Review of Recovery of an MMO Junkie

Disclaimer: This review might contain spoilers on the anime "Net-juu no Susume". Please excuse me if I make a mistake or you don't understand a part, as English is not my first language. Thank you. Net-juu no Susume: A well-cared anime that fulfilled what it promised After watching the 10 episodes of Net-juu no Susume I can not help feeling that the anime lasted very little. However, now it's time to share my impressions. I mentioned in my first impressions that what difference does it make in a series that the protagonists are not the usual sappy teenagers. And I do not say this because of the factthat they are young, but because of the way in which Japanese authors are currently representing them.

Therefore, an anime that is not "Isekai", where the protagonist is not a prince, where there is no harem, where romance is handled without falling into teasing; and above all, where there is no fanservice, it does not stop being a very pleasant surprise these days.

I must admit that the premise gave me some fear because I thought they would take advantage of both being otaku gamers to use all the aforementioned clichés. However, I loved that they handled the two characters very realistically, even at the cost of constantly evading falling into the predetermined formulas of the genre.

Let's not forget that it is a romantic comedy with touches of fantasy, so clichés to follow are in heaps. However, every time it seemed that the series would fall into one, suddenly a rudder was given and the course recovered. I'll give some examples later, so let's start the analysis.

The argument was interesting, although as I said, I had things to be cautious about. A thirty-something woman who by her own becomes a NiNi elite (considering that she has enough money, earned by herself, to maintain that lifestyle), gave rise to many things, good and bad.

Fortunately, the series chose an appropriate approach considering the age of the characters. It is true that the protagonists did not have normal social skills, but at least they were mature enough to deal with it looking to improve. In fact, in the end the series was just about that.

And here I go to the next point, the script was handled very well to create a good development of both the story and the characters. In fact, I was pleased that they were not afraid to use the whole MMORPG issue as an accessory; to the point that in the final episodes hardly appears.

This was a risky move considering that most of the current anime looks for the opposite, highlighting its fantasy / videogame elements as much as possible. However, in the case of Net-juu no Susume, this decision proved to be totally correct because it was possible to maintain an adequate rhythm for the plot.

At first, the issue of the game was necessary because it served as a motor and link between the two protagonists; not to mention that almost from the start it was left to glimpse that both had previously coincided in another MMORPG. However, by evading the clichés that were presented, the logical result was that the game should lose prominence in favor of reality.

What do I mean? Let's not forget that part of the plot was that both played with characters of the opposite sex; so it was very easy to fall into the formula of keeping this as the great secret and reveal it in the end, if at all. However, instead, it was decided to handle it realistically by having this discovered relatively quickly.

And then there was the other huge secret, the matter of which both had already played together another MMORPG. This is a classic cliché of the romantic series. The protagonists who have known each other for a long time, even coming to fall in love, but who "miraculously", when they rediscover themselves, do not remember each other.

In Net-juu no Susume this was more credible because Moriko and Yuta never saw each other in real life at that time. However, and paradoxically, soon circumstances forced Morioka to have to create an account using a female character; and for the speed and pressure she decided to use the avatar of her previous game. In addition, Sakurai saw that avatar in the act and noticed that it was very similar to that game.

There were many clichés that were broken in all that sequence and obviously, then simply followed the natural flow of events. All this made me loved the script, to the point of considering it the best of the year. Whenever an author dares to break the formulas he will have my attention; and if he does it in a good way then he wins.

Let's go into the characters now. This was the other strong point of the series. Let's start with Yuta Sakurai, even though he is a young man with "normal" behavior, his social skills are not very good. Which is not unreasonable, there are many shy people who are insecure despite age.

However, as events progress, he begins to make adjustments in his personality. In fact, after a brief period in which he acted on his fears, he decided to listen to his heart and act accordingly. That's why I loved when he saw Moriko's avatar that reminded him so much of that game, he did not hesitate to use a similar avatar to confirm if she was that same person.

This was a crucial point in the plot. Had he chosen another path, we would have followed the classic formulas of keeping the secret until the end. However, Yuta's decision to put pressure in a certain way represented the will of the creators to go against the preset structures.

