The first part of this episode reminded me a bit of Recovery of an MMO Junkie with its use of a fictional MMO experience against a romance setting. No one swapped genders here though; in fact, everyone’s avatars look pretty damn close to their actual appearances (very impressive customization, there).
I find it a little peculiar that Wotakoi goes this route seeing that this show has been able pull some product placement (this episode even reminds you that Hirotaka is really into Monster Hunter). Not that I’m complaining though; some of the antics presented here were very amusing. The fact that Kabakura and Hanako still claw at each other in a virtual reality (with friendly fire to boot) is particularly funny.
There is an interesting character detail in that Hirotaka apparently isn’t too jazzed about online gaming. The seems in-character to me given what he know of his personality so far. Unsurprisingly though, Hirotaka is still good at games, including this MMO. Even if multiplayer isn’t his forte, his passion for gaming still drives him to get really skilled at whatever he’s playing. Perhaps the lazy costume is an indicator to that; a stronger attention to mechanics as opposed to how the game looks. Having Naoya temporarily play, as hilarious it was, was a also smart way to emphasize Hirotaka’s skills, as Naoya’s incompetence shows how useless his brother’s character is even though it has maxed stats and gear.
For the second part of the episode, the men and women eat dinner in separate locations. Hirotaka and Kabakura hang out with some co-workers who have all sorts of comments about our protagonists’ girlfriends, unaware that the boyfriends are right in front of them. I’m actually kind of amazed that these extras are that uninformed. Even if that news isn’t publicly announced, you’d think word would’ve traveled fast. Kabakura and Hanako have even been dating before this story began so surely, people in the office have an idea. Regardless, this scene does provide an interesting test of poker face for the protagonists. Hirotaka remains calm as always (even if he is a bit agitated) though I’m especially impressed that Kabakura didn’t snap at all (it was pretty close though).
Meanwhile, Hanako and Narumi are talking about an anime the former binge watched after the latter recommended. It’s fun and civil up until the subject of shipping comes up where things start to get heated. It’s amusing and relatable that these women disagree so much about boys’ love while remaining the best of friends because of their shared passion. I say “relatable” because let’s face it, I’m sure we’ve all gotten into disagreements with our friends over the same media. The conversation only gets more absurd when the women begin to argue over how to best ship their boyfriends with each other and even then, the scene is still a riot for me. I don’t now if this is a common thing among fujoshis but I am impressed with how much these two have articulated over this fantasy.
Other Thoughts:
- I find it fitting that Narumi is the second highest level player in the group. It fits with how livid she can get with games. Also fitting is that she’s an assassin of all classes.
- In Naoya’s defense though, asking someone who can’t handle the Wii Remote to use a keyboard and mouse is really tall order.
- Hanako making sure her boyfriend sees what kind of manga she’s reading is some Grade A+ trolling and a solid retort given that Kabakura is clearly reading some CGDCT fanservice.
- Naoya must be the most innocent character in the story if Hanako and Narumi’s boys’ love talk eludes him. Of course, Hirotaka figures it out though.
Thanks for reading!
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