Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (僕は友達が少ない, lit. I Don't Have Many Friends), also known as Haganai (はがない),[1] is a Japanese light novel series written by Yomi Hirasaka, illustrated by Buriki, and published by Media Factory. It has twice been given manga adaptations; the first incarnation, its title and basic plot unchanged, began serialization in 2010; it was written and illustrated by Itachi and published in Monthly Comic Alive. A second adaptation with a different story, written by Misaki Harukawa and illustrated by Shōichi Taguchi, was called Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai + and published in Jump Square. An anime adaptation by AIC Build aired in Japan between October and December 2011.
Plot
Kodaka Hasegawa is a recent transfer student to St. Chronica's Academy, a Catholic high school. As with every other school he has ever attended, he finds it difficult to make friends there because of his naturally-blond hair (inherited from his deceased English mother) and fierce-looking eyes, which make him look threatening to his prejudiced schoolmates.[2]One day, Kodaka accidentally comes across the equally solitary and very abrasive Yozora Mikazuki while she converses with her imaginary friend Tomo. Realizing that neither of them have any social lives, they decide that the best way to improve their situation is to form a club–the Neighbor's Club (隣人部 Rinjin-bu)–precisely intended to make friends and learn social skills.
Five other members soon join the club, starting with the school's well-connected but arrogant idol Sena Kashiwazaki, who has no female friends of her own because of their jealousy over her many male admirers. The next to join is Yukimura Kusunoki, a feminine underclassman of Kodaka's who rather idealizes him and follows him in the hope that it will teach him to become manlier. Maria Takayama is a 10-year-old "genius" teacher and nun at the academy whom Yozora recruits to become the club adviser. Rika Shiguma is an underclassman and well-known scientific genius with fujoshi tendencies who joins the club after Kodaka rescues her from a laboratory accident. Finally, Kodaka's younger sister Kobato is in St. Chronica's middle school division and is a fan of Gothic anime.
Characters
Neighbor's Club
- Kodaka Hasegawa (羽瀬川 小鷹 Hasegawa Kodaka)
- Voiced by: Ryohei Kimura
- The protagonist, a transfer student who has not been able to make friends in his first month at St. Chronica's. Of all of the members of the club, he is the most gentle, balanced and socially competent in personality; but his unusual hair color, inherited from his late English mother, leads classmates to assume he is a violent and abusive delinquent and spread defamatory rumors about him. Because of his long experience of antagonism, Kodaka has become accustomed to fighting and can defend himself quite well.
- His father, an archeologist, is working in the United States, and so he takes care of his younger sister alone at home, which has also made him a good cook. His childhood was characterized by frequent movement, and as a result he has few memories related to home life and close friendships; however, though he does not realize it at first, he and Yozora were childhood friends before his family moved.
- Yozora Mikazuki (三日月 夜空 Mikazuki Yozora)
- Voiced by: Marina Inoue
- A cruel and selfish black-haired girl who says she understands and respects bullying but resents being called a bully herself, Yozora's difficult personality drives away anyone who might wish to make friends with her before she meets Kodaka. She is physically abusive towards, and often argues with, Sena and manipulative towards Maria, who she cons into giving up an empty room for the use of the Neighbor's Club, and Yukimura, who she fools into working for the club as a crossdressing cosplay maid. The only person she can't insult is Rika, as Rika takes whatever insult she gives her and deflects it back with a dirty joke that leaves her tired - to the point where she just does what Rika says (like crossdress for example) rather than argue.
- She is Kodaka's childhood friend, though at the time, he believed that she was a boy, calling her "Sora"; her nickname for him was "Taka." On the day that Kodaka moved, she intended to wear a skirt and reveal her gender to him but was too embarrassed to do so. Kodaka eventually recognised her after she had to cut her hair short due to it catching on fire. She seems to have feelings for Kodaka.
