Anime 36038 Net-juu No Susume Reviews

Often There comes a show which we find ourselves enjoying more and more by the passing episode, But when asked, we find it difficult to describe in words,that what is it that we actually like about it. It is something most of us experience and, it all just might feel weird , to like something without a reason.The same had happened with me while watching this anime,I am not really sure why, Maybe it was the characters, the story, the music, or rather the entire show itself, however, in the end, It doesn't really matter, as long as one enjoys whatever they are ... watching.

The anime, net juu no susume, starts off as a MMORPG parody, with some generic elements and run off the mill jokes, However, slowly the game theme starts to fade away, to a point where it seems like a side aspect , But in return, what we get to see later is a show, with one of the finest pace of story progression and character development we've seen in a while. The anime starts with a "person", starting a new life,and not a one you would expect, but rather an Online one. She uses games, not as a means to escape reality, but rather to reject it, to a point where it fades away to almost nothing. However, the world around that her begins to change due to a string of coincidences, which you might call fate,that slowly amalgamate both her online and offline lives together to a point, where both of them just seem unreal to her, and to a certain extend, to us too.

Neet is a term which is gaining more an more popularity in anime, This is clearly evident in most of the recent anime we have been receiving. Of course, it is not a good idea to just sit around at home all day doing nothing,but secretly, its somthing that most of us desire to do, and this desire within us is what makes us relate to these people. The main character, Morioka san, is also a neet, who has left her job in private sector and now dedicates her full time in playing RPGs and making new friends online. The interesting part is how she plays as a male character in the game, and some people despite knowing this, treats her as a normal person and not a freak, which comes to show the acceptance and etiquette of the internet. The show focuses on how she , by meeting new people, is able to come out of her shell and becomes a more social and active person in the society, which in other words means how she recovers from her neet behavior.

Now, It has become quite common to see young high school characters in most anime,especially romance, who have no experience in life and behave like dimwits whose lives are a tragedy. Net juu no susume offers a more mature and sensible cast of characters whose approach to life and the events that happen, are more realistic and makes sense. We see the characters behave in realistic way and not like dimwits , and this is also a major appeal of the anime and also reason for the smooth progression of the story.

Much like Morioka, sakurai is shown as a person with his own problems, despite having a job and friends, he is actually more similar to Morioka san than anyone else. Both are portrayed as MMO junkies who are fed up of their routine and escape off into a world of RPG to relieve themselves. Its also funny how both of them are more closer to one another , than they realize. And as the story progresses, They find that they are tied by a string of fate. The other characters are also not cast aside and the have a pretty well developed personality to show and a good role to play. Characters like Koiwai, Kanbe have provided with a help to both parties in improving the relationship with the other. Honestly, I was also not a fan of Koiwai, because he is pushy and just a big jerk. But, still he was the major reason in bringing Morioka san close to sakurai, And the real reward is when you watch the last episode and realize how far they have reached from just being strangers, It still surprises me, or rather it shows the real power of online games, and how they are able to bring strangers more closer to each other than one can imagine

Its actually these shows, which truly highlight the role played by good characters in an anime and which kind of impact they can have, even on a not so well written story line. The rate of development and character building has been really perfect since the fist episode. Through small encounter, to exchanging email , to going drinking,and finally just getting even more closer , The development being done is something which surprises me the most. Its all too fast and yet seems natural . It truly shows how much we can achieve , in very amount little episodes.

The MMORPG, as I alredy mentioned, is not exactly the main focus of the anime, especially for the later half,however it has also not been completely ignored. We can see some good parody elements just being thrown around casually, Like the Loot box episode. Also we should see that, It is the Game only which started it all and was a major portion of the story development at first. The MMORPG theme in total here, is used really well to be honest, it has not overshadowed the anime but is also not got overshadowed itself or we can say that it was simply used in the most appropriate way .

The art is something I usually don't talk about, as it is quite subjective in itself. From my point of view, The art is pleasant and simple with a good use of cooler color palette , which is pleasing to eyes. The music is very simple and elegant, More than the OP, i am a bigger fan of the ed. It closes up everything very well and is a good way to wrap up things, but Other than that , there is nothing special in the art and music part.

Overall, The anime is surprisingly well made and it is much better than what u would expect it to be. It seemed to me as a very generic and simple show at first, but soon it exceeds my expectations and becomes a show which I would look forward to every friday. From the well developed characters to a good story line, almost everything about it is perfect which ,in my eyes, makes it worthy of the score i have given, And also Sakurai and Morioka san are one of the cutest pair you will ever see in anime. Its something everyone should experience at least once, because It will exceed your expectation, more than you would expect it to

Our society is made up of all sorts of people. The everyday working man, prodigies, movie icons, singing legends, book smarts, street thugs, leaders, professional gamers, ladies’ man, creative innovators. You name it. There’s always someone you’ve met in today’s society that you may be familiar with or completely contrasts who you are. There’s one type of people that our society doesn’t have a keen impression on though. That would be NEET. Know what it stands for? At its most generic definition, it’s a person that is “not in education, employment, or training”. The stereotype about “gamers that stay in their mom’s basement” applies there. ... In a show like this, we get a first inside look at the life of a NEET and how their social life applies to their norms.

Jumping into this anime was actually quite easy. This is determined by the female protagonist, Moriko Morioka. She is what most people would define as a “NEET”. After quitting her job, Moriko decided to play an MMO called “Fruit de Mer” in order to embrace the NEET lifestyle. I find this choice of the main character rather interesting as there’s sort of gender swap with her role. Most people would imagine a nerdy male protagonist but instead, we have a single unmarried female character who isn’t bad looking in the beauty department either. Some people may also feel relatable to Moriko because of her straightforward timid personality. As a show that examines the lifestyle of a NEET, Moriko fits perfectly for that role because she is socially awkward. In the meantime, Moriko also creates a character in the MMO world named “Hayashi”. In contrast to her real life image, she makes Hayashi as a male knight character with a handsome look; in general, an antithesis of herself. As such, this anime sets up a lot of storytelling as her lifestyle blends between fiction and reality.

