Author: Kokuyou Rin
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Gender bender, Romance
Number of Episodes: 10/10
Production Studio: Signal. MD
Introduction
Have you ever thought about what anime could be the best of this season? Well, my vote would be Netjuu no Susume, romance-wise of course. At first glance it will look like your average game anime based around getting stuck in some generic RPG game or something along the lines of Watamote but as you watch, you’ll find that there is so much more to it than just the sad life of a hikikomori.
Storyline Premise
The plot revolves around a single 30 year-old NEET who actively plays an MMORPG game called Fruits de Mer. Unlike the conventional game anime protag, our single 30 year-old NEET is actually a female named Moriko Morioka that plays under the guise of a male avatar she chose to name Hayashi. She often spends her time online, playing with a character named Lily. One day, she bumps into a handsome young man and that’s really all you need to know to start watching. Spoilers ahead!
First off, the romance in this anime will keep you at the edge of your seat, anticipating what will happen next. What will happen? How will it happen? It doesn’t matter just make it happen! It’s slow paced but it isn’t the least bit boring. If anything, it’s definitely worth the wait because when a good moment comes, it’s a pretty damn good moment.
The plot on its own is heavily based around the romantic factor of this anime but it does show the interaction between characters in-game and out-of-game, and how different they can be in the real world. It’s very nice to see this kind of interaction between characters, romantic or not.
Art and Animation
The art sometimes changes style because of the transitioning between in-game scenes and real life scenes so I find that really unique. The backgrounds actually look amazing and something I personally noticed is that in-game, it’s much more colourful and in real life, it looks much more dull. It’s a great way to show that there is a major difference between life in a game than life in the real world, kinda subtly shows how Morioka feels about the general nuance of games and real life as well.
Sound and Music
The voice acting for the anime is casted undoubtedly well, with Moriko actually sounding like a 30 year-old woman and not some stereotypical cutesy loli. Many other characters also have voices that don’t feel out of place at all, not to mention the superb voice acting! However, at times like when Moriko cries, she can sound slightly unnatural but she doesn’t cry much in the series so it’s a really small flaw.
The music is quite upbeat, I find it pretty normal. There doesn’t seem to be much to be impressed about or anything that would make you go, “Holy moly, I want this to play at my funeral!”. It’s really just your average anime opening and ending.
Characterization
The characters are quite different from your usual anime as this particular one is based in a grown-up, working environment. No, you won’t find the student council president but you will find a trading company employee. The character’s ages are all within their late-twenties and early thirties so it does create a different vibe and environment if compared to slice of life, highschool anime.
Conclusion
It’s a great anime, one of the best this season. It has a consistent and progressive plot that never really gets boring for a slow-paced romance anime. To be honest, the really significant aspects of this series are just the plot and the characters but it all played out quite well. Definitely something that would be nice to binge on a rainy afternoon because of the calming vibe it gives out and also because it isn’t very loud and all that. If you are the type to binge on shoujo and slice of life anime, this one is definitely a nice change of pace for you!
Have you already watched Net-juu no Susume? What did you think about it? Let us know in the comments!
