[PR] The first volume of the novel/manga “It’s a Little Late, but I’ve Fell in Love with My Childhood Friend” by Maruto Fumiaki and Yomu will be released at Comic Market 104!The two speakers are Maruto Fumiaki, a scenario writer and light novel author whose representative work is “How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend” (Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, 20 volumes in total) and who has written many scenarios for popular PC games; and Yomu, an immensely popular illustrator who has gained popularity for her illustrations themed around the fetishism of women wearing tights, and has produced a number of hits such as the “Douki-chan Series.”

They have teamed up to create the content “It’s a Little Late, but I’ve Fallen in Love with My Childhood Friend,” which is regularly serialized and posted on X and note, respectively. They will be exhibiting at Comic Market 104 this summer under the name “Circle: Saranami,” and a book compiling the published chapters will be distributed!

This page features special comments from Maruto Fumiaki and Yomu on the occasion of the publication of the first volume.

In addition, Melon Books will not only be selling the book online and at all stores, but will also be holding a raffle to win a copy of the book signed by both authors (application period: until August 31, 2024), so don’t miss out!

Publication date: August 12, 2024

Price: 1,500 yen (C104 venue distribution price)

2,200 yen (tax included / consignment bookstore sales price)

Author: Maruto Fumiaki ( X Account )

Read ( X Account )

Format: A5

Number of pages: 200 pages

This manga and novel is made up of individual stories depicting the secret love between the heroine, 16-year-old Shirasaka Yokari, and her childhood friend of over 10 years, Ta-kun, in a variety of different situations.

Starting with Shirasaka and Ta-kun’s friends, who are depicted with catchy characters, the protagonists’ “relationships and daily lives that seem to be somehow missing each other, but aren’t really missing each other” are depicted in great detail by illustrator Yomu’s superb illustrations and Maruto Fumiaki’s literary talent, making each short story packed with charm.

The number of followers of this content X is 130,000 (as of July 2024), and the number of fans has increased rapidly since the account was opened in December last year. The new format of updating every other Monday on two different media, note and X, is attracting attention. We will be keeping an eye on the expansion of the content in the future.

The heroine, Hikari, is very emotional, and it’s a lot of fun to draw her with a variety of expressions and movements. I hope you enjoy watching Hikari get all flustered and excited, being pushed around by her childhood friend, Ta-kun, right up to the last page!

Anyway, I put my heart and soul into making the heroine, Hikari, cute. If that wasn’t the case, the story wouldn’t work… so if you read to the end, I think you’ll understand why.

Melon Books will be holding a lottery giveaway for those who purchase this work, with a chance to win a limited edition book with the autographs of both authors. You can participate whether you purchase the book online or in-store (application period: until August 31, 2024).

This is your chance to get your hands on a premium item, a venue-exclusive book autographed by the artist, so please click here for details.

・”It’s a little late, but I’ve fallen in love with my childhood friend” X Account

・”It’s a little late, but I’ve fallen in love with my childhood friend” Note

・Manga/Read X Account

・Novel/Maruto Fumiaki (Official) X Account