English Dub Review: My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 “I Wanna Have an Offline Meeting”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Unable to get over her breakup, Akane is having trouble focusing on the match-making date she was attending. She logs into FOS, where she happens to find the guild master, Rurihime, and Yamada. Although Yamada is usually completely inexpressive like a “Noh mask”, Akane realizes that he’s always been very close with Rurihime in their interactions. She begins to wonder if they’re actually in a romantic relationship, which makes her realize her inner feelings. Akane then receives an invitation from Rurihime for an offline meetup, and they make plans to meet, but…

Our Take:
Things might be starting to look positive for the two gamers. However, they have a long way to go to move on to the next level of their friendship. Of course, that includes Akane, who still has trouble moving on from her breakup with Takuma, so much so that she couldn’t get through a singles mixer. Unfortunately, her situation gets even more complicated when she discovers that Yamada is talking to the guild leader, Rurihime, leading her to conclude that they might be dating. In the previous episode, we were first introduced to Rurihime, who confronted Yamada after he judged Akane for saving much junk in the storage box. Now, we finally get to see the real identity behind the short purple-haired guild leader, or so we thought.
In typical narrative fashion, the episode primarily focuses on Akane jumping to conclusions that Yamada and Rurihime are in a relationship. Of course, a story like that isn’t complete without Akane being a depressing sack of bones. Her match-making date with someone is a disaster, and seeing Yamada and a girl she assumes is Rurihime flirting makes Akane realize how lonely she is after her breakup. As a result, Akane avoids playing FOS for a while until Rurihime invites her to attend an offline cafe mixer, in which the players gather by Forest Cafe to meet in person. After receiving help from a college student who’s revealed as a guild member, Akane finally gets a chance to meet “Rurihime”, but as it turns out, the young girl who’s with Yamada isn’t exactly “Rurihime” at all. What a twist.
However, that’s not the only surprising reveal in the episode. The other surprise happened back when Akane had a hangover. As the flashback suggests, Akane didn’t pass out right away, as she was emotionally grieving over Takuma while intoxicated. As a result, Yamada comforted her until she fell asleep, leading us to the end of the first episode. Well, not before she’s about to hurl on his bed, which was admittedly a hilarious way to end this week’s episode. Aside from its predictable formula, the episode compensates with that conclusion, further showcasing Yamada’s compassion toward Akane. But, of course, with the arrival of the glasses-wearing guild member, things might heat up between the three gamers.