A heartfelt rom-com about female virginity following five girls in a high school literature club.

In writing O Maidens, Mari Okada came up with a lot of bold story beats that I’ve never seen tackled in a manga/anime before (or other fiction for that matter).

I really enjoyed both the anime (the dub is great) and the manga (they are faithful to one other and were both written by Mari Okada) except for the portrayal/framing of one character/“love interest” (Tomoaki Yamagishi). In the end, I’d much rather a writer try something different, bold and fail to live up to the potential of their attempt instead of them writing something rote, expected and boring (which is thankfully not the case here).

Both the manga and anime are quite tame and not horny, despite what the premise and medium might lead you to believe. The potentially scandelous premise is leveraged to both entertain and help the viewer/reader empathise with these girls as they each, together and alone, come face to face with obstacles relating to their sexualities.