This was one of those shows that I put under “plan to watch” all the way back when it was released last year…and it just sort of stayed there.
Well, my fiance and I have been binge watching some anime recently and this one came up. We figured, why not! It looked funny.
And so, our journey began.
Synopsis
Wotaku: Lover is Hard for Otaku, or if you’re that kinda person, Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, is a romantic comedy about two otaku.
Hirotaka Nifuji and Narumi Momose were childhood friends; the former was and is a gamer, and the latter was and is a fujoshi, or someone who prefers to read/watch male only relationships. After switching jobs, Narumi discovers that she now works with Hirotaka. Even though they are friends, this freaks her out since she tries to keep her otaku side a secret.
After finding out that two other coworkers are also otaku, the four form a group and start hanging out and going out to drinks. Hirotaka and Narumi also decide to start dating, somewhat awkwardly.
The story covers their day to day lives, balancing work and their hobbies, while also trying their best to grow closer to one another.
Initial Thoughts / First Few Episodes
It all started off good.
We got introduced to the characters who were helplessly awkward, which provided some good entertainment. The relationship started between the two main characters, and we learned the other two have been in a relationship since high school.
I enjoyed watching the transition that Hirotaka and Narumi went through in the beginning of their relationship. They had that moment where they didn’t really know how to interact with each other, and she actually avoids him to avoid addressing that fact. They were going from being friends to being in a relationship, after all, and neither of them knew how to deal with that. Not to mention Hirotaka had never been in a relationship before and had no idea how to act.
It was fun seeing their different personalities and how they reacted to certain situations. For instance, Narumi instantly misinterprets a situation when she is at Hirotaka’s house and he leans over toward her. He was just grabbing some controllers, while she had other things on her mind…
Mid-End Episodes
After the first few episodes, I felt like the show kind of fell a little flat.
What was fun and quirky at the beginning soon turned into happening every episode. Instead of progressing through the relationship, the Hirotaka and Narumi seemed to be stuck. Honestly, they didn’t really progress at all after their first kiss. I don’t even remember them kissing again after that.
The two have some misunderstandings that they end up fixing and such throughout the show, but they don’t really seem to grow from it. Sure, they slowly start understanding each other more, but there aren’t a lot of visuals showing them getting closer.
Heck, we got more relationship progression between the two other members of the group, Hanako and Tarou. Their relationship grew more even though it was already well established. Don’t get me wrong, it is definitely refreshing seeing an existing relationship grow, since the majority of anime is about new relationships. Seeing Hanako and Tarou work through their issues and grow just made Hirotaka and Narumi’s relationship seem all the more stationary.
To top it all off was the introduction of Hirotaka’s brother, Naoya. It felt really weird to me when he was introduced, since it seemed like Narumi had more affection for him, albeit more of a “cute” affection, than Hirotaka. It kind of just threw everything off for me. Not to mention the story introducing a love interest (potentially?) for Naoya in the second to last episode…which I felt was very unnecessary and didn’t progress the story at all.
In the end, it just sort of ended. The final episode felt like a normal episode with no intentions of wrapping anything up. If anything, it opened up more questions. Though I did quite enjoy the final minutes of the episode when we find out Narumi was and is Hirotaka’s first love.
Final Thoughts
It was okay. Nothing really stood out to me in this show to get me to say, “Wow!” or laugh hysterically. There were comedic moments, awkward moments, and some moments that just felt out of place.
I would of loved to see some more progression between Hirotaka and Narumi. I know they are otaku, and the whole point of the show is them dealing with the fact that they are socially awkward. However, Narumi had past relationships. It’s not her first time. I don’t really understand why she acted the way she did sometimes. Maybe the whole friend to boyfriend thing threw her off? Who knows.
I gave it a 6/10 on MyAnimeList, just because it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great. If it helps, my mean score is 7.4.
Apparently there is talk of a season 2 at some point. Knowing us, my fiance and I will probably watch it just to see how things play out.
Thanks for reading!