Is Oresuki Worth Reading? Review & Where to Read
Quick Answer
If you want a rom-com that knows every harem-anime trope by heart and takes real pleasure in subverting them with a sharper, more self-aware cast than the premise suggests, this delivers genuinely clever comedy even if the manga abridges some of the light novel's depth.
Quick Verdict
“Smarter than its own harem premise, built on a cast who all see through each other's games.”
Best for: Readers who want a romantic comedy that actively plays with and subverts harem-anime clichés instead of just running through them.
Not for: Readers who want their rom-com cast straightforwardly earnest rather than constantly scheming, deflecting, and one-upping each other.
- Type
- Manga
- Genres
- Romance, Comedy
- Status
- Completed
- This review
- Minor Spoilers
- Author
- Rakuda
- Artist
- Yū Ijima
- Publisher
- Shueisha
- Platform
- No confirmed official English manga or light novel release found
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manga (shōnen), 43 chapters, 6 volumes |
| Run | 2017–2020 · completed |
| Community score | AniList 6.7 · MangaUpdates 6.5 |
Overview
Jouro Kisaragi thinks he's got it figured out: a quiet plan to end up with either his childhood friend or the school's student council president. The plan collapses almost immediately when both girls corner him — not to confess their own feelings, but to ask for his help winning over his blunt, easygoing best friend, Taiyou "Sun-chan" Ooga. Reluctantly agreeing to help, Jouro finds himself pulled into an expanding tangle of one-sided crushes when a withdrawn classmate, Sumireko "Pansy" Sanshokuin, reveals feelings of her own for him.
What it does well
Oresuki's hook works because it understands exactly what readers expect from a harem rom-com and then yanks the rug out immediately — the girls don't want Jouro, they want his help with someone else, and that single inversion powers a cast that keeps outmaneuvering each other for most of the story. What elevates it past a one-joke premise is how self-aware everyone is: characters explicitly recognize harem tropes as they're happening and use that awareness strategically, which gives the comedy real bite instead of just recycling familiar beats.
Pansy, in particular, is a strong addition — her own feelings and her reasons for hiding them complicate the dynamic in ways that keep the story from settling into a predictable rhythm. It's not hard to see why the original light novel won a Dengeki Novel Award; even compressed into manga form, the structure underneath the gags is genuinely clever.
Where it falls short
Condensing a 17-volume light novel into a 6-volume manga means some compression was inevitable, and readers who want every character beat to breathe may notice the pacing moving faster than the material probably wants. The constant one-upping between characters is the engine of the comedy, but it also means real sincerity takes longer to surface than it might in a more straightforward romance. And right now, there's no official English manga or light-novel release — the anime is the only officially licensed way to experience the story in English.
Verdict
Oresuki takes a tired premise and finds real cleverness in subverting it, backed by a cast sharp enough to call out their own genre's tropes while still getting pulled into them anyway. The manga's compression keeps it from being a perfect adaptation of its source, but the core comedy lands. Worth it if you want a rom-com that's in on the joke.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- The central twist — both love interests confessing feelings for someone else entirely — immediately sets the series apart from a standard harem setup and keeps paying off as more characters get pulled in.
- The cast is unusually self-aware; characters openly call out harem-anime tropes and use that awareness against each other, which keeps the comedy feeling sharp rather than predictable.
- Pansy, the withdrawn classmate whose own feelings complicate the plan further, adds a genuinely compelling wrinkle to what could have been a simple two-girl setup.
- The light novel source material won a Gold Prize at the Dengeki Novel Awards, and the comedic structure underneath the manga adaptation still shows that pedigree.
Weaknesses
- At 6 volumes, the manga condenses a 17-volume light novel, so some of the character and relationship development inevitably feels more compressed than the source material.
- The constant scheming-and-countering dynamic between characters, while clever, means genuine emotional sincerity takes a while to break through the games.
- No official English release exists for either the manga or the light novel, so English readers currently have official access only to the anime adaptation.
Similar Titles
Oreshura
A similarly self-aware, trope-subverting romantic comedy from the same general harem-deconstruction subgenre (a frequently confused, separate title).
Similar interest in characters who see through social games and romance tropes before playing along with them anyway.
Same energy of a romantic comedy built on characters constantly scheming and reading each other.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Oresuki finished?
Yes. The manga ran from 2017 to 2020 and is complete at 6 volumes; the light novel it's based on also finished, at 17 volumes.
Is this the same as Oreshura or Is the Order a Rabbit?
No — it's a separate, unrelated series from both. Oreshura (Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru) is a different trope-subverting rom-com, and Is the Order a Rabbit? is an unrelated cafe slice-of-life series.
Is there an anime?
Yes, a 12-episode anime aired in 2019 with an OVA in 2020, officially available in English via Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hidive.
Where can I read Oresuki in English?
There's no confirmed official English release for the manga or light novel. English-language audiences currently have official access only through the licensed anime.
