Catharina Octorina "Office of the Gods": the romance of Olympus

      This is the so-called OEL manga. OEL stands for "Original English Language", meaning it's about the "original English-language manga". This category usually includes stories that were created by authors not from Japan, but influenced by the culture of that country. As for the subgenre, it is a romantic manga, where the main focus is on the relationship of characters, in this case, gods, demigods and humans. So, according to the story, 300 years ago, the Greek gods and goddesses appeared to mankind, as a result, myths became reality. Soon the gods founded the Olympus skyscraper company, from where they began to rule the world.

      The main character, a young girl named Irida, gets a job at Olympus. Moreover, she thinks that she is going to a decent position, but in reality she turns out to be an ordinary courier who delivers letters from people with their aspirations and requests to the gods living in a skyscraper. At the same time, for the target audience — young girls — the main focus is on the romantic relationship of Iris, who is being courted by several demigods at once — Dante and Orion — and even Eros himself! The latter's feelings are carefully guarded by Aphrodite, who, of course, becomes an ardent antagonist for the young careerist.

      In general, it is an interesting mix of ideas taken from the TV series "The Office" (18+, about the relationships within the team) and "The Boys" (18+, in terms of the existence of super-beings running a large corporation). Only, of course, there is no such "tin" and black humor as in "Boys". Although the intrigues in the corridors of Olympus are not boiling on a smaller scale, but more and more these intrigues are implicated in feelings and love relationships. I think that manga will appeal to everyone who is interested in Asian comics, especially their sentimental part.

      Catharina Octorina "Office of the Gods. Volume 1" (16+, 2025). Our rating: 4.5/5.