Someone Hertz
Japanese manga series
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Someone Hertz (Japanese: さむわんへるつ, Hepburn: Samuwan Herutsu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ei Yamano. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since September 2025. As of March 2026, two volumes have been released. The manga follows the extracurricular activities of two contemporary high school students who are dedicated fans of a late night comedy radio show.
| Someone Hertz | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Kurage Mizuo | |
| さむわんへるつ (Samuwan Herutsu) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romantic comedy[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Ei Yamano |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Jump Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump |
| Original run | September 16, 2025 – present |
| Volumes | 2 |
Plot
Mimei and Kurage listen regularly to the weekly late-night radio show Monday Midnight Talking (Mon-Mid), which features the hosts, a manzai duo, reading jokes submitted by listeners on air. Mimei, who succeeds at nearly everything he tries, has never had a joke read on air, and idolizes an amateur comic who uses the pen name "Eel Potato" and has a submission read nearly every week. After his friend Kurage confesses to being "Eel Potato", she adds that she will not date anyone who is less funny than her. Is his renewed motivation (and her encouragement) to have his submissions read on-air born out of his frustration, her sense of competition, or from genuine romantic interest?
Characters
Main characters
- Mimei Fukumori (梟森未明) / "Owl in the Woods" (「森にふくろう」, Mori ni Fukurō)
- A serious, studious second-year student who is at the top of the class academically and athletically, but has a significant deficit of his secret passion, comedy. Since discovering Mon-Mid while studying for high school entrance exams, he has submitted jokes diligently for three years under the pen name "Owl in the Woods", but none of them have been read on the air.
- Kurage Mizuo (水尾海月) / "Eel Potato" (「うなぎポテト」, Unagi Poteto)
- Kurage is quick with a pun when speaking with other students and despite assumptions, does not have a boyfriend, vowing that she will not go out with anyone who is less funny than her pen name, "Eel Potato", who has won a minor following through her submissions to Mon-Mid.
Other listeners
- Natsu Akabane (赤羽ナツ) / "Bat Bahtz-Waru" (「バットばつ悪」, Batto Batsu Aku)
- A 22-year-old entrepreneur who runs a cafe; Natsu expresses some jealousy over Mimei's relationship with Mizuo. She met Mizuo at the previous Listener Koshien, a competition between the top ten submitters, determined by the number of entries read on-air; she uses the pen name "Bat Bahtz-Waru".
- Shuri Ebina (海老奈 シュリ) / "Shrimp Sushi" (「えびのおすし」, Ebi no o Sushi)
- An 18-year-old fan of Mon-Mid who fell just behind Eel Potato in the prior listener Koshien. She is socially awkward, having no one in real life with which to share her love of comedy.
- Torano Karino (狩野 虎乃) / "Iron Man of Cold Chinese Noodles" (「冷やし中華の鉄人」, Hiyashichūka no Tetsujin)
- A 27-year-old advertising agency employee
- Shintaro Shirokuma (城熊 晋太郎) / "Don't Pass Middle Infield" (「抜けないで二遊間」, Nukenai de Niyūkan)
- A 19-year-old part-timer and serious baseball fan
- (?) / "Eight Guys in a Four-and-a-Half-Mat Room" (「四畳半に8人」, Yojōhan ni 8-ri)
- His identity and age are unknown, as he showed up to a public meeting wearing a paper bag over his head
- Ryuji Kamakiri (鎌桐 竜司) / "Chupet of Love" (「恋のチューペット」, Koi no Chūpetto)
- A 23-year-old researcher. Chupet is a soft drink which was packaged in a tubular polyethylene container, popularly frozen and sold as a freezie until it was discontinued in 2009 due to manufacturing issues.
