English Dub Review: Recovery Of An MMO Junkie “You and I, The Cowards”

It’s not easy to make friends online.

Overview:

Sakurai finds out about Moriko from his coworker, Koiwai. In-game, Lily gifts Hayashi an incredibly rare robe, and Moriko wonders if Lily has ulterior motives in her gift.

Our Take:

Lily gives Hayashi an expensive gift, and Moriko wonders what she should do in response. The game they play seems to involve microtransactions, so likely Lily spent a large amount of money to get expensive gear. Moriko worries a lot since she feels naturally obligated to reciprocate somehow. She spends money on the game, but likely not nearly enough to match the cost of the item, and her budget is likely very tight due to not having a job.

In the end, it turns out to be about loneliness. Even if it’s an MMO played by a lot of people, there are still human beings behind the keyboards, so human interaction is still hard. Due to having a cute avatar and filling a support healer role, Lily was very popular, to the point that she became distrusted by one of the girls in her former guild. People liked her for her role, but not because they liked her as a person. As a result, she shielded herself away and hasn’t really made lasting connections with people outside of the guild. However, she felt that Hayashi/Moriko was fun to play with and a nice person overall, so there was a connection there. The clothes were not to be indebted to her, but a show of solidarity— and a gift to propose a partnership.

For online interactions, there are two major kinds— the ones where you are friendly acquaintances, and the people you really connect with. Both are perfectly fine to have, but the latter is far rarer. It’s the latter that can make the online experience fun, and make you sometimes a little less lonely. Lily and Moriko have both had these kinds of relationships before, and they found that they can trust each other enough to possibly forge a new one. They find that the other’s presence makes the game really enjoyable, so they want to officially team up. It’s a frank but refreshing view on online friendships, and how people interact in a public game setting. Even lonely people can find friendship if they meet the right person, after all!