You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story

You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story, also known asKimiZero(キミゼロ) for short, is a Japaneselight novelseries written by Makiko Nagaoka and illustrated by magako. The series began publication underFujimi Shobo'sFujimi Fantasia Bunkoimprint in September 2020. Amangaadaptation by Noyama Carpaccio began serialization inSquare Enix'sGangan Onlineweb service in February 2022. Ananimetelevision series adaptation produced byENGIaired from October to December 2023.
As a punishment for losing a game, Ryūto Kashima, a gloomy high school boy, is forced to confess his love to Runa Shirakawa, a beautiful girl who is at the top of the school pecking order and admired by everyone. The two end up going out simply because Runa happened to not be in a relationship. After Ryūto asks her out, Runa brings him to her room, where they discover that they have drastically different ideas of how they should date. The two are different in just about everything, from their friends, to personalities and hobbies. Nevertheless, they surprise each other by their differences every day, learn to accept the other for who they are, and gradually connect with each other.
Written by Makiko Nagaoka with illustrations by magako, the series began publication underFujimi Shobo'sFujimi Fantasia Bunkoimprint on September 19, 2020. A promotional video was released onKadokawa's officialYouTubechannel on July 15, 2021 to promote the series, featuringMomo Asakuraas Runa Shirakawa.As of June 2024, eight volumes and one short story volume have been published.
In September 2023,J-Novel Clubannounced that they licensed the novels for English publication.
Amangaadaptation illustrated by Noyama Carpaccio began serialization inSquare Enix'sGangan Onlineweb service on February 23, 2022.As of August 2024, sixtankōbonvolumes have been released. In June 2023, Square Enix began to publish the series in English on theirManga UP! Globalservice.
On September 9, 2022, ananimetelevision series adaptation was announced. The anime is produced byENGIand directed by Hideaki Ōba, with Hiroko Fukuda overseeing series' scripts, Yosuke Itō designing the characters, and Kei Haneoka composing the music.It aired from October 6 to December 22, 2023, onAT-Xand other networks.The opening theme song is "Love You Tender!"(ラブ・ユー・テンダー！)byMaaya Uchida, while the ending theme song is "Aikotoba"(あいことば)by rock bandAliA.Crunchyrolllicensed the series under the titleOur Dating Story: The Experienced You and the Inexperienced Me.Muse Communicationlicensed the series in Southeast Asia.
The series both the anime and manga adaptation as well as the light novel received mixed reviews from various critics.
Caitlin Moore wrote that the anime is somehow both "ambitious" and "completely lacking in ambition". She noted that the concepts are "nice on paper", but the execution was "lacking", noting that both Ryuto and Runa have a "personality of wallpaper paste". She adds that the series is openly about sex. Still, the protagonists have "very little chemistry outside of a couple of scenes" and writers try to "inject some tawdry drama" by inserting a love triangle between Runa and Maria. She concluded that the anime was "fine".
Sean Gaffney of A Case Suitable for Treatment praises the first volume of the light novel for sticking to its theme of "slut-shaming is bad” but noted that the couple's progression is the "least interesting part of the series so far" noting that "Just because you’re not having sex doesn’t mean that hand-holding should take 60 pages."