A really interesting manga! I definitely had fun reading it but I wish it had more romance... hopefully, in the future volumes, we will be able to see that.
I do think that this, for someone who doesn't understand the otaku world, this may be a difficult story to get into but I appreciate the explanations at the end. It made it easier to understand!

Wotakoi blew my mind! I must say that I hardly ever read josei and shoujo even, since the characters tend to be bleak or cliched. In Wotakoi's case then? Totally the opposite. Love is Hard for Otaku actually portrays its characters in a realistic manner with humor that's actually aimed at adults and even more than that, it's quite universal too. This in itself is a miracle since the topic is very Japanese. Narumi and Hirotaka are childhood friends and real geeks that end up in the same work place. Against all odds they start to date, since it's easier than to pretend to be normal - now they get to be the geeks they are, but together. Their friends, who are a couple too, are the same and their interactions are awesome. The manga is mostly slice of life and balanced around shorter story arcs that are quite mundane and brilliant at the same time. Wotakoi plays well the cultural aspects and the notes at the back are a great add-on.

The art looks great and the rhythm is awesome, but quite different to "basic" manga. It could be slightly off-putting for some, but I truly enjoyed it. The panels are quite stuffed at times, but the facial expressions are perfect! Wotakoi is very lively and different to boot. It's refreshing josei with actually clever characters and situations, which makes this so entertaining. No wonder this was a hit. I just hope this goes somewhere and evolves, since that's another thing that usually doesn't happen in manga and especially in slice of life, everything just keeps going but nowhere. I'm glad I tested this! I totally approve!

I could not get into this manga as it was absolutely ridiculous. Oh, my boyfriends break up with me once they find out I'm an otaku! That's bs unless she went to the extreme with it. And even then most guys wouldn't break up with someone because of what they watch unless they were really shallow.

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this as the humour and general writing style did not appeal to me and I found it somewhat confusing and hard to follow. I love the concept and art and the translation is fantastic, and I'm sure this series will be a favourite of many despite it not working for me.

Wotakoi was cute but honestly I didn't get much from it and soon began to skip through to the last chapter. As far as Otaku go, they weren't quirky, distinct, or even very interesting. The relationship was probably the only odd thing in the entire book since we don't get much of it and it is very underplayed. I think in the end, I was expecting better observations on Otaku life, more humor, and a bit more emotion.

Story: Narumi likes gaming and especially manga. Hirotaka loves gaming. Both are considered Otaku - people who get obsessive about something like manga or gaming and are looked down upon for it by Japanese society. Hirotaka doesn't care if people know but Narumi would prefer to hide it since she keeps getting dumped when her boyfriends find out. When Narumi meets Hirotaka, it brings back memories - they used to live near each other and were close in their love of their fandoms. Now, at 26, Hirotaka suggests they get together since neither has a problem with their otaku-ness. Besides, their best friends are dating as well.

I think for me, I would have wanted to see their actual fandoms represented more. Hirotaka spends a lot of time on a portable console, yes, but we don't really get much idea of how much he loves gaming. E.g., at his house it's clean and tidy and not really 'gamer' much other than a few statues. Same with Narumi - you'd think she'd have posters everywhere or walls of manga; perhaps even t-shirts for the weekend. But .... nothing. They are all pretty much boring and not very interesting people who talk about their obsessions occasionally but we never get to actually see it. It felt fake, for that reason. Publisher Kodansha does give us explanations of all the Otaku terms used, though, every four chapters, which was nice (how many people know what a "kabe don" is, for example?).

I also can't say much about the characters. Hirotaka is pretty bland and spends most of the book emotionless. Narumi is an idiot, screws up at work all the time, and looks to be an emotional wreck at best. I'm not quite sure why anyone would be interested in her except for Hirotaka's situation in that she wouldn't put him down for his love of gaming. But there wasn't a lot of chemistry there.

Side characters are two best friends who are dating but also fighting all the time. Narumi's best friend is boyish and aggressive (sort of tsundere) while her boyfriend, Hirotaka's best friend, is somewhat hot headed. It leads to constant arguments between the two, of course. Since they are also into the same interests, it makes the four a fairly tight group that does everything together.

It felt like the author is taking a tour of manga (especially BL/yaoi) and gaming memes and trying to incorporate them into a story. There's not a lot here about WHY people fall in love with and become obsessive about these pursuits. And if you've met a true Otaku, you see the passion and how it takes over their lives and how much it means to them. I just didn't get any of that here. This should have been a love letter to Otakus but instead felt more like a slap in the face with a wet noodle.

The stories are somewhat incoherent, jumbled, and without a clear arc. It's very "josei" rather than "shoujo/shounen" in that regard. I was hoping for more than random snippet scenes and story arcs expanded from one simple idea that never really take off. It got old very fast and after about ten minutes reading, I just wanted to get to the end of the volume already and never have to follow these insipid characters again. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

A cute slice of life manga that was easy for me to relate to. I like seeing more manga being published that is targeted to more of the older audiences. I appreciated the humor and cute story. It reminds me of an older version of gekkan shoujo nozaki kun manga which is a good thing!