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MY TOP BL MANGA OF 2021
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MANGA: Online Game Nakama to Sashi Off shitara Shokuba no Onijoushi ga Kita
Online Game Nakama to Sashi Off shitara Shokuba no Onijoushi ga Kita – Nmura
In which the (satanic) boss you often dis about to your Online-BFF is actually your Online-BFF. (??`) And yes, they both are oblivious about the ironic fact…until they decide to have an offline meeting that is.
Arranged an Offline Meeting with My Online Game Friend, but My Demon Boss Came Instead is ridiculously, ridiculously cute!!!
Hashimoto is an avid gamer who frequently complains about his demon boss to his online friend Uma-san. Little did he know, Uma-san is the very same boss, Shirase, he complains about. They both didn’t know the other’s identity. Then they decided to meet offline. Awkward!
They also met another gamer they didn’t know was another online friend. This third guy, high schooler Kumada, overheard rather suggestive parts of their conversation and that started a series of huge misunderstandings between all three people.
The manga depicted the progress of Hashimoto and Shirase’s relationship as well as the involvement of Kumada, in 20 chapters. I appreciate that they were short and to the point. I loved how we see Shirase’s feelings mostly through Hashimoto’s rather dense POV as well as Kumada’s. I really liked it that it was Shirase who fell in love first.
Hashimoto is a spectacularly oblivious guy who thinks everything is about the game. So oblivious that he was confessed to by two different people and he thinks they were asking about joining their guild or going on a quest.
That this has a love triangle and I didn’t even mind it one bit is testament how great this story is. Even the misunderstandings, normally considered annoying, worked so well to the its advantage. Hashimoto’s reactions during the reveals were pretty funny.
Everyone who has played an online game and made online friends (and/or girl/boyfriends) would really relate to this manga.
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MANGA: Machigitsune to Hito no Ko
Machigitsune to Hito no Ko – Nmura
1920, the 9th year of the Taisho era.
Kiyo Fukasaku, a student freshly admitted into the Imperial University, lost his way while heading to his rental dormitory and met a man named Ozaki.
Ozaki, who lived in a huge mansion, learned of Kiyo’s financial troubles, and invited him to live in his mansion. However, Ozaki had many secrets—he was a fox spirit in human form, and he had invited Kiyo to live with him as a way to repay his debt to Kiyo’s grandfather, Seishirou.
The two continue living together, surrounded by secrets.
The Waiting Fox and the Human Child is a slow-burn, age-gap love story between a fox spirit and a university student. It had the makings of something great but was failed to deliver a convincing connection between Ozaki and Kiyo.
Ozaki was too distant. The usual subtle romantic development frequently present in BL manga was there. This is something I truly enjoy about the genre but here, it wasn’t enough to convey what strong feelings were there.
I wasn’t that interested in Kiyo either. I was more keen on the grandfather and Ozaki’s shared history. The grandfather had more personality. Too bad, he died young.
