Quick Answer
Worth reading if you want a school rom-com built on a strong gap-moe hook, though it's still a newer series with the relationship in its early stages.
Quick Verdict
“Making the terrifying senpai the one already aware of her feelings flips the usual gap-moe setup in a satisfying way.”
Best for: Readers who want a school rom-com built around a scary-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside love interest who already knows how she feels.
Not for: Readers who want a relationship that's already moved well past the will-he-notice stage.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manga, 35 chapters, 3 volumes |
| Run | 2025–present · ongoing |
| Community score | AniList 7.9 · MangaUpdates 7.0 |
| Where to read | Manga UP! Global — official |
Haimiya Is Scary Cute (Haimiya-senpai wa Kowakute Kawaii) is an ongoing Japanese manga by Sumu Kamiyama, serialized on Square Enix's Manga UP! since November 2025 and available in English on Manga UP! Global. Everyone at school is afraid of Mio Haimiya -- sharp piercings, a striking grey wolf-cut, and a blunt Kansai dialect have given her a fearsome reputation. But around health-committee member Kurose, she's warm and gentle, and as their friendship grows, Haimiya realizes she's fallen for him. The problem is that he's completely oblivious.
The manga fully commits to its central gap-moe hook, and that commitment is what makes it work. Haimiya isn't just occasionally nice to Kurose between scary moments -- she's genuinely, consistently gentle with him in a way that contrasts sharply with how the rest of the school sees her, and that contrast does a lot of the comedic and romantic heavy lifting on its own.
What sets it apart from similar setups is that Haimiya already knows exactly how she feels. Instead of a slow mutual realization, the tension comes entirely from her side: she's aware of and increasingly frustrated by her own feelings while Kurose remains oblivious, which gives her character more interiority than the 'secretly sweet tough girl' archetype usually gets.
Her specific voice also helps her stand out. The blunt, unfiltered Kansai dialect gives Haimiya a personality beyond just 'intimidating on the outside, soft on the inside,' and it's part of what makes her scenes with Kurose land as genuinely charming rather than just a genre exercise.
The underlying hook -- a scary-looking girl who's secretly sweet to just one person -- is a familiar shelf in school rom-com manga, and the earliest chapters spend some time on the standard version of that setup before Haimiya's specific voice and frustration take over and distinguish her.
It's also still a newer series, having only started in late 2025, so the central relationship is still in its early stages. Readers hoping for a romance that's already progressed past the will-he-notice phase will need to wait for more chapters to release.
Haimiya Is Scary Cute takes a familiar gap-moe premise and strengthens it by giving the 'scary' half of the pairing full awareness of her own feelings and real frustration at being unnoticed. It's an easy, charming read for fans of the trope, with room to grow as the series continues.
Strengths
Weaknesses
shares the public-persona-versus-private-self romantic hook
Nagatoro
similar gap between a character's intimidating exterior and their real feelings, though with a different tone
similar comedic engine built on one side already being aware of their feelings while the other stays oblivious
| Platform | Format | Pricing | Region notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manga UP! Global | Digital chapters | Free + Paid | Region availability varies | Open |
No, it's ongoing and still fairly new, having started in late 2025.
Manga UP! Global, Square Enix's own platform, publishes it in English with regular new chapters.
Yes, she already knows she's fallen for Kurose. The tension comes from how oblivious he is, not from her figuring out her own feelings.
