Higehiro

Higehiro, short for Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway (Japanese: ひげを剃る。そして女子高生を拾う。, Hepburn: Hige o Soru Soshite Joshi Kōsei o Hirou; lit. 'I Shaved the Beard Then Picked Up a High School Girl'), is a Japanese romantic comedy light novel series written by Shimesaba and illustrated by booota. It was serialized online between March 2017 and August 2018 on Kadokawa's user-generated novel publishing website Kakuyomu. It was later published by Kadokawa Shoten with five volumes between February 2018 and June 2021 under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint. Set in Suginami Ward in Tokyo, the story follows a 26-year-old salaryman who, after being rejected by his long-time crush, encounters a runaway high school girl from Hokkaido sitting under a telephone pole. Despite her attempts to seduce him in exchange for a place to stay, he refuses her advances but allows her to live in his apartment rent-free in exchange for handling everyday household chores, beginning a complex, platonic relationship. A manga adaptation with art by Imaru Adachi was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace from November 2018 to January 2025. The light novel is licensed in North America by Kadokawa and Yen Press. The manga is licensed by One Peace Books. An anime television series adaptation by Project No.9 aired from April to June 2021.