The Spring 2025 Manga Guide

Loving Living VR: A Jobless G.I.R.L.'s [Guy IRL] BL (18+)

What's It About? 

Jobless, bored, and struggling to find a place in life, Izumi turns to VR to live vicariously through a sexy female avatar and make new friends. It's in this virtual world that he meets Haru, another man who inspires him to follow his passions... and soon falls head over heels in love.

Loving Living VR: A Jobless G.I.R.L.'s [Guy IRL] BL has a story and art by Yoikoni TT. English translation by Mod. Syu lettered this volume. Published by Irodori (March 11, 2025). Rated M.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

By all means, read this story for the porny bits, but it's also worth picking up for the love story. Created at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Loving Living VR is a sweet little book about two people finding each other when they least expect it. Izumi loses his job at the start of the story, and on a whim decides to soothe himself by checking out the world of VR chat. Eventually, he meets Haru, and the two form a friendship that later develops into love… entirely online. What saves this from a descent into cliché is that they're both completely aware of each other's real genders; even though “Izmin” is a buxom lady in VR and “Hal” is a female-presenting, gender-neutral person, that doesn't stop them from developing and affirming feelings for each other. It's a lovely example of the idea that love is love and what's inside matters more than external appearances.

It's also an easy shortcut for creator Yoikono TT to draw makeout scenes that are both yuri-skewing and BL. Hal and Izmin get physical in both worlds, and although the real-world scene is more explicit, both show their very real physical attraction to each other, regardless of the bodies they inhabit. It also makes for some amusing pillow talk when they finally meet IRL, with Haru mentioning that he's used to Izumi having boobs; they both see the humor in their situation and it becomes part of the appeal of them as a couple. They're not self-serious; they're two people who enjoy each other's company and bodies, and it's charming to read.

Being an Irodori doujin, when things get explicit, they get explicit. Yoikono TT doesn't try to pretty anything up, so if you're looking for the whole nine yards, you'll get it here. They also don't overexaggerate the guys' attributes, but if that's what you're looking for, you can find it in virtually any R-rated series on Lezhin. Honestly, it feels like the art understands that part of the porn here is the genuine feelings involved; it's not just about the physical act of sex. It's a warm-hearted story, perfect for romance novel fans looking to expand their horizons, and a friendly reminder that not everything online is terrible after all.

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MrAJCosplay
Rating:

I don't think we talk enough about the impacts that COVID-19 had on people and their ability to connect with others. Some people had to change how they communicated with others in the world after that isolation. Thankfully, things like virtual reality, streaming, and online messaging helped alleviate that pain for some people. So I'm always happy for people to share stories about their experiences dealing with that situation.

This story isn't about COVID but instead was born from the author's experiences during that time. The volume is very short, about falling in love online via VR chat and eventually forming a deep connection in the real world. It's a swift and simple story. For the vibe that it's going for, I think it accomplishes everything that it wanted to. The art style is straightforward, and I like many of the distinctions between how things are in the real world and how they appear in VR. The idea of feeling lost in a cynical world and retreating to a virtual one is something I think will only grow stronger with age. Even though we don't get to any sexy times until the end of the book, I did like the emotional build up that got us there. If you're familiar with online chat rooms, meeting friends online, or perhaps you have a similar romantic relationship with someone, then I think you'll find a lot to enjoy in this little story.

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Christopher Farris
Rating:

I expect to be surprised to some degree by some of the wilder premises that pop up in Irodori's doujin releases. But the ways they can surprise me vary. Case in point: I figured that Loving Living VR here would have some fun, gender-y stuff leading down its BL pipeline, but what I wasn't wholly expecting was that it would be cute as fuck. Beyond its multilayered trappings of finally blazing the legendary trail that is yuri-yaoi, this is a story of people finding each other, informed by a very particular moment in human history. It broaches the subject of their romantic and emotional attachment without judgment and with just enough adorably relatable humanity to make it feel perfect for what it is.

Izumi's initial unemployed dalliances in VRChat, as informed by the author's notes, are amusing enough. There's a charm to watching him shed his inhibitions and parade around in his cute avatar in a sexier way that affirms him. "Might as well be a cute girl" is how it starts for so many people, but at least for Izumi, it does seem to merely be an aesthetic appreciation. That carries over as he experiences a meet-cute with fellow cross-playing player Hal and unflinchingly accepts that his polygonal paramour is a guy, happily falling for him regardless. The moment that pure "I like you" is spoken is the moment that Loving Living VR ascends from amusing to adorably awesome.

At its sweet heart, Loving Living VR is a story about Izumi trying to decide what he wants to do, what his goals are in a transitory time in his life. Finding Hal and meeting him as Haru turns out to be his anchor; the book is remarkable in how it distills that relationship believably, despite its shorter page count. Izumi and Haru have an infectious chemistry. Even though they're just being sweet together, it's rewarding to watch them do so. This extends to things becoming explicit, as it captures some genuine, heartfelt moments of connection. This comic includes an instance of a guy experiencing nerves-based erectile dysfunction, and turns it into a cute, wholesome, and ultimately sexy moment between both boys. And I have to appreciate Yoikono TT's attention to rendering both of their scrawny nerd bods. Loving Living VR is a surprising treat within the BL space, and I had a great time watching it build out its own unique virtual identity.