Bonnouji

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I first thought it would be funny to read because the art was horrific.
After getting into it, I started liking the storyline, the characters, and I kept updated with it.

It's very cute and light hearted. The characters/ love interests are realistic and mature and the little things that happen between them are fun to read about. The two characters are pretty relatable. I still like it even though the art is horrible.

Mangakas of the romance genre often try to spice up their plots by putting their main couple through many dramatic obstacles in their relationships like third party involvement or family affairs, dragging the readers along for a roller coaster ride of heartaches.

Bonnouji has none of this. Nothing really happens. The best way to summarize this is that 2 apartment-mates meet and fall in love. And yet it manages to capture your attention from page 1 all the way to the very end.

Relationships don't need to be spiced up and dramatized. Bonnouji zeroes in on the comedy arising from the awkwardness and trickiness of 2 people ... falling in love. It reminds us that at the end of it all, love is about companionship, and it is wonderful.

It's a simple read with simple art to match. But don't make the mistake of thinking it lacks depth. Get ready for lots of cringes and chuckles, and loads of warm fuzzy feels. It's truly a manga that'll put a smile on your face :)

Moving on a recent relationship breakup sure is hard, even harder if that past relationship had span for quite long period of time and what makes it really hard for a person to erase the bitterness is the way that person still lurks on the past, eventually becoming insecure to what her former lover had become or worst plotting a revenge to that person that broke his/her heart.

But what if you have something to preoccupy yourself with? Perhaps burying yourself under loads of work, breaking sweat on a particular sport or embracing a new hobby--things that could help rehabilitate not only our heart ... but also our mind.

Now this brings us to the starting premise of this manga....


Bonnouji story revolves around the life of a boy and a girl in their mid-20s who lives in the same condominium. The girl's name is Ozawa, 26-year-old working lady, who had just recently broke up with his 5 years live-in partner. Then she met a boy named Oyamada in the most crucial time in her entire life - the moment she needed to use the bathroom. If you think things will go sticky from here on then you're getting the wrong idea, for his room wasn't filled with tons of porn books but instead, it was decorated with souvenirs, collectible items, figurines and boxes. Yes, you've read it right, boxes and...some more boxes. And what do these boxes contain? Well, that's one of the reasons why you should read this manga.

After she saw Oyamada's bizarre room and opening a box, they chugged down a wine-looking liquid that they got from the box and they got laid... Oh wait! they didn't...instead they talk about how brokenhearted Ozawa is then Oyamada comforted her and that's the start of their friendship. And everyday, driven by curiosity, Ozawa comes to Oyamada's room to unravel what lies inside the boxes.


Story: 8/10

There aren't many complications and twist in the story, aside from the ones I've already said, for this is just about interactions between characters and eccentric boxes with a hint of romance. Being a quintessential slice of life romcom, the conflict faced by the characters in this manga aren't as grave or heavy as you expect to come out from a story that is rooted from a broken heart. Angst, envy nor extreme sadness are nowhere to be found; in fact, the atmosphere is just light in nature and refreshing. There aren't any absurd dramatic moments nor stupid misunderstandings that are most of the time the reason why usual 'romance' manga stretch out for too long.

The flow of the story is episodic and slow but the slowness is not a bad thing in itself, for it takes it time for the readers to feel their daily life and to make out a bit of development in every chapter. It may look like that only each day are passing by every chapter but in reality, weeks are passing. From time to time, you'll get to read remarks like 'Oyamada-san hasn't been visiting for weeks now', basically that's just that. Also, events are taking place into two places, the condo and Oyamada's working place.

Characters: 10/10

The characters aren't deep; however, you might think that they are very shallow and plain-- not enough to put a spice in the story-- but that just contributes to the charm of this manga which is its simplicity. The girl is in her twenty-six and the boy's age wasn't given but it seems that there is a gap in the age of characters, with the boy being younger one, but isn't really felt with their interactions and there is a potential for romance between the two.

Art: 9/10

The art is great. Sketchy sometimes but isn't lacking when it comes to background or other details and it fits the atmosphere of Oyamada's somewhat messy round. Also, each character has a trademark look: the main guy wears a glasses and has slightly long hair, and the main girl has a very long black hair. The dialogues aren't misleading too, despite being all over the place some times because of the art, some lines has a small doodle like a face with glasses hinting that the character with glasses, which is the main guy, is speaking.

