I discovered this manga on NetGalley and thought it looked cute. From my understanding, Nmura published this story on Twitter like a weekly webcomic originally in Japanese. The episodes were then compiled into a book, which was published in 2021, and this ARC is for the English translation. This version contains episodes 1 through 19 and two bonus ones.
I think it is easy to tell that this book comes from a weekly upload project and that the author is somewhat inexperienced. The episodes don’t always flow together and are fairly short. The original comics were meant to fall into Slice of Life and Young Adult Romance, which I think it achieves. The overarching conflict alluded to in the title is faced about a third of the way through and mostly resolved shortly afterwards. The author/artist does add other minor conflicts along the way, relying mostly on miscommunication due to Hashimoto’s dense nature (the main character). I found it cute, but some people may start to get annoyed by it. There is also a conflict centered on a high schooler pursuing a romantic relationship with an adult, which I felt was a little strange, and there are no minor or major female characters (the few that exist are basically in the background). The artwork is what I would consider the standard manga style, though I did have to use hairstyles to differentiate the 3 main characters from each other. I also commend the artist for being able to mix in the cuter animation of the video game and show us interactions in the digital world.
Overall, I liked the story, but didn’t really emotionally connect to the characters and it’s not something I would re-read. I think lovers of yaoi manga and webcomics will enjoy this book, but probably not people looking for a deeper or more complex story.

Super cute!! It’s not super fast paced but it’s nice in that very innocent sort of way. The character art is great and it was easy to follow along. Great start to a story!

This is a fun enough series, the plot is fairly typical and straightforward, with fast pacing as relationships progress. There's a reliance on miscommunication that seems like it's supposed to be played for laughs, but generally didn't add much beyond prolonging parts of the plot. The characters are fine if a bit bland and i felt like their development was too quick and not depicted well enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the e-arc!

I have heard many good things about this title and I will say it did not disappoint. The main premise revolves around two men who are online friends but don't know that in real life they both work at the same company. At first, this premise seems cheesy and you will get laughs from how long it takes these two to realize the truth. The latter half of this volume made the story worth continuing as it starts to delve into a new chapter between the two. The only complaint that I have is that the storyline with the side character who is a high schooler seemed a little weird at times. Outside of that, I think the story does a good job of focusing on the main two and their relationship. I would check it out if you like series about gaming as well as BL stories.

This was so delightful and silly! I love the utterly oblivious type and I love the trope of best friends online, enemies offline (thank you Meg Ryan and You’ve Got Mail, though let’s forgo the gentrification element). This was so much fun and made me giggle so much, and I look forward to the continuation of Hashimoto and Shirase’s relationship, plus the silliness of Kumada and his crush on Hashimoto.

Thank you for Netgalley, the publishers, and the author and artist for the ARC I read.

This was really cute. It’s actually a little bit longer than the typical manga I read (300 pages instead of 200 pages) so that was awesome, I definitely felt a lot more story progression from having the extra 100 pages. The art style is really nice and the story is really cute. It has some misunderstandings and the main character is definitely a bit dense about things, but I think it cleared them up on a reasonable timeline (like within this first volume, how nice is that). It’s definitely a cute slice of life romance manga with not a ton of plot but with that being said it was nice that there was actually a good amount of progression of the story within this first volume. If anything I feel like this first volume kind of stands on its own with a kind of complete story all in one go. But I am interested in continuing the manga and getting more of these characters because they were really adorable. Also the little author letter/note at the end was really cute.

Not my first time reading manga but it's not something i do often and honestly i should because this was SO cute.
The friends to lovers/online friends tropes are always so good and i feel like especially in this format it's just so fun and easy to read!
3.5 stars! Only because it did have some moments that were too awkward for me personally but still a nice quick read to lighten up the mood.
*Thanks to NetGalley uk, the publishers and the author for the ARC*

This was a super cute and fast read! The misunderstandings were just the right level of funny awkward rather than cringe worthy, and that’s such a fine line to cross! I loved that even when they actively tried to clear ip the misunderstandings, they were still not on the same page 😂

Kumada as a love rival was cute, particularly because he had no chance and other than showing his crush, the narrative didn’t really pretend like he was in the running. It was hilarious that if he had just left Shirase out of his confession then Hashimoto would have figured it out sooner. And when Hashimoto started rejecting him all over again once he realized it was a love confession? POOR KUMADA HAHA!

I adore Shirase!! I love his growth from unknowingly evil boss to just a quiet guy in love with an idiot 🥺 I felt bad that his dates and confessions weren’t landing, but it was so cute of him to keep trying “little by little”!!! Even when they were doing a relationship test run, he went at Hashimoto’s pace 🥺 what a guy!!!

Hashimoto, my beloved idiot, please learn about Ockham’s razor, sometimes the pretty guy really is just confessing to you 😅 I liked the couple snippets we got to see of his thought process though, that man’s mind is like a steal trap haha.


The art was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS TOO OMG SO BEAUTIFUL! And there was so much story in one volume?! Usually volume ones are so sparse on plot but this was perfect!

This was so cute! The only thing wrong is the high schooler crushing on an adult and the adult not having a problem with that. That storyline needs to be taken out.

I got to say I don´t usually ask for BL/GL manga when I´m at netgalley because have a (not so irrational) fear the story will be toxic or badlystereotyped in some way. But, fortunately, this is not the case. In this manga you can find:

- A pretty dense protagonist (but no one takes advantage of his naivety, which I appreciate).
- A LOT of misunderstandments (seriously, I think more than half the book feature these) that got solved in a calm and mature way.
- Friends who remain friends all through the plot (I don´t like the power dynamics at some stories, but this one is perfect in that sense: once the protagonists realize they are boss and employee and warm up to the idea, they keep being friends at behave as such outside of work. No one is trying to overpower the other.)
- No toxic relationships (more like there´s even an emphasis on consent which is what finished to sell this comic to me).
- There´s a love triangle, but it´s very well done and pushes the plot forward without being invasive.

