ヲタクに恋は難しい

WOTAKU NI KOI WA MUZUKASHII

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
11
RELEASE
July 16, 2021
CHAPTERS
115

DESCRIPTION

Narumi Momose has had it rough: every boyfriend she’s had dumped her once they found out she was an otaku, so she’s gone to great lengths to hide it. When a chance meeting at her new job with childhood friend, fellow otaku, and now coworker Hirotaka Nifuji almost gets her secret outed at work, she comes up with a plan to make sure he never speaks up. But he comes up with a counter-proposal: why doesn’t she just date him instead? In love, there are no save points.

(Source: Kodansha USA)

Notes:

Includes 29 extra chapters.
The English edition combines 2 Japanese volumes into one each (so e.g. the first two Japanese volumes are combined into 1 English volume).

CAST

Hirotaka Nifuji
Hanako Koyanagi
Narumi Momose
Tarou Kabakura
Naoya Nifuji
Kou Sakuragi
Yoshiki Ichijou
Kensuke Mitsui
Chiba
Aiba
Baba
Doumoto

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO WOTAKU NI KOI WA MUZUKASHII

Cover Art for Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

ANIME ComedyWotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Cover Art for Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii OVA

OVA ComedyWotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii OVA

Cover Art for Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii Comic Anthology

MANGA ComedyWotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii Comic Anthology

REVIEWS

Benkei
87/100
Spoiler-free review of Love Is Hard for Otaku. Amazing comedy with a really nice romance setting.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Considerations ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ● __This is a spoiler-free review.__ ●__ 80+ in my rating means very good media.__ ● I've got to know about this work through the exploration section. I didn't look too much into the synopsis and just started reading. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Story ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Narumi Momose, a closed otaku, is facing a lot of problems in her love life because of her tastes. While talking with a childhood friend, Hirotaka Nifuji, who's a hardcore gamer, he suggests that she can date him instead, so she doesn't need to be so contained about her otaku habits. The story of Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii is really well made. It follows a SoL (Slice of Life) style with a lot of focus on the comedy. Even in the beginning, I had a lot of fun reading it, laughing out loud at some jokes and sending panels to some friends. I really find the comedy in it really well made. There's also the romantic side, as they're dating. The romance is good because it covers not only the protagonists and there are different types of couples. The story develops really well, and you can feel the story progressing as you read through the volumes.__ Include all that with the most perfect extras I've ever read in manga__, and there's really nothing for me to complain about. (I can't describe how much I laughed at this) ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Art Style ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The art style is really good. There's a solid team with many assistants to deliver really good material. The cover illustrations and the first chapter of every volume are fully colored in an amazing style. It's really so well made that I sent some to a few friends. The manga is really good at dealing with shadows, lights and delivering impact through art. The drawing of video-game characters and other unrealistic scenarios is really well done. The backgrounds, character clothes, and design are well made. There's nothing for me to complain about it. ‎ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Characters ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ There are a moderate number of characters in this manga; the main couple, their family, and a few coworkers. They're well made. I felt like each one had a different personality, mentality, and something different to add to the story. As the story progresses, the main characters slowly have their moments, showing backgrounds and explaining how and why they are the way they are. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Conclusion ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ If you're like me, you skip everything and read only the conclusion because you don't want to get spoiled with other themes. So I will try to be brief on this point: __Read it.__ Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii has everything worthy of a recommendation. Really funny comedy, good art, good characters, and a really nice story development.
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RoseFaerie
73/100
In which I sing the praises for a manga I had a tumultuous relationship with.
So, I am about to present you with my somewhat controversial Wotakoi review. I definitely didn't love it the same way a lot of people did, but I ended up enjoying it a lot more near the end. I know it's unpopular to not love Wotakoi, but I have just been really wanting to write reviews and this was what my Anilist bestie requested from me.

Anyways, Narumi Momose ~~who I may have almost accidentally called Nanami Momozono because I have Kamisama Kiss on the brain, I guess~~, is an otaku. After being rejected for her hobbies, she decides to keep her otakuness a secret. However, when she enters her new job, she encounters her childhood friend, Hirotaku Nifuji, an avid gamer. The two of them decide to date and befriend fellow workplace otaku Hanako Koyanagi and Tarou Kabakura.

The Wotakoi anime never clicked with me, but I did enjoy the manga a lot more. I think the relationships had much better development in the later part of the manga. All of the couples were much more shippable in the manga form. I adore Naoya and Kou together, and I think Koyanagi and Kabakura had a lovely romantic arc. I actually hated them together in the anime, but I loved their relationship in the manga. I think it worked a lot better with additional context and developments. Narumi and Hirotaka weren't as interesting to me as a couple, but I did like the mature way they went about their relationship. I just found them to be the most bland, and their romantic relationship was easily the weakest of the three.

As for the characters, I had a hard time with Narumi. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who she kind of made uncomfortable. I felt like she crossed a few lines for me with some thoughts of real people shipping and some fujoshi moments with Koyanagi. This kind of made me uncomfortable, but I think I might be the only one, since I know so many people who love her and relate to her. Fortunately, while BL is one of her passions, she adores so many other things from games to cute things to shoujo manga! I grew to like her a lot more than I did in the beginning. I could really empathize with her fear of letting people know about her otakuness, since I was surrounded by a lot of judgemental people for a while who would bully literal elementary schoolers for watching anime.

