Nezumi's First Love
Nezumi's First Love is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Riku Oseto. It began serialization in Kodansha's manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine in November 2023.
Plot
Nezumi, a young girl trained as an assassin by the yakuza, is at an arcade trying out a claw machine when she meets Ao, another boy trying out the machines. They later meet again, where he gives her the plush he won. Nezumi, who due to her difficult upbringing has never experienced love, is surprised when Ao confesses to her. She accepts and the two start living together, with Nezumi dealing with both their relationship and her own work and past life.Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Riku Oseto, Nezumi's First Love began serialization in Kodansha's manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine on November 6, 2023. Its chapters have been compiled into eight volumes as of December 2025.During their panel at New York Comic Con 2024, Kodansha USA announced that they had licensed the series for English publication beginning in Q4 2025.
Other
The series had a collaboration with the band Creep Hyp in a music video of their song "Mamagoto" on May 19, 2025.Reception
The series was recommended by fellow manga artist Katsuhisa Minami.The series was nominated for the tenth Next Manga Awards in the print category, and ranked 12th out of 41 nominees. Along with Cosmos, the series ranked ninth on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2025 for male readers. The series also ranked eighth in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics list of 2025. It was nominated for the 49th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2025.