Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this ARC

This was a brilliant and comedic first volume with a BL element. Looking forward to the next volume.

Would recommend

📚 ARC via NetGalley
📅 Status: Volume 1 out now — eagerly awaiting Volume 2!
The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé is an adorable, laugh-out-loud, and surprisingly sweet office BL manga that has me counting the days until Volume 2. One of my favorite things? Both leads are older—30s and 40s—which gives this romance a refreshing, mature vibe.
Our story centers on Takanashi, the 40-year-old head of his sales team. He’s charming, competent, and undeniably the office “zaddy.” Everyone admires him and wants his attention, but he politely declines every advance. Enter Hiwatari, a younger colleague with a stone-cold, intimidating demeanor—the “ice guy” of the office. Most assume he’s just unfriendly, but in reality, Hiwatari quietly looks up to Takanashi.
When Hiwatari accidentally discovers Takanashi’s personal secret—he’s been avoiding romantic entanglements due to… well, certain intimate performance issues—it opens the door for a surprising and heartwarming connection. What starts as Takanashi coaching Hiwatari to be more approachable turns into both of them letting down their walls. By the end of Volume 1, the sparks are undeniable, and I am rooting for this pairing hard.
The dynamic between Takanashi’s suave-but-vulnerable charm and Hiwatari’s stoic-but-secretly-soft nature is just so good. There’s humor, there’s tenderness, and plenty of moments that had me grinning and kicking my feet. It’s a delightful mix of office banter, slow-burn romance, and character-driven comedy.
If you enjoy:
🏢 Office BL settings
🧊 Stoic × Charming dynamics
💗 Older protagonists
😂 Comedic yet heartfelt romance
📈 Slow-burn with lots of potential
…then you need this manga in your life. Volume 1 was such a fun, feel-good read, and I can’t wait to see where Takanashi and Hiwatari’s relationship goes next.

Thankful to be getting this ARC through NetGalley and Kodansha Comics publishing

This was a great introductory volume into a sweet office romance series. I liked the opposing energies between the main characters and am intrigued to see how their relationship develops.

Volume one of a workplace romance between two unlikely characters. Takanashi-san is a charismatic manager who has girls swooning all over him, but he doesn’t notice this because he is struggling with erectile dysfunction. Hiwatari-kun secretly admires Takanashi-san and when circumstances draw them together he leaps at the chance to get closer to his older manager.

The artwork is great and the romance is promising. A great start and a good read. Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

It was fine - it just wasn’t as “funny” as I was anticipating or hoping. I feel like this story has the potential to be really interesting, because I don't know of another manga that deals with this topic. And even describing the manga to a friend and telling them the premise of what I was reading, they were intrigued. However, I feel the execution in this first volume fell a little flat. There is hope that the next one with have more relationship development and their characters in general.

Thank you Kodansha USA, and Netgalley for an E-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a funny fast-pace BL manga. I was definitely giggling throughout the book. It was an age gap relationship in the workplace. They also have a past that was the surface was just scratched. Hopefully we get more about that as the series progresses. This is the start of the series and the beginning of their relationship. The illustrations were so good and I loved how the characters looked. Also there is work drama unfolding and I can’t wait to see what happens with that also. I will be continuing this series. Recommend to Age Gap BL manga lovers.

This was a lighthearted, quick first volume, filled with a lot of awkward situations. Takanashi the Dashing Zaddy, is Hiwatari the Icy Protégé’s boss. Takanashi who’s been having ED issues for some time, begin to realize that his issues disappear around Hiwatari and that he just generally is quite fond of him. Hiwatari in turn has been infatuated with Takanashi for a very long time. The flashback scenes were uncomfortable and kind of off putting, especially in the extra material, seeing as Hiwatari is only 11 and Takanashi is 23.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This was absolutely hilarious and I had a blast reading it. It was a bit confusing in the beginning but I guess now I am addicted to this story, which is for all intents and purposes a very simple age-gap office romance.

The art style is up my alley too.

God, I love this!

I read it in a single go, and when it ended, I couldn't help but scream into my pillow, waiting for the rest of the manga to come so that I could see how the story progresses.

