High School Secret Crush Manga
Budget / Salary$250–750
TypeFreelance project
LocationRemote
Posted1 hour ago
MANGA PROJECT BRIEF
Aobane High School — Untitled Manga Project
Genre: School life, romantic comedy, slice of life, character drama, with action and potentially darker storylines later
Setting: A fictional neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan
Main protagonist: Shun Mizusaki, age 18
Core cast: Shun, his younger sister Nayuri, and 13 major female characters
Current development stage: Character design, worldbuilding, and early story planning
1. THE CORE IDEA
The manga follows Shun Mizusaki, an 18-year-old high school student who transfers to Aobane High School, a prestigious private school in Tokyo.
Shun comes from a financially struggling family. He is intelligent in ways he doesn't recognize, but he doesn't consider himself especially talented or ambitious. He spends much of his free time gaming, watching anime, sleeping, and avoiding responsibilities. He's friendly and easy to talk to, but he rarely goes out of his way to initiate conversations or involve himself in new experiences.
When Shun arrives at Aobane, he discovers something completely unexpected:
He is effectively the only male student at the school.
Aobane is full of exceptionally talented girls, each recognized for a different specialty. Some are athletes, artists, musicians, scientists, gamers, and journalists. Others have talents in fashion, cooking, astronomy, languages, or criminal justice.
The premise initially creates comedic situations as Shun adjusts to standing out in a school where everyone seems to know about him before he knows anyone.
The central story is about a young man who has stopped actively participating in his own life—and the people, friendships, hobbies, challenges, and relationships that slowly change that.
Shun meets people who introduce him to things he never seriously considered pursuing. Through his experiences with them, he begins discovering new sides of himself.
At the same time, Shun has a natural talent for understanding people. He often notices when someone is upset, recognizes the real problem beneath an argument, and helps people communicate with one another.
He becomes an important person in many students' lives, sometimes without realizing it.
The central contradiction of his character is that Shun understands other people better than he understands himself.
2. THE HEART OF THE STORY
At first, Shun's goal is relatively simple: get through school, find ways to make money, support his younger sister, and maybe enjoy the unusual romantic opportunities that come with attending Aobane.
He even jokes about wanting his own little harem.
As the story progresses, that attitude becomes less important. Shun begins wanting something much more meaningful: a future he's genuinely excited to experience.
Shun has been quietly struggling with depression. This should not be immediately obvious to readers, and it should never be treated as his entire personality.
He's capable of laughing, joking, caring about others, enjoying games, and having genuinely happy experiences. His difficulties become visible through smaller patterns.
When he's home alone, he may leave a game running without actually playing it. He scrolls through his phone without enjoying anything in particular. He has ideas for things he wants to do, but continually postpones them until “tomorrow.”
His routine has become repetitive, and he rarely looks forward to the next day.
The story should communicate these feelings primarily through behavior, visual storytelling, and gradual character development, rather than long explanations.
As Shun develops relationships and discovers interests, his life begins to feel fuller.
For example, his room could initially contain little more than a bed, phone, and gaming setup. As the manga progresses, the background gradually changes: sketchbooks, photographs, sports equipment, instruments, travel souvenirs, gifts, and reminders of experiences he has shared with others begin accumulating.
This is a visual way of showing that Shun is becoming more involved in his own life.
Importantly, romance does not magically cure his depression. Friendship, personal growth, new experiences, and appropriate support can all be part of his journey.
Aobane High School — Untitled Manga Project
Genre: School life, romantic comedy, slice of life, character drama, with action and potentially darker storylines later
Setting: A fictional neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan
Main protagonist: Shun Mizusaki, age 18
Core cast: Shun, his younger sister Nayuri, and 13 major female characters
Current development stage: Character design, worldbuilding, and early story planning
1. THE CORE IDEA
The manga follows Shun Mizusaki, an 18-year-old high school student who transfers to Aobane High School, a prestigious private school in Tokyo.
Shun comes from a financially struggling family. He is intelligent in ways he doesn't recognize, but he doesn't consider himself especially talented or ambitious. He spends much of his free time gaming, watching anime, sleeping, and avoiding responsibilities. He's friendly and easy to talk to, but he rarely goes out of his way to initiate conversations or involve himself in new experiences.
When Shun arrives at Aobane, he discovers something completely unexpected:
He is effectively the only male student at the school.
Aobane is full of exceptionally talented girls, each recognized for a different specialty. Some are athletes, artists, musicians, scientists, gamers, and journalists. Others have talents in fashion, cooking, astronomy, languages, or criminal justice.
The premise initially creates comedic situations as Shun adjusts to standing out in a school where everyone seems to know about him before he knows anyone.
The central story is about a young man who has stopped actively participating in his own life—and the people, friendships, hobbies, challenges, and relationships that slowly change that.
Shun meets people who introduce him to things he never seriously considered pursuing. Through his experiences with them, he begins discovering new sides of himself.
At the same time, Shun has a natural talent for understanding people. He often notices when someone is upset, recognizes the real problem beneath an argument, and helps people communicate with one another.
He becomes an important person in many students' lives, sometimes without realizing it.
The central contradiction of his character is that Shun understands other people better than he understands himself.
2. THE HEART OF THE STORY
At first, Shun's goal is relatively simple: get through school, find ways to make money, support his younger sister, and maybe enjoy the unusual romantic opportunities that come with attending Aobane.
He even jokes about wanting his own little harem.
As the story progresses, that attitude becomes less important. Shun begins wanting something much more meaningful: a future he's genuinely excited to experience.
Shun has been quietly struggling with depression. This should not be immediately obvious to readers, and it should never be treated as his entire personality.
He's capable of laughing, joking, caring about others, enjoying games, and having genuinely happy experiences. His difficulties become visible through smaller patterns.
When he's home alone, he may leave a game running without actually playing it. He scrolls through his phone without enjoying anything in particular. He has ideas for things he wants to do, but continually postpones them until “tomorrow.”
His routine has become repetitive, and he rarely looks forward to the next day.
The story should communicate these feelings primarily through behavior, visual storytelling, and gradual character development, rather than long explanations.
As Shun develops relationships and discovers interests, his life begins to feel fuller.
For example, his room could initially contain little more than a bed, phone, and gaming setup. As the manga progresses, the background gradually changes: sketchbooks, photographs, sports equipment, instruments, travel souvenirs, gifts, and reminders of experiences he has shared with others begin accumulating.
This is a visual way of showing that Shun is becoming more involved in his own life.
Importantly, romance does not magically cure his depression. Friendship, personal growth, new experiences, and appropriate support can all be part of his journey.
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