Recovery of an MMO Junkie:Review

So, after a LONG wait(because school and other thing like to get into the way) I finally finished this anime! But what does this rom-com gaming anime do well?

Rules as always:

1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here.

2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW. 
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3. I am watching the subbed version.

So, where does Moriko Morioka go from episode 1? This is my review of Recovery of an MMO Junkie.

Poster for the show

So after her embarrassment in the convenience store Moriko runs in the man again, and we learn his name is Sakurai Yuuta, who is actually the character Lily in Fruits De Mur, a character that Moriko has been getting too attached to and I think in the online world, nothing much happens. We learn of a few characters in the game, but outside of Sakurai and Moriko, we only know the shopkeeper Koizumi Fujimoto, who is Kanbe and to be fair, he does make a good plot device, as Moriko... "deceives"(massive air quotes here) the party into saying she is a University Student, and that she is really a man. When she is found out, she really is apologetic, but knowing about Sakurai and Lily, says not to ask Lily for advice. There is also this 21 year old girl who is plays as Lilac in the MMO, but we know nothing about and she may well rename nameless, more on that later.

Don't kill Lliac, arrows!

Anyways, Moriko goes to have drinks with Koiwai Homare, Sakura-chan's(the nickname Koiwai gives Sakurai) friend and former work colleague of Moriko. However, Moriko gets a make-over thinks that the drinks is a day early, and Sakurai runs into Moriko after getting said make-over. After this and a chance encounter with Moriko as a character from another MMO, Sakurai realises that Moriko is Hayashi. When he reveals that he is Lily to Moriko and after another encounter thanks to Koiwai they decide to start dating...but you are also not sure if they are a couple.

Overall I enjoy this story a lot, if feels like it could be very real, and I know people who have met the Signifcant Others through MMO's. Not personally mind you, but still.

Me when my crush actually likes me.

There is not a lot to say when it comes to the characters of the series. All of the online characters are really fun to be with and serve their purpose, but outside of Kanbe, Lily and Hayashi, we know nothing about them in real life. Sure, Himerelda is Pokotaro's wife and a women in real life, but we know nothing else. Nico, we know nothing about, and that is going most likely going to stay that way. Hell, she doesn't show up that much in the series. Still they serve their purpose well, I just wish we knew the connections they had in real life.

Koiwai is a very interesting character. There is not a lot of backstory to Koiwai, and he acts younger than Sakurai in my opinion, despite him being older. Still, he works as a good plot device acting both a block to Sakurai's chances, and then setting those 2 up at the end. Speaking of, Sakurai is only character that has some backstory revealed to us. He is the adopted son of rich parents, and after they died, he bought his own place and used MMO's have as a way to escape. He is a great character, and I think he's very relate-able. 

But I relate to Moriko the most, as her feelings and emotional state his I feel hit a personal note with. 

For one, her luck is men is my luck with women.

Somewhat self-depressing jokes aside, we get a lot of hints that Moriko was overworked at her old job, including the idea that "she chose the NEET life". The dream while she was knocked out in episode 2 gives us a great indication. She played another MMO during this time, where she played with an character called Molly, and she often played with a guy named Hearth, who was actually Sakurai. I didn't mention this in the main story as I feel it's there to re-amply the fact that they know each other more than they think, and it works, I just didn't want the review to feel repetitive. Still, I get a lot of her problems and I think that she is a great character for it.

Me when talking to girls... I know you get the point at this point, but I like making fun of myself sometimes.

Overall, I thought this was a great anime. However, the future doesn't look too bright for this amazing show. Kazuyoshi Yaginuma(anime director) was let go by Signal.MD because of Nazi comments, and the Manga by Comico has been cancelled to Rin Kokuyō's(the creator) health declining, meaning if they make a season 2, their is limited content to make it from. Still, even if the show doesn't get a second season, I can't lie and say that this anime wasn't very enjoyable. Also, the OVA is AWESOME! Watch it, I could not stop Laughing.

Anyways, that's it for now! Thanks for reading, have a great day/night, share if you enjoyed it and take care.

Written by Nana Marfo

Recovery of an MMO Junkie(C)Signal.MD/Comico

P.S I send my well wishes and support to Ms.Kokuyō, and I really hope she gets better.