This was so much fun! I laughed way more than I thought I would. I was a little worried because I could tell from the reviews that there was some miscommunication happening in here, and I usually find it super annoying, but honestly I just thought it was hilarious. Like the scene in the car where ONE OF THEM is talking about business trips? So ridiculous in the best way. It was also pretty cute and very mellow on the romance aspect and I just wanted more.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to this digital ARC.

Hashimoto’s office life is frustrating and demoralizing. None of his projects at work are ever good enough according to his serious, perfectionist boss. Fortunately, he can decompress a little in his spare time, playing his favorite online game with his good friend “Uma”. They’ve never met in person but Hashimoto feels he can share everything with “Uma”, especially his dislike of his horrible boss, Shirase. What the two online friends don’t realize is that they’ve actually met before… because they work in the same office, and when they decide to finally meet up, they are in for a big surprise!

This BL manga dramedy was adorable and very entertaining! I really enjoyed Nmura’s illustrations and I loved the contrast between the real-life style and the in-game avatars. They were so cute!

I get how the giant whirlpool of misunderstandings in this story could potentially be annoying to some readers, but I think the silly and funny moments it led to made up for it. Although there are a few sweet moments between Hashimoto and Shirase, I think there could have been more romance, overall. That being said, it didn't stop me from enjoying this charming story!

All in all, it was a really good time!

This was so cute! It had me kicking my feet the entire time because even the art style was adorable. I found the miscommunication to be very funny, but best of all, it was solved within the firs volume. The reveal was made early on and the miscommunication was solved by the end (mostly), rather than being drawn out. The manga did do numerous time skips throughout the chapters which moved the story along faster, but I would have liked to see more daily interaction between the 2 main characters. Hopefully there will be more fluff in volume 2!

Speaking of volume 2, it comes out the day before my birthday, so I already know that once it is released, I will be spending the whole day binge reading it.

Thank you to the publisher Kodansha Comics for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a binge read for me. I have to say I was truly baffled by the cuteness and the hilarious confusion of what the two young men went through. I love it when it’s about two people who work together and it was such a nice pace to it. The art is just spectacular and I truly loved the slow burn. I especially enjoyed how they fell in love also without knowing it and I laughed out loud so many times. This is a lighthearted and lovely story for anyone who likes manga and bl. It really made me want to read more from this author. Will absolutely read this again soon.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc, and this was my honest opinion.

SQUEE!!!!! i'm blushing :3

so uh... it turns out... his online friend.... is um... his real-life boss?? who woulda thought

this was completely and totally adorable. Our main character, Hashimoto, is so entirely dense when it comes to social cues (particularly romantic ones). I really relate to him on that, so I found it endearing, though I'm sure others may find him irritating.

I'm a big MMORPG (the type of video game featured!) lover, so I really enjoyed the fluidity of the relationships between real life and online. I thought the game was incorporated incredibly visually and narratively. If you aren't super familiar with MMORPGs or the like, it may be trickier for you to follow those sections!

I loved all the characters and the ending was just :3 :3 super wholesome and cute. I love watching people learn about themselves and others. I can't wait to read more!!!!

(thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for my honest review!)

This was one of the cutest mangas I have read. The graphics were the same as anything, and it honestly was not a super original piece, but that is EXACTLY why I love it. They are two beginners lovers figuring out what they want, love together. I love the dynamic between them, and the sweetest thing is how patient they are with each other. Not much of a love triangle, and the miscommunication is brief not dragged out. I absolutely love this, gave me all the feels and giddiness!

What a great start to a series! I really liked the art and the story line was easy to follow. I will say that I didn't like the miscommunication but I am excited to see what happens in the next volume.

I picked this up because it was giving me “you’ve got mail” vibes. I always enjoy that trope of meeting online. I think the reason I like this trope so much is that the online version of communication between people often represents a baring of the most authentic version of themselves, stripped of the preconceptions that come with a physical presence (or at least that’s how usually works in the trope). And this story gave me what I was looking for in that trope.

What didn’t work for me quite so well was the miscommunication love triangle. Maybe I’ve been reading too much Katee Robert and Xiran Jay Zhao, but I thought a “why choose?” solution would have worked well in the context. Assuming Kumada is old enough, because I couldn’t get a good idea on how old he was and it if would be part of an age-gap dynamic, or more of a creepy predatory one.

I would have liked to see more in the “meeting online” trope and less miscommunication, but I was looking for a light-hearted read, and but that measure, it did deliver.