- Sena Kashiwazaki (柏崎 星奈 Kashiwazaki Sena)
- Voiced by: Kanae Itō
- The wealthy blonde daughter of the school's headteacher, Sena shows a dislike of all things "ordinary." She is both attractive and academically successful, but her resulting arrogance leads her to be disliked by her female peers. Their admiration eludes her, much as she desires it; she treats her male classmates only as servants to be used, although many of them would like to be her boyfriend. Nonetheless, she holds Kodaka to a higher standard. Kodaka concludes that she is the weirdest member of the club, as she is able to warrant weird and disgusted looks not only from Yozora and Kobato, but also from Yukimura and Rika.
- She enjoys playing video games, including dating sims and eroge, partially because they allow her to make female (if virtual) friends. She is generally fascinated by the girls in these games and has also taken a liking to Kobato. Yozora calls her "Meat" (肉 Niku, due to her large breasts), an insulting nickname which she secretly likes because it was the first she had ever received.
- Kobato Hasegawa (羽瀬川 小鳩 Hasegawa Kobato)
- Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa
- Kodaka's younger sister; she is a student in middle school, but nonetheless joins the club. She is very close to her brother, who she calls "An-Chan", and behaves in a jealous and clingy way whenever she feels that he is not giving her the attention she deserves, to the point where it is obvious that she has a brother complex. She sees Maria as a rival for Kodaka's brotherly affections and so often gets into fights with the latter. Despite being older than Maria she has smaller breasts than her, which Maria is always eager to point out.
- She has had a penchant for darkness, vampires and the macabre ever since she started watching an anime called Full Metal Necromancer. As a result she often speaks in an affected fashion, claims to be known as the ancient vampire "Reisys VI Felicity Sumeragi", and wears a gothic dress and red contacts, but this façade quickly breaks down when she gets emotionally worked up and she speaks in a strong Kyūshū accent. Indeed, her behavior does not for the most part differ from that of a regular girl (procrastinating with her homework, staying inside when it is hot, etc.) which Kodaka points out, causing her to be embarrassed and slightly lose character. Moreover, she is not very good at mathematics, taking a long time to solve a question Kodaka posed to her, and displays a rather limited vocabulary, frequently getting words wrong.
- Rika Shiguma (志熊 理科 Shiguma Rika)
- Voiced by: Misato Fukuen
- A freshman and highly capable mad scientist. She was saved by Kodaka when she fell unconscious during a disastrous lab experiment, and begs to repay his kindness with sex; she joined the Neighbor's Club just to get closer to him.
- Although there are many adult themes in the series, she is the most sexually forward member. This was clearly highlighted in her first speaking appearance, when she described the attractions of rape to Kodaka in the middle of a stunned class. She has a habit of inserting any sexual innuendo possible in her sentences, to the point where she finds it normal to convert any innocent thought into something perverted. As a fujoshi, she is a passionate consumer of BL dōjinshi and magazines, is comically aroused by intercourse between mecha, and is delighted when Yukimura offers to have sex with Kodaka. Rika is proud of her pervertedness, as she says that she would be a boring person if people only thought of her as a genius girl. To compound her eccentricity, she speaks in the third person.
- Yukimura Kusunoki (楠 幸村 Kusunoki Yukimura)
- Voiced by: Nozomi Yamamoto
- First introduced as a stalker of Kodaka. "His" first meeting with the Neighbor's Club resulted in gender confusion, as "his" appearance is decidedly feminine despite "his" assertions of malehood (which are ultimately shown to be false in volume 5). A gullible student with low self-esteem, she admiringly believes Kodaka to be a romantic and masculine outlaw who lives life the way he wants to, and eagerly pledges to become his "underling" on the basis that she can learn to become less effeminate through him; however, she also appears to harbor a crush on him.
- She fittingly refers to Kodaka as "aniki"[3]. She tends to obey Kodaka's "orders" to the extreme; when Kodaka asked her to bring Maria something healthy to eat, she brought a protein shake and tried to force it down Maria's throat until she finished it all.
- Maria Takayama (高山 マリア Takayama Maria)
- Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi
- Maria is the supervising teacher of the Neighbors Club; she is a ten-year old nun. While a child genius, she is also very rude and immature, and often uses a variety of expletives when annoyed. She develops a sibling-like relationship with Kodaka, who regularly makes her packed lunches, and is affectionate with him, much to Kobato's annoyance. She is also gullible, which Yozora uses to her advantage, and at some point, Kobato uses it to win an argument.
