My First Girlfriend Is a Gal

Hajimete no Gal
Company type	Manga series
Industry	Manga, Anime
Founded	November 2015
Founder	Meguru Ueno
Products	Manga, Anime television series
Parent	Kadokawa Shoten

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article My First Girlfriend Is a Gal, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 10 August 2025

, also referred to as Hajimete no Gal, is a Japanese manga created by Meguru Ueno. Since November 2015, it has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine and collected into twenty tankōbon volumes. The series was adapted into a ten-episode anime by studio NAZ, which was broadcast from July through September 2017.

Plot

Junichi Hashiba, a high school student, feels frustrated over his lack of a girlfriend while his peers begin dating. Encouraged by his single friends, he decides to confess to Yukana Yame, a trendy "gal" at their school. Although Yukana suspects Junichi's main intention is to lose his virginity, she consents to be his girlfriend. As their relationship develops, Junichi draws the interest of several other girls connected to either him or Yukana, including his childhood friend Nene Fujinoki, Yukana’s gal companion Ranko Honjō, and Yui Kashī, the admired "school madonna."

Characters

: A second-year high school student eager to find a girlfriend. Initially encouraged to confess to Yukana, he feels both excited and embarrassed by her straightforward nature. Despite facing advances from other girls, he remains loyal to Yukana. Later in the story, he progresses to university.

: A fashionable "gal" with strawberry blonde hair and a carefree demeanor attending the same high school. Although cautious about physical intimacy at first, she agrees to date Junichi and frequently teases him about his virginity. She is affectionate yet somewhat inexperienced in relationships, seeking guidance on how to connect with Junichi. She becomes jealous of other girls interested in him except for Nene, whom she finds charming. Yukana also attends university alongside Junichi.

: Yukana’s assertive childhood friend characterized by tan skin and short blonde hair. She openly flirts with Junichi, stirring jealousy in Yukana. Ranko is protective of Yukana and willing to compete for Junichi’s attention, creating tension between them.

: A petite first-year high school girl and Junichi’s childhood companion who is infatuated with him. Initially presenting herself as a "little sister" figure, she later adopts the gal fashion style and openly vies with Yukana for Junichi’s affection. Her persistent advances are consistently declined.

: Known as the class representative and "school madonna," Yui is admired for her intelligence and modest beauty. Having known Junichi since middle school, she secretly performs as an online idol named BoA. Upset that Junichi prefers Yukana over her, she pressures him to end their relationship but is ultimately turned down. Later on, she pursues a harem-like dynamic with Junichi during their university years.

: A bespectacled classmate within Junichi’s group of perverted friends who organizes schemes involving Junichi, including initiating his confession to Yukana. He discovers Yui’s alter ego as BoA and has an older cousin involved in manga creation.

: A blonde member of Junichi’s circle of perverted friends.

: An overweight classmate from Junichi’s group of perverted friends who expresses an interest in younger girls.

: One of Yukana’s gal friends with medium brown hair and blue eyes; more prominently featured in the anime adaptation.

: Another gal friend of Yukana’s with blonde hair styled with ribbons; also more visible in the anime version.

Yuki Kashī: Yui’s younger brother who cross-dresses at school to tease and flirt with Junichi. Concerned about Yui’s feelings toward Junichi, he attempts to interfere with their relationship so Yui can reassert her role as the protective older sibling.

Iris Kotohayashi: The student council president of mixed French-Japanese descent who disapproves of Junichi’s harem lifestyle and enforces strict discipline reminiscent of Prison School.

Kiyo Gokomachi: Junichi’s university neighbor living next door with only a thin wall separating their apartments.

Karin Kurihama: A first-year university student involved in the otaku research club aspiring to become a manga artist; she recruits Junichi to assist in adding romantic elements to her work.

Omae Sakurako: The president of the university otaku research club.

Manga

By April 2025, the series had been compiled into twenty tankōbon volumes.

Anime

The anime adaptation, produced by NAZ, consisted of 10 episodes and was broadcast from July 12 to September 13, 2017. Hiroyuki Furukawa, recognized for his work on the erotic comedy My Wife is the Student Council President, served as both director and character designer. The script oversight was handled by Yuichiro Momose, while Yashikin from MAGES composed the soundtrack. The opening theme featured music by Junjō no Afilia, and the ending theme was performed by Erabareshi. An additional OVA episode debuted on December 26, 2017.

The series was available for streaming on Crunchyroll with original Japanese audio accompanied by English subtitles. Meanwhile, Funimation secured licensing rights for North America, providing an English-language dub. After Sony acquired Crunchyroll, the English dub transitioned to Crunchyroll’s platform.

Reception

Critical responses to the anime’s premiere episode were varied among Anime News Network reviewers. James Beckett criticized the fanservice, describing it as representative of outdated sexual comedy clichés. Nick Creamer highlighted the censorship bars as the sole distinctive aspect but found the protagonists generally unappealing. Theron Martin expressed cautious optimism regarding potential character development, especially concerning Yukana. Paul Jensen acknowledged promise in the concept of interactions between characters from different social groups but found much of the episode irritating, except for Yukana’s reaction to Junichi’s confession. Rebecca Silverman regarded the episode as predominantly fetishistic and opined that without meaningful growth of Yukana’s character, the series would remain a crude comedy; she chose not to continue watching.

Works cited

"Ch." denotes chapters from the Hajimete no Gal manga
"Ep." indicates episodes of the My First Girlfriend Is a Gal anime

External links