkward Senpai
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Azusa Kannawa
不器用な先輩。 (Bukiyō na Senpai)
Genre	Romantic comedy[1]
Manga
Written by	Makoto Kudo
Published by	Square Enix
English publisher	NA: Comikey
Imprint	Young Gangan Comics
Magazine	Young Gangan
Original run	December 6, 2019 – present
Volumes	10
Anime television series
Directed by	Ayumu Kotake
Produced by	Akihiro Hoshino Naofumi Shiotani Yutaka Suwa Hirotaka Kaneko You Nakamura Soujirou Arimizu Miho Kikuchi Kouta Arai
Written by	Mio Inoue
Music by	Kōji Fujimoto
Studio	Studio Elle
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Original network	Tokyo MX, BS NTV, AT-X, MTV
Original run	October 2, 2025 – present
Episodes	5

Characters

Azusa Kannawa (鉄輪 梓, Kannawa Azusa)

Voiced by: Lynn^[2]

Yū Kamegawa (亀川 侑, Kamegawa Yū)

Voiced by: Shogo Sakata^[3]

Miho Hotta (堀田 美緒, Hotta Miho)

Voiced by: Ami Maeshima^[3]

Ritsu Kankaiji (観海 寺律, Kankaiji Ritsu)

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga^[3]

Nashiko Akizuki (秋月ナシコ, Akizuki Nashiko)

Voiced by: Nashiko Momotsuki^[4]

Kosuke Hita (日田 孝介, Hita Kosuke)

Voiced by: Hiromu Mineta

Minori Tamana (玉名 稔, Tamana Minori)

Voiced by: Saya Hitomi

Rin Suzugaya (鈴ヶ谷 凛, Suzugaya Rin)

Voiced by: Nanami Yamashita

Sayaka Kanzaki (神崎 さやか, Kanzaki Sayaka)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano

Kaoru Hisayama (久山 薫, Hisayama Kaoru)

Voiced by: Kentarō Kumagai

Eiji Kurokawa (黒川 英治, Kurokawa Eiji)

Voiced by: Shinji Kawada

Akemi Hamawaki (浜脇 明美, Hamawaki Akemi)

Voiced by: Nanako Mori

Yuko Yamaka (山香 裕子, Yamaka Yuko)

Voiced by: Yuka Nukui

Shun Tsukahara (塚原 俊, Tsukahara Shun)

Voiced by: Kento Shiraishi

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Makoto Kudo, My Awkward Senpai initially began as a webcomic published on Kudo's Twitter account published on March 2, 2019.^[5] It later began serialization in Square Enix's seinen manga magazine Young Gangan on December 6, 2019.^[1] Its chapters have been collected into ten tankōbon volumes as of September 2025.^[6] The series is published in English by Comikey and by Square Enix through their Manga UP! Global app.^[7][8]

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	March 25, 2020[9]	978-4-7575-6543-2
2	October 24, 2020[10]	978-4-7575-6914-0
3	May 25, 2021[11]	978-4-7575-7270-6
4	December 25, 2021[12]	978-4-7575-7643-8
5	August 25, 2022[13]	978-4-7575-8088-6
6	March 25, 2023[14]	978-4-7575-8483-9
7	October 25, 2023[15]	978-4-7575-8869-1
8	August 23, 2024[16]	978-4-7575-9375-6
9	March 25, 2025[17]	978-4-7575-9766-2
10	September 25, 2025[6]	978-4-3010-0074-7

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on December 16, 2024. It is produced by Studio Elle and directed by Ayumu Kotake, with series composition by Mio Inoue, character designs by Kenrō Tokuda and music composition by Kōji Fujimoto.^[2][18] The series premiered on October 2, 2025, on Tokyo MX and other networks.^[19] The opening theme song is "Bukiyōu na I love you" (不器用なI love you; 'The Awkward I love you'), performed by Angela,^[3] while the ending theme song is "Bukiyōu ni Kimi no Tonari" (不器用に 君のとなり; 'Awkwardly Next to You'), performed by Ami Maeshima.^[20] Crunchyroll is streaming the series.^[21]

