Manga / In the World of a Gal Game, My Best Friend ♂ Says He Likes Me!?

Falling in love isn't just a game...

In the World of a Gal Game, My Best Friend ♂ Says He Likes Me!? (Galge no Sekai de Shinyuu ♂ ga Ore o Sukida to Iidashite!? or ギャルゲの世界で親友♂が俺を好きだと言い出して！？) is a short 2020 BL manga series by Fujitobi.

As a late-bloomer and newcomer to love, the happy-go-lucky yet incredibly dense protagonist Momose Aoi decides to purchase a Dating Sim called "Kyun Koi"^note Roughly translated to "Heart-Wringing Love" and sneak it into his stoic best friend Okamoto Ritsuki’s house to play. Unfortunately, when trying to hide the game from Ritsuki, Aoi accidentally kicks the former's gaming console which somehow gets both of them sucked into the game's world.

There they meet Pota, the navigator of Kyun Koi, who informs them that they will not be able to leave unless Aoi (who registered as the game's protagonist) completes the simulation. Aoi decides to try his best to romance one of the girls but it isn't as simple as he thought once Ritsuki confesses his years-long attraction towards him...

Contains the following tropes:

• Accidental Kiss: Ritsuki had twice experienced the trope, stepping in the way of a drunk Shimida and taking a kiss meant for Aoi in chapter 3 and later recalled in chapter 5 about how he tripped over as a child and collided into Aoi lips-first, considering it his First Kiss.
• Alliterative Title: The Dating Sim "Kyun Koi" that Aoi and Ritsuki are trapped in.
• Almost Kiss: Ritsuki was subjected to this not once, not twice but thrice much to his dismay. His first attempt at kissing Aoi was interrupted when the janitor opens the storage closet they hid in from Minami-Sensei then finds out the next two times that the game doesn't physically let him as it shocks them both if their lips come close.
• Ambiguously Bi: Aoi's insistence on only liking the opposite gender and that his main reason for wanting a girlfriend is being really jealous of how everyone is hooking up made it seem like he's in deep denial. While he's flustered but eagerly interacts with the girls in Kyun Koi, Aoi also reevaluates his long-withstanding relationship with Ritsuki in a more romantic light after the latter confesses. He ultimately chooses Ritsuki over the girls in a case of If It's You, It's Okay (And also because the latter are not real as they're programmed into the game).
• Bad Date: As this was Aoi's first experience dating, both virtually and in real life, things didn't work out between him and Riko to say the least. He took her out on a fishing date wearing mismatched clothing and Riko, as a fish-lover, not an eater, was so offended by his actions that her affection points for Aoi plummet straight down to zero, never talking to him again for the rest of the game.
• Beach Episode: In Chapter 3, Aoi saves enough money to have a beach date with Maha but invites Ritsuki instead since he didn't have her phone number. This chapter is a significant turning point in their relationship as Aoi experiences a Love Epiphany for Ritsuki.
• Bifauxnen: Hanahoshi Kaguya is meant to emulate the princely type, probably targeted to the girls and gay gays playing the game, with her androgynously dashing looks, riding in on a steed inside the school, girls flocking her and a touch of narcissism but means well.
• Bookends: The first chapter ended with Ritsuki telling Aoi about liking him romantically followed by the latter having a Delayed Reaction from it. Near the end of the final chapter, the same confession happens only this time the roles are reversed.
• Call-Forward: While hiding in the cramped utility closet from Minami-Sensei, Aoi reminds Ritsuki how the latter was afraid of the dark since they were kids. Come chapter 4, a young Ritsuki fears what is lurking in the darkness during a sleepover before a half-asleep Aoi unknowingly quells his fears by holding his hand and saying it'll be okay. This became the moment he fell in love with Aoi.
• Childhood Friend Romance: The two main characters have known each other since they were little with Ritsuki having a long-standing crush on Aoi that remained unrequited until the events of the manga. Though Aoi at first turns down his confession, he starts to reconsider and then undergoes a Love Epiphany midway through, causing further distress to their friendship. Eventually, they reach there in the last chapter when Aoi finally reciprocates Ritsuki's feelings to his delight and spends the rest of Kyun Koi going on dates.
• Childhood Friends: Aside from Aoi and Ritsuki as mentioned above, Noguchi Riko is invoked in-game for "Kyun Koi"s registered protagonist and sees the former as such.
