My Oh My, Atami-kun Volume 2
Writer and Artist: Asa Tanuma
Publisher: Yen Press (print & digital)
Translation: Amanda Haley
Lettering: Elena Pizarro
Publication Date: Apr 22, 2025
Rating: Older Teen
Genre: Manga (JPN), LGBTQ+, Slice of Life, Romance
My Oh My, Atami-kun is Asa Tanuma‘s English market debut. The second volume was released in April by Yen Press. You can check out our review of the previous volume on The Beat if you’d like to catch up or refresh your memory, and here’s what I thought about the continuation of the series!
©Yen Press, 2025
My Oh My, Atami-kun’s second volume opens with an absolutely adorable three-page chapter where the Adachi family is shopping and then having dinner, discussing how Atami has become a part of their routine now. Adachi comments on how big of a space Atami has been occupying in sisters and mother’s minds despite visiting once or twice a week, only for him to pour an additional portion of soup out of habit!
The portrayal of self in fiction is something I’ve been thinking about recently, and it was interesting to note how the series chooses to construct Atami as a character through his interactions with others, rather than through info dumping, using an omniscient narrator, or exposition. He’s like a little chick who has recently hatched and is still learning, experiencing new things that others might consider mundane or ordinary, but he faces everyone and everything earnestly.
Asa Tanuma shines in the subtle mundane, where the evens that happen in the series feels more like an undercurrent than a huge wave that drags you along with it by force. They masterfully pick apart our everyday; a shared sweets at the school yard after lunch, slowly turning into a conversation about who can be honest when asked whether the food they were offered was good. Kunijima abruptly asking if Atami is in love, which leads to Adachi and the rest exchanging their ideas on what being in love entails.
Sometimes the conversation ends there; other times, someone brings it up again and expands on it. Either way, those little instances grow into compelling discussions that not only reveal a kernel of truth about how we go about life but also layers of these characters that aren’t immediately visible. I understand My Oh My, Atami-kun might not appeal to everyone, especially to readers who want plot progression in the traditional sense. However, if you enjoy stories where characters themselves, their inner worlds and exchanges with others are the events, then you’re in the right place.
In one of the early chapters, Atami and Adachi make plans. Before visiting his place, Atami stops by a bookstore where he comes across a schoolmate. The other boy, Kusumoto, knows Atami, though our protagonist cannot recall him. Kusumoto is acting strangely pushy and overly familiar, which baffles Atami. Moreover, he cozies up to Atami, taking a selfie forcefully. He takes one last look before leaving and asks, “Are you the kinda person who doesn’t have friends?”
It’s the type of interaction that even reading about it is enough to make you uncomfortable, and it clearly shakes Atami, leaving him contemplative, trying to make sense of it all. At the Adachi family’s place later, however, he is reminded of a night with them lighting small fireworks in the garden. Adachi walks up to Atami and asks if he can take a photo of him. Surprised, he reminds Adachi that he has already asked the same thing the other day and Atami said he was fine with it. To both Atami’s (and my) surprise, Adachi responds nonchalantly, “That was then, today y’might not like it for all I know.”
The rest of their conversation is interesting, too. It’s lovely to see these small moments of feeling discomfort but having trouble making sense of the situation as it’s happening or putting an exact name on those feelings, breaches of boundaries in a way that would seem inconsequential in hindsight or to others are highlighted, then paralleled with an act of kindness. Of course, these may not be as detrimental as, let’s say, a breach of someone’s bodily autonomy and could be a minor inconvenience at most. But just because the consequences of an action aren’t detrimental doesn’t mean it isn’t stressful to go through.
That being said, Asa Tanuma doesn’t stop at simply drawing a parallel. Kusumoto is overbearing and can be considered tactless, but these character traits of his can double as a proactive kindness. Later on in the volume, Kusumoto imposes himself on Atami, who’s walking to the station after school. On their way, Kusumoto fills in the silence like the chatterbox he is, but helps two random strangers as he talks, picking up items they dropped and helping an older woman who can’t find her pass. This doesn’t read as an attempt to redeem him because he isn’t transformed in any way, but rather to humanize him. Atami acknowledges that Kusumoto was amazing for stepping in, yet he still refuses to exchange contact information, as his being too much from Atami’s point of view is still valid.
In a way, life is about negotiating what you’d like to do, what needs to be done, and what others expect of you—it isn’t easy to keep a careful balance. Just like the conversation the boys were having in the yard: do you choose honesty and tell the person who kindly offered you food you didn’t like the taste? Can you even be upfront about it in the first place? Or do you consider this a good deed, put their feelings before yours, and tell a simple white lie? Where do you draw the line between reading the room, being considerate of others’ feelings, and protecting your boundaries?
Atami reminds me of Kunou Totonou from Don’t Call It Mystery in this sense that he never lets things pass him by. Even if someone asks him to do something that he feels strongly against doing, after he explicitly turns them down, he goes on to talk about it with friends, schoolmates he’s on talking terms with, or even consults with Adachi’s family. He questions, reconsiders, tries to find a middle ground if he can, and no matter how small or inconsequential the situation may be, he ponders deeply on it. He’s what the kids call “a sensitive boy”, and we love him for that.
One aspect I wanted to mention before wrapping up the review is the lettering/design of the cover. Elena Pizarro is credited as the letterer and the designer behind the volume is Lilliana Checo, and look at how the typography on the English edition cover is! It perfectly conveys the whimsical and cute style of the original. Due to the difference in two languages’ directions and kanji being visual words themselves compared to the words written with the Latin alphabet, it’s not easy to convey the same effect. Letterers and typography artists are so talented!
To sum it up, I feel like I’ve turned into a My Oh My, Atami-kun ambassador. Even though I know, on the surface, it’s not the most exciting, eye-catching series that will plunge you into sleepless nights of writing threads of theories, I can’t NOT recommend it! It’s so good! How can anyone resist this sweet kid staring into your soul on the covers! Atami best boy!
My Oh My, Atami-kun Volume 2 is available digitally and in print on Yen Press’ website and other retailers.
