Review of Recovery of an MMO Junkie

"Caught in a teenage dream, looking for girls on the computer screen" ~ based off of Girl Like That - The Royal This anime was different from your normal teenage romcom anime. Although, the characters still managed to act like teens. Story: 8/10 The plot was pretty good. A 30 year old neet who had nothing better to do than play a RPG and use a male avatar. She met a girl on the game who was actually a male in real life. They were apart of a guild and formed a strong bond between the two. I love how they show them typing in-game and how relatable it is, likewhen you accidentally type a message, or how you freeze there afk for a sec thinking of a response to a weird question/statement. They also portrayed the game well, it was very much like a game. The emotes and quests and all that stuff was just like what you would see in a game like that. My only problems with the story was how kinda rushed it was? I know it was only 10 episodes, but in the beginning it was kinda confusing how they talked about how Hayashi wouldn't talk to Lily til he got her the gift, but then right after came to her and gave her it..? Then it rushed and said that now December is over and now its the new years. It also made them partners which is okay but they were acting like it was a big love confession and its strange because they are literally 30 years old and it's just a status in a video game XD

Art:
7/10
The art style was appealing, the animation was fine. However, there were a lot of awkward frames and the anatomy was kinda wonky. It's fine though, anatomy and animation are both very difficult things, just saying it can be improved. ^w^

Sound:
6/10
The opening was catchy, the voices were suiting, and the background noises were fine. However, it lacked background music that a lot of romance anime use to enhance a scene.

Character:
5/10
This is the strangest thing about the anime. Let me start with Moriko. All of the characters talk about her as a super kind and mature person. I think that, for the most part, is true. She's super insecure which can be relatable to the viewers, she is nice to people around her and she's pretty mature. However, it's kinda annoying how awkward her and Sakurai are together. I know it adds comedy and cuteness but they're in their 30s so I expect them to be more mature about it, especially Moriko. I feel the characters would be more relatable with their behaviors if they were teenagers or pre-teens, because of how dang shy they are at 30 years old. Ngl, it is a nice change of pace to see older characters in this type of anime rather than the usual but they don't act their ages in my opinion. (Kinda spoiler,) when he goes behind her and touches her hand to help her use a mouse, they kinda both, like freak out? and in real life, I feel like someone would be silent about it and the person doing it would realize and maybe apologize? I know it's anime but it's kinda too much for adults? XD Sakurai didn't really have much to his character at all besides his backstory, (won't spoil.) I feel like everybody LOVES Moriko and says she's so kind and doesn't give herself enough credit. Its true, she's super insecure but it's just awkward. Everyone thinks she's sooo beautiful and unique and just, everyone loves her for some reason. She didn't do any particular kind act. They always say she tries her hardest at things, but she quit her job to play a video game. I have no clue what she tried hard at. I can only think of how she gave Lily a rare stone thing in-game, but they're 30 years old. Why are they so touched by a digital item? It was super rushy how when they bumped into each other and she was in the hospital, how they immediately just fell in love?? It's kinda weird how they were soo over-apologetic, it was funny at first but now he invites her to dinner because to "apologize" for the incident, which is understandable but it would've made more sense if he covered her medical bill things how he did and said that was to apologize. They just made him do a lot of nice things and favors for a complete stranger, it's a kind thing to do but it seems like right off the bat he knows she's Hayashi, just by barely talking to her. The anime kinda forced their love and I enjoyed watching them but I didn't really ever find myself shipping them together. I shipped their ingame characters more tbh. I liked Koiwai more than Sakurai personally, he just had way more character to him. Also they threw in what Lilac looked like irl but she was just sitting by her PC just right there.

Enjoyment:
9/10
The comedy was really good, the character's interactions were fun to watch, the game was really well portrayed, and the opening was pretty good too! Yes, it's flawed but I was enjoying a lot of it. I am not saying this anime is bad, I just didn't like some things about it. But all that aside, I had fun watching.

Overall:
6/10
The story was rushed, the art was a little wonky, the sounds were lacking, and the character's weren't too interesting. It was enjoyable, but if you're looking for a cute, romantic anime to watch I wouldn't recommend this one. This is fun to binge for the comedy and the characters did have fun interactions.