- Ryusuke Nekota (猫田 良介) / "Super Town Mayor" (「超町長」, Chō Chōchō)
- A 42-year-old employee of the town hall
- "Hateful Eight" (「ヘイトフルエイト」, Heitofurueito)
- A professional comedian who belongs to the same agency as the Long Hopes
Publication
Written and illustrated by Ei Yamano, the series began serialization in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on September 16, 2025.[1] As of March 4, 2026, the series' individual chapters have been collected into two tankōbon volumes.[2]
Viz Media and Manga Plus are publishing the series in English simultaneously with its Japanese release.[3]
A collaboration with the late-night radio show All Night Nippon was held to commemorate the release of the first volume.[4]
Volumes
| No. | Release date | ISBN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 5, 2026[5] | 978-4-08-884815-0 | ||
| ||||
| Mimei is shocked to learn his friend and fellow Mon-Mid fan Kurage is the famed on-air contributor "Eel Potato". She advises him to send in multiple submissions, and his joke is read on-air for the first time. They aim to enter the Listener Kōshien, despite her huge lead. To research the week's prompt, Kurage invites Mimei to karaoke; once again, her submission makes it to air. Because Mimei realizes he needs experience to write better jokes, Kurage takes Mimei to a cafe run by her friend, Natsu Akabane ("Bat Bahtz-Waru"), who promptly puts both to work. Mimei and Kurage shop for radios with their cafe wages and pick a matching set. Later, one of his jokes is read on air, while hers is not. For the Ball Game Festival at school, Mimei competes in soccer and Kurage is drafted onto the basketball team. When he sees her practicing alone, he teaches her while they listen to an old Mon-Mid episode which had three entries read on-air from Eel Potato. To their surprise, the next prompt involves basketball. Kurage's friends ask if she is dating Mimei; he overhears and wonders how he feels. After running into each other at the convenience store, Kurage asks if he has started to hate Mon-Mid, but his glum attitude is from missing out on collaborative merchandise. They visit Nacchi together, who gives them some of the sold-out merchandise, and later that night, congratulate each other, as they each had one joke read on-air. | ||||
| 2 | March 4, 2026[2] | 978-4-08-884869-3 | ||
| ||||
| Shuri Ebina, aka "Shrimp Sushi", another Mon-Mid fan, confronts Kurage, but she does not react until Shuri calls Mimei "some random listener". The trio research that week's prompt at an arcade and form an awkward friendship. After Kurage tells Mimei can't be funny and good, they run to the fifth anniversary Mon-Mid event through the rain, which wrinkles their stickers; Kurage does not regret the memories. The Long Hopes mention them on-air as a soaked high school couple they passed who were obviously having fun; Mimei fears Kurage is acting strange because of that call-out, but she is suffering from a cold. He takes her to the nurse's office and walks her home after school. Kurage passes a makeup quiz in math using his mechanical pencil, which she claims absorbed his diligence, so in exchange, she gives Mimei her joke writing pen. Mimei and Kurage submit jokes with postcards due to phone issues; Kurage's joke is read and Mimei's thanks are shared privately among the Mon-Mid staff, who notice the postcards came from the same neighborhood. Kurage and Mimei return to Nacchan's cafe and buy a disposable camera to research the latest topic; Nacchan asks Mimei to photograph Kurage while they find the Mon-Mid mascot Midran at the neighboring shopping mall. Kurage takes a picture of Mimei for the last frame. With only four points, Mimei fails to qualify for the Listener Kōshien. After school, they run into Shuri, who drops her Line contact information and an Omamori amulet, inspiring Kurage to visit the same shrine, where Mimei prays for her success, receiving "small luck". She prays that he will join her in the next competition next time and pulls "expected person", auguring well. For the Listener Kōshien semi-final, ten contestants each submit ten entries and the three with the most read on-air advance to the finals. Kurage, buoyed by Mimei's cheering, gets one more than Shuri, advancing to the final with "Hateful Eight" and last year's winner, "Battle Chimney". Kurage asks Mimei to listen to the finals together; when he is surprised she is being shut out, he hurries over to encourage her. | ||||
| 3 | May 1, 2026[6] | 978-4-08-885037-5 | ||
Chapters not yet in tankōbon format
These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume.
- "I'd Say I'm a Corn Dog" (私でいうアメリカンドッグ, Watashi de iu Amerikan Doggu)
- "Samesies" (被った, Kabutta)
- "Leave It as Dark History" (黒歴史にしてよ, Kokurekishi ni Shite yo)
- "What She Wants" (欲しいもの, Hoshīmono)
- "Master Eel Potato" (うなぎポテト師匠, Unagi Poteto Shishō)
- "A Guy Who's Not Funny Yet" (まだ面白くない奴, Mada Omoshirokunai Yakko)
- "Once Summer Break Hits" (夏休みになったら, Natsuyasumi ni Nattara)
- "Mizudran" (水ドラン, Mizudoran)
- "What Do You Think?" (どう思ってる?, Dō Omotteru?)
Reception
Kittun Nozomi of Real Sound felt that the comedy was more relaxed than Akane-banashi and Beshari-Gurashi, two other comedy manga published in Weekly Shōnen Jump. They also liked the focus on the late-night radio subculture and the story's setting.[7] Radio personality Hikaru Ijūin discussed the manga during an episode of his show.[8]
The pre-orders for the first volume sold out on Amazon Japan.[3]