The girl is 26 but she doesn't really look like one. It could be that my image of a 26-year-old character looks older because of the other manga that I've read that has female girls in their mid-20s or she's just drawn to look young way because she is portraying a cute, either of the two or both.

Enjoyment: 9/10

I enjoyed the entire first volume of the manga and will read some more later. I like how the anime is fun and light that despite having a combination of 'Seinen' and 'Romance' tags, there seems to be little to no sex jokes present. Not that I hate lewd humor but I'm surprise this one manage to get by and give me a few chuckles without being dirty. I did catch myself laughing and smiling on some of its cute moments. Overall it's great.

So while looking for alcohol related manga’s like Bartender, a random person on a chat introduced me to Bonnouji. This may not have been about alcohol but I still fell in love with it. It’s a very simple story about a man and woman falling in love. There is nothing really over the top, no harems for Oyamada to pick from, no really large conflicts or supernatural intervention. After all the anime and manga I have read over the years, I was surprised this was actually a manga (don’t you love sarcasm?).

The characters are very simple, and sadly sometimes a little to simple. Ozawa ... is rather spacey at times and doesn’t really grow at all though the story. She just goes through her life as a normal business woman, responsible and hard working while trying to get up in the world, but when she is in Bonnouji (Oyamada’s room) she acts like a child. Half the time I didn’t even believe she was almost 30 with how childish she was. Oyamada really wasn’t any better, being carefree pretty much. He would always have fun opening one box after another from the items his brother would send him and living each day as though there was going to be something spectacular in the next box. These two worlds have really different feelings to them, and yet they seem to collide in odd ways as the two get more and more attracted to each other. One would even think, maybe, that Ozawa is only using Zenji to get out of her daily routine and to help her forget her ex. That is a big question to ask and it is one of the main reasons I kept reading the manga, not because of the artwork, but because of the story inside. That to me is the real reason people should be reading manga in the first place.

What bugged me was the fact that there was no good way to judge time at all. The chapters held themselves together well with the stories and playful antics but there was no way to figure out time. They would say it every once in a while that a year has passed, that a couple months passed but it doesn’t tell you out loud. It’s only a small hint.

The art style is pretty sloppy, sort of a mash together of lines but I think it sort of works. What doesn’t work though is how strange the proportions sometimes end up, with squashed heads and large hips at some points. They don’t even look like adults half the time because of the inconsistent way the characters had been drawn. I thought for a while they might have been just teens at a couple points, especially Oyamada. There is a bit of a warning I have to add to this by the way, there are a couple sex scenes (though they are not made to be the main focus) and many mature talks about romance. This is not for younger people. The background goes from highly detailed to almost nothing a lot of the time though I wonder if that is just time frames getting in the way.

This was worth every moment of me reading it and I think everyone needs to at least try to read it at some point if they love romance.

Bonnouji is an instance where it manages to be a successful love story without depending on a drama storyline. It is often a necessity for romance to have some conflict in order for it to develop albeit it can turn into an ugly incoherent mess based on past experiences. What these other works do wrong is that they underestimate the potential a romance can bring. Drama can push a relationship to new highs and lows but it only works when the premise requires for such thing to happen. A typical heartwarming story between couples can go wrong by forcing it into a more serious direction. ... Cheating, love triangles, family problems; these are things that authors are often tempted to squeeze into their existing storyline. Bonnouji has none of that yet still manages to come off as a mature yet lighthearted story that is believable and compelling to a degree.

One reason why it doesn’t need drama is because the romance is so awkward yet I can see it happen in real life. They get flustered when something embarrassing comes up, have bad timing when it comes to saying things, and own weird sides that they’ve come to appreciate. The romance development is very abrupt most of the time but it plays on that awkward tone well enough to be forgivable. The pacing could’ve been done better though as it can get surprising when you realize that so much time has passed when a character mentions how many years or months has it been after a specific event that happened a few chapters ago.

The story does not delve into the heartbreak part at the beginning of the story and doesn’t get back to it, hence cutting off the main source of drama potential. Ozawa’s ex-boyfriend disappears immediately to irrelevance, making it easier to move forward to a hopeful tone. Breakups happen and sometimes you don’t know why it has led to that point but shit happens and we need to forget about it. Closure is not necessary as long as you’re happy with the present in this case. There is potential though as it can open up some skeletons in the closet but it’s impossible to fit it within the narrative without hurting its easy-going, blissful atmosphere.

