Recovery of an MMO Junkie Series Review: Recommendation of the Wonderful Virtual Life

Posted on by Karandi
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Recovery of an MMO Junkie Overview:

Recovery of an MMO Junkie follows Morioka, who has given up work and going out doors to become a NEET by choice who plays an MMO. Her avatar is a male and she is partnered in the game with a healer called Lily. However, everything changes when on her way to the convenience store she runs into a man named Sakurai.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie Review:

If you are looking for something amazingly new and different, then MMO Junkie isn’t going to be your thing. It is a fairly standard rom-com with a few gimmicks thrown in (as there always are) to try to give it the tiniest bit of differentiation so that you can remember which particular couple of emotionally inept characters you are following in the particular series. Despite that, there’s something fairly entertaining about MMO Junkie as it manages to execute standard rom-com in an engaging way with most of the material hitting the mark.

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I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this series. From the synopsis I wasn’t expecting much (actually I was expecting it to be pretty average) and the whole they met in the game and then in real life thing has been done many times at this point. But where MMO Junkie quickly managed to win me over was in the characters of Morioka and Sakurai.

Neither of the two characters are teenagers and while some of their reactions are exaggerated for the sake of entertainment, most of the way through the show they respond in a believable naive but amusing manner to most of the things that happen. Small details like Morioka delinting her rug when she was stressed or thinking about something (a recurring visual gag) and Sakurai’s pink computer keyboard really helped to flesh these two out beyond the standard trope they might otherwise have represented.

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It also helped that I found them both likeable characters. I know some people were frustrated with Sakurai’s lack of initiative, but I found him to be quite a nice guy and to be honest, what he said to Morioka in the final episode while they were washing dishes was adorable. I think if a guy had said that to me in that context I’d have gone weak in the knees. It was just such a sweet moment. That doesn’t mean he’s exactly assertive, but despite his earlier dithering he does slowly but surely make progress towards actually asking Morioka out.

I mentioned this in my episode reviews but the story is significantly better when the focus is on the real world rather than the virtual one. It isn’t that the virtual world is bad or poorly constructed, it just works better as a background to the more interesting story taking place in the real world. So the first episodes that are more heavily focused inside the MMO, while cute enough, are decidedly weaker than later episodes where the characters interact more in real life.

This is a problem because I know quite a few people gave this show up early on and it is only ten episodes so this ‘wasted’ time in the series run kind of hurts it overall. And it is difficult to argue that the time isn’t wasted because they initially spend a lot of time explaining how things in the MMO world work or show us Lily and Hayashi fighting a character or just hanging out. While it establishes the bond they have in game, this could be none with much more economy and ultimately it does detract from what is otherwise a pretty solid show.

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The support cast are hit and miss. Koiwai is probably the best example of this where he serves an absolutely essential narrative purpose so removing his character is impossible, but his character is incredibly obnoxious for most of his screen time. Even though his brash personality is what allows him to move the plot along in the way he does, overall his presence is one I’d have really liked to see diminished in the story.

However, Kanbe (one of the characters in the MMO) who’s real life controller works at the convenience store Morioka and Sakurai frequent, is almost unused. What little narrative purpose he has is quickly swept away and by the final episode when you get your final look at his character you just have to wonder what the intention was behind his role because ultimately he didn’t do much.

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That might make it seem like there are more flaws to this show than quality but I’d disagree. From the opening song, to the sweet romantic story, as well as the comedic elements that most of the time hit their mark, this show was pretty much pure enjoyment. There are a few slower episodes at the mid-way point but given it is such a short series it doesn’t take long for it to pick itself back up. All and all, if you’ve got a bit of time, this is one worth checking out. You won’t be blown away but you’ll probably leave with a smile on your face.

If you wanted Recovery of an MMO Junkie I’d love to know your thoughts.

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Karandi James

Recovery of an MMO Junkie Episode 10: And They Lived Happily Ever After

Posted on by Karandi
mmo10c

Review:

And we come to the end of following these adorable dorks as they slowly stumble their way toward a relationship. It has been a great ride and this final episode tightens its focus around Morioka and Sakurai so while the other characters (both real life and MMO) make brief appearances, the majority of this episode is the Morioka and Sakurai show and that is for the better.

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It is kind of amusing to think about these two dating long term as I’m sure they are going to spend many evenings apologising to one another over nothing and then apologising for apologising. Still, the two of them continue to be so cute together and I really do want them both to be happy so I think we had a lot of decent progress in this episode to set up a happily ever after even if not everything is fully wrapped up.

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Part of what bothered me was that they still denied they were going on a date to Koiwai at the end. Morioka’s mental monologue about taking a step forward was kind of undermined by that sequence as it leaves you wondering if these two will ever just admit they like each other. I’m not disliking the fact that they haven’t kissed or anything like that, but just accepting that they are dating would have been a nice ending here.

