Boku wa Mari no Naka

When Isao Komori moved from the Gunma countryside to the bustling city of Tokyo for college, he believed this to be an opportunity to start his life anew. Yet as months pass, Isao comes to realize that he hasn't made a single friend. Despite the time spent as a serious student, Isao drops out during his sophomore year to become a shut-in, killing time playing video games.

Isao's only saving grace is going to his local convenience store every day to see "The Angel of the Convenience Store," a high school girl named Mari Yoshizaki. Though Isao is content watching her from afar without confronting her, one day she turns to meet his eyes. Without being able to remember a thing, Isao awakens in the body of Mari. Unsure of how he found himself inside Mari, or where the young lady he now possesses really is, Isao chooses to continue Mari's life in her place.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit

BackgroundBoku wa Mari no Naka was digitally simul-published in English as Inside Mari by Crunchyroll. The volumes were published digitally by Denpa from November 6, 2018 to March 10, 2020, and in print from November 21, 2018 to December 6, 2022.

The series was adapted into a live-action TV series in 2017.

More characters
Characters

Yoshizaki, Mari

Main

Kakiguchi, Yori

Main

Komori, Isao

Main

Yoshizaki, Shinji

Supporting

Kakiguchi, Mari

Supporting

Yamaguchi

Supporting

Mari's Grandmother

Supporting

Mari's Father

Supporting

Chihiro

Supporting

Sakamoto, Hiroki

Supporting

Reviews

Oct 2, 2017

campvoyageur

Recommended

For those of you who aren't looking to read an essay, I have decided to post a quick summary of the series first. This review is spoiler free (as all reviews should be). :)

Summary: Inside Mari is a captivating psycho-analytical manga, with dazzling art and a fleshed out protagonist. The premise is based off a body switching scenario in which a social outcast finds himself in the body of a popular female girl by the name of Mari. The story is thouroughly engaging and is only hindered by a few plot inconsistencies as well as the fact that it could have been condensed into fewer ... chapters. Some of the characters could have been involved and dissected a bit more, but the development of the protagonist makes up for this. The author does a good job of conveying his message to the readers, and you will be lost in thought after you finish the manga. I recommend you read the first 3 chapters and if you don't find yourself hooked by then, this might not be for you.

My rating without personal bias: 7/10

Now firstly I will say that this was an enjoyable read, certainly bing-worthy and I read it in under two weeks. This is a psychologically motivated manga, and it's concepts are explored with a dark palette of colors. It is not for the faint of heart, so if you are unable to take nudity, sexual examination, bullying, ejaculation, depression, extreme social anxiety and a lot of fucking cringe then don't read this.

The basic premise of the story is about a socially awkward hikikomori who lives off the income of his distant parents who innocently believe he is spending his days studying and making friends at college. Ironically he actually goes to college at first, but over time the social atmosphere becomes too overwhelming and he finds refuge playing games in isolation at his apartment. He is infatuated with a girl named Mari who he casually stalks with no harmful intentions. One morning he wakes up to find himself inside Mari's body, but although his former self still exists in the real world, Mari is nowhere to be found.

I gave the story a 7, due to plot conveniences involving a supporting character as well as an inability to execute on its full potential. The quality of its narrative elements remains relatively stagnant throughout the story and by the end, the manga becomes defined by the progress of its psychological components.

The art is gorgeous, and I often found myself completely dazed by the emotional expressions exhibited in the panels. Each scene is crafted carefully, and the mangaka portrays the general atmosphere in every chapter with wonderful precision. I never found myself questioning the correlation between the art displayed and the actually events taking place.

There is a clear change in the mentality of numerous characters throughout the series. In the supporting cast, we see an evolution based on dialogue, facial expression, and the portrayal of their actions.The main character differs from the others in that the development is based on introspection. You are able to see every facet of the protagonist's mind, sometimes to the point of disturbance. So, in this case, the development is driven by introspection rather than self-action, although the two sometimes coincide. This, of course, is to be expected when dealing with characters who are socially troubled.