Similarly to Moriko, there’s also another character in the series that doesn’t come far off when compared to her. His name is Yuta Sakurai. Compared to Moriko, Sakurai often has hard time talking with people in real life although he does maintain a decent job at his company. This is extremely similar to Moriko as both characters often fret over at what they should say or how others may judge them based on their words. In the MMO world, Sakurai adopts the character name “Lily”. By storytelling elements, he plays a gender bender role as a female character in that fictional world and meets Hayashi. Lily also happens to be an attractive young female in-game and is sociable compared to Sakurai’s real life image. Get the picture here? It basically designates both their characters being completely different between their real life and MMO character persona. However, I do find the character chemistry to be very well executed. From the MMO world, they manage to connect to a personal level and share quite a decent amount of memorable moments together. In fact, character chemistry is what I value this show the most. Through social commentary, character dialogues, and personality dynamics, Moriko and Sakurai stands out as a memorable pair. They aren’t just similar but really bring out their honesty towards each other. It’s like fate often has the two meet together through coincidences as they connect with their relationship.

Of course, this anime isn’t just about them as the show also adds other characters to fulfill certain roles. A noticeable character is Homare Koiwai who has a very outgoing personality. In fact, he can be interpreted by some people as a ladies’ man. Unlike either Moriko or Sakurai, Koiwai has little trouble speaking with others and often initiates a conversation. It shouldn’t take long for viewers to realize that he is a foil character for the both of them. There’s also Kazuomi Fujimoto, a stereotypical college working student who also has an in-game MMO character. While I can’t say his role is very dynamic in this show, he does make up an empty void for filling the shoe of the merchandise seller. You ever need some in-game items? He’s your guy.

Even as a show that explores a lot of social norms, this anime still fulfills a lot of MMO gimmicks and mechanics that gamers may be familiar with. The idea of character classes, customized gear, lootbox, dungeon conquering, world exploration, etc fits into their game world. However, don’t mistake this anime as one about characters trapped in a world in order to defeat some demon overlord or survive. It’s more of a series that satires the NEET lifestyle in a lighthearted way. In addition, the storytelling gives us insight about Moriko’s life in small but vivid details. It shows how exactly she lives her lifestyle as you would picture as a NEET. The anime also gives some background storytelling about Moriko and Sakurai so it doesn’t just rely on the present timeline to do all the talking and showing. On the other hand, I do find that there’s some problem with the storytelling’s pacing. This anime adapts from a web manga and only consists of 10 episodes. The majority of the first half establishes the characters and ideas while the latter half seems to focus more on Moriko and Sakurai’s relationship. It often flirts with the idea of “will they or won’t they become a couple”. No, I’m not just talking about an in-game romance relationship because that comes off as way too cheesy. Instead, it makes the viewers wonder if there’s a future for them in a real relationship. This anime will test a viewers’ patience as it slowly builds up more and more each episode. Some of them end in cliffhangers that can be a letdown. As such, I’d recommend watching this as a marathon rather than on a week to week basis.

On the visual front, Net-juu no Susume isn’t anything to write home about when it comes to raw quality. Signal. MD’s track record consists of a small group of projects that people don’t talk about often. To me, this was their first anime project that people may have taken more notice. The visual quality itself can also be questionable as everything looks very simple. If this anime was marketed as a game in our world, it would be an indie compared to AAA games that you’d see from high budget studios. However, if you look past the quality, you may notice that the anime appeals to more than just quality itself. With its MMO elements, this show is a smart flick that uses its artwork to prove what it means to be a gamer. If you take a look at Moriko’s home, she has everything set up from dual screens to high quality keyboard. In-game character designs, monsters, and items disguises the mediocre quality if you look carefully as it satires the gaming culture. Moriko’s character design can also look appealing especially in later episodes when she gets a makeover. Character expressions also sell a good degree of humor especially with reactions to certain situations. To be honest, this anime will be viewed differently from every viewer but it possesses an innate ability to shine for what it has to offer despite the budget.

The quality of the soundtrack isn’t memorable by any means but it’s more of the characters’ voice lines that do the work. Moriko’s voice fits effectively for her role as both in-game and real life. Even when crossplaying, Hayashi still has some of her traits that can be easily recognized. The theme songs for the show speaks for themselves as it comes as colorfully decorated.

After watching this anime, I can safely say that it exceeded my expectations. The first few episodes took me some time to accept but after realizing what it really had to offer, it changed my mind from a mediocre afterthought to a show that I looked forward to every week. However, I think it’s preferably to watch this anime as a marathon as the storytelling can test the patience of the viewers at many times. The comedy can be a hit or a miss depending on what you’re looking for. But for me, Net-juu no Susume turned out to be a dark horse that went beyond and over.

"Have you ever fall in love on the internet?"

The world has been connected with the international network since the edge of the 20th century, online chatting and online games have been one of 'everyday chores' until this period, we indirectly communicate with each other to gather information, play, or just to chat. The online communities keep growing larger and larger, and whenever a community grows larger, some potential can be noticed (look at MAL for example).

Net-Juu no Susume notice that potential, bringing the same concept as last year's NetoYome, Net-Juu no Susume brings us a tale of a female voluntary unemployed, Morioka Moriko as she ... stumbles up to one of the online game from internet's recommendation, as she plays as a 'he' in that game. She gets along with Lilly, a female character who turns out to be a young male employee in the real world.

The anime is a good example of 'Good anime didn't need certain complexity to be enjoyable'. With that simplistic concept, this anime didn't need a long time to make us (the audience), feel attached to the story and characters in the series. It may be not as original as we hope, but the execution was marvelous. It flows easily and perfectly placed without forcing it to be understandable. The anime makes us want to see more even though the art and sound itself is not as god-tier as other anime these days. Characters are awesome, main characters interaction is always more interesting than we could ever expect. I believe these lovebirds personality can fill each other blackness.

Overall, Net-Juu no Susume is perfect for those who like light-hearted. Watching it won't be a burden for you and it should give you more than it could be.

(Note: This review contains both positives and negatives, but it helps you decide to watch it or not. 8/10 is just my view)

In this present Internet-dominated world, We spend lots of time on social networks, gaming etc and we forget how we behave in the real world and become clumsy, silly and awkward...That's depicted really well in this anime...and it also shows how we want to stay and dream to be in that dream world...