All things considered, this has been fun. It isn’t groundbreaking or astounding but it was definitely a good time and I look forward to writing my series review of it.

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Karandi James.

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Recovery of an MMO Junkie Episode 9: Bringing it Together

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

After a handful of needless plot complications, MMO Junkie gets back to doing what it did well in the beginning, which is to say there were so many moments this week where I could really understand Morioka.

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Given this show is apparently only 10 episodes long, as a second last episode this is pretty satisfying. Sakurai and Morioka now know who they are online and are coming to terms with that, though it is happening in their usual manner which means that for every step forward or actual act that seems assertive they then fall back three steps as they second guess themselves and how their action might be perceived. These two are genuinely perfect for each other and it will be nice when they finally realise that.

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However, what I continue to love about this show is that the characters aren’t teenagers and they respond to situations with a little bit more wisdom and life experience (even as they also continue to make stupid assumptions and jump to conclusions). They’ve kind of nailed what it means for those of us who are just faking adulting and hoping no one ever catches us at it.

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I really like Morioka and Sakurai as characters and I look forward to seeing the conclusion to their story.

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Karandi James.

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Recovery of an MMO Junkie Episode 8: We’re Stretching The Plot

Posted on by Karandi
mmo8c

Review:

One of the main criticisms I’ve seen of this show is the over reliance on coincidence. Previously, I’ve noted this show does have a lot of coincidences and things happening for the sake of plot convenience but it hadn’t really been to the detriment of my enjoyment, until episode 8 happened. This week we see a whole range of plot stretching devices employed. When the series is already only 10 episodes long, these delaying tactics don’t really speak well for the overall narrative even if the characters remain pretty adorable to watch.

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Firstly, we got an entirely unnecessary and pretty dull recap of the last seven episodes. At least it wasn’t a full recap episode, but this segment was entirely without merit. It added nothing to the viewing experience providing no further insight or observations that weren’t already blindingly obvious and merely recapped events that have taken place over the last seven episodes. It isn’t exactly a long running show. This was needless.

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We then get a Sakurai real world flash back. This could arguably actually have been interesting but sandwiched as it was in a fairly mediocre episode it just kind of fell flat. I don’t think I learned any more about Sakurai. Yes, we now know specifically why he plays MMO’s but really we could have more or less figured that out from his actions prior to now anyway.

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Finally, we got the phone going flat mid-call scene that nearly saw me snap. If Sakurai hadn’t spoken to Morioka and told her that he was Lily by the end of the episode I may have rage quit this show two episodes from the end. That was a straight up delay tactic for no other reason than to extend the run time. Okay, maybe they were just trying to time the reveal for the end of the episode, but that doesn’t excuse a lame plot contrivance like that.

This is the first week where this show has really failed to be enjoyable for me and I hope it isn’t a sign of how the series will end.

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Karandi James.

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Recovery of an MMO Junkie Episode 7: Sakurai’s Hesitation

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

I know some people will hate this episode and just want to swat Sakurai for being spineless, and yet for me this was a fantastic episode. We see the story from Sakurai’s point of view and he knows what he wants but he is incredibly worried about all the things that can go wrong and so he is essentially becoming paralysed with indecision. Although, most would note that if he’d said something earlier the situation would never have gotten to this point as it is going to get more and more awkward to say something later.

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The only downside of this episode was Koiwai. I get why he is needed from a plot point of view given he’s been the catalyst for every actual bit of progress in the story, but he’s a really annoying character. And introducing him into the game world didn’t help that impression given now he can be annoying online and in real life.

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Still, this is close to the finish as it is a short season and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all resolves. I genuinely like both Morioka and Sakurai’s characters and I really hope we’re headed for a happy ending.

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Karandi James.

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Recovery of an MMO Junkie Episode 5: Good Progress

Posted on by Karandi
mmo5b

Review:

Another great episode as the real world and the game world collide. At least even the characters are acknowledging there is a lot of coincidence at play, but they aren’t pushing it to ridiculous levels. Plus it was kind of clear that the convenience store guy would know Morioka in the game so that reveal didn’t feel all that forced (though him also knowing that Lily is actually a guy might be stretching it unless we find out how that came about).

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I love that this show is so incredibly relatable at times. When Lily declared she spilt coffee but both she and her keyboard were safe I could relate that so much. In my case it is more often pepsi or water but I’ll save the keyboard at work or at home before many other things if there’s a spill. These small details and moments just kind of brings these otherwise fairly simple characters to life.

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Also, this was the first week where all of the in-game moments seemed to focus on the character’s real lives and it made them far more compelling than earlier segments where they seemed to just be questing or chilling online. So with both halves of the story helping the main plot along and with me being totally invested in these characters at this point, I can’t wait to see what happens next. Though, minor complaint, not loving Morioka’s new hair style.

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Karandi James.

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