Review of Recovery of an MMO Junkie
So after watching it all in 2 days, I can safely say that I like it, and may even rewatch it some time again in the future. It was able to make me audibly laugh at my screen multiple times, the premise is pretty entertaining, some of the art is really pretty, there were some very clever shots in the final episode with heavy handed symbolism, and there was legitimate tension and suspense during a majority of the series. However... IT'S SO FUCKING FRUSTRATING! Most of the time I found myself yelling "YOU LITTLE BITCH" ALOT during most of the episodes! Like I get that romance shortstories are meant to play with the idea that the big climax of the two main characters is just around the corner and that they MAY get together during each episode, BUT FOR FUCK SAKE!!! THIS WHOLE SERIES...would've been shaved down to like 4-5 episodes if someone were to JUST SAY SOMETHING; it's legitimately my biggest pet peeve with this series. NOT TO MENTION, there's a STUPID twist in the mid to late section of the series that feels lazy and shoehorned in, where I found myself saying "That's so STUPID!".../AND/...IT NEVER GETS BROUGHT UP AGAIN! It didn't have to be there in the first place!
The rest of my problems with the show aren't that bad, however.
The other thing I noticed was that it becomes quite apparent early on in the series, that everyone knows each other IRL (it's even in the OP). EXCEPT for a few of the other characters who the director chose not to expand upon? Like they briefly showed the other girl in the party(and who she was in real life,) but then they do absolutely NOTHING with her. As well as the fat dude. he was the most aesthetically unique character of the group, yet they did nothing with him. I would've LOVED a twist in the series where it was one of Moriko's ex-female coworkers as the fat guy. Or at least someone in the guild, but no. They kinda just wasted the potential. However, I will give the series credit: they did manage to flesh out the characters they showed quite well, despite the short screen time they got.
The art, while pretty, was still slightly generic. Large, windy, field, with a big tree or trees, for the main characters to talk/fight/etc. I'm a casual to anime and even /I/ have seen that on MULTIPLE anime covers. HOWEVER, being fair, and giving credit where credit is due, the hyper-realism stuff was really well done, like with the beer, or the snacks. Really talented people there.
The characters were fairly bland-looking and (while still be able to distinctly remember what each character looked like) was somewhat uninspired. Maybe it was because they were trying to make the RPG characters look that way due to the setting...but still...my statement still stands.
Overall it was a nice watch, but definitely has some of its moments where you can easily skip, or are somewhat of a chore to watch, I laughed and had some fun times with it, but even at the climax, it didn't really manage to tug at my heart-strings as some others have.
6/10