The manga however makes up for the lack of drama through its often melancholic dialogue. The characters can get introspective at times, reflecting at the status of their relationship. Is this fine? Will things stay this way forever? There are doubts present but when the couple is at the presence of each other, they feel like everything is going to be alright. The story is self-aware when it comes to why are they such a perfect couple. They don’t fight at all and tease each other at times but it doesn’t end on a sour note. They complement each other’s personalities so much that anything that happens with them often leads to a lighthearted situation. Heck, they even make sex cute and innocent even though it never shies away from being expressed erotically.

I normally seek a solid character background when it comes to romance stories like this but for this specific manga, it made me not seek it at all. They are adults, and probably lived a normal life. No traumatic past events are used to propel further characterization. A character leading a completely normal life from childhood to present while still being wholesome can be possible. The manga plays its strengths at dealing with present situations. Ozawa works at the office, so the story occasionally deals with her frustrations which can get melancholic. Oyamada mostly spends time at his room since his job doesn’t require him to go outside, no deeper implications of a typical NEET shut-in at all. The story interweaves both of their daily lives in such a refreshing manner while having the romance at the forefront.

Overall this can be considered as a wish-fulfillment romance manga. Some will see it that way but personally I don’t care since it perfectly captures the life of a normal everyday adult. Circumstances brought the duo to a happy relationship, but the manga never coats it with too much sugar. It has a degree of realism to it and I applaud it for being such a realistic yet heartwarming tale of eccentric love.

I loved this series for a couple reasons, the first of which is that it's lighthearted. There's no major drama, but it focuses on the interactions of the characters in a fun way through their daily lives. The romance never felt forced, and was fun.

The art never stood out as something amazing, but was good. The characters were all distinguishable from each other and the character design was distinct. Where things excelled in the art department was the designs and life of the apartments. The setting was great and it helped to give the series life.

Overall, I loved this series for its characters and how ... light and easy going it was. Definitely a fun read.

Just finished Bonnouji a minute before, and i got the feeling to write a review for it, because i absolutely delighted with this manga. This manga is what they should call "the real" slice of life-romance manga, because its really "slice of life" and there's enough romance portion in the storyline to maintain the slice of life feel. No exaggerated love-scene. I really enjoy reading this manga.

The story is so light, so unique, and just like i said, the portion of every genres tagged to this manga is great enough. I really like to see how the MCs, Ozawa and Oyamada, with their own personalities ... and problems, developed their love story from zero point to the most climax point a love-story could reach. What i meant was, the story told us how they formed their mutual feelings from the moment they first met (and that moment was not same as we found in most other romantic manga. That meeting moment was so natural for the MCs, based on their personalities, and added more slice of life impression to the story) until they got married. It's so rare to find this kind of story. There's even some sex scenes that embellish their love story (LOL i love that scene :D ).
Of every slice of life story i'd ever watched and read, Bonnouji is one of my favorite. I gave it 9 out of 10.

The characters are so unique, especially the MCs. Ozawa, the heroine, is a woman who was in her age of maturity and was being in suiable age for marriage, suddenly broke up with her boyfriend she lived with for 5 years long. And there's Oyamada, a loner guy who was live in an eccentric room thanks to his brother who sent many random things (yes, very random, like sculptures, sunglasses ,and even glow-in-the-dark condom). What unusual characters, right? That's an extra good-point for this manga, since it developed the story and the characters consistently.
I gave it 9 out of 10.

For the art, i gave it 7 because it's kinda sketchy, but i still like it. The panels was suitable and neat enough to be called "enjoyable".

I unexpectedly enjoy this manga, because when i began to read Bonnouji, i didn't put too much expectation. Overall, 9 out of 10, for you who was looking for some slice of life story to read; who wanted to read some interesting love story; who wanted to see a sweet lewd scene :D ; i recommend this enjoyable manga, Bonnouji.

Bonnouji concerns two youngs adults, Oyamada and Ozawa, and their growing relationship. The two hang out in Oyamada's apartment which is filled with miscellaneous objects Oyamada's brother has purchased and sent to him. This eccentric collections serves as the spark in the series, along with Oyamada's friend, Shimamoto.