My rating with personal bias: 8

I gave this story an 8 because I connected deeply with it. Now, something like this might be new to you, but don't be discouraged. There are a lot of scenes that are uncomfortable to read, but I think it's important to note that this is intentional. Don't just skim past those pages, instead look over them and think about why they make you feel the way you do. You might find, no relatable association to these characters but that's not a bad thing. This an emotionally fueled story based on the sentiments a lot of people have gone through in their lives. By understanding them, you are allowing yourself to understand the feelings of more people in the real world.

Open

Gift

May 20, 2018

JoeGar96

Mixed Feelings

'Hrmmmm' is what I initially felt about pondering the question 'is this manga good?' The more I thought about it, the more I've realised, no it really isn't. It certainly has its merits,I enjoyed the mystery aspect, psychology and in general found it a weird and interesting read. But for the most part though the story was only so-so, and despite being a pretty character focused manga, I didn't like a single one, nor thought they were handled well, in terms of both their character and the respective issues related to their flaws.

Story
The story isn't too bad it mostly deals with a central mystery ...

Open

Gift

Apr 27, 2025

MilkyPumpkiny

Not Recommended

It was the same as scrolling through Twitter; banal, toxic, boring but in the end I'm satisfied that I saw some titties. Even though the art style of this manga is good asf, reading something that is this unraveled made me almost faint. As we say for the most mangas that are like this, the term
"good drawn, not good written" also applies for this manga but I'm happy that I read and felt at least even if a little bit satisfied in the last chapter. I'm no critique for mangas and I don't even claim but the hard-work to prolonge the story can be ...

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Works licensed by Editora Newpop(Brazil) - Obras licenciadas pela Editora Newpop Part 5

by Vivian_Lira666

29 Entries · 6 Restacks

weird sex manga

by purestfeeling

14 Entries · 10 Restacks

everybody bleeds - menstruation in manga

by wormwormy

11 Entries · 22 Restacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

View All

More news
Recent News

North American Anime & Manga Releases for December

Here are the North American anime & manga releases for December Week 1: December 1 - 7 Anime Releases Ajin OVA [incl. Ajin 2nd Season OVA] (Ajin: Demi-Human - Th...read more

Dec 1, 2020 8:59 AM by ImperfectBlue | Discuss (9 comments)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for September

Here are the North American anime & manga releases for September Week 1: September 1 - 7 Anime Releases Africa no Salaryman (TV) (Africa Salaryman) Complete Coll...read more

Aug 31, 2020 2:34 PM by ImperfectBlue | Discuss (1 comment)

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Boku wa Mari no Naka Chapter 80 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Naivette - Sep 6, 2016	92 replies	by nanajp »» Nov 25, 2025 7:17 AM
Poll: Boku wa Mari no Naka Chapter 78 Discussion Stark700 - Aug 2, 2016	13 replies	by nanajp »» Nov 25, 2025 7:09 AM
Poll: Boku wa Mari no Naka Chapter 67 Discussion Stark700 - Feb 16, 2016	11 replies	by nanajp »» Nov 25, 2025 6:48 AM
Poll: Boku wa Mari no Naka Chapter 63 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 15, 2015	12 replies	by nanajp »» Nov 25, 2025 6:35 AM
Poll: Boku wa Mari no Naka Chapter 50 Discussion Stark700 - May 17, 2015	14 replies	by nanajp »» Nov 24, 2025 8:16 AM

Boku wa Mari no Naka
Inside Mari
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Edit
Synopsis

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Boku wa Mari no NakaInside Mari Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

EditSynopsis

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More charactersCharacters

Reviews

Interest Stacks

More recommendations Recommendations

More newsRecent News

More discussionsRecent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Boku wa Mari no Naka
Inside Mari
Edit

What would you like to edit?

Edit
Synopsis

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

More characters
Characters

More recommendations
Recommendations

More news
Recent News

More discussions
Recent Forum Discussion