Please don't be deceived by the title "Recovery of MMO junkie" , To be honest I thought it must be a story of a recovering MMO addict and it might help ... people with addictions get motivated, but to my disappointment, Its a story about an MMO addict who was forced to quit playing the game as the game was shut down and she finds a new game...so that's what recovery means in this case.

Story:
It's a common MMO gaming type anime where MC plays the game and interacts with other characters and obviously falling in love with them or developing a crush and accidentally they meet in the real world but they do not know that they are playing the same game. (Which would never happen in real life scenario cos there is no possibility of meeting) .

You know what's going to happen next in the story and you know that it is silly but still you would love watching it because the atmosphere in the anime makes you feel that way.

The first episode might be boring but after 2nd and 3rd episode you start liking it and it keeps getting more and more interesting.There is no dragging which happens in most love stories (you would understand what I meant at the end of episode 8).

It did help bring few smiles and laughs as it exactly depicts how stupid we behave when we live in that virtual world or social networks, as we cant talk to the same person whom we met in social network properly if met face to face. It also makes sarcastic jokes about MMO gaming.

Art:
Art is Good, I mean since it represents about a game, obviously the characters are designed to be colorful and interesting.The Main character even though with her messy long hair is really cute and there is bit drawback in male characters of real life because most of them look almost same, just the hair color or spectacles vary lol.

Sound:
Opening and Ending tracks are good and create a gaming feel scenario,
The soundtracks aren't worth remembering, except for 1 or 2, I guess.

Character:
This is the main important feature that makes this anime special, Character development Of the main character is good. I fell in love with the MC as her character is just like me who does clumsy things and speak in monosyllables when talking with opposite sex. Other characters aren't much developed( like other gamers)...We only come to know 3 people from the game outside...So it focuses mainly on the Two MC's and their feelings.

Enjoyment and Overall :
I would say to watch this anime if you want to see someone like you existing in an anime world and laugh at yourself. It's a good time pass anime if you are bored of high school romance and bloody thrillers.

My advice before watching:
Please don't start this anime with any expectations, Watch it with a free mind and at a time when you don't have anything to do.

Story: Average

Being predictable isn't a shortcoming, but being predictable without any charm is.
We know right from the start what is the goal of the series and we are there just to lay down and enjoy the ride, and I sure didn't.
Most of the reason for that comes from the characters, but the plot is also at fault. If you make your end goal known to the public at least make your journey until there fun.
I mean, I'm pretty sure that I have watched this already. Isn't this just a mixture of ReLIFE, NetoYome, and Gamers! ?
- Romance involving two main adult characters ... while having some sort of "rehabilitation". ✔
- Having characters that know each other in a game meeting irl. ✔
- A bunch of misunderstandings or slow progression that could have been easily solved if they talked with each other. ✔

Sound/Art: Fine/Bad

I don't have much to say, I found the music a bit above average while the art being somewhat bad. It's more or less consistent, but I don't think that it has any appeal. Backgrounds and characters designs are really generic and I don't have any memorable moment where I thought that the show looked good. On the other hand, I have several memories where it was meant to look good, but it wasn't.

Characters: Very Bad

So, let me see if I got this right. For a change instead of high school age characters we have adults, but instead of making any good use of that we just use them as if they were still high school age characters.
Yes, we have this huge superficial difference while everything else that really matters is the same as any other anime out there.
This story could easily have been made without them being adults while having almost no differences, just changing some events to something similar or changing them to something different while getting a similar purpose/intent.
I just feel like it was a waste on that part.

But hey, they are not even the only characters, we have more which we know absolutely nothing about and were always there. I guess that we shouldn't expect much since not even the main characters were that well developed. We known about Sakurai's past and we kinda know about Morioka's. But it's in a superficial manner. Sakurai only has that going for him because it was needed. Otherwise, he could not share a bound with Morioka, and the exact same thing with the MC. A superficial plot point for them to have some sort of connection while making it "so beautiful", otherwise they would have 0 reasons to want to get to know one another. Especially taking in considerating both their personalities, especially Morioka's.

Overall: Average

I feel like I made this series seem worse than it is. I honestly just found it average. I ended up focusing on the bad points of the series since most of the reviews are positive with some high scores and I wanted to give some "balance" to it since I really don't think that this series was as good as people make it out to be.

(Possible minor spoilers ahead, if you haven't seen the first ep you have been warned)

To start off, this show title doesn't give a very good description of what the actual content entails, “Recovery of an MMO Junkie“ would make many think (well at least what I thought) a show entailing possible game rich functions, ideas and the such. Unfortuantly though it has more come across as more a pre-tense for the show and it revolves around a RomCom based structure, if you liked “Kiss Him, Not Me ” there's a good chance you'll like this show, they show many similar things and the comedy ... aspect is roughly the same.

Story: 5/10
MC meet MC2 out of random thing, they for some reason click, they have some comedic events and some down spells, standard structure for a RomCom, but what adds from that? So far nothing. Besides ye ol gender bender trick its pretty straight forward.
5 outta 10 you say? Man that doesn't sound that high, and no it doesn't but that's mainly because of my own pet peeves I might add. The show points out the MC is a previous MMO nut, and claims to be an “elite NEET”, from there the MC proceeds to need constant assistance on basic MMO structures and proceedings, doesn't sound super “elite MMO nut” to me.
MC runs into someone who wants to help from seeing them fail too often, this screams Deus ex machina, but its needed for the plot to progress, which is kinda annoying to swallow but it will be allowed. From here its just happy go lucky RomCom standard, you know whats going to happen, you know how its gunna turn out, there's not a lotta variety going on. For the comedy aspect, id say your usual troupes are had, the embarrassment to get a couple giggles, but I only really felt anything in one or two scenes over 4 episodes.

Characters: 5/10
The characters are there, and they each have their own feel about them, but it's more a each has their “thing” than each having different personality's, It has a very RomCom feel setup which is a given, MC1 is nervous about everyone and talking about things making them bashful/embarrassed when doing anything. MC2 just playing the tough card but inside they too act the same. MC3 is like MC2 but plays the envy card, and finally MC4 for the laughs, more confused to how there was a lacking of the tsundere card, gets a thumbs for that atleast.