Others
- Pegasus Kashiwazaki (柏崎 天馬 Kashiwazaki Pegasasu)
- Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu
- Sena's father and the chairman of St. Chronica's. He is a friend of Kodaka's father, and pulled strings so that Kodaka could attend the school. He is embarrassed by the unusual pronunciation of his first name (which normally would be pronounced "Tenba"). He constantly badmouths Kodaka's father, but only because he truly values him as a best friend. He seems intent to betroth Sena to Kodaka, often saying that he considers Kodaka to be "a man I can entrust Sena to". He is a wealthy man always seen wearing traditional clothing, and is quite weak to alcohol.
- Stella (ステラ Sutera)
- Voiced by: Ryōka Yuzuki
- The Kashiwazaki family butler. A blonde woman in her late twenties, she is a capable servant, though often surprisingly outspoken to her employer. She has a habit of making straight-faced jokes.
- Kate Takayama (高山 ケイト Takayama Keito)
- Maria's big sister, a 15-year old nun who looks a bit older than her actual age. Like her sister she has extremely bad manners, demonstrable via a variety of public burping, farting and butt-scratching. Despite her largely nonchalant attitude she is concerned for and protective of Maria, and is described as having something of a sister complex. In the anime she is seen only briefly in episode 8 and not introduced.
Media
Light novels
The original Light Novel series is written by Yomi Hirasaka, it began serialization in 2009 by the Japanese publisher Media Factory and was printed by MF Bunko J. Currently has 7 volumes published.[4]Manga
There are currently two manga series being serialized. Both started serialization on 2010, the first one is written and illustrated by Japanese author Itachi, which was published in Monthly Comic Alive,[5] titled Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai; the second which was written by Misaki Harukawa and illustrated by Shōichi Taguchi, published in Jump Square,[6] titled Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai+. Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed the first manga series in North America under the title Haganai: I Have No Friends.[7]Anime
In May 2011, an anime television series based on the light novels was announced on the wraparound jacket of the sixth light novel, with an original video animation bundled with the seventh light novel.[8] Produced by AIC Build under the direction of Hisashi Saitō, the series began airing in Japan from October 7, 2011.[9] The opening theme is "The Regrettable Neighbours Club Two and a Half Stars" (残念系隣人部★★☆ Zannenkei Rinjinbu Hoshi Futatsuhan) by Marina Inoue, Kanae Itō, Nozomi Yamamoto, Misato Fukuen, Kana Hanazawa, and Yuka Iguchi, while the ending theme is "My Feelings" (私のキ・モ・チ Watashi no Ki-mo-chi) by Marina Inoue. The Anime is based on the first three volumes and the beginning of volume four. The anime was licensed for streaming by Funimation Entertainment, who hosted the stream on the website and Nico Nico,[10] before licensing the series for home video release.[11]Episode list
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | "Black Hotpot Gives Girls a Bad Smell （;´∀`）" "Yaminabe wa Bishōjo ga Zannen na Nioi" (闇鍋は美少女が残念な臭い（;´∀`）) | September 22, 2011 |
| Kodaka Hasegawa appears to be having an enjoyable time at the beach with lots of female friends. However, this all turns out to be the hallucinagenic dream that occurred as a result of trying a mysterious "black nabe". | ||
| 01 | "We Can't Make Any Friends" "Bokutachi wa Tomodachi ga Dekinai" (僕達は友達が出来ない（´・ω・｀）) | October 7, 2011[12] |
| Kodaka Hasegawa, a recently transferred student who has trouble making friends due to his scary appearance, encounters his classmate, Yozora Mikazuki, talking to an imaginary friend. As they both talk about their troubles in making friends, Yozora gets the idea to create a Neighbors Club dedicated to help people make friends. After Kodoka and Yozora post up recruitment posters, another student, Sena Kashiwazaki, comes to join, saying that, despite her popularity, she also wants to make some true friends, though she does not get along well with Yozora. | ||
| 02 | "There's No God in the Electric World" "Dennō Sekai wa Kamisama ga Inai" (電脳世界は神様が居ない（ ﾟДﾟ）) | October 14, 2011[12] |
