English Dub Series Review: Recovery of an MMO Junkie

I went into this show thinking it was going to be some more junky anime– you know, the type featuring a girl who’s either used for fanservice or moe points and has all her problems solved by introducing a man into her life. I could not have been more wrong.

Our protagonist, Moriko, is a complicated character. She acts in extremes, as those who are NEETs tend to be, but she is always looking for happiness. The reason she fell into playing games so much isn’t that she doesn’t want to do anything else, but because it brings her joy. Her day job was exhausting, filled with overtime, and ground her down. She was by no means incompetent at her work or felt it didn’t pay well, but it destroyed her so much that she felt she had to leave to preserve her own happiness. That brought her to her to the hobby she left behind— games.

She throws a lot of time into games, but not once does the show demonize MMOs, or games in general. Everyone who plays Fruits de Mer genuinely has a good time and is there to have fun. All of the players in the guild are friends, and the most drama there is comes from misunderstandings rather than trash-talking or outright rudeness. While this is a more idyllic depiction of MMOs and the current gaming atmosphere, the show is specifically highlighting the characters’ experiences, so that’s perfectly fine. The ones who play the game the most (Moriko with time, and Sakurai with the amount of money spent), do so because they genuinely love playing. They’re having fun, and that’s more than enough for them. The show doesn’t shy away from the importance of internet friends, either. Moriko’s most prominent bond isn’t with her old coworkers, but Lily, who she meets in the game. Going on quests with Lily brings her joy, which would have been impossible if she didn’t start playing MMOs again.

What the show does instead is depict how Moriko’s all-or-nothing attitude towards gaming isn’t ideal. It doesn’t criticize her passion but shows how the NEET lifestyle isn’t a sustainable one. She spends her money on gacha but not on food, and a running joke in the series is that she’s always starving because she doesn’t feed herself. Her house is messy because not only does she never have guests, but she doesn’t feel the need to maintain her environment. She doesn’t tidy her appearance for her own sake and becomes generally sloppy. Her withdrawal from society becomes Moriko’s descent into neglect, all because she doesn’t know how to balance herself. It’s not even a source of pride for her— she admits late in the series that she’s hesitant to talk about her life to people because she’s ashamed of it. Gaming itself isn’t shameful, but her obsession with it overtaking everything else is. While the show doesn’t touch upon the deep psychology of why people become NEETs, like Welcome to the NHK, it does a decent job of showing how Moriko went down that path. Moriko knows that it’s not the best thing she could be doing, but she doesn’t do anything to stop it. She’s comfortable and would continue on living as such.

The reappearance of Koiwai, the best wingman, is what jumpstarts Moriko’s change. He’s eager to reconnect with her, and her interactions with him and his coworker Sakurai makes a great impression on Moriko. Now that she has to regularly interact with people who have real jobs, and go out in public, Moriko realizes that she has to at least change her appearance. She can’t wear the same old shirt and sweatpants to dinner, and she has to completely revamp herself. Her drastically changing her exterior reminds her that she can’t completely neglect society and introduces a new door- Sakurai.

Sakurai is Lily’s player and has been Moriko’s gaming partner for years. They by chance meet in real life, and Sakurai ends up falling for her. At first, Sakurai just has a crush on her, but this changes to genuine feelings once he realizes that they actually know each other for years. Sakurai has also played games for years, and whales on all of them, but he started out in a bad place. Like Moriko, the heaviness of real life brought him to the escapism of games, where he finds genuine fun when he’s not working or drinking with Koiwai. His gratitude towards Moriko for cheering him up during his depression turns into romance. He’s curious about her but is also respectful of what she wants. Moriko too ends up reciprocating because of their shared trust. It’s not a life or death situation that brings them together, but instead, mutual trust, shared hobbies, and the ability to be themselves around each other. And Koiwai’s necessary interventions.

What’s most prominent about this show is that Moriko experiences an evolution, but does so for the betterment of herself. It’s largely external factors that force her to change, but she’s the one who makes the changes. Most other anime would have the main girl dress herself up so she can be more appealing to her love interest, but Moriko doesn’t do that at all (and in fact, remains mostly oblivious about romance for most of the series). She changes her appearance because she realizes that she needs to re-establish herself as a member of society, and not as a NEET. She tidies up her home because she’s having guests over, and she needs to be a good host. She doesn’t relapse into her old ways, even when she starts dating Sakurai, because she’s recognized the need to improve herself.

Overall, I had a good time. It’s short, it’s cute, and it doesn’t get bogged down with unnecessary drama. It’s not a masterpiece, but it sure made me feel good, and that’s more than enough for me. If you want something light, funny, and need a pick-me-up, consider watching this!