Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Having slept through all four of her alarms, the energetic Narumi Momose finds herself running late for her first day of work at a new office. As she races to catch her train, she makes a promise to herself that none of her coworkers will find out about her dark secret: that she is an otaku and a fujoshi. Her plan goes instantly awry, though, when she runs into Hirotaka Nifuji, an old friend from middle school. Although she tries to keep her secret by inviting him out for drinks after work, her cover is blown when he casually asks her whether or not she will be attending the upcoming Summer Comiket. Luckily for her, the only witnesses—Hanako Koyanagi and Tarou Kabakura—are otaku as well.

Later that night, the pair go out for drinks so that they can catch up after all the years apart. After Narumi complains about her previous boyfriend breaking up with her because he refused to date a fujoshi, Hirotaka suggests that she try dating a fellow otaku, specifically himself. He makes a solemn promise to always be there for her, to support her, and to help her farm for rare drops in Monster Hunter. Blown away by the proposal, Narumi agrees immediately. Thus the two otaku start dating, and their adorably awkward romance begins.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nifuji, Hirotaka Main

Itou, Kent Japanese

Koyanagi, Hanako Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Momose, Narumi Main

Date, Arisa Japanese

Kabakura, Tarou Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Sakuragi, Kou Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Nifuji, Naoya Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Mitsui, Kensuke Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Baba Supporting

Terashima, Takuma Japanese

Aiba Supporting

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Ichijou, Yoshiki Supporting

Akabane, Kenji Japanese

Fujiyama, Naokado Producer

Suzuki, Kenta Producer

Shibata, Misaki Assistant Producer

Nagayama, Asami Assistant Producer

Reviews

Oct 3, 2024

GT3_gamer

Recommended

For someone who doesn't like romance since middle school, I feel like a dump. I've been getting through some romance anime recently; most of the anime I've watched are bangers. Like this one right here. However, the ending could do a little work since it was open-ended, and it feels like this anime is only a promotion for the source material. I don't mind it because I enjoy every single one of the episodes of this anime.

We are starting this review with the opening theme song. I can't get enough of this opening. I remember listening to this song before I got into the anime ... and loving it. The calmness, the joy, and the TikTok dance. Those are just some of the best things for an anime opening in one. Hopefully, there will be more like this in the future. Other than the opening, ost itself also very good. It's so relaxing to hear when it blends well with the animation.

Animation-wise, I do like the animation. It's not too over the top and not too bad either. Just a simple and really enjoyable experience.

Plot. There is no plot.... No, I'm not joking. What did you expect from a romance, slice-of-life anime? It's just 2 lovers getting into each other life. Heck, it's 2 OTAKUS LIFE. How could you not feel relatable? This is how you know you enjoy life. Watching anime for the sake of enjoying your own life. Well done, Fujita-sensei. I'll be cheering for your next work.

The characters. For a weeb that loves anime, and Games. Their personality is really relatable to me. I can't get enough of their antiques, it's both adorable and cute. However, I have one complaint about this. For the last two episodes. Like guys, you introduce a new character, Kou, why would you butcher her character? She doesn't even get a proper spotlight. She only appeared for the last 2 episodes and you all just like. Yup, that's a wrapped. Like b*tch, what's up with that? I want to know more about her story with Naoya. But like I said before "promotion for the source material" bit. I guess they want to introduce her to make us the consumers grab the manga and finish the story from there. Like TG35SS did. (At least that's what it feels like for me)

And also a bonus segment. I've been watching a lot of anime and reading romance manga/manhwa/manhua recently, and I can't believe that I just realized how little to no story is like this. A story about a new couple getting through their relationship. Most are the story before they are together. I want more of this, the story where their relationship is already set sail, and the story or plot of it is them getting through their relationship. Like Bunny Girl Senpai, KimiZero: Our Dating Story, etc. For Manga/Manhua/Manhwa/Webtoon, like (Manga) Asahina Wakaba and her Chubby Chubby Boyfriend, (Webtoon Indonesia) Pasutri Gaje, (Manhua) My Wife is From a Hundred Years Ago, (Manhwa) Brothers and Sisters, etc.
See! Even I struggle to make an example of the story I have read and watched that has that kind of plot/story.

