The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All is a Yuri manga by Sumiko Arai. If you want to start the English edition, choose Volume 1. Yen Press offers a standard paperback and a separate numbered hardback edition. These are two editions of the first volume, not two steps in the reading order.
This guide explains the opening premise, the first-volume editions, and the next listed English release. It avoids later story details.
Music brings Aya and Mitsuki together
Aya loves rock music. She develops a crush on an employee at a CD shop, whom she thinks is a guy. The employee is actually Mitsuki, the quiet girl who sits next to her at school.
Mitsuki knows who Aya is. She wants to keep her identity secret, but their shared music interest gives them a reason to talk. That difference in what each girl knows sets up the opening romance.
The Yen Press Volume 1 page lists the book under Romance, LGBTQ, and Yuri. It gives a T (Teen) age rating. This is manga, not a prose light novel. Our Yuri format comparison can help if you are choosing between the two formats.
Paperback or numbered hardback?
The standard English Volume 1 paperback has 184 pages. Its ISBN is 9781975399689, and its release date was 22 October 2024. The publisher page also has a Digital tab and a Look inside option.
The Volume 1 Numbered Edition is listed as a web-exclusive hardback. It has 184 pages and the ISBN 9798855430134. Its release date was 9 December 2025. Both print listings give a size of 5.75 by 8.25 inches.
Choose by binding and availability. You do not need to read both editions before Volume 2. The words “Numbered Edition” identify a separate edition; “Vol. 1” still identifies its place in the story.
Do not assume that a different cover or binding means extra story chapters. Check the product details for any promised extras before paying. Use the ISBN when you ask a shop for a specific edition. A catalogue entry alone does not confirm that a copy is in stock.
Volume 4 has a future English release date
As checked on 11 October 2026, Yen Press lists the standard Volume 4 paperback for 27 October 2026. It has 176 pages and the ISBN 9798855444209. That date is still ahead, so treat a current order as a possible preorder. Release dates can change.
Read the story volumes in numerical order. Avoid later volume descriptions if you want to keep relationship developments a surprise. A future volume on a retailer page does not change where a new reader should start.
Try the opening before you choose an edition
Use the publisher’s Volume 1 sample to check the art, panel flow, and early conversation. Then choose the format you will enjoy reading. Check the language, volume number, binding, and delivery status at checkout.
If you want another school Yuri manga with music in its premise, see our guide to The Moon on a Rainy Night. It follows a different pair of girls and their developing relationship.
The featured image is original editorial art with adult characters. It does not show the manga’s cast or a scene from the book.
