English Dub Season Review: Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

A guy gets blackmailed into playing an otome game by his sister. After beating it and leaving his house, he dies and gets reincarnated into the world of the game as a background mob character: Leon Fou Bartfort. He goes to an academy in which the lady students have all the power and the goal is to find a spouse. Leon wants to blend in with the background and watch the story unfold from the sidelines, but he always gets involved with it deeper and deeper.

Our Take:

it’s no secret that there is an overabundance of isekai anime out there and we get more every season. However, that doesn’t mean they should all be immediately written off. A lot of them are run of the mill and I won’t deny that Trapped in a Dating Sim contains a lot of those usual tropes, but it also tries to set itself apart from the rest of the pack.

Leon is a mob character in this world, but he’s constantly getting involved in the protagonist, Olivia’s, life. He also gets into scuffles with Prince Julius and his crew, befriends Angelica, who’s meant to be Olivia’s rival in the game, brings them closer together, and fends off against Maria, who wasn’t originally part of the game at all.

This isn’t your typical otome isekai anyway because it also involves giant mech fights. This is out of the ordinary for this style of game and the show even acknowledges it, but it doesn’t feel out of place. It blends in well enough with everything else that’s going on this crazy world.

The world building is done fairly well. It’s still hard for me to differentiate some parts of the kingdom from others, but the show does a decent job of explaining it all. I can say the same about all of the different families of nobles as well.

The characters in this show are all over the place. Just about all of the students at the academy are extremely rude and constantly flaunt their power. The prince and his crew are interchangeable for the most part, but a few of them get a little more development towards the end of the series. Marie is annoying, but she’s also kind of charming in an entertaining sort of way. As for a side character that I really like, I’ll have to go with Julius’ mother: Queen Mylene. She doesn’t get a lot of screen time, but she’s always a treat when she is seen. Leon’s familiar, Luxion, is also enjoyable to watch. His advice to Leon is helping and amusing and he has some funny interactions with other characters as well.

As for the protagonists, they all grow on me over time. Olivia seems like a standard heroine to me. She kind of is, but her kindness and good-natured personality really grow on me, especially when just about everyone else here is a jerk. Angelica starts out as one of these jerks, but she gets a lot of development throughout the series. In fact, I’d say she gets the most development out of any character. She goes from being a stuck-up princess to a loyal friend who’s willing to do whatever she can to stick up for her friends.

There’s no denying that Leon is the star of the show. For someone whose original plan was to blend in with the background, he sure knows how to stand out. He manages to constantly get promoted even though he’s trying to avoid that. He acts like the most despicable human being imaginable, but he’s actually a kind and caring guy. His smug attitude and over the top prick behavior is incredibly entertaining to watch. I have to give it up to Jordan Dash Cruz for nailing his performance as Leon. He makes the character’s loveable yet despicable words and actions feel much more compelling.

The anime was produced by ENGI and it’s solid enough visually speaking. The character designs aren’t perfect adaptations from the source material, so that may bother fans of the original light novels or the manga. Since I haven’t read those, it’s not an issue for me personally. As for the animation, it’s good for the most part. The mech battles usually look good, as do the character’s general movements. That being said, it does have it choppy moments and there are a few scenes where it feels like they were cutting corners.

The story is kind of basic, but I still like it. The different possibilities managed to keep me invested, much like if I were actually playing a game like this. There are still a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up, so I hope there will be a second season to remedy that.

I didn’t have any expectations heading into this show when I was first watched it, so I was pleasantly surprised. It reminds me of My Next Life as a Villainess in a lot of regards, which is good, but I kind of enjoyed Trapped in a Dating Sim a little more. The show may have its flaws, but it’s funny and entertaining. The sooner I get to see more of Leon’s wacky antics, the better.