Recovery of an MMO Junkie

Well considering that this anime’s only 10 episodes long, and considering how adorable it is, you can probably spare 3 hours of your life to watch something that you’ll most likely end up enjoying.

Yes, there is a lot of fluff. Yes, sometimes the sugary sweet scenes can actually be a bit much, and end up making you cringe from the awkwardness. And yes, there are a few frustrating moments when you wish the pace would move slightly faster, particularly near the end (although on the whole it wasn’t too bad).

Regardless, it was a sweet, fun and entertaining anime, and the fact that it featured more mature characters than normal was only a bonus.

The title for the anime is kind of misleading, as it’s not actually about anyone being cured of their MMO addiction. In the sub I was watching, the title was actually translated as ‘recommendation of the wonderful virtual life’ which I think fits it much better. It’s basically about a group of people who really enjoy playing MMOs. Some of them do it to escape real life problems, some do it to find a place where they fit in, and some do it for relaxation. All of them really enjoy and are invested in their MMOs, which I’m pretty sure anyone who plays one can relate to. The games are portrayed really realistically (I mean, I’d actually quite like to play Fruits de Mer after watching this), and so are the friends made through games. As this was a light-hearted anime, it didn’t really cover the darker side of being online, instead focussing on the companionship that arises from shared interests and the friends you develop a relationship with over time. I really enjoyed watching that aspect of the anime; it reminded me of my own experiences in MMO guilds.