MyAnimeList.net

Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai
He does not have any friends.
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai

Add to My List

Add to Favorites

Alternative Titles

Japanese: 湯神くんには友達がいない

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 16

Chapters: 81

Status: Finished

Published: May 25, 2012 to May 22, 2019

Genres: Comedy, Slice of Life

Theme: School

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Sunday

Authors: Sakura, Jun (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.22¹ (scored by 9,527 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #422²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #628

Members: 28,671

Favorites: 1,207

Resources

Write a Review
Reviews

Filtered Results: 28 / 30

Sort

Suggested
Most voted
Newest
Oldest

Filter Preliminary Spoiler

Aug 25, 2019

James_Monroe

Recommended

There is a lot of mediocre slice of life manga out there, but when you find something good, let me tell you all, it's something special.

I've just finished reading the last chapter. What a journey. Too many great slice of life gets repetitive, because they are generally stuck in some gimmick. The characters never evolve and even in comedies this can get really frustrating.

"Yugami-kun Doesn't Need Any Friends" is not one of those. It's actually probably my favorite slice of life of all time.

Yugami and Chihiro development throughout the series is amazing. Both themselves as characters and especially their relationship. I really care for them ...

Aug 26, 2019

Ratentaisou

Recommended

This review is heavily based on personal opinion and is heavily biased because of the human nature, feel free to agree or disagree.

Story: 9/10
The core of Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai is that it's a character-driven Slice of Life manga and honestly.. it's kind of weird, I say that because I haven't seen anything quite like this before and the author did a great job of writing the story and ending it in a really satisfying way that probably won't work in any other Slice of Life stories.

Art: 7.5/10
The art is good, It's definitely not in the same level as Boichi and Yusuke ...

Aug 30, 2019

safirebluedragon

Recommended

A second-year transfer student, Watanuki Chihiro struggles to make friends but eventually finds connections to her classmates through her seat neighbor, Yugami Yuuji. With an atypical yet likeable cast of characters this manga captures the fleeting memories of high school life and subverts the norm of the slice-of-life genre.

A true slice-of-life to the core with a touch of sports and subtle suggestions at romance, this series was relaxing to read and brightened my day. I'm thankful that the manga was motivated to progress at a moderate pace and not overstuffed with filler chapters and moreover that the manga was allowed to come to a ...

Jun 26, 2019

Lylaaz

Recommended

Preliminary (81/81 chp)

I'll say this out straight : This manga is an underrated masterpiece within its own genre.
Do you like well written characters? And do you dislike clishés? If you answered yes, you are definitely missing out on this story.

What really makes this manga so great are the characters, character interactions and how different storylines intertwine. And the most awesome of it all - the main protagonist Yugami Yuuji. Heck, I really like this guy. It's so nice to have a reassurance that it's okay to do things your own way, whatever everyone else says. Therefore, I am so glad I found this manga in my ...

Oct 1, 2019

LoLyeah

Recommended

Disclaimer: I'm gonna start reviewing manga from now on. This is my first PROPER review in English, it may be bad, but I want to learn reviewing from now on.

Yuuji Yugami, that weird geniuses from your class. He looks boring and weird, but turns out he's an interesting one.

STORY 8/10: The story is basically your usual slice of life high school manga. But what made this manga different, is the character interaction. But I will write my opinion on the character on the character rating. Oh, and if you're here just for the "Romance", just don't. I've friends that read this for the romance ...

Sep 28, 2021

IceKing13

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (15/81 chp)

When i read all the previous review i was hyped to see this manga. its a good slice of life, school story. but i droped it around 15 chapters. the first thing i want to say is the story. its kinda genric and bland, and doesnt offer something new. the art also doesnt compliment the story. its just bad and sometimes you dont get to see the environment. the next thing is the character. yugami is such a d*ck and i understand that he is supposed to be that way in the story. but even after 15 chapters he doesnt get any character development or ...

Jul 13, 2014

Ripo

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/81 chp)

Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai/ Yugami doesn't have any friends. 8/10

This manga made me laugh quite a lot, so I thought I should write a review to bring some attention to it ^^

We meet Yugami through Chihiro who just moved to a new city and is a transfer student at Yugamis school. At first glance he seems to be really nice and helpful, but that impression doesn't last very long. They both not only end up in the same class, Chihiro also sits next to him now. She tries to become friends with him but her attempts are shattered by him either saying something ...

Sep 5, 2023

Sal_lia

Recommended

I was hisitating between Great and Masterpiece, but then realised i was on my Third reread and that definetly says something. If you're into the Slice of Life genre this might just be your next best read.

This manga just found a very nice balaance between comedy, a dash of sports, school life, japanese culture, and hints of romance that work. The developpment is nice and smooth, and no spoilers but the ending is pure satisfaction that leaves a sweet after taste. The cast of characters are lovable, and i can't think of one charcter that i can't stand which is rare. It natually became such ...

