 Synopsis After her boyfriend cheats on her with another girl he met in-game, Akane Kinoshita learns the hard way that gamer boyfriends can be just as bad as the offline variety. As she vents her anger by beating mob monsters to a pulp, she has a chance encounter with Akito Yamada, a guildmate with an afro and Noh mask. Yamada is unsociable and curt, hardly the type of person to make Akane swoon. However, while his gaming stats might be maxed out, Yamada is inexperienced in matters of the heart, and against all odds, she finds herself moved by him. Making new friends along the way, can Akane shake the heart of Yamada, a final boss-level high school boy? Information Type: TV Episodes: Unknown Status: Currently Airing Aired: Apr 2, 2023 to ? Premiered: Spring 2023 Broadcast: Sundays at 00:30 (JST) Producers: Aniplex, Egg Firm Licensors: None found, add some Studios: Madhouse Source: Manga Genre: Romance Theme: Video Game |
| Episode 1 Seeing that this show is directed by the same guy who directed Chihayafuru that the art style and atmosphere was immediately familiar. But instead of playing karuta, Akane is playing an online game. So it begins with Akane being dumped by Takuma, who found a new girlfriend in Eri. Then at a community event for the online game she has been playing, Akane has a chance encounter with Yamada and immediately recognizes him since his Afro avatar speaks the same way he does. He's a hotshot gamer and somebody who Takuma is looks up to, and they become a fake couple in order to fool Takuma. And then they have a date at a restaurant where Akane gets so drunk that she had to be carried into Takuma's home to spend the night. Pretty funny stuff here as this was one of the shows I was looking forward to this season. An interesting relationship is definitely building up, and at the moment they are a fake couple, but they are primed to be a lot more than that. |
| Ooooo directed by Morio Asaka, big name and seasoned Madhouse veteran. This is indeed an Aniplex of America license. "Who takes a whole minute or two to reply yes or no?" Dude... I said the same thing a lot in high school whenever I tried to talking to girls to date them... I'm diggin this show! Very well animated! I'm in! |
| I'm a cultured degenerate. |
| I don't know... It has its cute moments, and the writing style definitely has the Chihayafuru flavor, which is a good thing. But the characters are so cliche. The game they're playing is very unappealing. I might give it a couple more episodes to see if it can win me over, depending on how many other shows I end up watching. |
| I like Inori Minase's character...not sure I can stand another cardboard male romance character though. I guess him being annoying is the point, but still... |
| I like Akane, but Yamada not so much. Hopefully, he will grow on me as the show progresses. |
 |
| First episode was adorable. Enjoying this one much more than Romantic Killer. |
⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿ Umehara is my daily dopamine ✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑ |
| This is an odd combination of characters that are artistically bland but also very expressive. Not digging the giraffe necks though. Yamada's going to have to get another personality trait before I commit to this. |
| That was cute. Tomozaki-kun meets Wotakoi. I like: - The soundtrack. - The character designs. - The fact that they're in college vs. high school. - The animation and directorial flourishes. Madhouse is pretty reliable that way - The fact that they're both saying what they mean without excessive "reaction noises" and wondering if they'll offend the other. I dislike: - The title. It's so clunky and gives everything away. - The writing and characterizations are a little thin so far, to the point where we wouldn't be speaking so well of the premiere if it wasn't so nicely drawn. |
boldulyssesApr 1, 2023 7:03 PM
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
| Better than I was expecting so far. A bit uneven with the pacing though. It would have been nice if the ex had given some kind of reason why he liked the other girl more. I think it would have given us more sympathy for Akane than just "I found someone I like more." |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| The first episode had a decent start. It has its funny moments, but I also think not everything has to be funny. Now when it comes to the characters, I like Akane as she's really funny and the faces she makes I find cute. But when it comes to Yamada I'm not found of those characters. I really hope as the series goes on, he will gain more of a personality and not be to slow to respond. Also, I'm glad that they showed us the kind of girl Akane's boyfriend left her for. Just by seeing the girl I can see why the boyfriend picked her over Akane but will regret it later. Morioa Asaka is directing this anime and with him having a couple of romance titles under his belt. We can expect a good romance anime. |
| I think I can dig it. I like it when rom coms don't give me false hope |
 |
| Very cute, bonus points for featuring actual young adults doing actual young adult stuff. |
| Quantum ille canis est in fenestra |
| I'm in! Not a gamer, but adults are a plus and l'm always down for romcom. |