Honestly, I'm partially enamored with this series due to similarities to one of my past relationships. I think it speaks to the author's strong characterization that little details of the interactions between Oyamada and Ozawa can hit so close to home. The author paces out each scene in time, so it's not apparent how long between each story ... takes place until a character points out something like, "Oh, we've known each other for half a year now," or something like that. It gives the idea that we're just getting a peek into the lives of our characters.

As simple and sweet the series seems, there is a certain sadness to Ozawa's narration. We often see her challenging her own perceptions, fighting that struggle between happiness and despair that can come with relationships. She's fighting back certain fears about the inevitability of the end. It elevates her from a good character to a great character.

I don't think the art necessarily matches the level of the story-telling, but the details the author gives to the apartment and its various items of interest do give the sense of a place filled with oddities and charm. It can be a little sloppy, but it gives the story a solid sense of place. I don't really like the author's visual shorthand for who's talking when the character aren't in frame by having their facial features underneath the dialogue. The definitely start off more detailed and easily recognizable, but by the end I was straining to make out who the face was supposed to portray.

Bonnouji is definitely something to check out if you like relationship stories with a limited cast and strong characters, especially if you've struggled with ideas of what happiness is supposed to entail.

I haven't written any reviews before, but I felt compelled to write this one because I want other people to read this. I want other mangakas to study it.

One of the forum posts said this was so light, it felt like air. I'd agree. If there was a "No Drama" tag, it would be applied here. I'm not sure I've seen anything like this. It's just two normal, imperfect people finding each other without being idiots about it.

I went into this with the hope that it would wash the taste of a few dramatic bad-ending mangas out of my mouth. I'm smiling now.

Story

The story is simplistic, one of those that is centered around characters hanging out in one place. It was cute at first, but it didn't really go anywhere, even for this kind of story. For a story set in an adult world, it is quite juvenile in execution.
Sometimes the dialogue's meaning was unclear, and it was often just uninspired conversation between the characters that bordered on feeling like observing small talk between people. The jokes made me smile occasionally, more so in the beginning when the premise had first been introduced and still had the sheen of novelty. They quickly got boring, and ... less funny as the chapters went on. There was no conflict, or climax, really. That's fine, iyashikei does that all the time, but...there was none of the charming captivation necessary to carry out a story in which not much happens. By chapter 25 I almost dropped it, but powered through to the end because I wanted to finish it. The end would have been disappointing if I didn't already expect lackluster storytelling.

Art

The art is just...not very good.

Characters

The characters left a lot to be desired. There was no backstory involved, and their characteristics all blended together for little differentiation between them all except for on the surface, after their initial introduction. They didn't seem to have many ideas, thoughts, perspectives...Seemed quite 1-dimensional to me. Ozawa is introduced as an avid drinker with a sense of humor and...not much else. She remains pretty much that way. Oyamada is even more flat and uninteresting. The relationship between them doesn't portray convincing intimacy.

Enjoyment

I enjoyed this at first because the premise was kind of cute and there was the novelty of what happens at Bonnouji. But if the room's trinkets were not a factor, I wouldn't have continued reading. This aspect became repetitive quickly, and its positive moments were overshadowed by the dragging feeling of reading through something so uninspired. Even so, it did make me smile and did not always frustrate me. It captivated me enough that I wanted to finish the story, though part of that was because I was hoping it would get better...but it never did. A struggle to complete. Not my cup of tea.

I'll be honest, I'm a total sucker for romances, so all my scores for romance anime/manga are massively inflated. Keep that in mind. If I don't talk about some elements of the manga here, then that means they aren't relevant to a discussion of the main reasons why I think its a good read.

With that out of the way, let's get to it! Bonnouji!

There isn't really much to talk about, to be honest. It's a package we've all seen before (Two people fall in love! What happens?!™) wrapped in simple, pleasant art, and incredibly straightforward execution. This is a slice-of-life romance.

Instead of what ... you might call the usual drama (Will they won't they, jealousy, love triangles, dark pasts, etc.), Bonnouji uses its happy-go-lucky, relaxing pace to explore some common questions involved in romantic (and some platonic!) relationships in a very stress-free environment.

Every chapter is, after a fashion, very much like the boxes Zenji, Michiyo, and Shimapon receive in the mail: eclectic, colorful, and always fun. Try it at your own pace. I can guarantee you'll find something to like here.

