We all know you’re reading this because of the title.

“That Wolf-Boy is Mine!” is the always classic tale of young girl running from her past to a new school where she slowly makes friends with a group of boys she discovers are actually shape shifting animals! Of course!

Komugi has left her old school because of a social situation and has moved in with her dad whom she hasn’t seen since her parents got divorced. She is shy and has trouble making friends, but quickly warms up to Yu Ogami, the most popular guy in school. One day when she finds Yu asleep outside, she tries to wake him and in the process he transforms into a wolf. His friend, Rin, shows up and attempts to hypnotize Komugi, but it doesn’t work – meaning there is more to Komugi that meets the eye. She and the boys become (mostly) friends while she struggles to keep their secret: they’re actually animals with the ability to transform into humans.

A lot of people have been comparing this to Fruits Basket, which I think is appropriate, but I find Fruits Basket to have more interesting and fun characters. Of course that is a much longer series that allows for more development, and this one feels a bit rushed. Rin, the slightly standoffish fox boy is easily the most interesting to the story and I wish the narrative would skew more in his direction as it goes on, but who knows.

The second volume begins with Komogi confessing her feelings of love to Yu, only to get rejected, and he pleads for them to stay friends. The female character expressing her love and being rejected is a nice spin on the usual tropes, and it is what spearheads the drama in the rest of the volume. Volume 2 gives us a lot more backstory on the boys which I really enjoyed. We even get to meet their sensei who taught them how to shift and is planning on letting them take over for him in the future.

The best thing about this volume is Rin, who is a fun, interesting character. His chemistry with Komugi is much more compelling and I wish that’s where this story is heading but judging by the title of the series, nope. They have a really interesting dynamic and we get to learn about the boys’ world and history through him and his slow burn shift to liking and accepting Komugi.

Overall I thought this volume was better than the first. It gave us some backstory and set up, which was nice after the breakneck speed of Volume 1. Not my favorite manga around, but I like it enough to finish the whole series!

Title:  That Wolf-Boy is Mine
Author: Yoko Nogiri
Format:  Paperback
Pages: 160
ISBN: Volume 1: 9781632363732
Volume 2: 9781632363749

Three Descriptors: Sweet, Paranormal, Teen love,