Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
A slice of life series with a little bit of romance. All good on paper but …
Released in 2018 with 11 episodes, this anime deals lives of two couples who are adults. I think the adult part is fairly significant since most of romance from Japanese anime is teen romance.
The protagonist is Momose Narumi who is about to start a new job at a new place. It is hinted that she has requested a transfer after being found out that she is an otaku from her old place. It’s not that there is a social stigma about being an otaku, but she does not like being known as an otaku.
Of course, there is an anime fate at work, and she happens to run into an old childhood friend of hers who is also an otaku although they are two different kind of otakus. His name is Nifuji Hirotaka.
Then there is another couple who are also otakus. That is how Narumi’s new life begins at her new workplace.
By the end of the first episode, Narumi and Hirotaka enter an agreement to become a couple, not because they are insanely into each other, but because of convenience.
To explain, they are into different hobbies. the dude is primarily a hardcore gamer while she is a doujinshi (yaoi = gay) author. He understands and tolerates her hobby which, from her point of view, is such a huge bonus that she is willing to enter a relationship with him based on that simple convenience.
Well, and that he says he is willing to help her sell her works at conventions which can be seriously awkward for a guy.
The second couple is Kabakura and Koyanagi whose relationship is neither questioned nor challenged. They are basically sidekicks who exist to push the plot forward and provide extra content.
My take
As a romance story with adult characters, the story does manage to avoid some of really, really, over-used events. Neither Hirotaka nor Narumi is insanely in love with either. They just want to be with someone and that’s where they stand.
However, that comes with its own issues which I don’t feel that this series takes care of well. The issues are lack of … everything. The story runs out of materials mid way and starts to wither. It really struggles to create events to push the plot forward.
It is great until about episode 5, then it’s meh after and ends with a whimper.
This anime is okay to watch the first time but you won’t be watching it twice.