| Yozora decides that the first Neighbors Club activity is to play a co-op Monster RPG to improve their friendship. However, instead of playing co-operatively, Yozora and Sena constantly get in each others' way. The next day, Sena brings a girl game to the clubroom, which she ends up getting really into. | ||
| 03 | "There Are No Flags at the Swimming Pool" "Shimin Pūru wa Furagu ga Nai" (市民プールはフラグがない（;´Д`）) | October 21, 2011[12] |
| After Sena is caught playing an eroge and insists it's not perverted, Yozora has her read out the dialogue aloud to prove otherwise. Meanwhile, Kodaka's little sister, Kobato, feels jealous that Kodaka is spending more time with the Neighbors Club than with her. After encountering a swim-happy character in her game, Sena asks Kodaka to teach her how to swim. After the swimming lesson, Sena gets herself into trouble when she insults some guys hitting on her, forcing Kodaka to help her out. The incident reminds Kodaka of a friend he once had as a child, who taught him a lesson about friendship that Yozora strangely reacts to. | ||
| 04 | "Underclassmen Don't Hold Back" "Kōhai-tachi wa Enryo ga Nai" (後輩達は遠慮がないΣ(゜ロ゜;)) | October 28, 2011 |
| Kodaka meets 10-year-old teacher Maria Takayama, who was tricked by Yozora into becoming the Neighbors Club's adviser. Later, an effeminate-looking boy named Yukimura Kusunoki joins the club so he can study Kodaka and become more manly. Later, Kodoka saves a scientific girl named Rika Shiguma after she collapsed in the science room. Wanting to repay him in a somewhat sexual manner, Rika joins the Neighbors Club, where it is revealed she is also fascinated with curious dirty magazines. | ||
| 05 | "This Time the SAGA is a Serious Battle" "Kondo wa SAGA ga Gachi na Tatakai" (今度はSAGAがガチな戦いヽ(`Д´)ノ) | November 4, 2011 |
| Kodaka decides to start making healthy lunches for Maria, which makes Kobato jealous. Later, Rika has everyone try out a beta of a virtual reality RPG, which doesn't quite go as planned. After the game ends in utter defeat, Kodaka is surprised to see Kobato, who immediately clashes with Maria and decides to join the Neighbors Club so she can spend more time with Kodaka. | ||
| 06 | "There Aren't Many Customers At the Karaoke Box" "Karaoke Bokkusu wa Kyaku ga Sukunai" (カラオケボックスは客が少ない(つд⊂)) | November 11, 2011 |
| As Kodaka has a dream about his childhood friend, who he didn't get to say goodbye to before he moved, the Neighbors Club makes plans to go to a karaoke box. After feeling they are being cheated by the pricing system, Yozora and Sena end up in separate rooms while Kodaka and others share one. After the karaoke, Sena tells Kodaka that her father is interested in meeting him, which makes Yozora feel jealous. | ||
| 07 | "My Cell Phone Doesn't Get Many Calls" "Keitai Denwa wa Chakushin ga Sukunai" (携帯電話は着信が少ない＿|￣|○) | November 18, 2011 |
| As Summer rolls in, Kodaka asks Yukimura to provide Maria with her lunches in his place, though Yukimura misinterprets what qualifies as 'healthy food'. As the group decides to exchange e-mail addresses so they know who's coming into the clubroom over the summer, it is revealed Sena doesn't have a cell phone. She ends up getting the same model as Kodaka's, only to get spammed by a jealous Yozora. | ||
| 08 | "School Swimsuits Don't Appear" "Sukūru Mizugi wa Deban ga Nai" (スクール水着は出番がない＼(^o^)／) | November 25, 2011 |
| With the air conditioner in Kodaka's house broken, Kobato takes inspiration from an episode of her favourite anime and starts wearing more normal clothes. More suited to the weather, she accompanies Kodaka to the clubroom where she clashes with Maria and finds herself showered with attention by Sena. The club decides to go to the pool but find it over-crowded with people due a half-price offer. The crowd proves to be too much for Yozora and Rika, who decided to head home early. Kodoka upon hearing the news chased after them, only to see them leaving in the shuttle bus. He turns back to see the rest of the club, and they decided to go home. | ||
| 09 | "The President's Recollections are Painful" "Rijichō wa Tsuisō ga Setsunai" (理事長は追想が切ない(-＿-)) | December 2, 2011 |
