What if your wife was an alien? And what would your life look like if you had to hide that from the world? In Oh, My Sweet Alien!, by the late Kouji Miyata and published in English by Yen Press in 2018, Nobuo Makabe and his wife, the otherwise unnamed alien, Makabe-san, navigate a topsy-turvy everyday life as they live and love on planet Earth.
A Single-Book, Story-By-Story Experience
Oh, My Sweet Alien!, translated into English by Sheldon Drzka, is the story of Nobuo Makabe, a Japanese salaryman, and Makabe-san, his wife from another planet, their romance, and the people they interact with in their day-to-day lives. The manga is split into 11 episodes, with each episode having a few stories within. As a slice-of-life rom-com, readers could read most episodes individually and still enjoy them, though there is a consistent thread of time passing throughout. Additionally, as a physical book, at 306 pages, it doesn’t feel too large in the hand, which has been an issue for other English manga compiled into a single volume.
Rom & Com, in the world of Married Folks
A core theme of Oh, My Sweet Alien! is the exploration of Nobuo and Makabe-san’s marriage. There aren’t a lot of married couples in manga, and even fewer married protagonists. There’s a different quality to a relationship where even if the two are quarreling, you’ll know they’ll have a healthy and loving resolution (albeit with some hijinks along the way!) Their relationship is truly sweet, and even #relationshipgoals material at some points.
Of course, as anyone might expect, marriage isn’t always smooth sailing. Many of the episodes center around marital friction points: in-laws, anniversaries, and fears of infidelity. Although, Miyata almost always writes these scenes with a lighthearted and comedic touch. It does help that through everything, the two main characters are deeply in love with each other, and Miyata makes sure to show us.
On the comedic side of things, I did chuckle quite a bit at the chapter introducing a pet character that was written like a monster-of-the-day episode of an anime. I’d imagine that was a lot of fun to storyboard and write in a manga like this! And Makabe-san’s ditziness, part due to personality, part due to acclimating to Earth as an alien, is charmingly silly throughout.
The manga does feature a parental advisory on the front cover for explicit content, which is referring to nude scenes, including fully-drawn breasts, that are present throughout the book. These are certainly present but aren’t presented in a titillating way, for the most part. They’re just part of the everyday hijinks of an alien trying to pass as a human woman.
Lovely Art and Paneling
Miyata’s art is a pleasure to look at. His character work is impeccable–from Nobuo to Makabe-san to the plethora of aliens and humans that populate this manga’s world, each panel is full of technical excellence and emotion. The line work is clean and crisp throughout–but Miyata brings it to another level during panels where he wants you to pay special attention, where he adds new levels of detail and paneling. For example, in many of these panels, Miyata uses partial and full bleeds to break up the monotony of his standard paneling–another way to catch the reader’s eye.
Another way Miyata visually communicates with readers is through background color. Most of the manga has white backgrounds, but during flashbacks, the background turns black. When the narrative is back to the present midpage, a black-to-white gradient eases the transition.
As this is a manga about an alien, which features many aliens, it’s fun to see many kinds of aliens drawn as well. Most of the screentime is dedicated to bipedal aliens, but there are various other types drawn as well–slimes, animal-like, tentacle-laden, and more. During scenes outside of Earth, Miyata’s imagined other planets are whimsical and friendly. The aliens in this universe are good!
Lettering and Sound Effects
The lettering, done in English by Inori Trant, is standard fare for manga–which is to say it’s done well. For sound effects, Yen Press decided to keep the original Japanese kana lettering, which I like as it keeps the artists’ flair intact. For those who can’t read Japanese, the translation puts below each sound effect in standard font the romanized spelling, in addition to the English transition in brackets.
Verdict
Oh, My Sweet Alien! is a refreshingly contained experience of a manga in a world where many of the most popular manga are long serials. It’s sweet, concise, and doesn’t overstay its welcome with its charming characters and world. The art is terrific, with smart paneling choices and sound effects left in its original art. It’s an absolutely lovely addition to any manga collection for the rom-com or slice-of-life enjoyer.
OH, MY SWEET ALIEN IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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The review copy was a physical copy of Oh, My Sweet Alien purchased by the writer.
An aca-fan who leans more into fan than academic, Pieman likes to read, game, and enjoy VTubers leisurely with a beer in hand. He’s also an unabashed isekai enjoyer who’s always on the lookout for the newest world. Catch his sporadic tweets, Twitch streams, and endless stream of VTuber-related likes on @Piemanmj
