Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! (Volume 1) by Nmura is a manga style graphic novel that was originally published in short form online.

Hashimoto is a perfectly average salaryman, working a repetitive office job, made all the worse by his stylish, strait-laced boss, who insists everything be done by the book. Whatever he does for this perfectionist, it's just not good enough! Thankfully, Hashimoto can go home to his favorite online video game, where he can unload on the forgiving shoulders of his best friend, whom he knows only by the name "Uma." The duo make plans to meet in person, but when they do, Hashimoto is horrified by a revelation that will change his entire life.

Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! is a fun and engaging graphic novel. I thought the characters were interesting and I enjoyed the layers of interaction. I thought the artwork was well matched with the story and added many little extra bits of important information. I really enjoyed the story and will be looking forward to the next installment- or looking up the author's online postings to get a head start on reading the next volume.

Super cute BL manga. Giving this a 4 out of 5. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

A story of just missed chances and misunderstandings, two MMORG players don't realize they actually know each other in real life. The way that their game characters' conversations alter their real-life interactions is super cute. Also Hashimoto is an absolute dork and oblivious, which is cute, but also gives me lots of second-hand embarrassment. Cute read!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review from NetGalley.

This is a sweet, light-hearted BL manga with a Jenga tower style comedy of errors to it. The leads have a lot of chemistry, and while not exact opposite they balance each other well. Hashimoto is painfully oblivious and easygoing, and Shirase is cool and serious and very protective. I loved seeing their interactions and the divide between their work and game personalities. I do wish that the gaming sequences were given more detail as they felt inexpressive, especially for a visual story.

Overall, this was a really cute read that I caught myself smiling while reading it a lot!

⭐ Rating: 5/5 stars
🗓 Publish date: May 28, 2024
🌈 Representation: achillean romance

CW/TW:
Alcohol use


Aww I adored this manga so much!!

Hashimoto is such a sweetheart and clueless 90% of the time and we love him for it, lol. The art style was so cute, too!

There was a lot of miscommunication going on, which is generally a trope I don’t enjoy, but it honestly worked so well here! Mostly it was just comedic and worked out pretty quickly, so it was more fun than stressful.

I’m so glad I picked this up and I cannot wait for Vol. 2! A big thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC. All thoughts shared are my own.

This was a cute manga. I liked that the characters were adults. I feel like there aren't enough manga out there that portray healthy adult working relationships, but also stay clean enough to have in a library setting. This story has a lot of miscommunication, but it's done well and wasn't the kind that makes you want to slam your head into a wall - it's more the kind that makes you face palm and laugh. Thankfully the miscommunications are all figured out by one or both parties in a fairly fast fashion. I also appreciated that there wasn't a spicy scene thrown into the end of the story just because. I have no problem with a spicy manga but I don't like spice for no reason or when it was totally unnecessary. If there is more of this series I would continue reading, and if their relationship continued to progress in a more adult fashion, I would still continue to read it but would no longer be able to purchase it for my library.

Thanks to #NetGalley for a e-copy of #TurnsOutMyOnlineFriendisMyRealLifeBoss by Nmura to read and review.

Absolutely adorable! I was concerned at first and so worried with how they act and what the meet up would be like, so I'm glad it is resolved quickly. Wow though, I laughed so much. The misunderstandings with all the people who play together are just so possible and yet so ridiculous.

I'm really looking forward to reading more!

I thank Netgalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

I thought this was a cute read and also thought the story was nicely unfolded, it was an enjoyable read but I don't think I will continue the series though.

This is your general mistaken identity online chat- type romance. The main difference is that this one unfortunately isn’t that great. They two characters get revealed pretty quickly and they go from being best friends online and not really knowing each other in person to hating each other and being hella awkward around each other.
Thank you NetGalley for an eARC

I tried another Nmura manga after the first one I read didn't quite click with me. I think they just might not be the author for me. Cute, but not a lot of depth to the romance, or the kind of plot that keeps me hooked.

This was so cute and I ate it right up. The characters had such good chemistry online and off. I am excited to see where it goes!

I couldn't finish it--and I'm not sure if it's a me issue, or the editing, or what. I made it over half way through, but I had a LOT of trouble figuring out who was speaking, two main characters look VERY similar. I have to read right to left (which I'm aware is a cultural thing--that is very much a ME thing and has nothing to do with me liking or disliking the novel). I also often felt like parts were skipped, 2 people talking and suddenly the 3rd person came out of nowhere. Suddenly scenes changed out of nowhere. This got quite a lot of good reviews by others who received an arc, so maybe....I don't know. I can't be the only one who was getting confused, and getting whip lashed by scenes abruptly ending mid conversation between characters. I felt like this needed to be edited a LOT more in order to make sense and to have any sort of flow.

🎮💑 Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! 1 🎮💑

This is the story of Hashimoto and his boss, Shirase. They don't get along at all; the tension is palpable, and things don't seem to be improving.

Then, Hashimoto realizes that his closest friend in his favorite online game is actually the boss he dislikes so much in real life. 🫠

The obliviousness of it all is just hilarious—it was so funny how they were completely blind to each other’s identities from the start. It felt like some kind of Hannah Montana trickery! 🤡

It's a cute manga. I'm a bit biased since I really enjoy video games, which made some parts especially enjoyable for me. 🎮

Gosh, this was so sweet. Them becomming friends was already my highlight and I do hope for a sweet storyline. These two deserve each other, they are so wholesome together.

