I ordered Hataraki Man (働きマン）vol 4 on a whim.

I liked some of the previous Moyoco Anno manga. Well, only Happy Mania. But I noticed Hataraki Man was a Morning comic, so I thought it should be interesting. I've liked a lot of the seinen manga that shoujo manga artists worked on, so it was a hunch.

I liked it.

The story is about Hiroko, a writer/editor for a weekly magazine "Jidai." Hiroko switches to her "male mode" whenever she gets into work. In her late 20s, she's in a phase where she has more responsibilities at work & it's getting fun... meanwhile her social life is taking a bit of a toll.

It didn't matter that I started on vol 4. The stories are individual mini stories, so you can just start reading at any chapter.

One of company B staffers recognized the book (long story), so he lent me vol 1 and vol 2. I read through them during work hours (bad employee). Not to worry, I shared them with my boss.

Staffer J who lent me the books was explaining the story to the other staff... and staffer G said she thought he was describing me. But my boss said, "She doesn't have a guy though."

Hidoi!

Yes, I work in publishing. And I'm a workaholic. And I don't have a social life. And I don't have a boyfriend (Hiroko does... at least in the first two volumes).

But I'm always looking for kirameki.
That's why I read manga.
Especially shoujo manga.

Hataraki Man
Author: Moyoco Anno
Volumes: 4 (on going)
Publisher: Kodansha

I heard it was animated before. And there's going to be a drama series (starring Miho Kanno... who doesn't sound like she would fit the role). So maybe company D would pick it up. Although there really isn't a market for this type of manga just yet.

It's a fun read if you're a single late 20-early 30 workaholic in the publishing world.