Feb 28, 2024

1Elaina

Recommended

I enjoy this manga; it is undoubtedly a slice-of-life school manga. The solitary protagonist lives through the mundane school life, with a dash of comedy and the author's reflections serving as seasoning. The protagonist is a loner, and those similar to him will likely find much to resonate with. For those troubled by interpersonal relationships, as depicted in the manga, they may find some inspiration from the protagonist.

In today's era, people generally prefer works with explosive moments or twisted plots. When I was reading this manga, I realized that I unconsciously expected some dramatic developments, like the protagonist achieving significant accomplishments or falling in love. ...

Aug 12, 2019

shubh_jain_2

Recommended

Preliminary (81/81 chp)

This manga has one of the best endings I have ever seen. Most mangas are either not good or starts good but get worse over time.
And we rarely get mangas with great endings.
BUT this one starts average and keeps getting better. The 2nd half (Ch 45+) is way better than the 1st half(which is good too).

Let's discuss about the characters-
Characters: 10++ This is the area where the manga just shines, it is beyond outstanding.

If you want to see an open-minded MC, you are in the right place. If you want to see the development of true friendship you are in the right place. If ...

Jan 8, 2023

darkpixelftw

Recommended

TL:DR
This is NOT a romance despite the premise, this is a comedy with hints of coming-of-age for our female MC. And it's a pretty funny comedy. The character growth is subtle but it's there. A very underrated comedy, would recommend.

Story: 7/10
A chronicle of the high-school life of two kids, one fairly normal girl and a strange boy. Fairly mundane but no less charming. It's was a blast watching these characters grow up.

You might expect this to be a high school slice-of-life with the expected story beats come out like clockwork, e.g. the cultural festival etc, and that is true but this is actually a stealth ... baseball sports manga too. To the better of the characters and plot in my opinion, adds a bit of adversity and goals to work towards. Don't worry though, sports is never the focus so if you're not a fan of that, you won't be put off by it.

This isn't a romance, there are hints of it towards the end but this is never explicit and everything is up to interpretation. Don't come into this expecting a sappy romance. Honestly, I would have enjoyed it if the mangaka went fully one way, no romance or a proper relationship. The way it is now feels like the author was too afraid to commit and it hurts the ending.

Speaking of, the ending was pretty good. This is a slice of life, so the ending consists of the characters going to university but it showcases the growth of the characters and leads to the sweetest not-really-but-kind-of-romantic-move I've seen in a manga.

Art: too subjective to give a score
Good, I don't know what it is but I really like the character designs. Maybe it's the hair? Anyway, it's not breath-taking but it's not generic.

Characters: 9/10
The story primarily revolves around Watanuki and Yugami. Watanuki grows as a person throughout this manga, making friends and getting over fears, all of which is some way is helped along by Yugami. Their relationship isn't exactly a friendship (well, Yugami doesn't consider her a friend anyway) but it is endearing.

Yugami's characterisation is fairly consistent the entire run of the manga. It's not that he changes, our understanding of him does. This consistency is the manga's greatest strength, where a lesser manga would have him change into a "normal" person to be more appealing, Yugami maintains the same ideals and idiosyncrasies he started with. With our improved understanding of him, his actions, though no less enigmatic or bizarre, can be seen in a different light. That's not to say he's totally static, I think he does grow in his own way, being more social and making an actual friend but his core personality isn't forgotten.

Watanuki is equally well written, being in some ways the polar opposite of Yugami. She's the female MC and she's relatively normal. She's thoughtful and self-conscious where Yugami is kind but independent.

There is also the side characters, the MCs are obviously the main focus and get the bulk of the progression but the others also get their times to shine.

Overall: 8/10
A great comedy, with great characters. I recommend this for any fan of SOL comedies. Romantics will be severely blue-balled if that's what you're here for.

Feb 28, 2022

Reville_

Recommended

“You’re in deep shit right now.” - Yugami
“Come again?” - Chihiro

A perfect summation of the relationship of our main duo.

Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai is a brilliant slice-of-life comedy of miscommunication, perception and friendship (or the lack thereof).

This manga is basically people assuming something about Yugami and then getting slammed with a big wall of “Yugami either didn’t know or didn’t care, usually both. It's actually quite a refreshing story of emotional youth meeting the personification of "facts don't care about your feelings.

The banter and dynamic between the leads Yugami and Chihiro is interesting, engaging and fun. I actually laughed a lot when I ...

May 15, 2022

Emcio0828

Recommended

Disclaimer: This is my first ever written review on MAL so apologies if quality isn't that great.

Slice of Life can be a very hard genre to get right in my opinion. The challenge that surrounds depicting every day life, making it both engaging when reading and entertaining, can be enough to become the deciding factor as to whether I continue or drop a manga/anime.

