Classmates Ikezawa and Eguchi can't get enough of looking at each other—in that way! Through an escalation of showing off skin, the blunt Eguchi and the flustered Ikezawa realize how hot it is to look at someone who's looking back with equal passion. But it's also scary to expose your sexy side. Who will tap out first in this mortifying yet electrifying ordeal of being seen?

It all starts with a steamy exchange of sexually charged looks. Average teen boy Ikezawa can't help noticing Eguchi's tight top, and when he comments on it, she quips right back that his plunging neckline accentuates his toned chest! From then on, Eguchi tells Ikezawa every single hot thing she notices about him. Ikezawa can't help feeling flustered by her attention and even starts showing off for her. With chaotic flirtation in full force, what are these two smitten seatmates going to do but play even more to each other's gazes?

The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen has a story by and art by mmk. English translation is done by Nova Skipper and lettering by Michelle Pang. Published by Viz Media (April 14, 2026). Rated M.

Lucas DeRuyter
Rating:

Ordinarily, I don't care much for “will-they-won't-they” stories. Usually the conflict in this micro-genre is rooted in poor communication between the leads, and I find this kind of forced drama underwhelming at best and frustrating at worst. mmk's The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen sidesteps this issue, though, by having its leads, the brash Ikezawa and the more bookish Eguchi, have genuine chemistry that's only stymied by their awkward relationship to their own sexualities and romantic expression.

Seeing these two characters struggle to express that they're attracted to each other romantically and sexually because neither has experienced these feelings before feels both honest and deeply human. It's both cute and fun seeing Eguchi and Ikezawa oscillate between stealing lustful glances at each other in one set of panels, and convincing themselves that the other couldn't actually be attracted to them because of their underlying baggage and insecurities. Often romcoms that focus on teenagers create drama from misunderstandings that could be resolved by the characters talking to each other like real people instead of romcom characters, and it is so refreshing to see these teenagers flounder because they're acting like actual dumbass teenagers! The recurring gag of Ikezawa getting flustered whenever Eguchi not only meets, but builds upon, his sexual advances never gets old and feels like a commentary on society ties sexual bravado to traditional masculinity.

Though, speaking of teenagers, I should note that these characters are explicitly in high school and that The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen features several sexually charged depictions of its leads. While I didn't find any of these steamier panels to be particularly objectifying or tasteless, you should probably skip this one if you find sexually open depictions of young people at all triggering or distasteful. While The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen uses sexual situations and desire very effectively in capturing this particular element of being a young person, I understand that this material isn't for everyone and that more exploitative media may have permanently poisoned this well.

Though, that would be a shame as The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen is as sweet as it is entertaining! Even as it lacks much of a driving narrative, with its chapters largely being loosely connected instances of Ikezawa and Eguchi teasing, flirting, and getting embarrassed in front of each other; there's a lot of heart and humor in these exchanges. It's always a joy to see the usually cocky Ikezawa get flustered and taken down a peg by Eguchi's overt appreciation for his body. I also love seeing an overtly feminine and multi-facated character like Eguchi be horny in a way that isn't fetishized for a presumed hetero, male audience. While the first volume of The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen does feel like a lot of set-up, I really like the foundation being laid here and can see it turning into something really special as it matures.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Sex is so amusing, when you think about it. Things that get other people hot and bothered really look kind of like animals doing a mating dance when you're outside the field of influence.

For Ikezawa, Eguchi's forthright appraisal and complete lack of embarrassment is both erotic and terrifying. Eguchi comes to appreciate what makes a body sexy as she watches Ikezawa at school. The sexual-ness of this manga is clearly supposed to be heightened by the fact that the girl initiates it. Ikezawa's embarrassment, then leaning in to the play, is likewise mean to be sexy and cute. I'm pretty sure that if I were much younger and much straighter I'd find this pretty enjoyable as a relatively harmless mutual fetish, if you ignore the classmates that might be made deeply uncomfortable by their behavior. In fiction, of course, that is not supposed to matter, nor is the fact that school is a bad choice of location. Ultimately, it's not the nature of their behavior, the location, or the characters that are the problem for me. The problem is their age. Teens are half-baked at best.

In the end, I'm mostly just struggling to find a phrase that adequately expresses the nature of this ritual of attraction between them. It's not quite a mating dance, it's not just a fetish, it's not romantic really, but something in the Venn intersection of these?

Bolts
Rating:

I didn't expect to like this story, considering how it started. At first, the main lead, Ikezawa, came off as a little bit unlikeable, blatantly sexualizing his classmate only to crumble like a piece of tissue paper the minute that same classmate dished it back out to him. Initially, I was very confused, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I was so engaged with this volume that I genuinely got frustrated by the time I finished it because I desperately wanted to see what happened. This is a story that lives and breathes through its fun dialogue. The premise is very simple: a flustered Ikezawa is guarded by how open his female classmate Eguchi is about how much she looks at him sexually. I should hate this because the story rides the line about the characters arguably sexually harassing each other, but for some reason, the chemistry between the two leads is so strong that it never comes off as mean-spirited. The banter is really good, and the comedic timing feels spot on for such an incredibly simple setup.

It's because neither of these characters is trying to put the other one down. There is a genuine interest in each other that their teenage brains are finding difficult to process, and arguably, focusing on the physical attributes of each other makes things a lot easier. But there is a sense of character progression here with their growing relationship. The two slowly start to figure out that all of this lewd talk is actually rooted in surprisingly more innocent feelings for each other, and the process also manifests in other emotions like jealousy. It's also cute how the series sexualizes things that arguably a lot of people take for granted, like sweat or the collarbone. There's not nearly as much focus on genitals as I was expecting, honestly.

There are definitely some exposed areas, like in some bonus material at the end, but overall, this might be one of the most wholesome perverted stories I've read in quite some time. It hits all of the necessary narrative beats of being a successful romantic comedy. I love the back-and-forth between the characters, and despite the fact that the presentation is pretty bland, I really want to see what happens next with this couple. Apparently, this series is still a bit new, but I look forward to seeing just how much more this relationship blossoms in the future.