Review of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

Wotakoi is a series that will more hit home for viewers who have experience having very close friends or romantic partners who share interests in anything anime, manga, cosplaying, or video games. Story: 6/10 I came in with minimum expectations because romantic comedy is a bit iffy in my department and I am not the biggest fan of works by A-1 Pictures. But for the first half, I found myself amused and laughing genuinely by the hilariously relatable situations of hiding your passions and interests from a society who wholeheartedly tends to think little of those involved in such activities. It's not unusual for otakusto initially be ashamed to share their love for anime and manga openly or sometimes becoming socially awkward because it is not a common topic with other people around you. But it pushes the message that you should never feel ashamed of them and just find people who will accept you for who you are whether you have common interests or not.
It's a romantic comedy so there is not necessarily a need for a plot but it felt as it they developed the relationship between Narumi and Hirotaka nicely for 5 episodes in the beginning and then nothing much happens from then. The comedy became more hit and miss and I wasn't enjoying the episode stories afterwards. I also am not personally appealed by video game concept episodes so I wasn't intrigued by the RPG portions of the episodes and there were only 2 more episodes after episode 5 where they kept on further developing Narumi and Hirotaka's relationship. So the story felt very lackluster in the 2nd half. Not to mention the final episode did not feel like a finale and did not make for a fitting farewell unless they plan a 2nd season.

Characters: 7/10
Talk about a diverse cast! A yaoi fangirl, a gamer, a cross-dressing cosplayer, and a moe-loving manga reader. The characters were very well portrayed in the funny yet serious hardships people can have when they are interested in different subtopics of the otaku industry. They have their favorites but become very accepting of each others' hobbies which makes for a genuine group of friends that is very enjoyable to witness. They have their moments when they argue and fight about their differences but they are aware that they all share the struggle of being in the minority in their work industry so they are practically all they have in terms of sharing interests. The Hirotaka and Narumi relationship was more for starting and developing since they started uncomfortable for being childhood friends and then decided to date. But their relationship felt real since they slowly became more comfortable with each other and slowly began to learn something new from each other every episode. Hanako and Tarou's relationship was more real because they have personalities that clash much more volatilely and their devotion to one another despite the constant arguments was cuter and brought upon the most comedy for the time that this anime was good.
The story began to take a turn for the worse when Hirotaka's brother was introduced. Some can defend this saying that there are those who feel left out when their friends or siblings have a hobby they are dedicated to while they have nothing special about them. I personally could not stand his presence. The comedy was falling apart when he got introduced and I felt he was more of a nuisance towards the antics of the main cast. I can see how this could have worked but I was not able to accept him as a useful character and found him more annoying and given more screentime than deserved.

Art/Animation: 7/10
I don't pay attention to art or animation unless it's grand or horrible so both sections were solid. But the colors were bright and nice so it was able to stand out and look cute in its own way.

Sound: 7/10
Nothing that stands out other than those 20 seconds of the opening that is just so adorable!!! You know what I'm talking about. :)

Enjoyment: 5/10
This is not a series that will appeal to everyone. As much as I loved the characters in this series, it felt as if the anime did enough for them to bring me anywhere. The characters just went on with their lives as soon as Hirotaka and Narumi were settled but I was bored after Hirotaka's brother made his debut. If a 2nd season ever gets announced, I don't see myself watching it. The comedy was not strong enough to push the series without a story and that's a problem when the comedy is the center of said series such as this. The comedy failed and the romance, the stronger the portion, could have been giving more (or better) attention.