Must-read. Highly recommended.

A short and funny age-gap office romance manga. Didn't know what to expect, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Older boss with ED, composed younger subordinate (who has been quietly pining for ages) that might just be the cure, quite a few very funny moments that made me laugh out loud and a very nice visual style.

This is volume 1, so there's not that much relationship development yet, but it's an amusing start that made me want to read on (volume 2 is on the TBR list already).

P.S. Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A young man ends up working for someone who once helped his family when his father's company was struggling. At work, he's seen as too serious, but everything changes when he finally asks his boss to dinner. From there, their professional relationship slowly turns into something more, and both of their lives begin to shift in unexpected ways. The art in this story is beautifully done and adds so much depth, making it an overall fantastic read.

This was a simple, cute first volume. Not a lot happened since it was mostly just setting up the characters and their personalities, but I am excited to see where the series goes once the relationship takes off.

I would also like to see most of their backstory before the romantic feeling took shape. I think that would help flesh out the characters even more.

This book was so funny!!! I'm in love with the inner thoughts of the characters, I can't believe they can keep a straight face with what's running in their brains!! And the art style? *Chef's kiss*

I'm really excited to see how their relationship progresses. I feel like we're playing a game of tug of war and I'm here for the yearning, hehehe

This BL manga is such a fun and refreshing read! It follows Takanashi, a charming older boss dealing with ED, and his younger, cold-but-caring employee Hiwatari. When Hiwatari finds out about his boss’s secret, things get awkward... and then unexpectedly sweet.

The story mixes humor, vulnerability, and slow-burn romance really well. The art is clean and expressive, and the characters feel unique and real. If you’re into workplace romance with a twist and a strong emotional core, definitely check this one out!

I enjoyed this manga, it moved quickly while still maintaining the story. The characters were easy to like and fun to read. While I don't mind an age gap, the knowledge that they met when one was a child is a bit off putting to me and I probably would have enjoyed it more without that part. The saving grace is that they are both adults at the time of the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC!

This was a pretty cute workplace romance manga. There is a little bit of an age gap between Takanashi and Hiwatari. I didn't really have an issue with that aspect until I learned that they've known each other since Hiwatari was a child (11 specifically). If they'd not mentioned that or just not have them know each when they were younger, it would've been fine. Once they revealed that part, it kind of put me off wanting to continue with this series.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. I think this story as it continues on will be interesting, but I think it's a rough start due to some confusing panels. It does though, have a fantastic k drama plot line and some hilarious lines and beautiful art. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars

So much sexy fun. I was a little nervous when we learned that the two leads with such a large age gap have a connection from their past, but it is handled in a way that makes it not creepy or weird so I was able to fully enjoy the nonsense. It's kind of giving me Cherry Magic vibes in its awkward office romance aspect, but is a clearly unique story with completely different characters. I very much could see this as a Jdrama in the future. Fingers crossed!

Thank you so much for letting me read this manga. This story has some funny moments but the pace was a little slow for my liking.

The Dashing Zaddy and the Icy Protege 
-Released 
-Volume 2: July 
-Currently looks like up to volume 4 is announced with tentative release dates 
-BL, Office Romance, Age Gap 

Personally, I enjoyed this BL as it was slightly different than most with the much older character. The flow is good and just doesn’t go from being coworkers right into a full on relationship when one of their secrets are discovered. There are some scenes where it is censored, you can say, by the speech bubbles or the panel cuts off; although it does feel like later on in the series there may be spicy scenes- at least that’s the feeling I have but as a warning. Volume one doesn’t have spicy scenes but there are some moments where Ren checks on Makoto in the shower and another when they go to a bathhouse. Both seem to have a mask when they are in the office, but it slowly disappears as they interact more with one another especially when they are outside of work. My only two things that slightly bothered me were when Makoto received an email about Ren (the first time it showed up as a bunch of random letters but then the next time the same email was readable) and when we got a flashback of Ren and Makoto when he was younger. The flashback made it appear as they spent a decent amount of time together at some point, so does Makoto not remember these times? Both seem like green flags.