'Hyottoshite Gal wa Orera ni Yasashii node wa?' is an anthology of a bunch of different mangaka's takes on Gyaru/Otaku relationships. It deals with the common trope of gyaru as mean, annoying or scary, etc. (living in a different world from the otaku protagonist) and reverses it to (attempt to) show character development and reveal that *shocker* they are actually nice people (to not judge people based on appearances). This has also become a particularly common trope in more modern gyaru manga, which the anthology explores. I am only really writing this review to highlight the 12th story 'Cheering Song' by Ishihara Yuu, and I would definitelyrecommend checking that out if you are at all interested in reading this anthology (Volume 2 is definitely the strongest of the three). It holds the best art, plot and characters by far, and some of the sentiments by the characters are written very well - the protagonist's unrequited relationship with his idol, and his satisfaction with that, creates a very interesting depth to his otaku, anti-social surface. It is really a breath of fresh air from most of the other otaku protagonists here who are so one-dimensional in their hostile introversion.

The problem with the anthology as a whole is that it is a mixed bag, which is to be expected with its nature as an antohology of one-shots from different mangaka. There are some really great one-shots here though (6, 11 and 12 specifically) which highlight the best of this theme exploration. By the 22nd story, however, the 'gyaru are nice' trope has really been bashed over the reader's head so much that it becomes incredibly repetitive.