To be completely honest, this is my first time writing a review on a manga. I've written reviews before, but only on anime so when I stumbled upon "Bonnouji" I decided to give it a try mainly because of the intriguing synopsis. I was completely drowned in tears of joy after finishing this light-hearted, masterpiece of a manga...

For those who have not read the synopsis, "Bonnouji" is a story about 2 people, who by chance met and quickly became friends. Naturally, these 2 would spend more time and the relationship between them eventually bloomed into love. While most romance manga tends to follow a ... certain set of principles or cliche to make the story somewhat enjoyable, "Bonnouji" doesn't stray from these sets of cliche, but it also doesn't focus too much on it. The story is simple, yet extremely heart-warming and this may-be because of how relatable it is to reality.

To give you a better understanding of the mange, I'll make an analogy. Imagine one day you broke up with your boyfriend/girlfriend, and you decided to go drink with your friends to ease your depressive state. After a good night of drinking with your friends, you walk back home and gets into a troublesome situation (whatever it may-be) and suddenly, a person you never knew helped you out. Naturally, you would say thank you and ask that person what you need to do in order to repay for his or her help. Then suddenly, that person said "to become friends", what would your reaction be? You accept the request and at first glance, you might think that this person is never going to become your future boyfriend or girlfriend just because he doesn't fit your "ideal" type but to only find out that later on, he or she would become the most dependable person in your life. Only then will you realize that your "ideal" type was just you fantasizing, but in reality, only time will decide whether you two are a good fit or not.

It was most definitely an enjoyable and pleasurable ride when reading "Bonnouji". For those into romance, I heavily recommend reading this manga for it provides you with everything you need while maintaining a realistic viewpoint.

Just a simple yet realistic story of two people in a chance meeting gradually falling for each other. This manga does nothing new or special, but hits all of its points so precisely it has no real flaws. Every chapter either has some form of comedy or a great feels moment that makes you truly connect with the characters. It has nothing that seems to be fluff or added in to the manga and I felt each chapter really progressed to the ultimate goal. I enjoyed how they actually got together half way through the series as well because it made the characters that much ... more real to me.

9/10 A realistic love story everyone should read

It's a cozy short read. Most chapters are very short, less than 20 pages or so.

The art is pretty simple, almost sketch-like, and the chibi designs used frequently are very cute. Although not super elaborate or detailed I liked it.

The highlight of the manga is definitely the slice of life aspect, however if you aren't a fan of the genre you might end up thinking this manga is boring. After all the vast majority of chapters are about extremely mundane matters.

The comedy definitely falls flat more often than not, but I'm willing to overlook it because of the cute chibi art style in which the ... gags are drawn.

The romance on the other hand was very disappointing. Almost all progress in the romantic relationship gets offscreened, for example we are never shown their first kiss. And even when it's the central topic of the chapter, the romance is handled very awkwardly.

Overall, very uneventful manga with poorly executed romance and comedy, nonetheless cute and fluffy when it matters. I'd say it was decently entertaining but nothing groundbreaking. Still, the wholesome atmosphere was enjoyable.

This was probably the most realistic slice-of-life I've ever read. Don't look for drama or deep story, this is just a couple going about and enjoying their life together.

I found this piece while on a binge of short romcom slice-of-life mangas (Karagiri-san, Tsukita-san, Uchi no Kaisha no Chiisai Senpai no Hanashi etc.) and it kind of positively surprised me with how casual it was and how satisfied I was at the end. It did everything it set out to do, nothing more, nothing less, and it was a true delight.
Maybe it spoke to me more to see two adults live a little more on the ... childish side but I also saw what made their relationship stable and could understand it (even being a 19yo shut-in XD).

I deem this work a satisfying/10 and I stand by my actual score. Way more mature than some other (also great) works. Props to Eda Aki.

This was so cute man! It's about a 26 year old office lady who split from her bf of 5 years and befriends with a computer programmer. The two really get on well with no pointless drama involved. it's honestly a great change to see no stupid love triangle nonsense making an appearance because goddamn there's way too many of them out there! There's even no stupid misunderstandings involved either and reading the whole 35 chapters was relaxing enough to indulge, lads!


