An awkward, cute rom com about professionals in their 20s.

Narumi and Hirotaka have been friends since they were children and are now working in the same office. Narumi is an otaku and fujoshi, and that has impacted her dating life. The only people who know the real her are Hirotaka and their friends and workmates, Taro and Hanako. Due to her bad history with dating, Hirotaka asks her to date him as they’re both nerds and can be who they are without worrying constantly.

This is cute. There’s not a whole lot to say here, but it’s a cute, romantic comedy style manga and I had a lot of fun lying around and reading. I found all four of our characters to be amusing and fun to follow and I would definitely continue reading the rest in the series. The awkward romance between Narumi and Hirotaka figuring out who they are, and who they are to one another as adults, is sweet to follow and it doesn’t suffer from unnecessary, over the top drama. Another thing I really liked about this was that it featured characters in their 20s rather than high schoolers falling in love. Part of the reason why I picked it up to read was because I could more readily identify with the characters, and it was such a relief to see them written like real 26 year olds rather than kids trying to be older or weird infantile twenty-somethings.

As someone who isn’t super involved with the world of video games or manga, there was a lot I had to google as I was reading, but the author includes a little glossary at the end of the volume. I didn’t realize it was there until I reached the end already, but it is a helpful tool if you’re not super immersed in Japanese gamer culture. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it a lot and the context clues honestly helped guide me whenever I was confused about something.

This is a silly light read, perfect to pick up between longer novels or something darker to cleanse the palette.

Title:  Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol 1
Author:  Fujita
Format:  Paperback
Pages: 274
ISBN: 9781632367044

Three Descriptors: Romantic, Quirky, Hopeful