Insomniacs After School, Vol. 8

Two sleepless teenagers find kinship as they escape to their school’s astronomy observatory.

Unable to sleep at night, Ganta Nakami is cranky in class and unpopular with his classmates. He discovers that the school observatory, once used by the now-defunct astronomy club, may be the perfect place for a nap--but he’s not alone. Fellow insomniac Isaki Magari is willing to share the observatory with Nakami, and a friendship between the two begins as they bond over the most unlikely things.

After Nakami’s valiant effort in the school festival’s race, Magari resumes her late-night radio streams. She opens up about living with a congenital heart defect and shares her fears about her condition. Nakami pledges to fulfill Magari’s dream of traveling when they grow up and, in the meantime, to support her in her current goals, starting with fixing up the observatory. Both friends anxiously await the results of Magari’s blood tests at the hospital as they contemplate their uncertain future together.

Makoto Ojiro began her career in manga as an assistant at the age of 19. Her Neko no Otera no Chion-san (Cat Temple’s Miss Chion) won the Bros. Comic Award in 2016. Insomniacs After School began serialization in 2019 and has been adapted into an anime and a live-action film.