It’s been three months since the absolutely ordinary and plain office worker, Hashimoto, started going out with his boss, Shirase, and they’re reaching their first-month anniversary of moving in together. After the miracle discovery that “his online friend turned out to be his real-life boss,” Hashimoto and Shirase had quite the tumultuous start. But after a bunch of misunderstandings, the two are finally together…yet, their days are far from romantic when all they do are play video games and eat together! Getting worried, Hashimoto decides to try leveling up their relationship!
By Nmura
Series Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss!
Volume 2 of -
Release Date 27.08.2021
Genre Boys Love
Age Rating 16+
Publisher Kodansha
CW None
Rating ★★★☆☆
My Review
So, I was kinda surprised when they actually moved in together so quickly, but that’s where the story picks up in the second volume of the series. Hashimoto, who is still completely clueless when it comes to relationships and showing affection, remains at the heart of this story. Honestly, I find his innocence cute, even though sometimes his behavior can be a bit much. You can tell he’s trying, and watching him stumble through his romantic development is cute and entertaining.
One of the more notable additions to this volume is the introduction of Kumada’s older brother. What makes his entry interesting is that he works at the same company as both Shirase and Hashimoto, setting the stage for a looooot of miscommunication. As you can imagine, these misunderstandings lead to some funny situations and it's what drives almost the whole plot of this volume. It’s a little weird, though, seeing all of this happen after Hashimoto and Shirase have already moved in together. I mean, it’s only been a few months, but it’s like… shouldn't some of these developments have come before? Then again, I guess everyone moves at a different pace, it's just different from what we usually see in manga.
The game is still a big part of the conversations and plot, but it’s no longer the only thing driving the story forward. However, at a certain point, the misunderstandings started to feel a bit overdone. I found myself thinking, "okay... this is getting a bit out of hand." Both Hashimoto and Shirase could put a little more effort into communicating better and actually working on their relationship. There is some character development here and there, but compared to the first volume, it feels a bit lacking. Then again, the first volume was three times longer, so maybe that explains the difference in depth.
I originally picked up this series because I loved The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait by Nmura. So imagine my surprise when the final pages of this volume contain the first chapter of that manga! As much as I love that manga- I was expecting more from this volume and felt a little disappointed when it ended so abruptly. I had hoped all issues would have been resolved.
Still, things develop at a good pace and nothing feels out of the blue. But for me, this volume didn’t quite hit the same exciting notes as the first. It’s still enjoyable, but I’m hoping volume three will pick up the pace again and deliver the same level of excitement we got from the start!
