Net-juu no Susume [Review]
“30-year-old Moriko is single and recently became a NEET after quitting her corporate job. Tired of the real world, she decides to reinvent herself as a handsome male character on the internet.” –Net-Juu no Susume (manga)
I’m always a sucker for anime that involve games and Net-juu no Susume seemed like a great one to watch. Not to mention, anime with NEET main characters tend to have grade A comedy!
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Story:
Net-juu is a super cute show that focuses on the relationship between Morioka Moriko and Sakurai Yuuta. Albeit, a great romantic comedy, I’d wish it’d hit a few more point in the story. There’s the backstory for Moriko’s reason for quitting her job and becoming a NEET, which is hinted throughout the show, most prominently in the opening animation. But it never goes into detail and that part has been killing me the entire time I was watching.
Artwork & Animation:
I like and dislike the artwork and yes I know that contradictory but it has it’s ups and down. The love the composition of everything, the colors and kinematics work well, especially in the open and ending animations. But the execution of the design didn’t quite cut it for me. Like for character design, they were primarily four colors: the skin color, skin shading, hair color, hair shading. The main elements are there but the designs needed some more colors and shading to give it more of a pop. The art t, though the potential is there.
Character(s):
As much as I love Morimori-chan and Sakurai, there’s a severe lack of focus on the other characters. With the setting mostly taking place in an MMORPG world, the side characters become important, yet we only get to see them at face value. There are moments with Kanbe and Lilac but even then they get half an episode at best for character development.
Sound (OST & Voice Acting):
Noto Mamiko takes the cake for being my favorite voice actor of the season for this role itself. The reactions were over the top and always had me laughing from start to finish. The soundtrack of the show was excellent. With an MMORPG as the main focus of the show, the music style bleeds into the “real-world” and the atmosphere continues even outside of the MMO world.
Enjoyment:
Net-juu was very promising but has room for much improvement. Season 2 is a must at this point to clear up the situation with Morioka as well as giving the other characters some screen time.
Overall: Score 7
Net-juu no Susume is a fun romantic comedy that follows a female NEET protagonist that falls in love with the world of MMORPGs. With a heavy focus her life both in the real and virtual world, the side character fade away in the background. As great as the art is, the execution is weak and leaves room for a lot of improvement. On the bright side, the soundtrack is fantastic and emulates the MMORPG feels throughout the show both in the real-world and in-game.
Best Girl: Moriko Morioka
Of course, it’s our beloved NEET protagonist and her perfect imperfections!
KiritoNarukami 