Manga Monday | Home Office Romance

 

Hey there! I'm back with another manga to talk about. This time it's a newer manga that I stumbled upon the internet in late 2023 and it really brought me back to life after a little seasonal rut I was having at the time. It's a manga I didn't know I needed or wanted but I'm grateful to have found it! I felt sad when I found out the manga is only one volume, or just a  20.5 chapters in total, but it's fun while it lasts. Here's more about Home Office Romance by Kintetsu Yamada.

About the Mangaka

Kintetsu Yamada is best known for being the author & artist of MANGA Day to Day, Home Office Romance, Yamada Kintetsu Tanpenshuu: Zengun Funtou!, Kasane to Subaru, and Sweat and Soap.  

About the Story

Nokoru has been working brutal overtime at a demanding job when the pandemic lockdown finally gives him the chance to telework from home. This new situation (and the time he saves on his commute) lets him rediscover old passions and new hobbies. The lush garden he creates on his apartment balcony provides a chance to get to know his cute neighbor, Natsu, a graduate student in archeology.

How do two adults build a relationship amid “social distancing,” when face-to-face interaction is frown upon, even dangerous? It feels like a tall tale to find an office romance at home, but these are strange times…

Manga Talk

Home Office Romance is a cute and wholesome story featuring our awkward main guy, Nokoru, and our main girl, Natsu, who is forward speaking and extroverted. Together, they make this manga a fun and comforting read. As I was reading through this manga the first time around, I found myself falling for our main characters almost immediately. They are established characters and you feel this way right off the bat. This can probably be due to the fact that our characters are adults (which is always a nice change of pace from our high school romance story lines), so our mangaka writes them as knowing who they are but also understanding that they still can have room to grow, which is what happens with Nokoru.

There are really no other side characters to this story, which is a bit strange in manga and Rom-com manga, but I don't mind this at all. I sometimes think focusing on side characters in a romance manga can take away from our main couple that we are focusing on and I end up finding myself not caring too much about them. Home Office Romance does a great job of just focusing on our main couple and it doesn't go stale. 

 

While reading, I found myself feeling the complete opposite of board and found myself feeling, for lack of better words, giddy while reading this story. Maybe it's because the two are adults and their romance seemed more what I feel is more mature. Nokoru and Natsu are put into different scenarios throughout the story and we get to see how they navigate and go through their changing relationship within a good pace.

Overall, if you enjoy a good little romance story, you should give this one a chance. Home Office Romance may only be one volume of 20.5 chapters, but it holds a little special place in my heart and on my bookshelf as a story that helped me bring. me out of a little rut during one winter season. When I'm feeling down again, I know I can go back and feel a little happy in Nokoru and Natsu's little piece of paradise. 

Until next time, Happy Reading!