Sound: ?/10
Wouldn't be able to give you a rating for sound, because I haven't really noticed it, besides the opening and ending.

Art: 4/10
Flat art style is very generic, in game looks like every other show on the market, and when this is 90% of the show representation kinda doesn't help out. A lot of the time spent is still background shots and talking phases in basic settings (A tree, a blue brick castle, a fountain) Not a lot going on, nor does it really stick out as creative or interesting. Outside of the game MC art style is a little more creative which gives some nice flair but not enough to out weigh the previous problem.

Overall: 5/10
It's not bad bad, but its got a ways of being good, if I hadn't have seen “Kiss Him, Not Me” I probably would have thought more of it, but it feels very similar in design THUS far, it could change in one episode and become a 9 you never know.

TL:DR
If you like RomComs, give it a go you may like it, but don't start this show if you are thinking it will have a decent gaming environment aspect. Seems very generic based with some tweaking, this is my opinion and you might like it, as they say each to their own, I will watch it through till the end but so far its seeming like shows I've already seen.

The first half of Net-Juu no Susume, otherwise known as Recommendation of The Wonderful Virtual Life (Not Recovery of an MMO Junkie), was actually quite a joyous watch. Typically romance is a genre that lacks variety and intrigue. NJnS takes the additive route of just applying an MMO on top of the bland cliche scenarios you'd normally find and, surprisingly, it creates some level of appeal.

Gloriously followed up by the characters, Morioka or "MoriMori", is a shut-in who quit her job to play MMOs all day everyday. Well, really it is to escape the real world that is filled with anxiety and depression ... but... y'know how it goes. Inside this MMO, she eventually meets the pink barfbag that is Lily and since Mori created a male character; the obvious conclusion is that Lily is also a man.

But keep in mind, predictability isn't always a bad thing. If anything, trying to work around keeping Lily's identity a secret for a given period of time likely would've complicated things and that is a common problem many other anime make. Anyways, Sakurai, who we can already guess is Lily, comes to an understanding that the situations happening with MoriMori in real life is awfully similar to the situations described by Hayashi, Mori's avatar in the MMO. In this scenario, anime has portrayed male characters very stupidly by just having them chalk it all up to sheer coincidence. Not Sakurai, he mans up and investigates what is going on, uncovering the identity behind Hayashi actually being Morioka! And that's really cool! I, very much, appreciated how intelligent and proactive Sakurai's character has been... Up until this point.

But post episode 4 it really falls downhill. A lot of slow dialogues of that do nothing for the show and even though Kowai seems to have read "The Bro Code" front and back, his attempts to set up Sakurai and Morioka together fails time and time again simply because Sakurai lost his pair and decides that he isn't going to go after Morioka because fuck logic. After all this, it is just a slow decline of pointless dialogue to pad the show's run time. Oh and the other characters really don't matter. It is mainly a story between Morioka and Sakurai with actual assistance by Kowai.

I personally wouldn't recommend a virtual life. MMOs are a pain and gets boring very quickly with the repetitive gameplay and pointless dialogue; much like this anime.

Net-juu no susume is a wonderfully crafted romance. The series' ambitions are not immediately apparent, as the story opens with a very generic MMO-registration sequence. It would be easy to write Net-juu off as just another typical virtual/alternative reality anime that fails to establish a personality and a mission statement in the first crucial minutes. After the first episode you're most likely wondering which direction the story is heading, as there is nothing inherently interesting about the game world or its mechanics.

The real point of interest is, of course, the characters. The online guild friends our MC encounters are charming, as are their real ... world personas. Everything about the characters and their interactions is so pleasant and likable that you can't help falling in love with them. This wouldn't work if there were no struggles, of course. Net-juu tackles real, working world issues. The way humans use games to alleviate stress and escape human problems is a central motif.

Net-juu puts multiplayer games into an interesting light. It doesn't deny their addictive and harmful properties, but it doesn't try to paint them as evil either. Even though the characters of this anime have different backgrounds and spend varying amounts of time in their game, all of them have a deep appreciation for the experiences and connections it has allowed them to make.

The visual production has a raw feeling to it, which somehow seems to elevate the romantic feelings it spurs inside me (Net-juu is similar to RE:life also in this regard). The soundtrack is similarly low-key, although both the OP and ED make a very strong mark with music and visuals that work in a perfect harmony.

Net-juu is is worth checking out even if romance isn't your go-to genre. It's filled with love, and has one of the most charming main characters I have ever had the pleasure to watch.

I get it, Recovery of an MMO Junkie is cute and all, but is that really enough to overlook the generic and cliched writing? The conflict is entirely caused by misunderstandings. The characters are shallow and the protagonist is an unrealistic interpretation of a NEET.

Moriko Morioka is a 30-something business dropout who has chosen to become a self-proclaimed "NEET" and plays games all day instead of working. Why did she choose this life? She felt like it, despite being good at her job she opted to throw it away playing video games instead… Don’t expect to understand what motivates the characters because their only reason ... for existing is to be cute.

Moriko enters the MMO game and chooses to play as a male character, why? Because she wanted to. A potentially interesting start to the protagonist that goes right into the gutter because it's only used as an excuse to hide her true identity from her in-game friends, the first of many misunderstandings to fuel the lazy story. In the MMO world, she meets a kind girl named Lily, who has an air of mystery surrounding her. They grow close to each other quickly within the first episode, but keep their feelings on the down low because relationships are (for some reason) not allowed in the guild they’re in. In real life, Moriko bumps into a man on the streets and they gradually become friends as time goes by with hints at a romance that could form. Their burgeoning relationship gave her a chance to stop being a NEET. Occasionally it’s endearing to see them awkwardly try to talk to each other, but as they run through the same routine over and over I just wanted them to get on with it and skip the charade. However, the other half of me knew that the show would fall to pieces once there was no more misunderstanding to drag out. That’s why MMO Junkie is so predictable, you know that they can’t have the big reveal until the very end, lest they actually come up with an engaging plot to compel the audience for the rest of the runtime.

