Review of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

What makes a good romcom anime? Characters Comedy Narrative RelationshipsDrama

Romance

Theses are the things that usually make a romcom anime better not always good though. In the Spring 18 anime season there were two romcom that were strangely competing with each other. 3D Kanojo Real Girl and WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku. Both of these show uses all of these elements that I just listed to make theses respective shows better but yet only one of them was good though.

3D Kanojo Real Girl is a badly written romcom where only it had characters would talk over with each other without letting the other person finish but at various times the show hardly feels like a romcom as the show feels like more like a shitty slice of life anime set in high school. Not to mention the portrayal of Otaku culture as well the characterization and relationships were handled very poorly to a point where point where you just want to headbang a table.

Thankfully its competitor WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku did not suffer from any of the problems that caused 3D Kanojo Real Girl to become such a horrendous romcom anime and as a result WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku became the best romcom of 2018. Not the best anime of 2018 but still a pretty great one.

So what made this romcom so great you may ask?

You gonna to find out soon enough.

Hello everyone this is Shawn aka KurataLordStage and welcome to my review of WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku and with that said and done let's get started.

Story.

The story follows a female officer worker Narumi who secretly hides her Fujoshi lifestyle from her co-workers. One day at work she is reunited with her gaming geek childhood Hirotaka after discovering that they work at the same company. After some drinking sessions outside of work they start to date each other but will it end up being a perfect relationship for theses two or will they fall apart.

I really liked the story for WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku.

For starters the show does a great at establishing its characters right from the first episode. Unlike 3D Kanojo Real Girl where that show establishes the two main characters in a contrived and silly way Wotakoi decides to establish its main cast in a more mature where in the very first scene of the show where Narumi begins chatting kindly to Hirotaka. Unlike 3D Kanojo where by now both leads would talk over each other and random crap we actually to hear Narumi inner thoughts were we find out this is all a front to keep her secret from being exposed. Hirotaka end ups only partially revealing her secret but it quickly hard cuts to them drinking together. Not only does the show do a great job at presenting its actions that they were both otaku's but it manages to respect the tone of the office setting. The thing that sold me in this show is how the how portrays its romance because you see in real life there’s always a time and place where you can date as the two love birds in the show actually don’t date with each other until a day of work is over. Meaning when Hirotaka and Naruni are not working they are dating.
Like with any good romcom the show uses it comedy and romance elements right allowing us to really relate to every comedic and romance conversation that's goes along.
The show also a great job at portraying the Otaku culture where it showcases the highs and lows being an Otaku as an adult age. Not to mention the show goes a great job with it's references to video games and anime like Monster Hunter, Mario Kart, JoJo etc
The one thing that this show over most romcom that are coming out in recently is how the show doesn't take place at high school. Don't get me wrong I like my fair share of anime that were set in high school but in recent memory the high school setting itself was getting too abused to a point where some shows that would have been better if the shows were not in high school. I know this doesn’t really make a romcom show but for this case it does because we get to see a romance that is in a more mature setting that it has its own rules to follow.

Overall the story for WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku was great.

9/10

Characters.
The characters in WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku pretty good for the most part.
Our female romcom lead Narumi is a pretty good character. Despite trying to hide her Otaku interests from her workmates she’s actually a nice and passion girl who loves Otaku hobbies. However I have one sight problem with her and that she can a hypocritical at times where there was a piece of dialogue where Hirotaka asks Narumi why she hasn't tried dating someone who understands Otaku, she replies that only another Otaku would understand and Otaku are gross, so she won't do it. Am sorry but why would you deny a man who also an Otaku. If anything I thought date him because you both love the Otaku culture. Thankfully she becomes a better character later where she accepts dating with Hirotaka a man who is an Otaku but at there were times she can be bit cringe-worthy. Minus her slight cringly attitude at times I liked Narumi for the most part.
Hirotaka is probably the best character in the series. Unlike Narumi he doesn’t even bother hiding that being a Otaku as he is seen doing Otaku things in the open and he’s not a shamed of it.
The character chemistry for Narumi and Hirotaka is nothing but brilliant as they talk they time to understand each by doing all of these Otaku act’s outside of work life.
Hanako and Tarou are two characters that I liked. Unlike Hirotaka and Narumi they relationship is a rocky one as they constantly like having a go with each other like enemies most of the time. While they are not as memorable as the main two couple I thought they were still enjoyable characters.
Overall the characters were pretty good and enjoyable.

8/10

Visuals.
For a romcom anime this shows looks great. A1 Pictures did a awesome at capturing the setting of the series with it's nice use of business colour pallets that blends in well the shows great character and appealing designs. This is by far the best looking anime I have seen from A1 Pictures and it's not even a shounen series while most of those shows would have decent to average visuals at best. Honestly if A1 Pictures had more anime in this style for they action series then those shows would have been least Bones/J.C Staff tier instead of looking at they just came out from McDonalds unfinished filled with art failures.
The animation is pretty nice and smooth for what it is so that’s that.

8/10

Sound.
The soundtrack in WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku was great overall as it does a great at capturing the tone and setting of the series.
Both the opening and ending themes of the show are very good and memorable.
The voice acting is top notch overall. All the Seyiuss did a great job with the roles that were given.

9/10

Final Thoughts.
Overall this show was just great romcom to start to finish.
The story was great, the romance was excellent, and comedy was great and well executed. The characters are great where they all likeable in they own ways. The visuals were surprisingly great and appealing and the soundtrack was beautiful.
Despite being only 11 episodes this show was still able to be a better and well thought out romcom anime then the likes of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san and 3D Kanojo Real Girl. It may not be my favourite romcom series ever but I was still one hell of a good one.
If you’re looking for a great romcom anime that explores the Otaku culture in a realistic way that I recommend WotaKoi Love is Hard for Otaku.
Final Score 8.5/10