With her ailing grandma being taken care of by her parents, Miko Sonoda moves into her uncle’s boarding house. It’s an interesting place for a high schooler since everyone there is older, and she already met one of them: Matsunaga, who punched a wall in frustration while on the phone outside the house. Needless to say, first impressions are key, and when she learned he lives there (after pepper spraying him since he was walking her way), she definitely didn’t think he’d be getting along with him!
But of course, that mindset wouldn’t stay the same once she got to know him…
Living-Room Matsunaga-san is one of the few shoujo titles that began life as a digital release from Kodansha USA. But at Anime Expo last year, it must’ve done well enough to become a print release. From the outset though, it doesn’t seem like anything you haven’t seen before — seemingly grumpy and handsome guy displays enough kind moments that make the heroine eventually fall for him. Miko has to navigate her new life while understanding who Matsunaga really is, and figure out why in a mixed boarding house he prances around every morning shirtless (I can only guess he thinks he’s Gray).
However, what helps make this manga a breeze to read is that it’s not just her dealing with him, but the rest of the residents at the boarding house, who are either adults or in college. She quickly learns how different it is for high schoolers and adults (for example, she makes dinner for everyone, only to learn work keeps all of them away) and also has to adjust her responsibilities living in a boarding house. While the residents are a bit unusual — especially one character who essentially says hi and bye like it’s natural — they each still have emotions and concerns that she can relate to or understand.
The humor is slapstick without going too overboard with the characters’ expressions. We of course have to have the two main characters trapped in a bathroom because the door lock is broken — and generally you’ll get a chuckle out of certain moments, whether it’s the characters getting together and watching a soccer match while drinking or when Matsunaga somehow snaps at any little thing. The manga is balanced by making sure it has its romantic moments while also having timely small talk; it does this so well that it makes the typical premise feel enjoyable and not boring.
Living-Room Matsunaga-san does still have to handle the romance aspect properly; for volume 1, it’s unclear how old all of the characters are, so those that aren’t a fan of age-gap works might want to be cautious. Aside from that, there were cute moments that make you think it makes sense for Miko to start falling for Matsunaga, but I’m not so sure it was enough. With how it ended, that likely will jump things off between the two, so I’m definitely curious enough to find out what happens next and how the rest of the characters shake things up.