Review of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
A slice-of-life romcom that started off as a comic on the Japanese online artists community Pixiv before being serialised as a web comic. 26 year old Narumi Momose seems like your average optimistic cheery girl but she has a secret. She doesn't want anyone to find out she's an Otaku (geek) because guys always dump her when they find out she's also a "Fujoshi [rotting girl, word play that refers to women/girls]" - a girl who is into "Boys Love (explicitly illustrated fiction featuring gay men relations)". After her last boyfriend left her, she decided to start afresh at a new company and tries tokeep her Otaku nature a secret but she soon finds out she wasn't the only Otaku there. Her childhood friend Hirotaka Nifuji who isn't a fairly socialable gaming Otaku also happened to be working there and there was also fellow Fujoshi, Hinako Koyanagi who cosplays as male characters and was a fan of her self-published BL. Hinako's rash, angry looking but considerate boyfriend Tarou Kabakura is also a bit of an Otaku too but hardly shows it.
As Narumi and Hirotaka catch up she reveals how she doesn't have any luck with guys. She never makes a mistake in dating sim games so she doesn't understand why it never works out but, doesn't want to date an Otaku who might be more accepting of her because she considers them disgusting. However, when Hirotaka points out he can be really accepting of her Otaku habits and always be with her like in an RPG, Narumi decides to give him a chance. And so, a new relation begins for the new Otaku couple but as they hang out together with Hinako and Tarou, they feel like something's not quite right.
When you think of an Anime about Otaku you'd probably think of classics like Genshiken but this show feels quite different. Probably it's set pass the stage of uni clubs and right into working adulthood. It's a cute show with an opening that features a dance with fun hand gestures. Narumi has cute expressions and it's always entertaining when she's trying to help people around her. It's fun watching the couples get caught up in each other's little fights or just supporting each other too. Geeks watching this will probably be able to relate a lot to the show right away. It's filled with emoji since Hirotaka isn't very good at expressing himself. There's even features footage from Monster Hunter X on the Switch.
Actually, you'll see a lot of product placements in it, no parodies like the usual Anime and lots of references to other Anime shows like Macross, Evangelion, One Punch Man and Maison Ikkoku. Part of the fun is recognising them all so unless you've seen a lot of shows or played a lot of games then you'll probably miss a lot of the references. Some of them are actual phrases that were pretty much lost in translation with the subtitles I was watching such as Hanako saying "yoroshii, naraba krieg da [Then krieg is what you shall have]". This meant she was declaring war but is also a reference to a line used in Hellsing when a 13 page speech was given in the Manga - in other words, a fierce argument ahead.
There's also a fair bit of Otaku lingo too which is interpreted fine but you kind of miss out on the fun lingo - a bit like the time when Densha Otoko was released and there had to be a glossary. Best one for me was probably "imakita sangyo" - short for "I just got here, please summarise what's been going on" on 2ch forum.
There's nothing too explicit in this show but since it stars two Fujoshis, there are times you hear and visually see what they're fantasising about men in gay relationships so you might not like it if you're a guy. Thankfully they rarely occur - I've only seen it happen once in the entire series. Show looks great, nice clean art like most of A-1 Pictures slice-of-life shows and the music's mostly cheery too.
So if you're not bothered by the odd Fujoshi fantasy going wild, it's mostly a straight cute romcom that isn't overly mushy. Don't miss out on the extra scenes after the ending. The show just gets better as it progresses.
Looking forward to a season two!