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 hyperenergetic 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 lighthearted story and a memorable one.
80
/100