Hirotaka himself is more deadpan and doesn't care about what people think of him. He really didn't leave much of an impression on me. He's very serious and doesn't have time for anything that he doesn't overtly care about. I do think he's well suited to Narumi, he just never interested me.

I really liked Kabakura for whatever reason. He was a lot more of a moderate otaku, and he appears very intimidating but is really quite nice. I guess he sort of reminds me of my sister if I think about it. He was super easy for me to get behind. He has a hard time changing his ways and he fights a lot with Koyanagi, but he usually lets her have her way. Koyanagi has a bit of a devious streak. She was easily my least favorite of the main cast in both the anime and manga, but I did appreciate her character and like her more in the manga. She's a cosplayer who prefers to cosplay as male characters. She loves to tease people and have things go the way she wants. She also argues a lot with Kabakura, but she is very sentimental and places a lot of value in their relationship. I think, despite their arguing, they deeply care for each other.

The final couple I was one I absolutely adored. Naoya Nifuji is my favorite Wotakoi character by far. He's very kindhearted, innocent, and naive. Unlike the other characters, he's far from being an otaku, only knowing about games from his older brother, Hirotaka. Nao is so sweet and he always tries his best for all the people in his life, even if he isn't always perceptive. Kou Sakuragi is a very masculine presenting girl. She's also rather innocent, and she's very skilled at gaming. She's shy and has a hard time expressing her feelings and gets nervous easily. Her friendship and eventual romantic relationship with Nao is so cute.

The art is very nice. I loved the character designs and all the little bonus comics about the characters.

I know I praised this manga a lot, but for some reason it didn't click with me the same way it did for others, especially in the beginning. I think if it was more similar to how it was in the final volumes I would have liked it a lot more. I know this series is important to a lot of people, it just doesn't hold the same importance for me. Maybe it's because I don't have the romantic experience for it to be relatable yet. I think sometime I will revisit the series and see if I feel the same way or if my feelings change when I get older and gain more life experience.

When I read it my rating changed so much, usually fluctuating between a 6.5 to a 7 and back again. I think I'd feel uncomfortable or bored and change the rating. Then something super cute would happen or my beloved son Nao appeared and I'd change it back again.

It's very difficult for me to express my feelings about this manga, and I know it didn't click for me the same way it did for other people. Nonetheless, I hope I was able to get my point across. I hope everyone who enjoys it keeps on enjoying it, and I hope everyone who wants to try the manga and fall in love with has a great time reading it! :)
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ShibuyaConfidential
80/100
Otakus in love and we love them
Wotakoi is one of those manga which is pleasant for a wide variety of readers. It appeals to a young audience as to an older one due to its simple way of portraying love without an excessive dramatization of the events.

The daily life of Otaku couples is portrayed in a delightful way, with no moralism or lecturing or hyperbole of sorts which sometimes this kind of romance may deliver (i.e. long speeches, motivational moralism).

Here we have two established couples (Hirotaka/Narumi become one in Chapter 1), and this gives air to exposing their daily activities which move around work and playtime.

All two couples bring to the table some interesting comedic sketches and hindsight on the struggle to be Otaku and cope with a relationship which may be challenging.

Kabakura/Koyanagi are the counter altar to the new Otaku couple (Narumi/Hirotaka) with their "tsundere" attitude that is probably the pinnacle of the manga.
We more and more gravitate towards them due to their neglecting personality which shows here and there true love and affection boosting their interaction into the heart of the reader.

More pale may appear in the relationship between Hirotaka and Narumi which has no real boost if not towards the end where things have been rushed out slightly. Hirotaka is the interesting one as he does not care about any of the social conventions being a deep introvert he deals with everything around him if it does not disturb his gaming routine (or hurts Narumi) in an apathetic way. Narumi is the hyper-energetic female lead with a peculiar interest in BL that she tries (understandably) to hide.

There is some retrospective about Hirotaka and how childish he is compared to Narumi in his continuous search for loneliness and inability to properly communicate with others, but this is overcome thanks to being surrounded by "his own kind " of people - if you pass me the term. We see him developing as a person without losing his interesting and cryptic nature.

Naoya/Kou is the third couple and felt near to what we expect from a romance, with some slight misunderstanding and communication (typical of a romance), but then again it was handled in a smart and adult way that we never felt any frustration.

The comedy hits the spot due to the nature of his character than the shenanigans in which they are involved - but I admit I have never been a fan of quotes from other shows or too much reference to Otaku culture as I find it a cheap way to make a joke and narrowed to a niche.

Wotakoi moves mostly onto a sea of comedy, the romance is a background but is there, and has to be - otherwise the manga risked falling into an endless circle of daily life activity which is honestly boring. The author was able to develop all the characters calmly and (despite their gimmicks) - make them always look interesting, fresh and engaging, though some issue is the main lead who never looked going anywhere.

A light-hearted story, and a memorable one.
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