It is a wholesome bl with no spicy scenes (at least so far in volume one), there is some miscommunication but it's nice it is worked out by the end of volume one. Hashimoto is pretty oblivious but that is part of his charm, he's so adorable when he does figure out his feelings and why he continuously asks Shirase to eat with him . Shirase gets closer to the dense Hashimoto, but would like to see more character development. I enjoyed it so far and will continue once volume 2 releases. It was a fun read with the opposite personalities of the main characters complementing each other and Hashimoto slowly seeing Shirase as more than a demon boss.

Hashimoto is an office worker who is having a difficult time with his boss- Shirase. What he doesn’t know is that he has been complaining about his boss right to the boss himself. One day they decide to meet irl to discover that U.M.A is Shirase and he ends up unknowingly meeting Salted Salmon- Kuma, another one of his online friends. Hashimoto is oblivious of what is happening around him and there is some misunderstanding between the three of them.

I can't get over how cute this is! This was so just adorable. I don't usually enjoy the miscommunication trope in the romance genre, but I found that this was excellent when actually laced with humour. It's quite a slow burn story IMO, and it's very much about the day to day life of the main characters. I just love this and will be on the lookout for the next installment, for sure.

Rating: ⭐⭐.5
This is my first Manga I've read in a while so I'm not going to be any good reviewing it but I really like that art style (which is a big thing for me) I enjoyed it but felt a bit too young for me with how the characters responded with each other just wasn't my kind of thing but the plot has lots of potential.

This story is funny and adorable. The art work is amazing and the story line was great. I like how these two characters found out their identity from for the game. Also like that they work out everything and became closer. Throughout the manga you see Hanshmoto and Shirasesan get closer from being coming friend then to a relationship. There are a few misunderstandings throughout this manga, towards the end everything works out. I like how slow they take things so it doesn’t overwhelm Hanshmoto. Then there Kumada a high schooler becomes close to both of them through the game. After the misunderstanding is resolved he still plays games with them. Overall this story was good read and would recommend it to anyone interested in sweet romance bl.

tl;dr
A very sweet read for anyone who likes their romcoms with an endearing lead and a ton of misunderstandings.

Thoughts
I've never been a fan of miscommunication in romance, but I sure do love it in comedy. Thankfully, this romantic comedy leans more towards comedy with the misunderstandings (which are numerous), making this a very silly read for anyone looking for something light. Hashimoto's an average salaryman, chipping away his days doing basically okay work at his office job, and straining under the pressure of his strict (and unfairly attractive) boss. But at least he can relax online playing MMOs with his friend Uma, who is always a supportive listening ear. They eventually decide to meet up IRL after discovering they live nearby, and Hashimoto is devastated to discover that his best friend online Uma is none other than his demanding boss. The boss Shirase is less devastated, possibly because he might already be developing feelings. Too bad Hashimoto hasn't quite caught on. What follows is a series of sweet interactions, a heap of misunderstandings, and a romance triangle with a third player as our leads attempt to navigate their interactions and their feelings. The jokes land pretty well - there's one panel in particular of Hashimoto and Shirase sitting next to each other that made me laugh out loud. No spice, but the interactions are undeniably romantic, which makes this a very pleasant read with attractive artwork, and more that one relatable entanglement.

**Thank you for the ARC!! All opinions are completely my own.** 4 stars. Cute and heartwarming story that is chock-full of misunderstandings.

I love this! The plot was adorable, love how clueless the male lead was. It was so cute and sweet. The angst was great. I really thoroughly loved this and want more!!!!!!

Thank you NetGalley for the free arc in exchange for my review :)

Despite the fact that I’ve never once played an RPG game, I am always a sucker for this setting being used as a setup for two people meeting online and discovering their partner’s identities in the real world. It’s usually a little ridiculous, but it there’s something charming about how the big reveal usually plays out with and this book was no exception.

I think I like this setup so much because it is a very practical and realistic use of the mistaken/hidden identity trope that is hard to manufacture in other environments. I usually like it to drag on a little longer than it did here in this first installement, at least with one half of the couple knowing their gaming partner’s IRL identity. But I thought the way the reveal played out here was realistically awkward. And I liked that.

This was a very cute first installment to a series, maybe even a little more fast paced than my preference. I think my one gripe would be the love triangle aspect not neeing to exist at all (especially considering who is involved), but hopefully that can just dissolve as the series continues.

Thank you to the publisher Kodansha Comics for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

Review to come June 9th on blog/other places.

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

What if your best friend in a game turns out to be your evil/demon boss? That is what happens to Hashimoto! And that sets the premise to this really fun and great manga that I seriously enjoyed tons! 

