Wotakoi: Manga and Anime (Review)

9/10: I feel like I have a ton more to say about this manga but I’ve forgotten most of it already(should have written it out as I read it tbh). I’d like to add some panels demonstrating my points for this later. (This post is extremely unstructured because I still have no idea how to write anything properly ngl, I ‘try’ to focus on certain aspects like characters, pacing, plot, etc. Obviously, no one’s gonna read this but why do I still want anything I write to sound less cringy or spoiler-free). Gahhh, idk wtf to say!!!

To start off, I feel so relieved to read something very endearing, simple and lighthearted. As much as I love to ramble on about in-depth character development(Berserk, Mob Psycho, A Silent Voice) or the myriad of ways authors can take the “unreliable narrator” trope(Homunculus) or how realistic representations of absolute passion coming from a high schooler having to dedicate only 1 thing to define themselves so far in their life(Hibike!Euphonium), I kinda just want to consume something extremely simple enough without having to rack my brains about it for an entire week to a full month.

And Wotakoi really hits that perfect balance between a simple romance and an unstructured comedic plot lines as the author pretty much have fun with however they want to express in their work. It’s wholesome how incoherent each chapter is, obviously there’s still a story being developed between each couples but the in-between comedic moments sprinkled on each volume makes it feel like a comfortable conversation between people nerding over what they like.

I love reading the Afterwords to each volume, understanding how much the author kinda stumbling with what to say seeing as this is their first official work being published. Plus, it’s such a series of its time because volume 9 and 10 coming out, they also talk about the whole situation with the pandemic and the boom in otakus after seeing how the world slowly coming to the acceptance of anime being normalized.

I love the way the author fully uses the layout of manga panels. Maybe this is the first time I've noticed this when reading but there's so many subtle changes that or add-ins in each panel: the speech bubble going from one frame to another, the small notable design of a character on a speech bubble to indicate whose talking(square glasses for one, round glasses for another, round eyes or :3 facial expressions for others), the tiny commentary/summary next to the page numbers. Sometimes those comments disappear for the sake of having the readers focus on important moments.

Makes sense that the author came up with this series through chatting with their friends one day about anime and then suddenly basing some aspects of their relationships then coming up with characters for the manga(wholesome moment).

I sound fucking old as shit saying this but growing up experiencing the whole ‘otaku culture’ in the 2010s, I feel refreshed to see characters casually talking about gacha game jargons and geeking out over anime tropes/fandoms. It’s funny that these anime characters are referencing other anime/mangas even when they are themselves are anime characters(wtf is this sentence smh).

Now that I think about it, the first 2 volumes might just put some people off seeing how some chapters are extremely basic Shojo manga situations.
Characters(right at the bottom cuz why not):
- Hirotaka Nifuji: There’s a lot more focus on him than I thought but after reading the Afterword in the last volume, I understand why now. The author wants him to be the Heroine as first and gave him a lot more depth. He has quite a few crucial moments in trying to better the relationship, lots of monologues about his thoughts for the first few volumes(though it still made sense with how little he talks to other people so maybe this accommodate for the few interactions).
- Narumi Momose: This manga wouldn’t exist without her existence ngl. She feels like the textbook definition of a Shojo protagonist at first then as you read more, she’s the most expressive between the 2, is usually the butt of the joke but also the one to initiate and nudge Hirotaka in order to further their relationship. Yet, in contrast to her personality, she’s the most reluctant to truly express what she likes(being a fujoshi and all that).

(I’ll talk about the 2 other couples later, I might reread it both for adding images for context in this post + for the sake of my enjoyment).

Random thing: The ANIME (TBA)