Review of Recovery of an MMO Junkie
Recovery of an MMO Junkie is a wholesome, funny anime that's a joy to watch from start to finish. Beginning with the story, I have to say it's simply great. The classic 'romcom mixup' framework they went with here comes off flawlessly, and provides the viewer with seamless plot development. All the jokes land and manage to avoid sounding cringy, which is a definite risk for an anime dealing with video games. Not to mention that the setup is adorable in the extreme! Also everything happened the way it felt it was supposed to happen, all while keeping me onmy toes. I was fully invested, but in a way that was relaxing and fun to watch. It even threw a few genuine curveballs my way, which I was not expecting from this show to say the least, since you know the main 'twist' from the very start. The fact that other things were laying in wait for me really speaks to the sheer quality of the writing, and easily makes it this anime's strongest feature. There were a couple of episodes in the middle that felt meandering, and some side stories don't really resolve, but given the quality of the main story and the part the side characters play in that story, it's pretty easy to overlook those flaws. Though, one flaw that I can't overlook is that [SPOILER but not really because I'm talking about something that I was pissed didn't happen. Plus, nobody reads reviews marked with the spoiler option and I want people to read mine] they never actually kiss. They hold hands, and are very cute together, and the anime makes it clear that they end up together in episode 10 and the special, but the fact that they don't kiss bothers me, because of just how many times it almost happened. Don't get me wrong, I love how nervous and romantically awkward they are, but felt like I could have really used some more definite closure, and I think that is what really holds this anime back from a higher score.
The art is really quite nice, and a pleasure to look at. Everything from the delightful art direction and background composition to the pleasing and distinct character designs is executed pretty much perfectly. Even the faces of these characters are highly expressive, and manage to avoid the dreaded 'mask' that some anime suffer from when attempting to portray emotion. To go into specifics, I especially like the designs of Moriko and Sakurai, as they're not only recognizable and distinct, but also unique concepts for an anime. Moriko is a 30 year old NEET with an MMO habit, and Sakurai is a White man that was adopted by a Japanese couple as a child. They truly make for an odd pairing in Japan or even Japanese media, and the fact that the two share a romance sets them even further apart as a truly distinct pairing among anime couples.
The sound is also excellent, and I am very impressed with just how much detail they included here. From the ruffling of clothes to the sound of a lint roller or the clacking of keyboard keys, it had way more detail than I expected, and that makes the world feel genuinely vibrant and lived-in. Often, anime can feel shallow if they neglect this, and make the world feel like some kind of stage just for the main characters, but that is not the case here, and I appreciate that. Not to mention that the musical composition is downright cinematic, and does not let up from start to finish. I honestly don't know why they busted out the full chamber orchestra for this one, but I'm glad they did regardless.
Finally, the characters are great! Everyone from Moriko and Sakurai down to Lilac and Koiwai, and even the convenience store lady fill their roles perfectly, and interact with each other in ways which are believable, rich, and entertaining. Though I did think that Kanbe was going to get in the way considering his stance on internal party romance, but that never came up again, and I suppose that was for the best. Overall, Recovery of an MMO Junkie is a comfy little anime with an amazing story and really impressive production values for an otherwise pretty casual title.