I think this manga would give anyone a nice boost if they feel their life is beyond hectic or if someone ... in their lives said something to disappoint them! Why can't we have a couple of Zenjis in the world man? Lol



Anyways if you need to read a feel good manga folks, this is one for u to check out!

Light spoilers

A very sweet romance story. There is no denseness. The pace was good. But it didn't give me a reason to continue reading. I guess I finished it just because I felt empty if I didn't, or maybe also because of the momentum. (Read this in two sittings : Night (most of it), morning (last chapters)

The background art was not detailed but it was detailed enough. However, I do have a problem with the faces. They're so bland.

There aren't many relevant characters in the series, 5 in total I think. They fit their role and they don't bother me.
What bothers me is how ... the main couple acts, I have never been in a relashionship before so I wouldn't know, but I wouldn't be able to handle the awkwardly presented way of doing things shown in this manga, so it kinda felt uncomfortable, and also insincere.

It was a short read and it didn't entertain me too much. Maybe because I didn't think the main characters were compatible or realistic. I would recommend this to someone who just wants a simple love story (it's so simple and linear).

PS: For a one-on-one romance fluffy manga, I would definitely recommend you more to read Tonikaku Kawaii. (I swear you'll die) Well I guess it's up to personal taste.

CHAPTER 3...5 Finished

Some spoilers are ahead also majorly different opinion about this story (If taken from real life perspective so a lot of subjective thoughts)

Story 8:
It was good to be short, but there is a but. Story is as tags suggest it nothing less maybe something more.
We have programmer who is more like hikkakomori, his aloof friend (mahjong addict+eroge), salarywomen who is a drunken bulldozer and her friend coworker a serious madam who is relationship-less. Story takes place around mostly in a flat (which belongs to MC) and her workplace. A comedy routine with slice of life elements and easy romance (they go all the ... way but if you freaking consider span of time it is very weird).
Now officially starting with a "but"s in questions. First of all they are all drunkards (A chapter without a alcohol is a no chapter). Next we have their hikkakomori lifestyle (nothing wrong with it, it is my ideal life, but they stick to it too much). Problem #3 Time span if i remember correctly one year in relationship, sleeping together (near each other not sex not the same bed) and nothing (no sex, no cuddling, no kissing and even a cliche hand holding was a no go zone for a while). I'm not even talking that she before started dating him visited his place for a year. Next we have some relationship problems if you dig deep enough.
Long story short, story was good and easy going until you start to analyze and then it hits you like a thors hammer...Either author made some plot mistakes or something deep rooted is happening here (some real problems that are covered by a cheery manga)

Art 8:
Would give more but lack of places and characters made it look lazy (Don't torch me just yet), background while was somewhat detailed and it changed few times in most cases it was copy pasted, characters were how should i put it good but seem to be lacking some details (but overall no problems that i spotted), panel placement was excellent as for dialogue bubbles never did i had problems discerning who speaks to whom.

Character 8:
Characters were convenient more or less one dimensional if you put it but overly likeable, character grow is there but overtime and only glimpses. MC was how should i put it a dummy after a while you finally start to see that this boy is has actually some opinions of his own and is kinda mature but at first it seemed more like he was simply going with the flow (later you realize that he maybe is very patient, mature and stoic).
Female MC was a train wreck at the start and a major boner buster. What do i mean by that, yes she had been rejected by a person who was living with her for 5 years but she freaking needed 1 year to heal (ok with that) then another year to finally make it to home run, MC did try to advance but she flat out rejected him a few times (C'mon girl you are at the start of the series 26 years old how could you be so frugal and a train wreck at the same time (drunkard)).
As for supports major one is MC's friend who is basically cohabiting in MC room as much as this girl but he is actually helpful and a good friend without him this series would be more like a girl comes in drinks in some dudes flat cock blocks and dashes off (Major friendzone).
Girls friend is shown even less but is somewhat helpful yet we have a problem here Huston, even though she met and even grew to like (i think MC) they never really interacted after one chapter ---> AND look at the last chapter and notice about wedding ceremony's and guests there (To be precise notice who didn't attend, correct me if I'm wrong, while that person in question did in fact attend to previous wedding) <---- Either plothole or some problems behind the curtains.

