Review of Recovery of an MMO Junkie

Warning possible Spoilers When it comes to the gaming aspect of anime's, they rarely concentrate on the relationship between characters. Apart from And you thought there is never a girl online? , which does focus on a gaming relationship, but still has a strong connection to actual gaming. Recovery of an MMO Junkie decides to concentrate primarily on a romantic relationship between gamers. Story (8/10) The story begins with Moriko Morioka, a 30 year old NEET, who decides to start playing a game called Fruits de Mer where she meets a player called Lily. However as their relationship grows a whole bunch of coincidences suddenly arise. What I reallyloved about the story and plot is definitely how relatable it is. This might not be true to everyone, but the events that unfolded felt very familiar to myself and it gave me a warm feeling seeing a awkward 30 year old NEET finding true love irl. The chemistry between Moriko and Sakurai was also very well done, every moment between them just warmed my heart and made me want to support them all the way, which hasn't happened for a good while between certain characters in anime.
I also like how the story begins by focusing on the gaming side of things with Hayashi and Lily's relationship, before focusing more on the relationship between Moriko and Sakurai as they become closer and start seeing each other more, showing they have become more comfortable in their lives.
I think the really weak point of the story is probably how coincidental everything was, because Moriko would flashback to a previous game she played and also had a friend there, who also turned out to be Sakurai. Now this has never happened to me and I'm sure it has happened somewhere, but this felt a bit weak for the story, plus we all probably figured out it was Sakurai very quickly.
The story did end in a satisfying way though, true there wasn't a kiss, but not all anime's need something like this. You can see how the relationship has progressed between Moriko and Sakurai and that they gotten to a point where they are fine with each others company.

Characters (8/10)

There is a bunch of characters in this show, however only a few are really good, but their performance definitely leaves an impact.

Moriko is the female MC and she is a definite example of what a NEET is like, spending all day on games, not getting enough sleep and only going outside for food and other essentials. Her quirky and awkward personality made her a very likeable character, especially when she was interacting with other people leading to some really funny moments. She's a kind person too and is willing to help her other gaming buddies out, plus for a 30 year old woman she can be pretty adorable sometimes with how she reacts to certain things.
Sakurai is the male MC, he is a gentleman of sorts and can be a protective guy especially when he grows closer to Moriko. He's very relatable too as there are many times where he was uncertain with what to do about Moriko and whether he should pursue a relationship with her, which he manages to pluck up the courage to do so.
I have to mention Koiwai, because this guy is fu*king hilarious. it's rare finding the best friend character incredibly funny like this guy and the way he constantly teases Sakurai always gets a laugh from me. Despite being a big joker, he is actually a very good friend as he tries a lot just to make sure Sakurai ends up together with Moriko.
You also have Moriko and Sakurai's merry band of gamer friends, who all seemed kind and helpful (definitely not like gamers these days), they would help with Moriko and Sakurai's problems the best they could and always gave them decent enough advice from time to time.

Art (7/10)

The artstyle was fairly run of the mill stuff, much like a lot of other anime's I've seen from 2017, but I did like some of the little things that stuck out. For example Morikos pupils were actually white instead of black which seemed like a nice touch to show how the NEET life has affected her, plus it also makes her stand out amongst the other characters. I did like the variety of the character designs in the gaming reality, but some of the outfits seemed pretty meh and I really didn't like the outfits Hayashi and Lily wore when they became partners, they looked pretty ugly. I did like when the style reverted to the chibi aspect whenever a comedic moment happened which fitted the scene nicely.

Sound (8/10)

The op was actually pretty good, it had some pretty good music and was a really good metaphor for how Moriko's character acted around people and how it made her think of herself, before she eventually found that person, who made her take risks and become more active.
The ed was alright too, showing how Moriko's day would go behind the computer screen as she tries to desperately keep herself awake, it was a nice comedic touch.
The soundtrack did have it's moments especially those moments between Moriko and Sakurai which added a nice touch to their characters and interaction with each other.

Extras:

The Romance in this show is probably one of the best that I have seen from 2017, because for once it felt relatable. The awkward way Moriko and Sakurai would talk and interact with each other was very sweet to see and made me like their relationship more and more as the series progressed. I thought a love triangle was going to be introduced when Koiwai started to interfere, but luckily he was just a friendly device to help get Moriko and Sakurai together.
The comedy was pretty damn good too, especially whenever Koiwai was on screen, because he was the funniest character of the show, true Moriko was funny too, but she was relatably funny whereas Koiwai was absolutely funny with most of whatever he said, plus I really liked the scene where he sneezes from his name being mentioned and actually realises it, which is something I have wanted to see broken for ages.

Enjoyment (8/10)

Overall (8/10)

Overall this was a nice change from the usual gaming anime's that focus on the game and action, plus the relationship was really relatable too, which was great to see as well. I really hope a season 2 is made, because I want to see where Moriko and Sakurai's relationship will go next.