In Volume 1 of Teiji ni Ageretara (定時にあがれたら), one day at work, Yukawa learns she’s dropped her keys when fellow employee, fashionable and attractive Mizuki, returns them. The two of them become friends, sharing meals and hanging out together. One day, almost without realizing it, Yukawa tells Mizuki she likes her, then immediately asks Mizuki to forget it. But Mizuki finds that she just cannot. No matter how much she’d like to go back to being just friends, they aren’t going to be able to. So Mizuki asks Yukawa out.

Not sure of each other’s interest, there’s miscommunications, and misunderstandings, but slowly and surely Yukawa and Mizuki work their way towards a mutually romantic relationship. When Mizuki confesses that she loves Yukawa, it’s not so much a climax as a great relief to both women that they haven’t been wrong.

The final chapters are more of the same as Mizuki thinks out loud about becoming lovers and Yukawa has to figure out what she thinks about that.

The story here, in this Pixiv comic, is watching two adult woman figuring out what their relationship means to both of them. The creator is in no rush to reach any great dramatic climaxes. As a result, this manga is a slow, relaxed paced relationship, building upon shared time at the office and off-work. Neither Yukawa nor Mizuki are gregarious, but nether is super introverted. There’s little conflict except the moments when they don’t know what to do with their feelings. Inui Ayu’s art lends itself to the emotional struggles, with a focus on faces and inner states over action, as one might expect from a jousei manga. Lots of blushing and tears.

Teiji ni Ageretara is not the most compelling office romance I’ve read, in part because the characters act as if they are 14, not 24. And this is not even unrealistic for characters in their mid-20s who never expected this kind of relationship, I’m just a little less tolerant of existential crisis over calling someone by their first name in October 2019 than I was in previous years.  (That said, I will soon make a hypocrite of myself in an upcoming review, so wait for it… ^_^)

Ratings:

Art – 7 Characters have a tendency to look a little soppy
Story – 7 It’s nice, not amazing
Characters – 7 Same
Service – 0 in this volume
Yuri – 7 We end this volume at the beginning….

Overall – 7

The series is ongoing on Pixiv, so if this kind of slow-burn office romance appeals to you, you can follow Yukawa and Mizuki on Manga Jam on Pixiv and see how they are getting along. ^_^ You can read chapter 1-2, and then ongoing chapters starting with 6. For chapters 3-5, you’ll need to pick up this volume of the manga!