Episodes

No.	Title [22][23]	Directed by [a]	Written by [a]	Storyboarded by [a]	Original release date [24]
1	"Me? The Mentor!?" Transliteration: "Uchi ga Kyōikugakari!?" (Japanese: ウチが教育係！？)	Unknown	Unknown	TBA	October 2, 2025 (2025-10-02)
Azusa Kannawa has a reputation in her publicity department as being highly competent but also cold and intimidating. Her boss, Eiji, asks her to train their new employee Yu Kamegawa. While outwardly appearing calm it is revealed Azusa actually uses false confidence to conceal her poor communication skills and introverted personality. In contrast Yu is handsome, confident, sociable and charming, making her realize she has a crush on him. After a bad first day she fears she is a failure, having worried about herself instead of teaching him. The next day she is determined to invite him to lunch like her mentor Kanzaki did with her but spends so long thinking about it she misses the opportunity. Her co-worker Ritsu Kankaiji urges her to do her best. For inspiration she reads self-help books on being an effective boss. Before she can try any techniques she overhears her coworkers gossiping about her being difficult to work with, causing her to cry in front of Yu. Yu insists to the others that Azusa has a softer side she just doesn't let anyone see. Azusa is quietly grateful but fails to invite him to lunch again.
2	"I Wanna Invite My Junior to Lunch!" Transliteration: "Kōhai o Ranchi ni Obīta Iccha!" (Japanese: 後輩をランチに誘いたいっちゃ！)	TBA	TBA	TBA	October 9, 2025 (2025-10-09)
Azusa includes Yu on a maid café collaboration project, hoping working so closely won't make it strange when she does invite him to lunch. Later, she becomes distracted thinking about Yu and lunch and accidentally agrees to a request from her boss without listening to it. When she sees Yu only brought instant noodles she is able to invite him to lunch, claiming she doesn't want him falling ill from poor nutrition. Unfortunately, she spent so much time trying to invite him she never thought of what to talk about once they started eating. The next day she urges Yu to always ask for help if he needs it, then becomes restless when he never seems to need her help. She blames herself for making their lunch awkward and decides to invite him again. Unfortunately, he is invited by their co-workers first, who automatically assume Azusa won't be interested in joining them. Azusa ends up convinced Yu thinks she is a useless mentor. Yu stays late so Azusa decides to do the same. Yu admits he admires how everyone relies on her, so he is determined his first project will impress her. He also thanks her for lunch when everyone says she prefers to eat alone. Azusa blurts out she wanted to have lunch with him, then becomes embarrassed at the implication.
3	"I Gotta Support the Drinking Party's Organizer!" Transliteration: "Nomikai Kanji o Sapōto Sento!" (Japanese: 飲み会幹事をサポートせんと！)	TBA	TBA	TBA	October 16, 2025 (2025-10-16)
Azusa's boss announces a drinking party to celebrate their co-worker Yamaga getting married. Yu is asked to arrange everything but Azusa has no idea how as she always avoids parties. For a wedding gift Azusa considers cat mugs but breaks one and feels ashamed when Yu pays for it. Eventually they buy towels as a gift. Azusa wonders what sort of party Yu would want. Yu claims he doesn't drink but would go drinking with her. Azusa panics and rejects the idea, then hates herself. The next day she finds Yu bought her one of the cat mugs. The party goes well but Azusa becomes drunk. Azusa claims Yu messed up a project, giving them an excuse to leave. She apologises for being a scary mentor but Yu assures her he thinks she is very kind. He asks her again to go drinking with him and this time Azusa agrees, then passes out. The next morning she learns getting her home took so long Yu had to stay with a friend without any clean clothes. Their boss spots lipstick on Yu's shirt and assumes he has a girlfriend, making Azusa panic for a moment, until he explains it is her lipstick from helping her get into a taxi, embarrassing her immensely. Their boss regrettably asks them to go on a business trip to Okinawa during Golden Week.
4	"The Really Hot Okinawa Business Trip!" Transliteration: "Shinken Atsui! Okinawa Shucchō!" (Japanese: しんけんあつい！沖縄出張！)	TBA	TBA	TBA	October 23, 2025 (2025-10-23)
Azusa and Yu land in Okinawa for a sunscreen company's photo-shoot. As it is on the beach Azusa wears a swimsuit. Yu worries when the director flirts with Azusa so he deliberately interrupts but worries he upset her. At dinner there is dancing which Yu takes enthusiastic part in. Azusa is more reserved but eventually enjoys herself. Yu becomes flustered but is unsure why. Azusa visits Yu's room later with medication for his sunburn, reminding him it is unprofessional to be sunburned while working for a sun cream company. The next day they complete the photo-shoot early, so the director invites them on a group sightseeing tour. Yu notices Azusa panicking so he quickly claims they need to work on their maid café project by visiting Okinawan cafes. They enjoy the experience but Azusa worries Yu only saw it as work and might not have had fun. Azusa worries when their hotel booking is for a twin room they will have to share. Yu decides to sleep at a manga café to avoid any awkwardness. Feeling guilty, Azusa asks him to stay and even challenges him to play games together. Yu worries he only causes problems for Azusa, especially when she claims she had an excellent relationship with her own mentor. They return home the next day and Yu realises he had a lot of fun.
5	"It's All the Typhoon's Fault!" Transliteration: "Zenbu Taifū no Sei Tcha" (Japanese: ぜんぶ台風のせいっちゃ)	TBA	TBA	TBA	October 30, 2025 (2025-10-30)
A typhoon hits Japan but Azusa decides to go to work to set a good example for Yu then send him home early like a good mentor. On arriving they find they are the only ones in the office. They try to leave for a meeting but discover Azusa forgot her umbrella. Sharing Yu's umbrella Azusa panics at how close they are. Yu leads the meeting perfectly so Azusa is determined to send him home early. They return to the office where Azusa tries to hang up his jacket, only to end up wearing it and acting silly, unaware he was watching. Yu realises Azusa is scared of thunder so he distracts her. Azusa asks him to collect documents from the Sales team then go home early. Yu ends up meeting his friend Tsukahara in the Sales office who asks for his help. Azusa is upset Yu will end up working overtime doing another department's work, so she scolds Tsukahara for inconveniencing her trainee. Yu is grateful and offers to share an umbrella to the train station. Azusa realises Yu is actually quite manly. Getting off the train near her apartment Azusa is surprised Yu makes her take his umbrella, so she insists he take her towel. Azusa is glad she will be working remotely the next day. Yu decides to properly wash Azusa's towel before returning it.

Other

In commemoration of the releases of volumes 3 and 4, the series had two cosplay collaborations with the model Nashiko Momotsuki dressed-up as main character Azusa Kannawa in 2021.^[25][26]

Reception

The series was ranked fifth at the sixth Next Manga Awards in the print category.^[27]

Notes

1. Production staff information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.