Review of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
A couple of years ago, a drama called "Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni Tatsu" (a translation of the Hungarian expression, "Szégyen a futás, de hasznos", or "It's shameful to flee, but it has its uses"; the English title was "The Full-Time Wife Escapist"), based on a manga by the same title, aired on Japanese television, and became an instant hit for its unorthodox perspective on love and relationships... oh yeah, and Gen Hoshino's "Koi" dance that took the Internet by storm. Why do I mention that? The male lead's performance in Wotakoi is a dead ringer for Hoshino's in the same drama: deadpan, at timescaught off guard, but very "professional" (even though Hoshino's character wasn't really an otaku). Additionally, the general musical style of the opening theme, "Fiction", was similar to Koi (without the erhu; the first five notes of the vocal melody are the same), and the "seated selfie dance" (that's why they're doing it one-armed, yo) was similar, if not directly inspired, by the choreography in Escapist. If I didn't know better, I'd say that this is almost a "pakuri".
The premise has a similar feel as well-- in Escapist a perennial part-timer enters into a contract to be the male lead's wife purely to have a place to stay, and in Wotakoi a diehard fujoshi decides to go out with her gamer otaku friend from childhood largely to form an otaku alliance. Romantic intentions were minimal at the start in both shows.
That's about where the similarities end. Naru and Hirotaka have fantastic chemistry from the get-go (and for that matter, Hanako and Taro... Oh no, I just realized the manga artist chose the Japanese equivalent of "John and Jane Doe" for the supporting characters' names >< ). Wotakoi is more of a "what if a couple of otakus started going out" sitcom rather than "what if a man and woman marry as contractors", and so the comedy and situations that evolve are very different.
Naru's and Hirotaka's voice actors are unknown to me (I'm sure I've heard them elsewhere, I just don't recognize the names), but they deliver solid performances. The supporting couple is Tomokazu Sugita (well if it isn't Kyon Smith) and Miyuki "Miyukichi" Sawashiro. Last time I heard those voices together, they both were bit roles in a hilarious Charlotte scene. Sugita plays the irritable manga otaku office manager effectively, while Miyukichi's lovely alto is a perfect match for the cosplayer Hanako. The character designs are fairly standard fare, and Naru's/Taro's ever-changing facial expressions are some of the funnier running gags of the show.
Later in the series we get to see Hirotaka's younger brother, Naoya, and a potential love interest, Ko. Unfortunately it's so late in the series that we'd need to wait for a second series/film before we see anything develop, and credit where it's due, they announced a series 2.
A-1 Pictures' animation here is well-planned and executed, which makes me wonder why they accepted such a train wreck last season and slashed story quality in the process. I'm hearing a lot of harsh criticism of the studio itself, which leads me to believe they're just grabbing whatever productions as the lowest bidder. Sometimes it works, often times it's just asking for trouble. So for God's sake, A-1, do NOT use the same writing, production, and planning crew as Grancrest in series 2. Whoever was in charge did not care about the production or the audience, and it showed in spades.