| So...what other anime combine a high school age male and college age female lead? It's definitely not Koikimo-level creepy (*shudder*), but it took me a minute or two to get on board. I wonder if the age/life station difference will become a plot point...? |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: So...what other anime combine a high school age male and college age female lead? It's definitely not Koikimo-level creepy (*shudder*), but it took me a minute or two to get on board. I wonder if the age/life station difference will become a plot point...? That's pretty common in the US even. Specifically couples that met in High School and 1 was a year or so above the other, graduated first and went off to college. Japanese High Schools are only 3 years, and I think usually the kids in High School are in the 15-18 range. Akane might only be a year or 2 older than him (she's at least 20 because she was drinking alcohol)....as opposed to the 10 year gap in Koikimo |
HOOfan_1 said: That's pretty common in the US even. Specifically couples that met in High School and 1 was a year or so above the other, graduated first and went off to college. Japanese High Schools are only 3 years, and I think usually the kids in High School are in the 15-18 range. Akane might only be a year or 2 older than him (she's at least 20 because she was drinking alcohol)....as opposed to the 10 year gap in Koikimo Yeah I wasn't comparing it directly to the train wreck that was Koikimo, but the age "configuration" isn't that typical... I (briefly) dated a HS junior when I was a college freshman, but AFAIK, it's definitely more rare for that to occur with the genders reversed. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
marklebid said: Did they say he was in HS? No, but the description of the show on MAL and LiveChart (before they updated it with CR/Aniplex's official description) stated he is a high schooler. So yeah small spoiler I suppose. |
paulchaestedApr 3, 2023 2:03 PM
| I'm a cultured degenerate. |
paulchaested said: marklebid said: Did they say he was in HS? No, but the description of the show on MAL/LiveChart before CR and Aniplex put out their official one stated he is a high schooler. So yeah small spoiler I suppose. MAL rewrite saves my bacon by including that tidbit in the description... Sorry for the spoiler! I read a little ahead. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: MAL rewrite saves my bacon by including that tidbit in the description... Sorry for the spoiler! I read a little ahead. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. The description of him being a high schooler was everywhere. Plus, when I saw the trailer for the first time in Aniplex Fest 2022 I automatically assumed that boy is a high schooler. Akane being a young college girl was a surprise though, a refreshing one. |
paulchaestedApr 3, 2023 2:22 PM
| I'm a cultured degenerate. |
| Episode 2 After a night to get over her hangover at Yamada's apartment, Akane returns, but without her necklace. So she logs back in to ask Yamada to find it for her, and he breaks it by accident. As it turns out, Yamada is still in high school while Akane is a college, so Yamada is not old enough to get married yet. And then out of the blue all of Akane's stuff that was left in her room at her house was sent to her, and taking Yamada's advice, she was selective and threw out most of it. Seeing that the necklace is from somebody who dumped her that she made the reasonable decision to toss it, as well as to return the umbrella with help from her gaming buddy Momo. Amusing stuff once again as these two are slowly growing on each other, but Yamada is still being blunt. |
| I found the second episode boring... Most of the episode is spent with Akane still hung up on her ex-boyfriend and a necklace she got as a present instead of moving on. Yeah, for some people it's hard to move from a big break up but it's better than just mopping around having people feel sorry for yourself. That's why I like Momoko who doesn't beat around the bush and gives her some tough love. For the next episode I expect Akane to have already moved on and not drag this show anymore with her thinking about the ex. |
| Having sloppy drunk college girls show up at your house and glomp on to you would be super awkward. |
| I thought that was a fun episode. Between this and Dangers in my Heart we might have two good romance anime's this season. It's too bad that's his only run in with Momo. She's really cute and actually has her stuff together more than Akane does. He'd probably be better off going out with her. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| I just can't warm up to Akane. She's just too much of a hyper-emotional train wreck. I'll give up on this show. |
| Episode 3 Here comes a girl wearing gothloli fashion, and she's the one known as Rurihime in the game. As Akane saw that girl with Yamada at the station that she knows right away that she's Ruri. And that night Ruri invites Akane to a meeting at a FOS collaboration cafe where he runs into another fellow player in Eita. And so, they all meet up, and Ruri seems to be awfully protective of Yamada and her real life personality isn't exactly what she had envisioned. And the post-credits scene about what happened after Yamada dragged Akane back to his apartment is pretty funny as those pro gamers sure didn't know what hit them. |
| The way she was storing gear for newbs made it seem like the guild had a number of players but we've seen no one but these three. |