Some of the more annoying contrivances the show dishes out:
1. Supporting characters who understand the misunderstanding between the two leads and willingly choose to confuse and misguide them, preventing them from discovering each other's true identities and also move the plot along.
2. In response to most awkward situations that would reveal either of the leads' identities they say, “I’m too embarrassed to say I’m a gamer/ I have a crush on that person / I am a woman but playing as a man.” If only the characters were actually had the self-confidence to be called role models, I might consider it to be cute and pleasant, but they’re not there to help you but to pander to you. Pure Junk food.
3. Phone Batteries. Why can’t they just charge their damn phones??
4. “What if they find out that I’m a NEET?” You aren’t a damn NEET! Getting nervous around boys and being too lazy to go to work doesn’t make you a NEET.

On top of these flaws is the wasted potential of the MMO counterpart to the real world, along with the supporting cast of Moriko's online friends who she's in a guild with (but they get no development whatsoever). Some of the engagement of watching MMO Junkie comes from trying to figure out which characters in the real world are players in the MMO world and seeing them work together in the game. However, the actual gameplay itself is almost never shown, most likely due to budget constraints. So we are forced to listen to the boring recounts of the gameplay, losing a connection with the characters in the process. Come on, even Sword Art Online got this right. Watching people play games without any reason to care is boring, but being told about people playing games is mind numbing.

The fact that the characters are adults changes nothing, they all act just as stupid as the high schoolers in your average school harem anime. Their sole purpose is to perpetuate the frustratingly predictable plot about finding out who likes who. Each character in the show is added to the cast before they’re introduced, the show just expects you to recognize what archetype they fall into and fill in the blanks yourself. The incredibly lazy characterization that only further alienates the audience. Starting with the main character; she tells us she is a neet who quit her job, why? Who knows, she omitted that part, and thus gave the audience no reason to get invested in her character other than being a lady with big boobs who likes video games and cute girls (namely the one who she latches onto in the game).

The characters could have just as easily been high schoolers, them being adults adds nothing to them. When I saw that they were in their 20s and 30s I thought we’d get to see interesting dynamics of responsibilities that the main character would face being an adult neet. Disappointingly, the responsibilities of adulthood are mostly ignored and swept under the rug. Despite Moriko not having a job, she is able to pay rent, living expenses, and her MMO subscription. 90% of the issues the characters face could be fixed if they simply communicated with each other and solved their problems like the adults that they are. However, it would be too much to ask for characters who have actual common sense, wouldn't it?

My least favorite character by a mile was Koiwai. Even as just a supporting cast member he stands out as being particularly unsettling and he totally defuses any potential comedy in the scenes he's present in. What makes him so unbearable is how creepy he acts, in one episode he takes a picture of Moriko while she's sleeping then texts it to Sakurai and to top it off, Koiwai makes a rape joke. Yes, it was a rape joke. Even if it was meant as some sort of off-beat joke, it put me off from his character entirely. I was constantly wondering why he even hangs around the kind and innocent lead characters while he is so malicious. I'm honestly shocked that more people haven't mentioned how grotesque he is as a character. The worst part about him is that the creators of the show acknowledge him as a good person and build him up to be this great guy through Moriko commenting on his "kindness," truly sickening.

This sadly isn't too surprising of a (dark) turn for MMO Junkie considering the director, Kazuyoshi Yaginuma, is openly a neo-nazi and promotes anti-semitism. I wouldn't recommend this show before knowing about the Yaginuma's appalling beliefs. But knowing who had their filthy hands on this show makes it flat out impossible to recommend.

I could understand if they intended for the scenes in real life to look bland, but the scenes in the game world are just as flat which leads me to believe that this show just didn't have the budget to handle a project like this. I’ve never heard of the studio that made this show, Signal. MD, and that’s probably a blessing considering how low in quality the show is.

The op and ed are catchy but become grating over time, not something I would listen to individually. Another place affected by the low budget is the music, I expected it to be mediocre and I wasn't disappointed. Don't go into it expecting anything great, just your bog standard repetitive romcom-ish soundtrack that adds very little to the show. To spice it up a bit the show would use the MMO specific music in the real world to symbolize how Moriko was taking on life as if it was an in-game challenge, which was a good creative choice, but it me think of how they're just running out of music.

I almost never found the jokes to be funny, they try way too hard to be relatable and often feel redundant in an oversaturated genre. The "comedy" is just a constant stream of Moriko shouting in her head "Ahhg!! I'm so embarrassed for x-reason!!" over and over. She can't face life head on like an adult and instead tortures herself (and the audience) by constantly complaining about small issues that make her seem petty. If you think finding out which character in the real world is a player in the MMO could be exciting then look elsewhere, it is very obvious who is who. Like the derivative rom-com of last season “Gamers,” this show is full of head shaking contrivances to keep characters from figuring out who is who. At least Gamers made the effort to include commentary on video games. This show didn’t even bother to go beyond “I can make man character but I am a woman teehee.”
God forbid the audience actually have to think at all while watching a show about adults.

All that MMO Junkie offers in the way of meaningful commentary (if you can even call it that) is characters mentioning from time to time, "I bought my gear in a loot box~!" It shows that the characters like to spend lots of money on the game, but damn, it's so unself-aware for a show about video games to actually embrace microtransactions rather than criticize them, especially with Battlefront II and other offenders only recently releasing to overwhelming audience outcry.

Despite being only 10 episodes long it overstays its welcome, becoming incredibly repetitive and predictable as it desperately claws at the audience screaming out “TELL ME IM CUTE!!” And it made no effort to hide its intentions.

I didn’t care if she found out who he was in the game or not.
I didn’t care if he confessed to her or not.
I just wanted it to be over.

Rather than writing adult characters as actual adults, this anime chooses the laziest route and gives them the maturity level of children. If you can overlook the shallow characters, misunderstanding fueled plot, poorly realized game world, then perhaps you may find some enjoyment in this cloyingly saccharine non-romance. Otherwise, I’d say Recovery of an MMO Junkie is best left forgotten.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie quickly became one of my favorites and I can say with full confidence that there has never been a romcom anime like it. There's nothing convoluted about the story, there are no gimmicks, and no long-lasting misunderstandings. These are stable adults, making responsible decisions, and fostering healthy relationships. The creators masterfully portray 30-year-olds feeling deep-seated, heart-racing, butterflies in your stomach romance. And it's a treat.

