This was such a wholesome quick read! What it lacked in length it made up for in how endearing it was!

In a Nutshell: A manga about a geeky IT guy who discovers love right next door during the lockdown. A sweet and funny story, though it takes too long to get going. The flashback-style narration also doesn’t do it any favours. But a good option for those wanting a light-hearted opposites-attract love story.

Plot Preview:
When Nokoru is told to telework from home during the pandemic lockdown, he views it as a blessing. His job as a system engineer is very demanding, especially because of clientele who don’t know what they want. Working from home comes with unexpected benefits, such as getting to wake up just ten minutes before work, or managing to find more time for hobbies such as gardening and gaming. What Nokoru doesn’t expect is to interact over his balcony with his new neighbour right next door. Natsu, a graduate student of archaeology, is everything Nokoru is not: impulsive, relaxed, chaotic, gorgeous, always smiling! Is there any hope for a relationship between such disparate souls, especially when social distancing is de rigueur?
The story comes to us in Nokoru’s first-person perspective.


This manga is the first standalone book by this author, which he has expanded from a one-shot story about two characters working at home during the pandemic. This manga is written in the traditional format, with a right-to-left story flow and B&W illustrations. (Making this explicitly clear for those who aren’t used to manga but might be tempted by the cute cover and premise.)

Nokoru is a fantastic character, though it takes time for him to grow on the reader. He comes across as extremely formal, even in dating and love. Always logical and disciplined in his approach towards everything, Nokoru can’t seem to do anything impulsively. He is also an overthinker, which leads to his questioning and analysing every single word and action Natsu makes. This leads to a lot of rambling thoughts, which can be either hilarious or annoying, depending on your mood. I have rarely seen a male character depicted with so many inner monologues! Luckily for him, I was in a good mood while reading this. 😉

Given Nokoru’s ultra-systematic personality, it is comically cute to see him stumble and fumble in his roundabout way to go out with Natsu. In fact, Natsu deserves the credit for getting the ball rolling, as is so often true in a relationship between an extrovert and an introvert. The connection between the two neighbours feels organic, though one might initially wonder what Natsu sees in Nokoru. She is such a brilliant character, as peppy as possible. I loved that she was an aspiring archaeologist – not often that we get to see such an unusual profession for a female character in realistic comics.

Their contrary personalities are put to good use in this somewhat episodic-plotline, leading to many laugh-out-loud moments. The fact that Natsu was a student threw me off at first. But as graduate students can be older and Nokoru’s age isn’t clarified, the connection does not come across as having too much of an age gap.

Nokoru narrates his love story through flashback, though we don’t get to see glimpses of his “present”. All we know is that when he is telling us these events, Natsu is already his wife. This was disappointing for two reasons. One: we don’t have any suspense about the end of the “relationship” (After all, it is set during the covid pandemic, so it could have been a tragic romance or a one-sided love story or even a short-lived fling between two opposite persons brought together by the exceptional circumstances. So knowing that Natsu was his wife killed some of the anticipation.) Two: what’s the fun to a flashback story if we don’t know anything about the “current time” of the characters? Other than the fact that the two are married after several years of the events of this love story, we get nothing. So sad!

The title made me assume that this would be some kind of virtual romance between office colleagues who connect online during the pandemic. But as they are next-door neighbours, there are often real-world interactions between the pair. The pandemic is very much there in the background, but because these two live right to each other, we mostly see them without masks. The story does show distancing and travel restrictions, but not the fear and gloom of the era. So I don’t think it will be triggering to anyone wary of covid fiction.

The illustrations are mostly great. Natsu was easily my favourite in the artwork. Her beautiful bespectacled eyes shine as bright as stars. I simply loved her expressions, whether showing shyness or laughter or mischievous innuendo. Nokoru was blander in comparison, though that also goes well with his character traits. The only thing I didn’t like was Nokoru’s eyes. Admittedly, this isn’t an issue with just this book because manga often depict (male) characters with microscopic single dots for eyes. Eyes depict so much emotion in graphics, so having them reduced to such teeny specks is always a killjoy for me. Those more attuned to manga might not even be bothered by this.

The translation notes at the end, offering a detailed explanation of the Japanese terms, are much appreciated by this reader: they are so helpful in getting some of the deeper nuances of the story!

All in all, this manga took some time to grow on me as I couldn’t get an initial handle on Nokoru’s standoffish personality. But once his behaviour became clearer, I got into the groove and enjoyed the story.

Recommended to NA and adult manga readers looking for a sweet romance set during the pandemic. Note that this is clean on-page, but there are references to sexual intimacy.

4 stars.

My thanks to Kodansha for providing the DRC of “Home Office Romance” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I was hoping that I would enjoy this more as it sounded so very me. It's nice but I was hoping for more.

Cute slice-of-life romance that’s perfect for when you’re in the mood for an easy and light read. Set during Covid restrictions, next door neighbors Nokoru and Natsu meet and fall in love while navigating the difficult state of the world around them. Despite being opposites, their differences only bring them closer together. Reading this left me feeling cozy and hopeful that love can grow no matter what situation you’re in.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. 4/5 stars.

This cute manga delivered an beautiful love story and was the exact definition of opposites attract!!
The main characters were super adorable and it was joyous read for me!

Thank you @netgalley for this sweet manga!

Definitely recommending this for everyone who loves the opposites attract trope !

I love a good office co-worker romance and this provided a (sadly) relatable twist on the trope! I was gasping and laughing so loudly. More than I have towards a book in a long time. This was a joyful perspective on the reality that impacted all of our lives, a quick read that I'd highly recommend!

I love reading mangas but most often don’t read them because they run into multiple issues which is intimidating for me. When I find ones that are a single book, I grab them with no thought.