| As Yozora decides to have everyone dress in swimsuits for the day's club activities, Sena suggests that they go on a training camp to her private beach. The next day, Sena invites Kodaka and Kobato to her house to meet her father, Pegasus. After dinner, they are invited to stay the night, as there is no more busses. Kodaka is forced to sleep next to Pegasus after Pegasus got drunk while reminiscing that he used to drink with Kodoka's father. | ||
| 10 | "No One Sleeps at Camp" "Gasshuku wa Minna ga Nenai" (合宿は皆が寝ないヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ) | December 9, 2011 |
| The Neighbours Club reaches Sena's summer house and immediately hit the beach. They spend the weekend playing on the beach and listening to scary story attempts. After Yozora's story scares everyone, Kodaka gets called several times during the night to escort various girls to the bathroom, including Yozora herself. | ||
| 11 | "Girls Are Super-Cute in Yukatas" "Joshi wa Yukata Sugata ga na, Chō Kawaii" (女子は浴衣姿がな、超可愛い(ﾟ∀ﾟ)) | December 16, 2011 |
| The club decides to go to a matsuri festival for the purpose of getting takoyaki, which Kodaka is passionate about. While picking out a yukata, Kodaka explains to Sena about why he doesn't dye his hair. After having their fill of food, Yozora and Sena compete with each other at the stalls, before everyone gets together to set off some fireworks. After the last one is set off, Yozora's hair catches on fire, forcing Kodaka throw to a bucket of water on her to put it out. Soaked and humiliated, Yozora leaves and stays away from the club for the last week before school. When the new school term comes, Yozora arrives with her hair cut short, leading Kodaka to finally recognise her as his childhood friend. | ||
| 12 | "We Don't Have Many Friends" "Boku-tachi wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai" (僕達は友達が少ない（｀・ω・´）) | December 23, 2011 |
| Yozora recalls how she recognised Kodaka as her childhood friend, Taka, the moment he transferred in, but he wasn't able to recognise her, which led her to form the Neighbours Club. Yozora tells Kodaka that she originally intended to reveal her true gender to him before he moved but was too embarrassed. She also gets him to keep the fact they were childhood friends from the rest of the club and just call her by her regular name. Astounded by her new look, Rika gets Yozora to dress up in a boy's uniform as Kodaka contemplates what'll happen from now on. | ||
Game
A visual novel, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Portable, was developed by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation Portable and released February 2012.[13]Reception
The second volume of the manga adaptation landed 7th place on the top 30 of Japanese Comic Ranking, in the days between May 23 and May 29.[14]| Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai | |
 Cover of the first Japanese novel published by MF Bunko J showing main characters Kodaka Hasegawa, left, and Yozora Mikazuki, right | |
| 僕は友達が少ない | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Yomi Hirasaka |
| Illustrated by | Buriki |
| Published by | Media Factory |
| Demographic | Male |
| Imprint | MF Bunko J |
| Original run | 2009 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 7 |
| Manga | |
| Haganai: I Have No Friends | |
| Written by | Yomi Hirasaka |
| Illustrated by | Itachi |
| Published by | Media Factory |
| English publisher |   Seven Seas Entertainment |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Monthly Comic Alive |
| Original run | 2010 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Manga | |
| Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai+ | |
| Written by | Misaki Harukawa |
| Illustrated by | Shōichi Taguchi |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Jump Square |
| Original run | 2010 – ongoing |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Hisashi Saitō |
| Written by | Tatsuhiko Urahata |
| Music by | Tom-H@ck |
| Studio | AIC Build |
| Licensed by | Funimation Entertainment |
| Network | TBS, MBS |
| Original run | October 7, 2011 – December 23, 2011 |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Game | |
| Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Portable | |
| Publisher | Namco Bandai |
| Genre | Visual novel |
| Rating |
|
| Platform | PlayStation Portable |
| Released | February 23, 2012 |
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