Luckily Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai not only overcame this challenge, it surpassed my own expectations and became one of my all time favourites, even if I only have read a hand full of manga.

Story (9): Although there's heavy focus on ...

Dec 30, 2019

sybj

Recommended

I love this series. This manga is a fantastic story about how the confident loner Yuuji Yugami influences people around him throughout high school, especially the transfer student Chihiro Watanuki who earnestly wants to make friends. The characters are excellently written, every interaction feels thought out, and the situations are interesting without straying from reality and never overstay their welcome.

A large part of my enjoyment came from being able to immediately relate to and understand Yugami. The sincere confidence in being happy on his own, with an ego built on his proven skill at a hobby and a philosophy based on reflection on what ... makes himself happy. The questioning of social norms that don't seem to have a practical purpose, and strong opinions that he refuses to change unless given good reason, though he is always open to being convinced. The way he obsesses over a newfound hobby, seeks an outlet for his creative passion, and then, just as quickly as he picked up the activity, puts it on hold for something fresh. The fact that despite ostensibly not caring about having friends, he still loves talking with others, observing people who interest him, and giving advice whether it's wanted or not. His notoriety and disruptive behavior often put him at the center of a chaotic whirlwind that affects many people around him, but he consciously aims to remain objective to himself and not let other people's impressions of him change his lifestyle.

But if you don't get Yugami or hate how he acts, while your experience with this series will be fundamentally different from mine, especially early on, you'll probably be able to empathize with another character very easily. A significant chunk of the manga isn't just about Yugami, but how all his peers perceive him. You'll be able to follow along with Watanuki and others as as they grow to understand Yugami, and see his generally good intentions and why he chooses to act the way he does, despite all the negative feedback from his classmates that ruins any popularity he might have. It's not like Yugami gets preferential treatment by the author; every character is treated with the same level of care that lets their distinct personality and motivations shine through.

The other aspects of this manga that make it special are the thoughtfulness of each interaction and the variety of carefully crafted scenarios. The writing of dialogue is consistent to the point where you can get a feel for a character's personality from just a few lines. The story masterfully transitions in and out of arcs, without depending on a rigidly structured narrative. Sometimes chapters of the manga are connected directly, such as the baseball games or the school festival, but often there's just a sense of continuity through the steady development of the characters. When an arc does happen, you can see signs that something big is coming and watch as everything satisfyingly falls into place, with no detail forgotten from previous chapters.

I had only read 9 volumes of Yugami when I wrote most of this review, but I had no doubt in my mind that it would continue to uphold its established level of quality, and it absolutely did. There are a few moments that stood out to me in particular as fantastic culminations of everything the manga had built to, and without talking in too much detail about them, I'll just say that the "letter" and "speech" are incredible. Finding a story with this level of quality and depth is rare, especially in a manga that is primarily comedy and not melodramatic in the slightest. I am very grateful to have found this manga and that it was written, and highly recommend giving it a read as it was a wonderful and extremely worthwhile experience.

Oct 3, 2020

Idlear

Recommended

tl;dr: This is the best slice of life comedy manga you've never heard of and will never read UNLESS I TYPE IN ALL CAPS TO GRAB YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE READ THIS.

What makes a slice of life manga good? Atmosphere is the common answer, but what is that made of? The easy answer is that everything besides plot, which there should be little of in a slice of life, makes up the atmosphere. Background art, character designs, setting, joke gimmicks, and the characters themselves all pitch in, but it's the characters most of all. Heck, it's characters most of all for almost every story. And this ... is where Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai (Yugami has no Friends) excels. The characters are endearing from the beginning. No writing that bends over backwards in left-field backstory to tug at your heartstrings here, just some earnestly human characters who play off each other well in comedy and some light drama that usually has a comedic punchline. If you go into this manga thinking "Ah, so Yugami is the Tanaka-kun/Saiki/Sakamoto/Komi of this manga?" you'll be surprised. Yes, predictably the poster boy character is different from most people, and the humour, like for most manga and anime, comes from the gap between normative expectations and this eccentricism (i.e. Yugami not needing friends and his benign antisocialism). "Different" is important here, as Yugami is not a static joke dispenser. The punchlines do continue to come from this "gap" throughout the story, but the characters, Yugami included, are dynamic. Not dramatically dynamic, but they grow up a little just as you would expect, say, your real classmates to. Out of all the characters though, Yugami is still the hub, and the rest are the spokes that rotate around him... Or so it seems if you only read the title and summary. And that's how this manga stands out in a sea of quirky main-character comedy slice of life manga. Yugami isn't *really* the main character.

