I Am Here!


I Am Here! is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Ema Tōyama. The series was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine, Nakayoshi. The series ended with 5 volumes released by Kodansha under the imprint, Kodansha Comics.
It was announced in the New York Anime Festival 2009 that the series will be licensed in English by Del Rey Manga and the release for the first volume will be November 23, 2010. They titled it "I Am Here!".

Story

The series centers on a girl named Hikage who describes herself as "plain". She is a very shy and insecure child. Because of her unassertive attitude and unappreciated beauty, she finds herself constantly ignored by her classmates and has a difficult time making friends at school.
In the first chapter of the manga, Hikage begins middle school, vowing to overcome her loneliness and find companionship. Then Hinata starts to notice her in the first volume. She is supported in her ambitions by two online friends, Black Rabbit and Mega Pig, who read her blog about the sunflower shes been nurturing. A romantic and sad plot soon develops involving Hikage and the two most popular boys in her class, Hinata and Teru, who have more to them than meets the eye.
A few bumps occur along the way as Hikage grows closer to Hinata, such as bullying and gossip. When she later sticks up for herself she gains recognition and friendliness from the class, but most importantly she obtains confidence in herself.

Characters

;Hikage Sumino
;Hinata Mutō
;Teru Mikami
;Aoi Nanjō
;Arisa Tanaka
;Aya Fujinaga

Reception

Volume 2 of the manga, I Am Here, ranked number 10 on The New York Times manga best sellers list for the week of July 24–30, 2011.