• Color Failure: Aoi is drawn completely white for one panel after Ritsuki takes a kiss meant for him from a drunken Shimida.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Noguchi Riko, Aoi's fish-loving, in-game Childhood Friend, was never seen or mentioned again after her disastrous date with Aoi dropped all her affection points for him to zero. She only appears again in the game's credits.
• Curtains Match the Window: Ritsuki has golden eyes which match his blonde hair.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: Nakagawa Maha introduces herself by colliding into Aoi twice. Out of the Love Interests, she would have been Aoi's pick if were not for Ritsuki's interventions and confession.
• Dating Sim: "Kyun Koi" is a role-playing game set in High School where the registered protagonist as a first-year student can romance up to five Love Interests, Childhood Friend Noguchi Riko, Cute Clumsy Girl Nakagawa Maha, sweet but ex-gang leader Minami-Sensei, older-sister figure Shimada Mirei and Bifauxnen Hanahoshi Kaguya.
• Death Glare: Unable to look Ritsuki in the eye after realizing his feelings for him, Aoi resorts to this which in turn Ritsuki misinterprets as being angry at him.
• Delayed Reaction: Both Aoi and Ritsuki when one confessed their feelings for the other, the former being so dense that it took him a while to comprehend and the latter for thinking Aoi meant as friends like always until he clarified it's romantic.
• Hair-Contrast Duo: Aoi has black, messy hair while Ritsuki has blonde, slightly curly hair which also compliments their Opposites Attract relationship.
• If It's You, It's Okay: Aoi, after years of blissful unawareness and being a late bloomer, began to have a growing attraction to Ritsuki once the latter's feelings were known to the former. Conflicted on what to do since he's never been in love and was interested in girls throughout the game, Hanahoshi asks what his heart tells him. He pondered for a few moments before running off to find Ritsuki and confess.
  Aoi: "I've always chosen from inside the box. My love interests. My friends. That seemed obvious, but the one my heart flutters for is...[Imagines Ritsuki] That's enough! Even if he isn't a girl, even if he isn't my best friend anymore, but because my heart won't stand still, Ritsuki's fine!"
• Improbably Female Cast: The cast of "Kyun Koi" consists entirely of highly attractive females with the only males being the protagonists themselves. Justified as the game is a dating simulator catered to guys.
• Last Episode, New Character: The fifth and final chapter introduces the fifth and final romanceable character, the princely Hanahoshi Kaguya. By now, Aoi is more focused on Ritsuki and whether to continue their relationship as it is or something more than romancing the girls anymore but Hanahoshi gave him the advice he needed to make up his mind.
• Likes Older Women: The game is implied to be invoking the trope for those with this preference as four out of the five romanceable characters^note Shimada is a university student, Minami is a teacher and Nakagawa and Hanahoshi are third-year students are older than the in-game protagonist who is a first-year student.
• Loophole Abuse: Hanahoshi offers Aoi a courtyard date which he declines but then concludes he wants to have a date not in the courtyard and whisked him away to the rooftops instead.
• Love Epiphany: After being confused about his feelings when Ritsuki confessed, Aoi experienced Color Failure from the intense feelings of jealousy after Ritsuki got kissed by a drunk Shimida. He soon realised it was not directed at Ritsuki but rather Shimida which became the start of developing romantic interest in Ritsuki.
• Love Hurts: Ritsuki's heart was aching for over a decade of longing for Aoi to become more than just best friends with chapter 3 putting these feelings in the forefront. He would have almost given up altogether if it not for Aoi finally acknowledging and reciprocating him romantically, causing Ritsuki to collapse and smile the hardest he had ever had.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: How Kyun Koi managed to trap Aoi and Ritsuki into its virtual world from the former kicking the console with the game inside is a mystery that is left unanswered. Perhaps the game is a special limited-edition copy.
• Oblivious to Love: Aoi admitted to being a "super late-bloomer" when it comes to romance which isn't a surprise when he's completely blindsided by Ritsuki's love confession even though he had declared it several times before and gave him chocolates every valentine. He kept misinterpreting these gestures as Ritsuki expressing his gratitude for being his best friend which doesn't seem too bad until you realise Aoi hadn't recognised these feelings as romantic for nearly ten years (Though to be fair, Ritsuki started liking him when they were both little kids).
