You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story

You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story, also known as KimiZero (キミゼロ) for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Makiko Nagaoka and illustrated by magako. The series began publication under Fujimi Shobo's Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint in September 2020. A manga adaptation by Noyama Carpaccio began serialization in Square Enix's Gangan Online web service in February 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by ENGI aired from October to December 2023.

Premise
As a punishment for losing a game, Ryūto Kashima, a gloomy high school boy, is forced to confess his love to Runa Shirakawa, a beautiful girl who is at the top of the school pecking order and admired by everyone. The two end up going out simply because Runa happened to not be in a relationship. After Ryūto asks her out, Runa brings him to her room, where they discover that they have drastically different ideas of how they should date. The two are different in just about everything, from their friends, to personalities and hobbies. Nevertheless, they surprise each other by their differences every day, learn to accept the other for who they are, and gradually connect with each other.

Characters

 * Ryūto Kashima (加島 龍斗)
 * A gloomy second-year high school boy. He has never had a girlfriend, does not have many friends, and his only hobby is watching live streams on the Internet. As a punishment for losing a game, he confesses romantic feelings for Luna Shirakawa, a girl who is admired by everyone and whom he never talks to. To his surprise, she agrees to date him. Later in the series, he becomes a university student while still dating Luna.
 * A gloomy second-year high school boy. He has never had a girlfriend, does not have many friends, and his only hobby is watching live streams on the Internet. As a punishment for losing a game, he confesses romantic feelings for Luna Shirakawa, a girl who is admired by everyone and whom he never talks to. To his surprise, she agrees to date him. Later in the series, he becomes a university student while still dating Luna.


 * Luna Shirakawa (白河 月愛)
 * A gyaru who is at the top of the school caste and is considered to be the most beautiful girl in her grade. She is bright, cheerful, can approach anyone without hesitation, and has dated many boys before. After Ryūto confesses to her, she accepts his confession and starts going out with him. Even though she has experience in dating, she still worries that their relationship might not last long.
 * A gyaru who is at the top of the school caste and is considered to be the most beautiful girl in her grade. She is bright, cheerful, can approach anyone without hesitation, and has dated many boys before. After Ryūto confesses to her, she accepts his confession and starts going out with him. Even though she has experience in dating, she still worries that their relationship might not last long.


 * Maria Kurose (黒瀬 海愛)
 * Ryūto's first crush and Luna's fraternal twin sister, but they grew up separately after their parents divorced when they were in the fifth grade. She is jealous of her sister's charisma and popularity, including her relationship with Ryūto.
 * Ryūto's first crush and Luna's fraternal twin sister, but they grew up separately after their parents divorced when they were in the fifth grade. She is jealous of her sister's charisma and popularity, including her relationship with Ryūto.


 * Nikoru Yamana (山名 笑琉)
 * One of Luna's friends and also a gyaru. In the anime's official English translation, her name is given as Nicole.
 * One of Luna's friends and also a gyaru. In the anime's official English translation, her name is given as Nicole.


 * Akari Tanikita (谷北 朱璃)
 * A friend of Luna.
 * A friend of Luna.


 * Yūsuke Ijichi (伊地知 祐輔)
 * A friend of Ryūto.
 * A friend of Ryūto.


 * Ren Nishina (仁志名 蓮)
 * A friend of Ryūto.
 * A friend of Ryūto.


 * Shūgo Sekiya (関家 柊吾)


 * Ken
 * A popular online streamer who Ryuto and his friends are fans of.
 * A popular online streamer who Ryuto and his friends are fans of.

Light novels
Written by Makiko Nagaoka with illustrations by magako, the series began publication under Fujimi Shobo's Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint on September 19, 2020. A promotional video was released on Kadokawa's official YouTube channel on July 15, 2021 to promote the series, featuring Momo Asakura as Runa Shirakawa. As of June 2024, eight volumes and one short story volume have been published.

In September 2023, J-Novel Club announced that they licensed the novels for English publication.

Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Noyama Carpaccio began serialization in Square Enix's Gangan Online web service on February 23, 2022. As of March 2024, five tankōbon volumes have been released. In June 2023, Square Enix began to publish the series in English on their Manga UP! Global service.

Anime
On September 9, 2022, an anime television series adaptation was announced. The anime is produced by ENGI and directed by Hideaki Ōba, with Hiroko Fukuda overseeing series' scripts, Yosuke Itō designing the characters, and Kei Haneoka composing the music. It aired from October 6 to December 22, 2023, on AT-X and other networks. The opening theme song is "Love You Tender!" (ラブ・ユー・テンダー！) by Maaya Uchida, while the ending theme song is "Aikotoba" (あいことば) by rock band AliA. Crunchyroll licensed the series under the title Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and the Inexperienced Me. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.

Reception
The series both the anime and manga adaptation as well as the light novel received mixed reviews from various critics.

Caitlin Moore wrote that the anime is somehow both "ambitious" and "completely lacking in ambition". She noted that the concepts are "nice on paper", but the execution was "lacking", noting that both Ryuto and Runa have a "personality of wallpaper paste". She adds that the series is openly about sex. Still, the protagonists have "very little chemistry outside of a couple of scenes" and writers try to "inject some tawdry drama" by inserting a love triangle between Runa and Maria. She concluded that the anime was "fine".

Sean Gaffney of A Case Suitable for Treatment praises the first volume of the light novel for sticking to its theme of "slut-shaming is bad” but noted that the couple's progression is the "least interesting part of the series so far" noting that "Just because you’re not having sex doesn’t mean that hand-holding should take 60 pages."