| I want to like this one (I like the character designs, general premise and production values), but I'm struggling to see what Akane sees in Yamada that's generating an attraction. Yamada hasn't really shown that he's anything more than a disinterested gamer at this point. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: I think right now he's half 'guy that can help her in game' and half 'rebound guy.' I want to like this one (I like the character designs, general premise and production values), but I'm struggling to see what Akane sees in Yamada that's generating an attraction. Yamada hasn't really shown that he's anything more than a disinterested gamer at this point. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| Episode 4 As it turns out, Eita is actually Rurihime's player and that girl is his younger sister Runa, and they were only meeting because they are close friends with each other. Anyway, Runa has quite the mean streak there and was rude during the meeting, but they made up when Runa made that phone call. And as for Yamada, Akane finds out that he eats only convenience store grub, so Akane is looking to cook for him. That was quite the surprise seeing that Rurihime's player is a Nekama. |
GridironOtaku said: but they made up when Runa made that phone call This is as naive as Akane. >.> |
| Episode 5 That get-together was quite a dangerous prank that Runa pulled there, and Yamada at least knew something was amiss knowing that he's supposed to tutor her at the time Akane said they would meet. Runa sent a fellow game buddy to see her and no matter what Akane said, that guys believes she is Rurihime. Then things just go over the edge when that guy follows Akane into the women's restroom. But Yamada was there to clear the air and teach Runa a lesson. While it's one thing to look out for one's well-being as that guy was, doing so in that fashion is just a big no-no. |
| At least Eita and Yamada are aware of how shitty that was and didn't coddle her. Although I wouldn't dismiss it as a prank either since Akane probably has a stalker now. |
| Episode 6 Here is an episode that's focused on Runa as she comes over to Akane's apartment to get to know her better. And then Akane's laptop breaks down leading to Eita having to wake Yamada up and have her come over to fix her laptop. Runa takes this moment to turn it into a romantic scene of sorts, and that was a pretty funny sequence of events. But Runa took things a bit too far when she shoved Akane into Yamada. This goes to show that Runa is lacking in social skills and is inadvertently causing problems for others like what she did when Yamada got an eyeful of hair in the end. |
| My wild take. The creepy stalker guy in episode 5 got screwed harder than anyone else. I get that he was supposed to be a tension builder and joke for social and character building, but he was actually just more of a weird fan. Runa calls him out to meet with her brother's ID perhaps unintentionally leading him on. Akane probably never explains herself well because of her ignorance which perhaps leads him to just think she's shy. This guy never gets a proper explanation, or apology, and unlike the others, this can go no where for him as he's told to take a hike. Poor guy. The early bits of episode 6 made me realize that the hang-ups with social media building echo chambers to stunt or cripple people's social view and connections are actually just an evolution of the spoiled princess character trait. These days anyone with a smartphone can be a spoiled princess all the way through their young adult years. It was a surprise to see Runa take a personal interest in shipping them when she seemed so covetous of Yamada previously. Perhaps it wasn't the crush I thought at first, or perhaps her brother said a lot more than I assumed with her. She's becoming a fun character. I suppose she has given Akane a chance to recover from the glare of Yamada's headlights, and start to develop their relationship more naturally. Runa confusing romcom with more harem elements was amusing if not a bit unsettling. Though not as much as her ideas last episode. |
| Formerly Shenseiken on CR Forums |
| I'll admit I didn't expect Runa to help with the matchmaking. |
| Same, i was sure she was protective of him because she liked him and not because he's like family. |
Xuhybrid said: Same, i was sure she was protective of him because she liked him and not because he's like family. Exactly, I thought she liked him and would act jealous. Instead she's pretty accepting of it. |
runec said: Xuhybrid said: Same, i was sure she was protective of him because she liked him and not because he's like family. Exactly, I thought she liked him and would act jealous. Instead she's pretty accepting of it. Same. Guess it was more just a fear of change in general rather than romantic jealousy. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| Still enjoying this. The direction and rapid-fire editing really help kick it up a notch. Freshly annoyed by the subs, though. Why subtitle "Akannechi" phonetically but render "Sasaki-san" as "Ms. Sasaki?" All one or the other please. Nick_Reigns said: My wild take. The creepy stalker guy in episode 5 got screwed harder than anyone else. I get that he was supposed to be a tension builder and joke for social and character building, but he was actually just more of a weird fan. Runa calls him out to meet with her brother's ID perhaps unintentionally leading him on. Akane probably never explains herself well because of her ignorance which perhaps leads him to just think she's shy. This guy never gets a proper explanation, or apology, and unlike the others, this can go no where for him as he's told to take a hike. Poor guy. That's definitely a take! He's a plot device; nothing more... He would've been more sympathetic if 1) he actually listened to Akane's very insistent declarations she wasn't Rurihime and 2) he didn't let himself into the ladies' bathroom and try to force his way into her stall. Oi. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
