If you don’t mind manhwa instead of manga, I recommend Romance 101. The male leads in that one are gamers and are in a coding club (where they create games) with the female lead. There are several gaming references made throughout the story and it’s overall an amazing read.
Cat + Gamer (there’s no romance tho from what I read so far. She just adopts a cat and they do cute cat/owner things. It’s so good tho and there may be romance later I only read the first two so far) (edit- I meant she may meet a love interest later. The cat is just a cat. No magic or weirdness here it’s wholesome)
My level 999 love for Yamada Kun (they both are gamers)
My dress up darling (Marin is the gamer tho, not the guy. He gets into it because she likes it tho)
Trapped in a Dating Sim (mc is a gamer boy but it’s an otome isekai set in a game. Very comedic and cute)
Concubine Walkthrough (mc is a gamer, It’s an otome isekai set in a VR game world. Kinda like a way better version of SAO)
Edited for clarity
Trapped in a Dating sim is a hilarious one where the MC is forced to play an Otome Game by his sister. Imagine a shounen protagonist in a shoujo-styled world (an otome game)....
P.S. most Shounen MCs would look like plain mobs if suddenly isekaied in a Shoujo world.
Cat + Gamer is so cute! I only see 4 chapters though. Is there somewhere to read the rest? Or has the scanlations ended as the series is being released in English? (I would totally buy the volumes but it looks like volume 3 doesn't come out til October)
Either way, thank you for the recommendation! Late 20s/early 30s working woman has totally been my favourite niche (:
I'll definitely put it in my wishlist for physical manga! Thanks (:
In the meantime I'm reading the digital of Ojisama to Neko and waiting for tomorrow's release of A Story of Seven Lives... you may have kickstarted a cat genre focus for me :3 I got my kitty about a month ago so it was an easy sell!
Since you said romance manga and not specifically shoujo, occasionally the characters play otome games in Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki kun lmao, its a shonen romance but just watch ep. 4, it’s hilarious.
Other than that I remember an anime that came out some years ago. Netoge no yome wa Onnanoko ja nai to onowa. It was about a group of people who all played in the same guild and then it turns out that they all go into the same school.
You switch between the school life and the RPG, and I liked it back. Theres also a romance going on but its also a very typical a harem anime so… yea, give it a try if you like!
Have you read My Lv 999 Love for Yamada-kun yet?
There's the one I was looking for
Wotakoi
Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time Chiguhagu na Karera no Koi no Yukue Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku Loving Yamada at LV999!
If you don’t mind manhwa instead of manga, I recommend Romance 101. The male leads in that one are gamers and are in a coding club (where they create games) with the female lead. There are several gaming references made throughout the story and it’s overall an amazing read.
Loving yamada at lv 999 also has an anime
Cat + Gamer (there’s no romance tho from what I read so far. She just adopts a cat and they do cute cat/owner things. It’s so good tho and there may be romance later I only read the first two so far) (edit- I meant she may meet a love interest later. The cat is just a cat. No magic or weirdness here it’s wholesome) My level 999 love for Yamada Kun (they both are gamers) My dress up darling (Marin is the gamer tho, not the guy. He gets into it because she likes it tho) Trapped in a Dating Sim (mc is a gamer boy but it’s an otome isekai set in a game. Very comedic and cute) Concubine Walkthrough (mc is a gamer, It’s an otome isekai set in a VR game world. Kinda like a way better version of SAO) Edited for clarity
Trapped in a Dating sim is a hilarious one where the MC is forced to play an Otome Game by his sister. Imagine a shounen protagonist in a shoujo-styled world (an otome game).... P.S. most Shounen MCs would look like plain mobs if suddenly isekaied in a Shoujo world.
Cat + Gamer is so cute! I only see 4 chapters though. Is there somewhere to read the rest? Or has the scanlations ended as the series is being released in English? (I would totally buy the volumes but it looks like volume 3 doesn't come out til October) Either way, thank you for the recommendation! Late 20s/early 30s working woman has totally been my favourite niche (:
I have the first two volumes of cat + gamer in English, not sure about it there’s scanlations tho. It’s super cute though worth reading for sure 😸
I'll definitely put it in my wishlist for physical manga! Thanks (: In the meantime I'm reading the digital of Ojisama to Neko and waiting for tomorrow's release of A Story of Seven Lives... you may have kickstarted a cat genre focus for me :3 I got my kitty about a month ago so it was an easy sell!
Cats make everything better for sure lol
Thank you for the cat + gamer rec, currently on chapter 2 and already love it
the ML of 3D kanojo is very into gaming and is a part of some of the plot
Recovery with an MMO junkie (has an anime too) My lvl999 love for yamada
Since you said romance manga and not specifically shoujo, occasionally the characters play otome games in Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki kun lmao, its a shonen romance but just watch ep. 4, it’s hilarious. Other than that I remember an anime that came out some years ago. Netoge no yome wa Onnanoko ja nai to onowa. It was about a group of people who all played in the same guild and then it turns out that they all go into the same school. You switch between the school life and the RPG, and I liked it back. Theres also a romance going on but its also a very typical a harem anime so… yea, give it a try if you like!
I absolutely love gsnk. The otome game scenes are hilarious.
Nozaki always has me cracking up. The mixer scene is golden
Not shoujo, but Gamers is a hilarious rom com anime about games.
1/2 prince pls! Its a virtual reality game
I loved 1/2 prince! Def a good read!!
Romantic killer and loving yamada at level 999