Finished
“Taiga falls for "Maria," discovers she's male classmate Arima, and seeks to uncover his true self despite gender.”
Boy Meets Maria
ボーイミーツマリア
8.27
379 rank · 31,993 readers · 1,378 favorites
School
Boys Love
Drama
Would You Love or Hate This?
AI-powered analysis tailored to your taste
Based on your preference for character-driven stories with layered emotional arcs, this title's exploration of identity and belonging would deeply resonate. The pacing mirrors series you've rated highly, and its thematic depth aligns with your appreciation for nuanced storytelling...
However, the slow initial episodes might test your patience given your history of dropping shows that don't hook you early. The art style shift in the middle arc could also be a concern...
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Honest pros & cons
Based on your library
Synopsis
Taiga falls for "Maria," discovers she's male classmate Arima, and seeks to uncover his true self despite gender.
Taiga Hirasawa has always longed to be a hero like in the movies, but he has never known who would play the heroine's role. On his first day of high school, he sets eyes on "Maria," the star of the drama club. Graceful, with an air of ambivalence, Maria is the apple of everyone's eyes. Taiga is quick to confess, only to find out that Maria's real name is Yuu Arima, a very much male classmate. However, Taiga is drawn to Arima's volatile personality, belying a past that haunts them to this very day. Regardless of gender, Taiga nevertheless wants to learn who the true "Arima" is.
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 20 sampled reviews
8.5
/10
What 20 readers settled on.
94%
recommend
Score distribution
median 9
mode 10
σ 1.69
Agreement
Mostly aligned
σ 1.69 · some divergence
The polarity gap
5.1 pts
Recommenders 9.1 · others 4.0
Yes
No
Score over time
↓ 0.50
Running avg · Dec 2020 → May 2025
Snap verdicts
· shortest highly-rated reviews
- 10 “(I apoligize if my grammar is bad, english is not my first language) This is the manga that while reading ive cried the most, it is truly amazing how this manga blossoms into something so out of...”
- 10 “This story is so beautiful it had me in tears. The author depicted childhood trauma, gender, and sexuality the best way I've seen in a manga so far. The story and characters don't fetishize gay...”
- 9 “(I'm sorry for all the mistakes, english is not my native language) First of all, I fell in love in this manga. It was absolutely incredible and emotional. It has started from a regular slice of...”
Verbosity
Short · 50%
Medium · 35%
Long · 15%
Read Order & Related
Explore the Boy Meets Maria universe
Cast
See all →Gallery
See all →If you stay for this, you'll stay for these
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See all →Publication slate
A Manga Publication
- Format 7 × 1 ch × vol
- Total read 0h 56m approx
- Published Oct 2017 – Aug 2018
- Source Manga media type
- Ref. BS-M50502 catalog