boldulysses said: Ah, but according to his perspective she already told him that she's Rurihime when she perhaps described herself to him online as a woman fitting her description, and how she can be shy and reserved in person. *grin* We don't know what Runa said online, or exactly how Akane says in her mind she told him that she's not Rurihime other than that one brief instance with no explanation as to why that might be or how she might be feeling. From his behavior this was likely him believing she's shy and having second thoughts while this was his one chance to prove his intentions. Still enjoying this. The direction and rapid-fire editing really help kick it up a notch. Freshly annoyed by the subs, though. Why subtitle "Akannechi" phonetically but render "Sasaki-san" as "Ms. Sasaki?" All one or the other please. Nick_Reigns said: My wild take. The creepy stalker guy in episode 5 got screwed harder than anyone else. I get that he was supposed to be a tension builder and joke for social and character building, but he was actually just more of a weird fan. Runa calls him out to meet with her brother's ID perhaps unintentionally leading him on. Akane probably never explains herself well because of her ignorance which perhaps leads him to just think she's shy. This guy never gets a proper explanation, or apology, and unlike the others, this can go no where for him as he's told to take a hike. Poor guy. That's definitely a take! He's a plot device; nothing more... He would've been more sympathetic if 1) he actually listened to Akane's very insistent declarations she wasn't Rurihime and 2) he didn't let himself into the ladies' bathroom and try to force his way into her stall. Oi. As for the restroom, he seems to be a sheltered mama's boy to put politely. One that seems to have been shown by his mother that it's okay to approach someone in the bathroom when you're worried about them, and told to discretely offer some medication before leaving. Well, he wasn't discrete, but "trying to force his way into her stall"? Did he kick or tackle the door? Did he try to climb around? I think you were still looking through Akane's freaked out perspective when you said this, much like we were probably supposed to be. Concerned, he asks how she is, and she doesn't answer him only responding in surprise. He checked the handle to see if she was in an available state, and then after hearing her pain offered her meds and left. *grin* The scenario of this weird fan and Akane's perspectives after both being pranked by Runa was rather well handled I thought. At least after filling in some parts that were likely left blank on purpose. |
| Formerly Shenseiken on CR Forums |
| Episode 7 Takuma makes a surprise visit as while she and Akane broke up, he still has all those bento boxes he needs to return. But in the meantime Yamada and Eita were able to repair Akane's laptop, while she didn't have to pay anything for it seeing that Eita used spare parts in his possession to repair it, she's taking on a part-time job at a nearby conveni. While that's all well and good just when it looked like things were headed for disaster, Yamada's performance has been off lately, and her fellow gaming friend is letting him know about it. Lots of interesting developments here, all while Akane's internet service just got a huge boost. |
| Ah, I see. The problem isn't that Yamada is bad with girls. The problem is Yamada is just a sociopath in general. |
| Episode 8 Time for the culture festival at Yamada's high school, and the girls there are wondering if Akane and Yamada are a couple, all while Runa is not quite feeling right. They are supposed to be a fake couple, but they are slowly becoming more than that. But what Yamada said about Akane being a prize that's out of his reach is an interesting take. So Yamada is quite popular with the girls at his school, so much that with that skit at the end with Okamoto pinch hitting for Yamada that there's going to be a lot of unhappy campers should he become Akane's boyfriend. |
| OH wow, Yamada had an emotion. |
| Episode 9 The class president Yukari, who just started playing FOS, has joined the guild and Runa is freaking out about it. Akane has started her part-time job at a convenience store, so she's good with money for now. But then things take quite the turn when she is called in for an extra shift due, and braving a cold while doing it. And she just looks terrible when she returns home from it as she's sick. She tries to go out, but collapses. It's a good thing that Yamada was alerted. Good to see some of the other characters getting some focus here as is the case with Yukari working hard, and also doing something fun for a change to bond with her classmates. Anyway, Akane definitely is in no condition to do anything. |
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