Home Office Romance is set in the COVID pandemic and honestly, consuming any content based in this period seems like a bizarre reality that I seem to have forgotten. The two leads in the manga are stuck at home either working or doing research for their education. And once the pandemic restrictions start, they both start talking to each other after years of living next to each other.

The romance between them is slower than most but engaging because the story simultaneously explores the two as individuals and their contrasting personalities. I quite liked the way the male lead is stumped so often by the female lead and how she behaves / talks. They are cute and almost how a real-life relationship between neighbors would work. The way the meal lead transforms his attitude towards life at the end is what shows us how people can change each other.

I would recommend this book for a breezy and cute read.

Thanks to Kodansha Comics and NetGalley for ARC for an honest review.

The PERFECT Slice of Life Romance. Seriously, the best comic I've read all year. I am sobbing, screaming, crying, and throwing up. And cackling, too. I had such a blast reading this. I will be buying a copy of this for my personal library, and will 100% reread this often. It is short, sweet, and adorable.

"I love you.
...Yeah. I love you, too...
My life was never the same again."

"Being here now.. feels just like it did with you back then. It's paradise."

this was really cute to read. i see myself reading this book again and gifting it to a friend. im not big on mangas but i highly recommend this to anyone who wants to get into mangas

Home Office Romance is a super cute one shot romance story. The story starts at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown when Nokoru finally has more free time to spend at home doing his hobbies, such as creating a balcony garden inspired by his favorite fantasy manga. Spending time at home means he also has the chance to meet Natsu, his cute neighbor who's working on her graduate degree in archaeology. The story follows the two as Nokoru tries to figure out whether or not Natsu has feelings for him, ultimately leading to a happy ending for the couple.

This was a very sweet story and I appreciate that it is a standalone. Both characters were really unique. I liked how Nokoru was so serious and logical and that Natsu was more adventurous and outgoing. The two complimented each other really well and it made their romance feel very realistic. I know that a lot of people don't like to read about things set during the pandemic, but it didn't focus too much on the actual pandemic and the overall feeling was very cozy. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a cute, quick read.

I originally thought I was going to like this but just didn’t. The MMC I just could not connect with

From the same creator as 'Sweat and Soap', sweet and somewhat awkward adult romances are to be expected. This one shot manga follows Nokoru, an exhausted systems engineer who must rethink his at home set up after his job switches to remote work. While making changes for the better of his new work agenda, he accidently strikes up a rapport with his friendly neighbor Natsu, a graduate student studying archeology. What follows is a charming and lovely story of two very different people falling in love naturally though time spent together eating, reading and realizing that they truly miss each other while they are away. Much of the conflict comes from them both being adults with jobs and obligations, and things are resolved nicely as they are able to easily communicate with one another and come to realize that the attraction between the two is mutual.

The only downside I felt is that it is a one-shot manga, because I would have liked to spend more time with these characters and see them travel to other places. As it stands, it is still a good read for a quick, cute romance between adults.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review.

A really enjoyable read. This book was wholesome and cute and a really great manga.

i managed to read on a cold wet day with a cuppa.

this was actually such a cute and wholesome manga with some awkward laughable moments.

i love when mangas are just a standalone, i feel like thats so rare to find.

highly recommend if you want to have something quick and interesting

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It is so cute and heartfelt! It was hilarious! I love the refocusing of a salaryman into the type of person who now has time for love.

The story is very cute but short. I really liked it 🩷

**Thank you for accepting my request to read your book in advance ☺️

I ended up loving this one! At first I was kind of iffy about it...it was a bit of a slow start and I just wasn't sure how I felt about the hero....but this book is from his POV and it's sooooo cute watching him fall. Their opposites attract personalities were too adorable. This one really wrapped around my heart!

Home Office Romance is seinen and thus romance for men. So, my kind of romance, haha. These two neighbors meet and start talking. Early on we know they will be married, because Nokoru tells us this. The two live in tiny apartments and Nokuru works as a systems engineer of sorts. Thanks to the pandemic lockdown he gets to work from home. Natsu then is a graduate student in archaeology. Their relationship is great, realistic and full of talking. Natsu is an actual woman and not a blushing maiden and the two have sex too (we don't get to see it). The manga starts nicely and the rhythm is good too, but halfway through everything kind of falls apart. Natsu leaving for her work trip kind of ends everything good and realistic and then it's just aimless traveling and mostly not even together.

The art is great though and works well with the story. I liked the facial expressions and the realistic approach a lot. Sadly so the ending eats (too) much of the pleasure, but this is still nice and it's wonderful that this is a standalone. Realistic stories rock my boat!

This was so cute! I adored these characters and loved seeing their love blossom. It was such a sweet story. I wish there was a bit more to it because it felt like we could have explored even more with them, but overall it was super freaking cute.

Thank you netgalley and kodansha comics for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I got to read this as an ARC from NetGalley. I was really excited about this manga since the main characters love interest is a graduate student studying archaeology, however this was not delved into as much as I wish it was. There were small things that annoyed me about the portrayal of studying archaeology, such as when talking about the tools used during excavations. I think during that discussion she could have talked about where she was mainly doing research and the specific tools they used. We never found out what her dissertation was about and that just felt like something the author decided to mention to add more details about her being a graduate student, but it was never really talked about much. Also, I did not know that the main character would be breaking the fourth wall so frequently so that really threw me off. Also the portrayal of the love interest was very disappointing, she never asked for consent and was basically just made into a pixie dream girl. I did not really feel like the romance between the two characters was believable since it felt really rushed. The artwork was pretty, I just wish more focus was on the plot line. It was a decent read but definitely nothing memorable.