Review for My Coworker Has a Secret! Vol.1
I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review~
I was so excited to see more new manga up on Netgalley! I just love it when new stuff appears! And this one just sounded so much fun and was even more fun in the end than I even had expected.
Meet Akari, a girl who is a BIG BIG BIG fangirl for an idol/actor named Ren-Ren. I really liked Akari for a lot of the book, I mean, I found it adorable how much she loved Ren-Ren, I loved how big her love for food was (then again given that she barely has anything it may just be that), I loved how she can just chat for ours about something she love (which I totally recognise from hobbies I have). I loved how sweet and kind she was. I loved her click with Kazama and I loved it when a friend of Kazama popped over (Rin) and how she connected with them. HOWEVER, at times I thought the MC was 15-17 based on how she handled money and life. At one point she gets kicked out of her house because apparently she never checked the notice board. She barely has any money because she spends it all on Ren-Ren, apparently she just has enough to at least eat some ramen or bread stuff and pay rent, but that is it. It was just sad. I mean, adulting is hard, I know, at times I am just tired of it all, but still I was frustrated with her that she just couldn’t seem to grasp that you need to eat healthy, you need to check things to make sure that there are no surprises, you need to step up. You can still have fun and buy stuff, no need to go fully frugal.
Kazama was just adorable. He was really, as Akari called him, a Rocky given that at times he just doesn’t seem to get some basic ideas. Like smartphones or his gigantic apartment. But I loved how he kept Akari’s secret and even loved making all the food for her. I loved that his one condition to keep it a secret was that he wanted to make lunch for her, sorry, but that is adorable. I love that he just listens to her rambling on, I mean, I would have just cut her off at one point because DANG girl. But he doesn’t mind. And I love that under that sweet demeanour and a bit ditzy-ness that he was smart and did seem to understand more than what you at times thought he would. I do want to know how he got that reputation at work though. XD
And I LOVED how these two grew together. At first I was definitely happy with them just being friends being there for each other, but as the story went on I just felt that something was shifting and you know what? I am there for it! It is going to be fun. Kazama is just really discovering the feels he has and Akari is both a bit ditzy and seems to understand that something is going on. The ending though? YOU CANNOT FREAKING END IT THERE. I need book 2, STAT. NOW.
I am still not sure about Ren-Ren, I get the appeal at points, but those snarky comments? Not my thing. A real turn-off.
The art was really fun! I love the style~
All in all, this was just oodles of fun and I am so happy I got the chance to read it~ Recommended!