Moriko Morioka is a self-certified NEET and Yuta Sakurai is a company man with a good heart; both have shared interests and a chance encounter that changes the course of their relationship. Unlike most heroines, Moriko ... is extremely polite yet headstrong. She's at the age where she understands that if she compromises too much of herself to appease a potential partner's sensibilities, they will never be happy together. She loves herself and knows how society views her as a woman NEET. Yes, she cleans up well; however, she knows that if her partner can't stand her unkempt self—her most comfortable self—then she's better off without them. I appreciate that more than anyone can say because it's such a rare thing to see in anime, especially in a character who's a woman. It's a really important message, especially for young girls.

There are so many things that lead to satisfying affirmations and the way conflicts get resolved is terrific. For example, Sakurai tries to retrace his steps in order to bump into Morioka again. Koiwai, Sakurai's friend, calls him out on his actions as stalkerish. He denies it at first but then realizes he's overstepping boundaries and stops—and I love that! Not enough creators acknowledge a realistic problem with their characters and then confront it with such nuance. There's a great cast of supporting characters, many of whom are guild members (MMO clubs). They act as any good online friends would; they're always there for the main characters, they listen and give advice when asked, and they have fun together whether it's at the in-game pub or in a dungeon. This is neither here nor there but I also appreciate that gender isn't as huge an issue as other game-related anime make it seem. There's a gay couple who are lovable and affectionate and, at one point, Morioka developed a crush on another woman. It wasn't written to serve as some kind of shocking plot point or tokenism either; made my heart swell with joy.

The animation is simple and the art style looks a little bit older than most anime nowadays but it's bearable. The coloring on the other hand is fantastic; whoever does the coloring is amazingly talented! The quality of the voice acting, the music and sound production, and the storytelling makes everything worth it. I especially appreciate that the anime doesn't rely on ridiculous tropes. Nobody goes out of their way to be horrifically sinister and all of the characters are incredibly supportive of each other. There are many relatable things that happen that many adults can relate to. Recovery of an MMO Junkie is one for the ages and, if you enjoy a heartwarming slice of life-romcom or if you enjoy video games, I implore you to give this a try. Knowledge of MMORPG's help but isn't necessary.

This anime is perfect, especially for gamers who love slice of life-romcoms. I'm surprised it took this long for producers to utilize online gaming and pair it with the genres when there are hundreds of millions of players who also watch anime. There is so much potential to create something for gamers to relate to and it's great to illustrate that healthy, longlasting bonds between players is possible. Recovery of an MMO Junkie portrays that well. It wrapped up neatly and left me wanting more; there's an 11th episode OVA and 2 shorts set to release. After this, hopefully this anime inspires other producers to create more stories like it. Please, give it a try and support them by watching on Crunchyroll!

MMO Junkie is one big build-up to a finale which is totally unsatisfying. Right off the bat, an impending “reveal” is set up that will be used as the fuel for all of the dramatic tension of the series. The reveal consists of the main characters realizing that they are actually long-time friends in an online game – which will undoubtedly result in the beginning of a romantic relationship. The problem is that the reveal is held off until so late into the story that there is no time to explore the aftermath, and that it’s dealt with in the most juvenile and unrealistic way ... possible.

The first half of the show sets up a nice little opening to a story: Morioka has quit her job due to anxiety and spends her days playing an MMO when she begins bonding with someone in-game, only to meet that person in real life – unbeknownst to her. They take an interest in each other in the real world, but are too shy and dependent on gaming to advance their relationship. With that premise established, all that’s left to do is reveal their identities and watch as they develop as a couple and overcome their issues in life. Instead, the reveal occurs at the very end of the series, amidst a bunch of forced misunderstandings and delays, so that nothing really happens until literally the final seconds of the last episode.

This is disappointing for a number of reasons; for one, it’s all build-up and no payoff – we don’t get to see how the characters are affected by this reveal. For another, none of the major problems affecting the characters are resolved: Morioka’s crippling anxiety, addiction to gaming, lack of a job, and the various problems arising from a relationship between socially-deficient gaming addicts who hardly know eachother are completely swept under the rug.

That’s what makes the show frustratingly and offensively simple – the audience is expected to believe that love literally solves everything. Two characters love eachother, therefore there’s no need to deal with any of their problems on-screen because the audience just knows it will all fix itself somehow. This is juvenile fantasy to the extreme and an insulting finish to a story that was promising so much more.

Everything else in the story is left untouched after 6 episodes; the videogame itself, the numerous side-characters, and Morioka’s future are just kind of forgotten and never explored again. What should have been a 15-minute scene in the middle of series instead consumes the entire latter half by spending 2 hours showing Morioka idly sitting around while she builds up the courage to do the thing that ends the show.

Otherwise, the writing is generally mediocre; the whole premise is built off of impossible coincidences and stereotypes played completely straight. It's like the writer knows how to set up a good story but has no idea how to finish it, and hasn't had a relationship since the fifth grade. The fact that the characters are well into adulthood makes their childish behavior that much harder to stomach

I'll try and explain why this isn't a very good anime, kinda.

With Net-juu no Susume, there's two separate but inter-connected story lines, one in game, one in real life.

Of which, the real life story is actually decent and pretty cute, if a bit bland, while the in game story is a cringey mess. To the point where I would actively skip most of the in game interactions not between the two mains because they were hard to watch, they were also predictable too so I wasn't missing anything.

Why is this? To put it bluntly, no one in game acts like an actual human being.

I'm ... an avid MMO player myself, I did myhic raiding in WoW earlier this xpac and have a max level character in most of the good MMO's available today. Throughout all my time playing those games I've never ran into anyone who acts like or speaks the way the characters in this story do. It's flat out cringey. While a lot of people, especially on role-playing servers, go to MMO's for escapism and to be someone you're not, they still talk like and act like real people.

I don't know if it's like this in Japan (I doubt it), but these characters don't talk like or act like real people, which is crazy to me because the real life storyline feels very human and genuine because they act like real people.

That's really the point I wanted to hit home with this review: In game, the characters don't feel human, while they feel exceptionally human in real life.

