Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up

Keisuke Shizuki spent middle school as an outcast, nursing a phobia of pretty girls after a brutal rejection. When high school begins, he remakes himself into someone average and unremarkable, building a small social circle. Then Shizuka Kusunoki walks into his classroom. She was a nobody in middle school too, but now she is stunning. The problem is she still has zero social skills and begs Shizuki to teach her how to make friends. His phobia makes every interaction a sweat-soaked nightmare, and being seen with the prettiest girl in school threatens to expose both their pasts.

Mitsuki Mii launched the series on Pixiv Comic under Ichijinsha's Comic Pool brand on October 21, 2022. Kodansha USA released the first English volume on August 20, 2024, with seven volumes out in Japan and six in English as of mid-2026. The eighth Japanese volume arrives July 28. Reviewers praise the manga for treating Shizuki's phobia with real seriousness while mining the comedy from their awkward, cringe-inducing attempts at normalcy. Anime UK News noted the series has a surprising amount of depth, and My Book Joy highlighted the dynamic facial expressions that carry entire scenes.

An anime adaptation has been announced, produced by DMM Pictures and animated by Passione and Hayabusa Film. Midori Yui directs and handles the script, with music by Hyadain. Yūto Uemura voices Keisuke Shizuki and Tomori Kusunoki voices Shizuka Kusunoki. [edit]