Hi Score Girl begins in the year is 1991, and Haruo “Mighty Fingers” Yaguchi is a middle schooler without much ambition in school and life beyond his dedication to games, particularly arcade games such as Street Fighter II. He meets his match in Akira Oono, his quiet, over-achieving classmate who is a natural at almost any game she plays. Her prowess at Street Fighter II and other fighting games leads to a rivalry between her and Haruo that eventually blossoms into a friendship, and possibly something more, as they learn about each other and grow as individuals. 

Haruo and Akira’s journey is framed around a detailed but interesting timeline of the gaming scene of the 1990s. Each new game release brings Haruo and Akira back to the arcades, even after they are separated by different high schools and by the growing pressures of Akira’s home life. Other characters become integral parts of their story, and these characters have their own flaws and motivations that make them enjoyable additions. Haruo’s classmate Koharu grows as a gamer as she tries to come to terms with how she feels for Haruo and her own desire to play games. Haruo’s mom Namie is supportive of her son in her own quirky way, and Akira has her sister and chauffeur as allies in her stifling home life.

As someone in their 40s who was in middle school and high school in the 1990s, I found Hi Score Girl’s setting to be nostalgic, and the art is delightfully detailed, though I had difficulty sometimes distinguishing between characters if they didn’t have particularly notable features. Video game characters like Guile and Zangief, who serve as subconscious guides to the characters, are a fun addition to the story as well. The imagined interactions are sometimes humorous, sometimes touching.

Hi Score Girl is a love letter to arcade games, and readers both young and adult will enjoy the gaming history interspersed through the manga. However, Haruo and Akira’s story is both funny and sweet and gives the manga heartfelt depth. Hi Score Girl would be a great addition to a teen collection, though adult readers may enjoy it as well. The manga contains some slapstick humor and some crass jokes and innuendo.

For those interested, the anime is available on Netflix.