• Opposites Attract: The almost-emotionless and frank Ritsuki falls hard for the Keet, Oblivious to Love Aoi. By the end, they became a couple after the latter reciprocated his feelings.
• Patient Childhood Love Interest: Ritsuki was playing the long game to say the least when it comes to his undying yet seemingly hopeless crush on Aoi since they were young kids. After Aoi finally realises and reciprocates his feelings, he can't help but collapse in his arms from the shock and relief.
• Perspective Flip: The fourth chapter switches Aoi's POV to Ritsuki's with the latter being confused over the strange behaviour the former is exhibiting from his newfound feelings towards him. From there, we finally get to know why Ritsuki fell in love with Aoi in the first place as he recounts their strong friendship over the years and how his Unrequited Love has slowly eaten away at him.
• Relationship Upgrade: It took a while but in the end, Aoi and Ritsuki finally went from longtime Childhood Friends to boyfriends after going through the whole Will They or Won't They? scenario.
• Short-Runner: The manga only lasted a short five chapters.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Ritsuki gains a crush on Aoi as little as they were five that steadily grew over the next ten or so years and remained faithful to this day. He's the only one in Aoi's class besides Aoi who hadn't found a girlfriend on account of being uninterested towards anyone but him. Of course, this caused him loads of bottle-up internal conflict so when it finally paid off in the end, Ritsuki just collapsed in relief and happiness.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Hanahoshi, the last romanceable character, shows up in the final chapter of the manga. At that point, Aoi was busy sorting out his newfound feelings for Ritsuki and turned her down but she dragged him on a date anyway. However, her advice "to choose whatever makes [his] heart flutter the most" finally gave Aoi the courage to upgrade his friendship with Ritsuki to a romantic relationship.
• The Stoic: Ritsuki doesn't emote much such that his default is a bored poker face. This contributed to why his past efforts to express his years-long crush on Aoi failed until the events of the manga. However, his demeanor briefly falters and softens up if it regards Aoi.
• Stronger Than They Look: Pota may be a small Chiba guide dog but is an absolute volleyball menace in the Beach Episode.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Minami-Sensei is one of the love targets the in-game protagonist can romance but the option never dares cross Aoi's mind as she scares him off with her intimidatingly intense aura and "Special Attack" mode.
• Talking Animal: Pota is an adorable Chiba dog who acts as the talking guide for Aoi and Ritsuki's journey throughout Kyun Koi (Though mostly the former since he registered as the game's protagonist).
• Take a Third Option: Aoi is given an interface with two options (one positive and one negative) when interacting with the girls. However, Ritsuki, jealous of the girls and wanting Aoi for himself, smashes the interface before Aoi can even choose. Aoi himself turns down choosing the last interface we see to signify he's moved on from pursuing the girls anymore who are only programmed to like him to reciprocate Ritsuki's very real feelings.
• Trapped in Another World: The premise of the story is that our two leads, Aoi and Ritsuki, get sucked into the wonderful world of a Dating Sim called "Kyun Koi". To escape, they would have to play the whole game through for an entire in-game year with the help of their talking guide dog Pota and maybe even romance one or two girls along the way. However, Ritsuki had other ideas regarding that last part...
• Unrequited Love: Ritsuki has had a crush on Aoi for over a decade since they were children which took quite an emotional toll on him as his stoic nature and Aoi's general obliviousness to romance caused serious bottle-up feelings.
• Wing Ding Eyes: Kaguya perpetually has these, bringing into mind how she's always starry-eyed when talking about her princely self and love.
• World of Technicolor Hair: Zigzagged. Riko, Minami-Sensei and Ritsuki have vivid, improbable hair colours (Blue, pink and blonde respectively) but there are also realistic colours such as black (Aoi) and brunette (Maha).
• Year Inside, Hour Outside: "Kyun Koi" takes place over the course of a year and makes Aoi and Ritsuki relive their first year of high school. Upon finishing the game, it transports them back to the real world just moments after Aoi kicked Ritsuki's gaming console which causes them to be stuck there in the first place.