The game they're playing too also looks like it kinda sucks, to be perfectly honest.

Just as you think you're gonna have another NEET, who seemly wasted his or her life or has dedicated his life to live in a virtual world of MMORPG, along come this and yes, it's RECOMMENDATION OF A WONDERFUL VIRTUAL LIFE, unlike any anime that has a Hokikomori NEET/ MMO Junkie where one would wanna go in there to drag that guys or gal's ass into the real world , this one features an MMO junkie Mori Mori, who quits her jobs cu'z she disillusioned with the real world and finds meaning in a gaming site Fruits de Mer but in the end she came ... back into the real world were she had help from someone who is as awkward as she is. Ok, so at first she maybe annoying where one would pity such girl with a good career only to waste all of it in a game......but you know what, as one goes on watching this, there are things that would make you give her a second thought:

So............................

Very Good 8, Story:

What makes this anime's plot soooo good , was that it features such gender bender in the virtual world where we see the girl playing a guy and a guy playing a girl. The thing about the story plot was that it focuses on each of character's alter ego where in the game they become someone else which is completely different from who they were. Another thing that make this part soooo good was that it really happens in real life it may not be in a game but it would also be in any form of social site in the internet . Also, the romance between two players in the game whom have from a relationship in the virtual world only go have their relationship takes it's course for real.

Decent 4, Art:

Ok, so there were no fanservices around, and there were no moe thing that goes around here, though there is Liliy san being this maho shoujo in the virtual game, her illustrations isn't something to be given such malice.

Good 7, Sound:

Well for a 37 year old seiyu Noto Mamiko to sound very mature wasn't much of a surprise cu'z she doesn't have to struggle being a teeny booper, we can say for sure that she is using her natural voice, the same thing with seiyuu Sakurai Takahiro who is in his 40's also uses her natural tone given that he has to play a mature role.......it's not just those two it's every seiyuu that does the voices for the real world characters as well.

Good 7, Character:

When we talk about the characters here, we certainly would love to hate Mori-Mori for being this women with a promising career only to throw it all away to become a useless NEET. We would also find Sakurai being this good looking bishonen to only fall for a socially awkward NEET like Mori Mori, but you know,the only character who made such impact around here is Kpwai Homare, whom at first we thought is gonna be an asshole, but it turns out that he's a blessing in disguise who somehow knew the situation of Mori Mori and Sakurai and has to play this go between with the two in order to get them together, never-mind if he has the gift of foresight as long as he did what he was need to do in order that his former colleague Mori Mori would have finally have a life in a real world and not rot away being a penniless NEED for the rest of her life and for his colleague Sakurai to be in a relationship and not be lonely for the rest of his life, at this point the score is for Kowai......nice job , man.

Very Good 8, Enjoyment:

Here's the thing, the enjoyment itself is the part where Mori Mori and Sakurai meet up and get to know each other's secret, which live up to what was expected.

GREAT 9, Overall:

For an anime like this to only run for 10 episodes, was well worth it, something like this need not be extended to 12 episode only to ruin the anime as a whole, in fact you can say that it is the best 10 episode that you'll watch, kudos to studio Signal MD. So should this have a season 2??????Ans, no, it has to end the way it is.


Michael Flynn OUT!!!!!!!

After many years of stressful and unfulfilling work, Moriko decided to quit her job and is now a NEET playing a MMO game, what awaits her (and us, the viewers) is a fantastic experience totally worth watching.

Net-juu no Susume is in my opinion one of the most solid executions of the romance genre and a very interesting take of the game one. The ingame world is well developed and has a good number of scenes that really showed the feelings that provide playing this type of games, like trying out clothes and how they looked depending on the character, the “wtf dude” moment when someone ... quits during a raid boss without warning, or just the endless talks with the other people in the anonymity that the Internet provides, and even more in this case since our protagonist is using a male character and interacts with the others from that point of view. These scenes are also very funny since the reactions of the characters to what happens ingame are quite priceless.

While quitting her job gave her a breath of fresh air, that still affected Moriko, who is quite self-depreciating and feels disappointed for things like how she doesn't take as much care of herself as before or just going to a shop to buy random things to eat while passing the day playing the game. While the series doesn't make it overly dramatic, one can see that even if she has a lot of fun playing, that lifestyle still affects her. Thankfully, things start to change once she bumps into an employee from a trading company.

The mix of the gaming parts with the in real life scenes also includes the romance element of the series, that is well executed and smoothly paced thanks to Sakurai, our male protagonist, and his friend and co-worker Koiwai, these two characters soon enter Moriko's life and their interactions both between them and with her are fantastic.

Sakurai needs a special mention for how much he deserves a medal for his awareness of the situation. If you have been watching anime for a while, I'm sure that you have experienced the frustration of a character being overly dense, which can be pretty funny in comedic settings depending on the viewer but very infuriating in some other cases, don't worry for that in this anime because he will not disappoint you.

This anime does a good job in the artistic and musical parts without standing out, the reactions of the characters are well done and funny, while the music sets well the tone of each scene, including the always necessary fantasy tone for the ingame scenes in that type of setting. The opening, Saturday Night Question, provides a nice song with visuals that show pretty well the difference in feelings between the ingame and real life parts of our protagonist, while the ending theme, Hikari, Hikari, shows us various reactions of the characters from the other side of the screen they are interacting to, very neat idea.

In conclusion, Net-juu no Susume gave us a nice story, creating an interesting ingame world that interacts with the reality of our lovable cast and how they develop over the course of the story. I really recommend to give it a try!

This was a pleasent surprise and a very enjoyable watch. I am gonna be short and on point with this review.

The story follows our main female character(30 years old) after she quits her job and decides to relieve her stress by playing a MMO game. Those who are familiar with the MMO games will like this genre and get easy attached to the story, characters and plot . The main focus is not the game itself if you wonder but the characters and how they influence each others daily lives after interacting with each other in the game. A little romance and ... comedy is added to increase the enjoyment . You will wanna watch episode after episode out of curiousity for what will happen next.

