Recovery of an MMO Junkie Episodes 3 + 4: Fantastic Transition

Review Episode 3:

Any concerns I had about this series were kind of put to rest during episode 3. It still isn’t a perfect series but for what it seems to be trying to do it is doing it very well. The entire first half of this episode deals with Sakura and Morioka in the real world and starts drawing some real world connections (besides a bump on the head) between the two.

While this might seem a little contrived, it adds a great deal of depth to the characters and the relationship I guess we are heading toward. As an added point, the mystery of why Morioka has decided to abandon work and become an Elite NEET just becomes more intriguing given we find out she was good at her job (if unhappy).

From this the episode then flawlessly transitions to a lighter tone as we enter the game world and see Hayashi and Lily dealing with their changing relationship made more complex by their real world identities and their general inability to deal with personal situations. While the tone is lighter (helped by the bright colours of the game world), the human drama is really well handled and the parallel between in-game and IRL relationships is nicely delivered. This show has made me very much care about these two characters so now it is just a matter of seeing whether I continue to care as the show moves on. That said, really enjoyed this third episode.

Review Episode 4:

This episode kind of reverses last week where we spend the first half of the episode in-game and on getting loot boxes and discussing in game fashion. It kind of seems like a throw back to episode 1 and while there are some character relationships that are explored it isn’t particularly enthralling.

However, the second half of the episode more than makes up for it as we get closer to Lily and Hayashi’s online identities colliding with their real world identities mostly due to Lily/Sakurai’s nosy and fairly pushy friend. That said, at least he kept the plot moving forward and we didn’t just spend the whole episode with Sakurai bemoaning being turned down for dinner.

This show continues to be fairly delightful even though it isn’t going to be a masterpiece. The in-game parts where they are dealing with the game continue to be pretty weak and not overly interesting, but the in game moments where they discuss their real lives and the events going on in their real lives kind of balance that out and as long as that continues this show is going to stay pretty fun to watch.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.