Overall, I want to read to read the second tome when it gets published, because this is going to my reread list.

Hashimoto is unknowingly gaming online in the same guild as his boss. Silly and sweet antics ensue.

This was my first manga read and I thought it was cute! This was a quick read and I enjoyed the online-friends-to-lovers trope (with an added bonus of coworkers and lgbtq themes). A solid 4 stars for this delightful, fun read.

Themes: manga, gaming, work love, online love, slow burn, lgbtq+, rom-com

Turns Out My Online Friend is my Real-Life Boss is a self-explanatory title with little to elaborate on. It’s a cute and lighthearted romance about who game addicts who happen to be co-workers. Full of misunderstandings and lead by a dense protagonist, this series will definitely make you smile!

I had an absolute blast with this manga from start to finish. I was either cracking up at the hilarious miscommunications or cringing from second-hand embarrassment at the awkward moments. The way these misunderstandings played out was both funny and relatable, keeping me hooked on the characters' journey.

As the story went on, I couldn't help but smile as I watched an awkward friendship slowly turn into an adorable BL romance. The way their relationship developed was so heartwarming and felt just right, with each interaction adding to the charm of the story.

The art style was really well done, too. The drawings were not only nice to look at but also captured the emotions and little details perfectly. The artist did a great job making each scene come to life.

I had such a great time reading this manga and was pleasantly surprised by how much story was packed into a single volume. It managed to deliver a rich and satisfying tale that left a lasting impression. This manga totally exceeded my expectations and made for an awesome reading experience.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Nmura and Kodansha Comics for providing the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for a review, but all thoughts are my own*

I requested this before I realised it was by the same mangaka as Yearning Fox which I read a few days ago, but then when I saw the cover as I started reading, I realised, and that just made me more excited to read it!

Whilst this manga is very different thematically to Yearning Fox (except that they’re both BL), I was thoroughly taken by the story! It pretty much does what it says on the tin, in that Hashimoto who regularly complains to an in-game friend, Shirase, about his demonic boss, and Shirase who regularly complains back about workers at his company not performing well, decide to meet up and realise who each other are.

Add in another gamer and a whole load of misunderstandings, and you get one of the funniest mangas I’ve ever read (my cheeks hurt after reading it 😂). It’s so silly and light hearted and so very very wholesome!!

This probably could have been a self-contained story (it’s about double the length of an average manga volume) but it only covers the progression of /how/ they get into a relationship, rather than whilst they’re together. So I looked it up and there is more coming and I can’t wait!

Hashimoto is your average office worker - a corporate slave who gets pushed around by his demon boss, Shirase. His only solace is an online game where he can finally relax (and share his woes) with his online friends. This sanctuary is threatened, however, when he agrees to meet up with his closest online friend, only to discover him to be the demon boss he's constantly complaining about.

I had so much fun with this manga. At any given point, I was either chuckling as I watched the miscommunication unfold, or cringing from second-hand embarrassment. I then had a smile on my face as I watched this awkward friendship bloom into an adorable BL romance. The art style of this manga was also really well done.

I had a great time with this, and was surprised by how much story this singular manga contained.

I read this and then immediately went back and re-read it, it was that cute. I had a grin on my face the whole time from the antics and interactions - I really appreciated that most of the focus was on the real-life interactions and that the reveal of each character's in-game vs real-life personas was fairly early on as I think it worked better for this sort of workplace setup than having the identity mishaps draw out longer. There were plenty of misunderstandings anyway, and Hashimoto's absolute denseness is played for a lot of laughs - though I have to wonder just HOW dense he is when his first thought at learning he's sharing a room on a business trip is "I want to see his abs" and it doesn't even register as something to examine more closely. LIKE REALLY. Shirase certainly has his hands full trying to work out a relationship with him. I do have to say that some of the translations for the misunderstandings and dual meanings get a little clunky for the flow of conversation, but not enough so to detract from my enjoyment.

This volume mostly covers all of the misunderstandings and getting together, and it looks like the next volume will cover them actually being a couple, so I'm looking forward to that!

Hashimoto is an ordinary office worker who plays an online video game and complains about his boss and work to in-game friend Uma. But Uma turns out to be his boss Shirase. They went through the awkward meet up and eventually got closer to each other.

It’s a slow build up to their relationship, but it’s a super cute and funny story! The art style is beautiful with both real life and a fair amount of in-game chats. There is a 2nd volume as well and I’ll definitely check that out!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the review copy!

Hashimoto is good at on-line gaming. Too bad the same cannot be said about his day job. Hashimoto complains about his “demon boss” to his on-line friend, Uma. Uma suggests they meet in real life. Shirase is always on his co-worker’s case. He lends a sympathetic ear to his on-line friend’s work complaints. Shirase convinces Aaaaa to a meet up, only to find out they already know each other.

Hashimoto’s cluelessness leads to many misunderstandings, not only with Shirase but with another on-line friend. It makes him so likeable. Shirase has the patience of a saint. He willingly accepts (and adores) Hashimoto’s denseness. Shirase does not mind that Hashimoto constantly talks about the game they enjoy playing together. They make a great pair.

The manga’s title straight up summarizes the story’s plotline. It is such a light-hearted and cute story with comical relief.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw the comp titles for this manga were Cherry Magic and Candy Colour Paradox I knew I had to read it!!

This story is super wholesome and I highly recommend checking it out!!

5 stars!

This manga is hilarious and is a must read! When you realize your boss is your online friend moment was just too funny and I literally giggled so much AHAHHAHAHAHHA