The characters strong points are how natural they behave in each situation and don't lose their personality traits across the show. The funny moments between them and their akward face reactions behind the screen will give you a good laugh.Our main heroine changes and manages to overcome her own problems with each encounter during her journey in the game.What i didn't liked as many of you will notice after watching this anime are some side characters who didn't get enough attention despite the fact that they were quite interesting.

It's a relaxing and enjoyable 10 episode anime that you will not regret wasting your time watching and it also portrays a glimpse of how most people social interact in our nowadays society.

[Story] 3/10
If I explain the story with one word, it would be "misunderstandings". Moriko Morioka plays the game as a guy and not a female (no real reason why) but does not want anyone to know that she is a girl IRL. And Yuuta Sakurai plays the game with a female character. And that is practically it, the show continues after the first episode to just give out one misunderstanding after another. One part of me just wanted the misunderstandings to stop but if they did, the show would fall apart.

Also, there isn't any reason behind any of the characters' actions. They do something ... just because. For example, Moriko Morioka plays with a male character. Why? we don't know. Romance is banned by the guild leader. Is it because of some sad backstory? No, it just is banned.

[Character] 3/10
Moriko Morioka is 30+ and Yuuta Sakurai is 28 years old. But they act like 13-year old children that just experienced romance. I can probably skip to a random time in episodes 1-8 and it would probably be someone being flustered over something very small.

When Moriko Morioka bumps into Yuuta Sakurai I expected them to get to know each other and develop a relationship. But no, Moriko Morioka can't even send a thank you message? Let me remind you that she is 30 years old.

[Enjoyment] 5/10
To be honest, I don't know what to say. There is not really anything bad or good. But if I had to complain about something, it would be that the comedy is just based on Moriko Morioka playing on a male character and no one knows that. I didn't think that it was annoying but I wish that there was something more than that.

Also, can't the anime include a bit more of the game part? The only time where I got to see any game activities were before they started raiding a dungeon or after they were done. Ok, ok. I'll give some credit, there was a boss fight we saw for like 10 seconds. Epic...

[Overall] 4/10
It was decent. Something I can watch but definitely not something I would recommend. The anime is just generic and basic.

What I gave it: a solid 5
What it probably deserves: 6.6

The only reason I started watching this was because it was highly rated on MAL, which just goes to show, score isn't everything.

I've seen the setting of NEET with slaptick internal comedy so. many. times. Honestly speaking, I zoned out for most of the first couple of episodes, tuning in only when the real world came back into play.

Honestly, I'm surprised I completed this. The comedy was absolutely average, the development average, the outcome very obvious, and yet I stayed. Probably because I'm such a fan of Sakurai Takahiro (voice actor of Sakurai in the ... show. I wonder how he felt about that xD).

There were some nice fluff moments, but honestly, in the end they fell short. What I was surprised to notice was the directing was actually good, subtle detail without being thrown in your face, for example blushing with the tips of the ears going red, withOUT someone pointing it out by saying "WHy aRe YOuR eaRs So ReD". It was just a detail meant for the audience to see, and if they missed it they missed it. I really wish this happened in anime more often.
And there were several of these little, realistic type details in there, but oh my gosh did it do nothing to save the show. Just means the director was not bad.

Another let down is they say the characters were 30 years old and yet there was more maturity from the teens in Kimi ni Todoke. I am a fan of shojo, so I didn't mind TOO much, but if you're expecting 30 year olds, that's not what you're getting.
The characters themselves had no development. They stayed with the same feelings starting episode 1.

I'm not going to even go into what could have been added to help, because what was already there was so hopeless to start with.

However, by rating this 5, I'm not saying it's worse than something at 6 (I did finish the anime, after all). It's just that it was so incredibly bland. Nothing stood out, at all.

So should you watch it?

I guess I'll leave that up to you: Do you like very, very cliche portrayals of a NEET, drawn out in between scenes to fill up the 23 minute time slot, with the meek attempts at slapstick comedy, and a healthy dosage of shojo-blushing and stammering?
Then sure.

Warning: Review contains light spoilers.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie is an interesting anime, it's a nice little love story about two adults around 30 years old that have an obsession with MMO's.

It's got nice art and a decent soundtrack, as well as a decent dub, none of it really drags the anime down, but the one big flaw it has that might turn a lot of people off is how heavily its plot leans on coincidences, Our two main characters, Morioka and Sakurai, two people who play together online that just happen to meet each other in real life without knowing that they'd met ... before, which was alright, it was only really one coincidence, but towards the end we discover that the two of them also just so happened to have played together in another MMO a long time ago, which just ends up making the entire show feel unrealistic, and may end up ruining the show for some people.

Hey all, it's the underachieving shut-in's wish fulfillment fantasy realized! If there is such a thing as a polar opposite of a power fantasy, it would be this show in how its mere existence demonstrates there is a demographic of people who want to see helpless protagonists win at life because of their uselessness. (The show not-so-subtly suggests that if you choose to quit your job and do nothing with your life except sit around in a virtual fantasy, then all your dreams will come true and you'll even meet the man or woman of your dreams!)

Cynicism aside, I loved this show. Most of the ... story's best moments center around secret identities and the fear of being discovered. At this point everyone has a hobby they're not particularly keen on advertising to the world, so it's easy to identify with the main characters. Romance junkies will probably get a huge kick out of this show but will be disappointed in how short it is. The upside to that however is that the pacing is good and there's no filler.

It's been a couple years, and this is still my favorite romance anime - nay, my favorite love story of all time. I was hooked from the description because of the whole implied "two-person love triangle, in love with each other's alter ego, not realizing they were someone you knew all along with a dash of gender bender" plot, but the anime is so much more than that. I feel like I can really relate to the main character, Moriko's struggles as a lonely 30-year-old who's done nothing with her life but worked a menial job for a humdrum corporation and decides to screw her ... career and play video games all day. I'm twenty-eight-and-three-quarters years old as I write this, and I feel like I am constantly half a millimeter away from doing the same. As for the plot, I was on the edge of my seat with all of the gradual twists and coincidences and revelations that pull Moriko and Yuuta closer together, in spite of the two's social anxiety and ineptitude at relationships (Koiwai is the greatest wingman in anime history). Even if it wasn't meant to be, this is wish-fulfillment fantasy done so very right and I love it.