Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! Volume 2 Review
Hashimoto is an ordinary office worker, Shirase is his boss, and both happen to be fans of the video game Lia Fail Online. After months of bonding online and at work, Shirase asks Hashimoto out and he says yes. Now the pair are living together after three months of dating, but they have a lot to work out. While they co-habit with little drama, communication is an ongoing issue with Shirase experiencing jealousy when his boyfriend befriends Atsushi Kumada, the older brother of Hashimoto’s online friend, Ren. And when Atsushi finds out that Ren likes another man, and then finds out Shirase is also dating a man, one small mishap causes a mountain of issues.
In comparison to the first volume, which was over 300 pages long with nineteen chapters and bonus chapters too, Volume 2 looks a lot thinner in comparison which just over 200 pages, but this volume is not low on content thankfully. There’s only five chapters and a bonus chapter, but it also contains a sneak preview of nmura’s other series The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait, which has been reviewed here by the lovely Demelza. Despite the lack of chapters, the chapters we do have are longer and a lot happens in this book, so there’s a good chunk of story to savour whilst we wait for the next volume.
The common tool used in the first volume for comedy and romantic drama was ‘miscommunication’ where the oblivious Hashimoto mistook Shirase’s attempts to flirt with him as merely questions about the game. Miscommunication is a theme for Volume 2 as well, but the same trick isn’t pulled twice, thankfully. Hashimoto is with Shirase now and has developed emotionally a little bit since the first volume, such as picking up on when Shirase’s mood is dampened by jealousy, and noticing his attempts to stop Hashimoto from visiting other departments too. However, he’s still a bit absentminded when it comes to other situations and finds himself shooting himself in the foot sometimes when trying to be coy about being Shirase’s boyfriend.
But the real miscommunication issues stem from the new character Atsushi, who’s a nice addition and creates a new dynamic that sits neatly alongside the other male characters. He’s an older colleague (Shirase’s age) who’s a hard worker, just transferred from another branch, but also very new to the gaming scene. His over-eagerness to bond with his brother ends up with him sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong. He asks very blunt questions like asking if his brother has a crush on the FIRST night he’s back in town (I’m on Ren’s side, at least ask about his colleague and job first, dude!) And does the same to Hashimoto, putting him in a difficult spot and listening to gossip about Shirase. Then he jumps to conclusions, assuming his brother is dating Shirase, and his wishy washy-wording when talking to Shirase makes his anxiety spike. On paper, it’s a real mess (like a soap opera) but as with the previous volume, I think the drama is done well. The miscommunication tool is different enough to not only show that the main couple have to learn to communicate better overall, but also shows that whilst Atsushi’s love for his brother is understandable, but also misguided. In an attempt to try and look out for his brother (who did not ask for it) he accidentally ends up in the homophobic line of thinking that every gay guy must like/date the only other gay guy you happen to know.
In terms of our main couple, my main complaint about Volume 1 was the lack of bonding time to get to know the characters individually and why they work as a couple. It’s a bit better in Volume 2, although they moved in together super fast (explained in end of Volume 1 that Hashimoto’s lease was ending so it made sense to move in together) they both clearly want to make it work. The times they do talk about their feelings are sweet, and there are a few comedy situations at the start where one of them tries to initiate a date but ends up falling flat. There’s the time Hashimoto wants to go on a run with Shirase, but the latter provides him with an alternative route as Hashimoto is a beginner and therefore needs a shorter route to start with – completely oblivious to the fact that Hashimoto just wants to spend time with him. There’s also a few kisses in this book, and a brief scene where the pair start to get physical, only to be interrupted. I personally wanted more but I also get where the book is going: they have a few relationship issues to work out, and I’d rather their physical scenes be a result of them getting closer after sorting those out, rather than just titillation for the audience.
Volume 1 had two translators for the online and physical copy; but this time the translation is only credited to Jacqueline Fung, and overall it’s a good continuation from Volume 1. Art by nmura also continues to be excellent; I really enjoyed some of the physical comedy in this volumes, such as Hashimoto accidentally squirting himself in the face with his drink and another when he walks away to avoid Atsushi but ends up backtracking anyway; they’re simple but nmura has a talent for portraying comedy, as well as good-looking gaming dudes.
This geeky Boys’ Love manga continues to be an enjoyable read, with the relationship developing slowly but surely. I’m looking forward to Volume 3 (due out in March 2025 from Kodansha) to see how the current drama resolves itself.
Our review copy from Kodansha was provided by Diamond Book Distributors.