Let's now talk about Moriko Morioka. Here there are more delicate matters because even when she was a functional woman; in the end she ended up leaving work and becoming a NiNi because of his insecurities and inferiority complex. Only the MMORPGs gave her the opportunity to break free and act with more confidence without fear of what they would say.

This escape was maximized by using an avatar of the opposite sex in the new game that started (Fruits de Mer); However, her attitude when circumstances led her to face reality was very mature, although at first she also tried to flee (which at that moment was logical), then decided to face the facts. After all, for 30 years she was a functional woman, she was not going to forget how to act for a few months of NiNi.

Also, at the moment Yuta confirms to Moriko the name of that avatar that looked so similar to the one she remembered from the game NanterSG; the way the woman ties all the capes was brilliantly represented by mixing her design in real life and in the Fruits de Mer game.

And just as for Yuta was to step forward when using that avatar, for Moriko was to give another by daring to call him and ask him directly if it was him. And the best thing is that the development of both until then made their actions never be forced, but natural within all their insecurities.

At this point the creators flirted with following a cliché by having the call cut off just when Yuta confessed that it was Lily; nevertheless, that literally lasted minutes because then he himself managed to explain everything in person, which gave much more weight to the revelation; and it took away all possibility of Moriko's escape.

The other character to stand out without doubts is Homare Koiwai. Why? Because it was he who served as a guide and catalyst to take Moriko and Yuta along the right path. In fact, many times when the plot threatened to follow conventional formulas, it was him who came to put order breaking the cliché.

Even his presence was interesting because for many moments it seemed that it would be the third side of a possible love triangle; although later it was clear that he only wanted to help his friend to build up the courage to fight for the girl he liked.

And that is the best of all, that the feelings of both were always firm and little by little both Yuta and Moriko got the strength to fight for that. This became very clear when it was learned that they played Nanter SG together; That revelation gave depth and weight to their relationship.

From there, the waters continued their course and everything ended in an emotional and rewarding end. First because there was a lot of comedy, second because both reached the peak of their insecurities having to share in the same house; and third because Yuta managed to say the words that Moriko so much needed to hear.

When the manager confused them as a couple in the convenience store, all those insecurities returned to Morioka who suddenly felt that his company embarrassed Sakurai. It was here when I thought that the series would leave everything unresolved in an open ending (considering that the manga continues to be published)

However, Yuta managed to let Moriko know that he did not see her that way and that she needed to value herself more. That for me was stronger than a confession of love, because before starting a relationship, she needed to see herself differently. In fact, those words clicked and gave her the courage to remain at her side.

And finally, the moment he gets the courage to take her hand, it was great to see that she did not run away and decided to take the next step (technically she had already decided seconds before); and it was here where those words of Yuta reflected their importance because they became the engine for Moriko to leave that comfort zone that she had created fleeing from the world.

Regarding the technical section, here there is not much to highlight. The character design was nice and the animation was regular; although it did his job by not looking horrible to the point of removing the viewer from the plot. From the soundtrack I do want to highlight the ending, "Hikari, Hikari" played by Yuuka Aisaka (voice of Lilac in the series). It was a subject with a lot of feeling and every time an episode ended I could not stop replaying it a couple of times more.

In addition, the video that accompanies it was very well prepared and I feel that it captured the essence of the series; Even, in my opinion, it represents a lot better than the opening itself.

In short, a series well taken care of, with a plot that went out of the normal thing and that was written without fear to run risks. This, in an industry where there is so much fear of failure is always a positive point. In addition, the execution was great and the whole made this trip a very rewarding one.

I only regret that it lasted so little, this series deserved at least 26 episodes. Net-juu no Susume promised good things and fulfilled. And the best? Which is precisely now that both began to look as a couple when there are infinite possibilities for history to continue narrating their adventures in the game and in real life. See you in the next review.

SUMMARY

A series that dared to break schemes to give us a fresh, credible, interesting and fun story.

Personal rating:

8/10.