The initially friendless transfer student Watanuki Chihiro is the perspective character and arguable main character. Chihiro, somewhat socially anxious but mostly neurotypical, is Yugami's foil. She needs friends, Yugami does not. These two, who aren't friends btw, keep getting involved with each other and butt heads, misunderstand each other, misunderstand an understanding between each other, have a brief understanding between each other, then not, the cycle repeats. Hilarity ensues. I think most readers of this manga will at first empathize with Chihiro and share in her disbelief and other amusing reactions to Yugami's "shenanigans", which are just his daily routine to him. This is intentional. Chihiro is the average reader surrogate. Being an "eccentric" person myself, however, I identified with Yugami from the beginning, but I must be somewhat well-adjusted because I also identified with Chihiro from the beginning. Landing in this sweet spot between neurotypical and neurodivergent, I consider myself very lucky. It let me enjoy this manga as much as I did, after all. But I know that I would have enjoyed it even if I was entirely a Chihiro or entirely a Yugami. This is because the writing doesn't treat the unique traits of Yugami, Chihiro, or the other characters as problems that need solutions. While there are some character flaw wrinkles that get ironed out here and there (or sometimes not at all for comedic effect), their core personalities all stay the same. And hey, come to think of it, the core personalities of real people also rarely change. But as we can grow up a little, so do Yugami and Chihiro.

Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai is a comfy comedy slice of life manga that is refreshingly not designed to go on forever and does not recycle the same joke at the expense of one character's eccentricism. Yugami, Chihiro, and the rest of the diverse cast of neurotypicals and neurodivergents are rarely the unilateral butt of the joke or punchline. They act in whatever ways make them happy even if it comes off as amusing from the other characters' or reader's perspectives. Ultimately, the real humour comes from the misunderstandings that arise between people just different enough from each other to trick themselves into thinking they can't understand one another. But as the manga goes on, Chihiro and the rest do start to understand Yugami in their own little ways and vice versa. In a word, it’s wholesome. My hope is that most readers finish this manga with a better impression of Yugami than they started with. You probably won’t agree with him on most things, of course, but Sakura Jun (the mangaka) has written a work that teaches us to at least tolerate eccentrics like Yugami. For the joy they bring themselves and those who are willing to understand them, the Yugami’s of the world should be allowed to exist as they are, not needing friends while still knowing some people, the Chihiro’s of the world, who are their friends in every way except in name.

Maybe they’re something more than friends?

Dec 19, 2020

HairDryer

Recommended

at the first chapter i thought it was gonna be like a normal slice of life manga where u just sit beside a girl. But its was get more and more development and its become more intersting.

even thought the romance almost didnt show any sign about it, still it was a good manga to begin with. (Even thought the end just up to your imagination lol)

the art pretty decent not to bad, still pretty like it. the character was really great the side character got a good scene.

overalll i really enjoy this manga, even i want to see how they two going after it ...

Apr 26, 2021

sometimesanti

Recommended

This series is an absolute masterpiece and an insanely underrated one. Yugami-kun is one of my favorite mc's of all time and the characters that surround him are interesting, lovable, and overall well written. One of its great points is the comedy which is honestly top tier and the art goes great with it as well. Overall though, you won't truly understand how good it is until you read it as it's so incredibly unique above all else. There is no other character like Yugami Kun and its mix of sports with the slice of life and comedy and even tiny bits of romance is ...

Apr 26, 2021

Mellend96

Recommended

I haven't read many manga so far, but this is definitely the best one I have read and is easily the best SoL I have ever read. Absolute shame it hasn't gotten an adaptation so far, and I hope it does one day. If you like SoL, go read this. If you don't, go read this.

Story: It isn't all that complicated. It's very simple, and follows a very realistic and grounded school life compared to other SoL where there's constant drama at every turn. It plays out kind of similar to some sports manga too as there's a heavy baseball ...

May 31, 2020

Asddds

Recommended

Just an incredibly relatable manga. I personally related to Yugami because of the overall "emotionlessness" of his character but there is a lot of people to relate to in this manga. Everyone is fleshed out and even though they sometimes fall into usual archetypes it still does not subtract from their character.

What makes this manga work is it is also a baseball manga but it hides this under the slice of life disguise. This helps to flesh out characters more because it gives them a reason to overcome hardship. But being a slice of life manga it never shifts the focus away from the characters ...

Dec 30, 2019

steamed_clams

Recommended

I finished this manga several months ago, but I can still recall it vividly and remember how I was elated whenever a new chapter was translated.
I found it on a random reddit thread and binged some 60 chapters in a day, since the plot simply hooked me.

Story: 9/10, the premise was interesting, and the plot never really got old. [SPOILER] I was wishing that Chihiro would get together with Yugami the entire time but still felt great even after they friendzoned each other.

Art: 9/10, in the earlier chapters it was simple, but I found it charming and it didn't really negatively affect my view of ...