Meet Hashimoto, he has a not so fun job, mostly because of his demon boss who is constantly on his case about things (later we learn that his boss just wants Hashimoto to find his full potential, but yeah, he is not going about it that well). But he has a place to escape to, a game! It is an online RPG-ish game and he has best friends there. He vents to them about his demon boss (which I would do as well) and he has a great time doing quests and getting better and higher in rank. But what when they decide to meet up? And what if we find out what not just Uma, but also Kuma is someone close to Hashimoto? I just had such a laugh how all of these three online were actually in the same region/same city. I mean, we knew it of the boss, but that another online friend of Hashimoto is also someone who is nearby? That just made me snort. I love it. 

The meet-up and all that followed after was just a delight. A chaotic delight because a lot of misunderstandings happen. Remember Kuma? Well, he is also around as he also had a meet-up at the same place just for his guild, though he doesn't tell them his username, instead plays with an alt. And he doesn't know that Uma and Hashimoto know each other as boss-employee. Oh no, he thinks they are dating (he was part of their conversation and then also heard some other things that can easily be misinterpreted afterwards when he came back)… and he has had a crush on Hashimoto in the game for ages. This leads to many hilarious moments as Uma/the boss has no clue what is going on  and why Kuma is attacking him/having this attitude, and Hashimoto is also clueless (though that is just Hashimoto's default setting, I felt for Uma/his boss). There are a ton of misunderstandings and what makes sense to one person doesn't make the same sense to another, and yes, at times it gets a bit much (and annoying), but I also didn't mind it entirely. In fact, it mostly just made me laugh seeing the chaos develop and grow more and more. 

I loved how it all came together in the end, how everything gets solved in the end, and I loved that Uma/the boss and Hashimoto got closer as the story got further along. I was definitely rooting, especially when you find out that the boss isn't the worst. He just needs a bit more human skills. Haha. 

I also loved that we got to see plenty of game bits, chats, and more. I was afraid that with Uma/the boss and Hashimoto knowing each other we would lose that, but no it stays and that just made me very happy! 

The art was also really fun!

All in all, a manga full of misunderstandings, hilarious situations, an oblivious MC, games, and more! I would recommend it!

Super cute storyline with an intriguing and engaging protagonist. I'm interested to see how the romance develops.

This is the first volume of a series, and it tells the story of Hashimoto and Shirase. They are friends in an online videogame, but they don’t know each other in real life. One day, they decide to meet up outside the game. That is when they found out they are boss and employee in real life. At the beginning, it was awkward from Hashimoto’s side because he complained a lot about his boss with Shirase. In other words, he complained about his boss with his boss. However, Shirase wasn’t mad with him because Hashimoto’s complaints allowed him to grow professionally.

Opinion:

This manga is funny and addictive. I swear it took me an hour and a half to read it and I didn’t want it to end. The characters where the typical couple were one of them is slow in a real-life things. In fact, I started reading it because it said that if you like Cherry Magic, you would like this manga, and it wasn’t lying. The truth is that Hashimoto and Shirase are very alike with Adachi and Kurosawa. I’m not a fan of misunderstandings, but in this manga, I like it. It was very funny seeing Kumada, Shirase and Hashimoto misunderstanding the situation about the game and the couple thing. In the case of this manga, this misunderstanding allows Shirase to discover his feelings for Hashimoto. Although, is not difficult to know what Hashi feels about Shirase.

My favorite part was the business travel. Hashi was praying to have the opportunity to see Shirase’s abs. Who fantasizes about his friend and boss abs without having romantic feelings toward him? Also, it was more incredible when Shirase tells Hashi if he wants to touch his abs. Yes, this couple would make you laugh a lot.

Turns Out My Online Friend Is My Real-Life Boss is a very entertaining manga that would make you laugh with the occurrences of the characters. If you are like me, you would also giggle with Hashimoto and Shirase’s sweet moments. Without any doubts, I can’t wait to read the second volume. Also, receiving the ARC doesn't influence my opinion. The oficcial release date of this manga is May 28.

Reading this first volume was one of the sweetest, nerdy, feel-good moment I ever had. Most of the time, I dislike the miscommunication trope, but it does make a lot of sense in this story and it wasn’t as annoying as I expected it to be. On the contrary, all the secondhand-embarrassments were perfectly measured and made me laugh so loud. All the characters are super adorable and relatable in some ways. And I’d like to compliment the art, which is so clean and very enjoyable to look at. I’m really looking forward to know what happens next !