This was my first time reading a manga, and let me tell you, it was quite an experience! At first, I was a bit confused by the format and flow, but I picked it up pretty quickly. The graphics were really well done - it had that distinctly digital manga art style that just matched the story perfectly.

Now, I will say that as someone new to manga, some of the cultural nuances went a bit over my head. The characters had this awkward, shy way about them that I realized is more common in Japanese culture and manga. For readers who aren't as familiar with that cultural context, it might be a bit harder to relate to at times.

But let me focus on what I did vibe with! The art was my favorite part - it was so crisp and vibrant. The beginning cracked me up with how the two leads were all flirty online but completely clashed in-person. I loved that the whole "boss dating subordinate" miscommunication didn't get dragged out forever. They played with that trope in an amusing way without overdoing it.

There was sort of a love triangle situation, but it became clear pretty quickly that neither of the adults took the high schooler seriously as a romantic interest. It ended up having more of an adoptive family dynamic, which I found really endearing and funny.

The story moved along at a good pace for the most part, though it did slow down a tad in the middle there. My biggest critique is that I wish we got to know the characters' personalities and interests outside of just work and gaming a bit more.

Overall, it was a very lighthearted, wholesome read with no spiciness whatsoever. Not necessarily a must-read masterpiece, but a pleasant, amusing time! For my first manga, I'm giving this one a solid 3 out of 5 stars. The dialogue and pacing could use some punching up, but the art and humor worked for me as a manga newbie!

Thank you NetGallery and Nmura for the ARC

#TurnsOutMyOnlineFriendisMyRealLifeBoss #NetGalley

Volume 1 has been a super cute and fun read, ive laughed a couple times and smiled while reading it, Hasimoto is adorable, especially when he gets super shy/flustered. 'Salted Salmon' is a fun character too, the jealousy he shows is cute! the misunderstandings in this are cute and hilarious! This is honestly such a cute and nerdy workplace BL. If you are a BL fan i would 100% recommend picking this one up and giving it a whirl. Volume 1 is super wholesome.

An online friendship decides to meet in real life, but both sides are surprised to learn that they already know each other as co workers. This story was a fun and light read. With multiple misunderstandings to over come, a relationship starts coming closer between Hashimoto and Shirase. I enjoyed their growth both in and out of their friendship and would love to see more from this author! Maybe one about Kumada finding someone new to like?

This was such an enjoyable read.
Hashimoto was so cute and Shirase was very cool (I swooned a few times because pf his handsomeness). Everyone was likable, including Kumada (I would love to see more of him - maybe another manga for him??) 👀
The story was simple and the irony was funny lol
Not sure if it’s because I also play multiplayer games but I find their story relatable and down to earth (Shirase took the whole thing maturely).
The art is very clean and right up my liking too. Also, those game characters were adorable.Thank you for the work and for translating it.

I think I would have liked this better if it hadn’t been a romance. Or if I’d known it was a romance going in. There are so few books about male friendships, particularly in adulthood, and I thought I’d finally found a unicorn.

But enough about what this book isn’t. Let’s talk about what it is.

Hashimoto is a young office worker whose work is never quite good enough for his “demonic” boss. Worn down by the grind of daily life, he uses an online game as his stress-relief and his social time. Alongside his two friends he completes quests and is perfectly happy in his online life. Until his closest friend in the game, Uma, suggests an IRL meet-up. That is the point that friendships (and enmities) break down and romance begins to blossom.

This book is a strange mix of different tropes. Even though Hashimoto and Shirase dislike each other IRL, their relationship isn’t quite strong enough for it to be “enemies to lovers.” It is “friends to lovers” but the friendship starts out online so they don’t have the proximity that fans of the trope might be looking for. There’s a romantic rival subplot that isn’t really explored, and a lot of misunderstandings that tend to stall the plot rather than move it on. It feels like the author wanted to cover a lot of plot in a relatively short book.

That said, the characters are endearing. It’s nice to watch Hashimoto grow as a person as he comes to accept who he is, and many of us in our mid-adulthood will empathise with his trying to please his boss but never seeming to get it quite right. Shirase is depicted well as the slightly older man who seems to have his life together, and as we see him almost exclusively through Hashimoto’s lens, he grows from being a horrible boss to a wonderful friend and, eventually, boyfriend.

The exploration of the difference between friendship and romance is interesting and could have been explored further. It’s refreshing to read a character who isn’t particularly confused by his sexual orientation but is confused by the concept of a romantic relationship and how it is different from a friendship. If Nmura decided to release a book exploring that phase of their relationship, I’d be all in.

Ultimately, I found this a cute read and I’m glad I read it.

The story could've been so fun if the mangaka leans into the ridiculousness of the situation. As it is now, it's middling and unmemorable. Despite how short the chapters are, I started losing interest pretty quickly. I can't stand how oblivious the MC is and the miscommunication just gets tiring by the end of the volume. On top of that, there's no romantic spark between him and any of the love interests. Couldn't enjoy this as either a slice-of-life or BL.

Unexpectedly funny with pretty good art. I honestly thought it might be cringey because of the title but I didn't find it to be. The misunderstandings are an essential part of the story, though, which could be quite annoying for some. (I found it relatable though lol). My only major complaint is that the first art style had same-face-syndrome, so everyone looked the same and most especially the two MLs. Some later chapters have a different art style, though, so by the end the issue fixes itself.

* Thanks to the publisher Kodansha Comics via Netgalley for the ebook!