The staff of Kadokawa’s Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine announced on Friday that Meguru Ueno’s Hajimete no Gal (My First Girlfriend Is a Gal) manga is on an extended hiatus due to the creator going on paternity leave. The manga is slated to return in the September issue of Monthly Shōnen Ace, which will ship in late July.
Ueno wrote a message to add that his household is spending time happily after the birth, and that this is the first hiatus for the manga after 10 years. Ueno later personally posted on Saturday to clarify that he is a man and on paternity leave, as Monthly Shōnen Ace’s initial post had caused some fans to assume that he is a woman.
The romantic comedy manga begins with Junichi “Jun” Hashiba, an uncool high school student who frets about wanting to lose his virginity. Egged on by his friends, Jun gets on his knees and confesses his love to a classmate named Yukana Yame. The confession surprisingly works and the couple goes out. However, Jun finds himself in uncharted waters with Yame, a trendy and fashion-conscious “gal” (gyaru).
Ueno launched the manga in Monthly Shōnen Ace in November 2015. The fifth volume had a limited edition that shipped with an original anime on Blu-ray Disc. The 21st volume shipped on January 23.
A television anime adaptation premiered in July 2017 in Japan. Crunchyroll streamed the series with English subtitles as it aired in Japan under the name My First Girlfriend Is a Gal. Funimation streamed an English dub.
Source: Monthly Shōnen Ace’s X/Twitter account, Meguru Ueno’s X/Twitter account
