Review of Recovery of an MMO Junkie

I watched Net-juu no Susume, also known as Recovery of an MMO Junkie or Recommendation of the Wonderful Virtual Life. Here are my thoughts: In terms of the writing, the characters are a strong point – they are likable and often relatable, particularly the MC (Moriko). However, the plot is cliche and predictable. I don't want to be too harsh on the plot though because it set up a ton of situational comedy and was a fertile source of humour in general. Regardless of the story, the script itself is overall well done; I thought they totally nailed it during some scenes, and it was furtherenhanced by the voice acting. The dialogue was often funny too. I enjoyed the humour in this a lot, and the script and its delivery was a major component of that. I laughed out loud at every episode.

The voice acting in this is surprisingly good, especially for the female MC. Her voicework definitely enhanced the humour for me in many instances, and she also handled emotional moments well. In fact all the lead characters do a good job. Lily's in-game voicework is great, as is Lilac's. Hayashi does a good job too. The voice acting in this was a significant contributor to my enjoyment. Conversely, the OST seemed like it lacked variety (even for the short runtime) and felt low budget and unremarkable. There is one nice piano melody that is used frequently though.

As for the romance aspect, there are certainly some cute moments but I wouldn't say it's the main appeal of the show. This is more of a romcom (which I know is an off-putting term for many people, myself included). It doesn't play it straight and serious like a typical romance; comedic relief is frequent, including during romance-heavy scenes. Ordinarily I would take issue with this, but I really enjoyed the comedy of this anime and thought it was skillfully implemented. The mixture of sweet and funny feelings made for a really enjoyable viewing experience. It's very rare for me to feel this way about comedic relief, which I think is a testament to how well it's executed in this instance. Overall this is a surprisingly well-directed show.

The visuals are pretty basic and lackluster. Although I will give credit to the fact that the character animation is consistently on-model, which is not something I take for granted (especially with the presumably low budget of this anime). Even so, the visuals are adequate at best and there is definitely room for improvement in this dimension.

My overall rating: 8/10
I was either smiling or laughing while watching this. This show is funny and relatable. The MC is quite likable. The script is usually well written and delivered surprisingly well by the VAs. Although the plot is cliche and predictable, it created a lot of hilarious situational humour. Regardless of its lackluster production quality, this is a surprisingly well-directed show; I was consistently engaged by it and always looked forward to the next episode. This is a really fun anime and I'm glad I watched it.

I would definitely recommend this to people who spend a lot of time in internet communities, or have a significant component of their social life online.

This anime is 10 episodes plus one full-length special sequel episode. Just warning you, that 11th episode is one of the weaker ones IMO, so don't get your hopes up too much. You should treat the 10th episode as the finale.