Enjoyment 8:
Would be 10 if not for my analyzing, it showed cracks and made me question a lot of things that happened in the series. I started to look at it that maybe just maybe...there is darker story to that...
We find 26 old girl who was dumped by bf, we have hikkakomori like (not a real one though) programmer who is younger. This girl after her heart was broken concentrated on drinking out, in, using convenient flat neighbor (who basically is herbivore - most of the time a turn off for women) after a time of hiatus on dating front (well since she isn't getting younger and in Japan 26 and not married until recently was a major flaw and not many would go for her), by that i mean while she was partying with her neighbor and a girlfriend of hers she was also somewhat looking for action and after sometime started to give up and then MC asks her out... And she agrees like why not, he is convenient doesn't argue much, good listener, doesn't aggressively advance has his s*&t together and earns (probably good money), because if turned down party in his house would be closed most likely (if not because of rejection but because it's overly awkward). Then while still in search of something better she begins to finally settle (Father chronos never sleeps and alcohol doesn't make a person more beautiful) So cockblocking friends are coming to the rescue and finally we have some advances (rejections), but hey the girl finally realizes that our humble MC is actually a gentleman who doesn't advance on drunks and is even more mature than her and after that who knows...Basically this story has a dark plot potential, because people 'cmon if you like someone or you have some hots for someone you will make it look like you are available at least subtly (And MC clearly stated at first that he couldn't do it since every time she came she was either drunk or gotten drunk and after that it simply became a norm and obviously she didn't give off romantic openness).
Sorry for the long banter but i had to share my wild assumption because there are too many holes if you disregard comedy act and rate it more realistically.

I liked it don't get me wrong, but it raised some bumps and those bumps were unpleasant, she was not a virgin, she was living with bf for 5 years, she needed 1 year (or more) in order to accept him only after confrontation from friends and feeling guilty and in the end it made me feel that MC had status Random dude-->Drinking buddy--->Acquaintance--->Friendzone lover--->"Settled mule"---->Actually a great guy <---- This there my friends happens when a person sees plot holes and has a generally bad opinion about dating in 21st century hence i was fortunate not to meet someone like that but as for my surroundings (Friends got burned;Female Acquaintances that that kinda while being drunk told me dating stratagem (after research confirmed it that it is actually a trend))

Overall 8:
If you don't overthink it's great and i would advice to read it, but if you take my words seriously or start to think about everything objectively this story is nothing short of horror story for Males and Females when male is considered as "Award" for finishing last and women has to settle with somebody who doesn't excite her much romantically but as a friend....he is okay. In short it's like a coin from one point you see cheerful romcom-seinen story from the other you might find realistic dating horror story

If you were able to read all this thank you if you disagree with my assumption or add to it please contact me i would be interested to hear your opinion. Since my assumption is based on my overtly biased opinion of dating world of 21st century.

*Don't have to worry about spoilers here*
I just really had to commend this Manga because it strayed from the path of most other Rom-Com types. This really felt more realistic in regard to what new couples go through; whether it be dealing with the lingering effect of a heart-break or the anxiety and indecisiveness when it comes down to planning a future with someone you truly care about. It even put on display the sheer randomness that occurs when talking to your loved one. It doesn't always have to be serious or life-changing, just conversing for the purpose of enjoying each other's company. It felt ... relatable to me, and avoided the issue of oblivious main characters who beat around the bush for hundreds of chapters.

There was no shortage of realism, whilst maintaining a level of wholesomeness that gives you a squeeze in the chest. I'm really glad I found this. It was short, but somehow felt complete. I hope others get the same feeling I did when reading this. Absolutely loved it. Now I need to find another gem like this. :)

*P.S.* Why I gave the character rating a 7:
I felt as though the main male character could have been elaborated on more just as the Heroine was. Her character felt deeper. Also, the best friend (Ok, Just One Spoiler) felt somewhat stagnant compared to the other characters in his progress in life. Though, I guess that's realistic too.

Bonnouji. What a hidden gem. It explores the relationship of two people who just happens to meet after a huge breakup in which turns from friendship into much more. It clashes with my mentality of just supporting someone I care about until they found someone much better. Interesting characters, smooth pacing, and great character development. A good read if you're into slice-of-life/romance theme.

Story: Two random people who happens to be neighbors coincidentally(inevitably) meet. A friendship blooms and later turns into much more.

Art: Generic art that looks like what you see on doujinshis but enough to enjoy.

Character: Boy what a treat. The character development is this ... piece greatest asset.

Enjoyment: If you've read up to here you already know.