New this month from Square Enix is a romantic comedy manga with a nerdy twist in The Otaku Love Connection. Life has its simple joys, and for geeky fanboy Wataru Otonari, that’s admiring his gorgeous classmate Yuzuru Kakoi and her equally gorgeous boyfriend, Chihiro Kawai. Luckily for Wataru, his classroom seat next to Yuzuru gives him a perfect view of his OTP. But this self-professed NPC doesn’t seem to know he’s just as beautiful himself! As Wataru encounters other students who stan his faves just as much as he does – although some have very, very different takes on their dynamic – every day turns into a rollercoaster of emotions for this obliviously beautiful boyfailure!
Otaku themed romance is a well explored genre with recent hits like Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku and My Dress-Up Darling taking it to workplace and high school settings with great success. The Otaku Love Connection however takes the tropes you’d fine in these series in a rather different direction. Whilst romance is a key driving point of the story, the majority of it is driven by the spectators watching on and actively celebrating their favourite couples. It’s not unusual to see fans shipping pairings between fictional characters but seeing them cheering on real couples is a whole different kettle of fish.
Wataru’s unbridled joy at shipping his favourite school couple and his subsequent discovery of fellow fans provide plenty of hilarious moments whilst giving a fun take on shipping culture. The fact that Wataru is unaware of his own bishonen (pretty boy) appearance whilst admiring Kakoi and Kawai’s perfect looks and chemistry to an almost obsessive degree also give the series a healthy sense of irony. Creator Chu Amairo additionally gives Wataru some fun characters to play off. His fellow shipper Tomaki struggles to reconcile her unrequited feelings for Wataru with his one-track mind when it comes to shipping. Their interactions give the series an enticing hook as we question if Wataru will ever see Tomaki as anything beyond a fellow otaku.
Amairo is also no slouch when it comes to the art department. She throws herself wholeheartedly into the shojo stylings you’d expect in a series like this. Her characters are all well designed and deliberately overly pretty along with plenty of over-the-top moments to go with the comedy. But she also does well with more subtle aspects with Tomaki – in particular – showing a wide range as she processes her feelings that go beyond comically exaggerated expressions of emotion (readers have Wataru to deliver in that department).
This is a fun series that celebrates otakus whilst putting in some twists when it comes to their roles in romantic comedies. Manga fans looking for their next shojo comedy will definitely want to give The Otaku Love Connection a look.
The Otaku Love Connection 01 is out 11 February from Square Enix Manga (9781646093694, p/b, £12.99)
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