Anyway, overall 9.5/10. Solid SOLROM. Recommended for all people who like to enjoy life through anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by GT3_gamer (36)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Dec 18, 2024

Kyou_Ryuu

Mixed Feelings

THE GOOD:
Golden comedy moments sprinkled with romance and otaku references aplenty will make you smile throughout the episodes. Audio production is solid, from music to voice acting (particular nod to OP and ED themes, both great).

THE MEH:
Visuals and animation are average, but they are enhanced by a decent direction. Comedic timing can be off in some cases, but not enough to spoil the experience.

THE BAD:
The series is very episodic, so you can't expect a real plot or any story/character arc. There's a hint of an arc at the very end with Kou, but that's cut short without any closure.
That's not the real issue though: there ... are many good romcoms out there which are episodic in nature (e.g. My Love Story). The elephant in the room, here, is the characterization: the protagonists are all grown-up adults and office workers, but NOT ONCE in the series they face or even discuss about adult or work-related problems. This makes the whole office setting just "cosmetic". If almost all the interactions could be carried out by college students or even high-schoolers, it means that the MCs characterization is pretty weak.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
It's a nice and lightweight series if you just want to unplug after a day's work, but you won't find anything more than that, here.
Recommended only if you're a hardcore otaku.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Kyou_Ryuu (10)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Nov 16, 2024

Rekuiemu

Not Recommended

This anime is in the perspective of a delusional fujoshi and you'll probably not like it if you're a guy.
The writing is very safe, like HR in the room kind of thing, but since it's not aimed at global audience, it's a little bit spicy sometimes
This feels more like an introduction to otaku culture rather than an inside view of an otaku circle. At the first episode we had a premise that the Momose wanted to successfully hide her otaku nature this time but this premise is betrayed in 1st or 2nd episode. She's an otaku but she likes bad boys which belittle her ... otaku self, but the kind of otaku we see here in the form of Hirotaka is so bland, unimaginative and unrealistic, it's like a caricature of the guy in teenage girl novels, maybe even worse because he doesn't open up at all. Anything he does is forced in a way to progress the story. Now I see as I wrote this, looking at Momose I can see that her previous partners left her due to her irresponsible personality, she's not a wife material, just sex friend at best and she's getting passed the age of marriage. And she blames her misfortune on being and otaku rather than having a rotting personality who's head is outside of the realm of reality. To her life must be an imitation of the fictional material she consumes. I wish I never watched this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Rekuiemu (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Love After 20

by Maya0223

13 Entries · 9 Restacks

Anime for Adults

by hamidio1998

48 Entries · 688 Restacks

Easy-to-watch Anime

by Samarth-_-

42 Entries · 42 Restacks

Manga 'Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii' Bundles Second OVA

Publishing company Ichijinsha announced a second original video anime for Fujita's Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii (Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku) manga on Wedne...read more

Aug 4, 2020 9:18 PM by Vindstot | Discuss (14 comments)

TV Anime 'Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii' Gets OVA

Amazon Japan has listed that seventh volume of Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii manga will bundle an OVA. It will be released on March 29 of next year and will adapt the ...read more

Sep 17, 2018 8:32 PM by tsubasalover | Discuss (22 comments)

	Poll: Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Mayuka - Aug 8, 2018	104 replies	by Rekuiemu »» Nov 10, 9:23 AM
	Episode 4 Amangupta26 - Oct 24	8 replies	by HarrisonRussell »» Nov 8, 4:57 AM
	Poll: Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - May 3, 2018	171 replies	by Amangupta26 »» Oct 24, 12:26 PM
	Poll: Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Apr 11, 2018	302 replies	by Krycurium »» Oct 12, 11:20 AM
	Wotakoi has hit the 1 million members club, did it aged well ? Hickykissy - Jul 20	25 replies	by gswelcome »» Sep 23, 8:17 AM

In Numbers: The Best Anime of the Decade

What's the #1 anime of the 2010s? Which year was the best? What studio had the most hits? We have the answers to all these questions and more!

by Shymander

648,373 views

MAL Staff Picks: Anime of the Year 2018

Absurd comedy, poignant drama, explosive action, and more are all on the list for our favorite anime of 2018!

by MAL_Articles

169,101 views