My favorite romance of the year wasn't shojo, though. It was this simple little one volume seinen romance from the creator of Manga Test Drive favorite Sweat and Soap.
HOME OFFICE ROMANCE (Telework Yotabanashi), by Kintetsu Yamada. First published in 2020 and first published in North America in 2024.
PLOT:
Thanks to the pandemic lockdown, Nokoru is forced to work from home. This becomes something of a boon for him, as gives him enough time to transform his bare apartment into a proper, personalized home. It also gives him time to interact with his neighbor, an attractive archeology grad student named Natsu. The two hit it off right away, but how do you start a romance in a time of social distancing?
STORY:
It is said that distance makes the heart fonder, although that's usually in reference to physical distance. There are many other, less literal forms of distance that can be found in a relationship: different personality types, different schedules, different experience levels. Even at the best of times these distances can feel vast, much less in the midst of a pandemic, and bridging those distances is what Home Office Romance is all about.
Admittedly, there's a certain novelty in reading a manga that actually acknowledges the Covid lockdowns. This is because it was initially created for a Covid-themed anthology in 2020, so it was reflection a time when people actually took precautions against such things. It also reflects the truth that a lot of people learned at that time: working from home can improve your life. It certainly worked for Nokoru! He caught up on his sleep, rediscovered forgotten interests, got a girlfriend, and eventually changes his job and his perspective on life, all because he was allowed to work digitally.
Much of what drives this story is something that will be very relatable to a lot of young adults: the struggle to meet new people and maintain relationships. While the two are physically separated only by an adjoining wall, Nokoru and Natsu keep very different work schedules and so it's up to them to find ways and small moments to reach out and learn about one another. This might be the first time I've seen a manga where contacting people on Discord comes up as a plot point. When the two actually start dating, their dates are extremely modest. Most of the time it's doing mundane things like shopping together or hanging out at one another's apartment. These moments may not feel like grand romantic gestures, but Yamada is able to squeeze a surprising amount of humor and intimacy out of them.
Of course, none of this would matter if the lead couple weren't engaging in their own right. While they do contrast nicely off of one another as introvert and extrovert, Yamada also infuses them with all sort of fun little quirks and preferences that make them feel more human. Natsu has her fondness for junk food and her somewhat dotty conversational style (helped along by Matt Treyvaud's translation). Meanwhile, Nokoru has his love of old fantasy manga, his fascination with exotic locales, and a analytical style of speech that he can never fully shake, not even in his own internal monologue. I love the hopeful note it ends on, but honestly this could have gone on as long as Sweat and Soap did and I would have been thoroughly entertained.
ART:
Much of what I said about the art of Sweat and Soap applies here. That said, Yamada does make a genuine effort to distinguish Nokoru and Natsu from Asuko and Kotaro. Nokoru has the same beady eyes as Kotaro, but his limp dark hair (with bits of grey in the color art) and persistent eye bags scream "exhaustion." Meanwhile, while there are some vague surface-levels similarities between Natsu and Asuko, her look is more youthful and casual, with a smaller bust and a smattering of freckles on her cheeks. It should be noted that this book is notably less smutty. While Nokoru and Natsu do eventually hook up, Yamada skips over the actual sexy times entirely on the page.
Since so much time and importance is put on our leads' apartments, Yamada puts lots of care into the backgrounds. Their look and layout is clearly intended to reflect their occupant's personalities. Thus, Nokoru's is very minimal, spacious, and modern, but his jungle ruin-themed balcony hints at a bit of wanderlust. Meanwhile, Natsu's space is more cramped and cluttered but this is because the walls are covered with shelves full of books, papers, and other odds and ends, as well as her custom-built reading nook. It's this level of thought and detail, all of it rendered with a light touch and an unpretentious style, that makes Yamada's work such a delight.
RATING:
This manga is published by Kodansha Comics. It is currently in print.
Our Holiday Review Giveaway is still underway! To find out more and potentially win a $25 Bookshop.org gift certificate, click the link above.
No comments:
Post a Comment