After a strong first episode I come back to this show and find a rather middling second episode. There is some good content here, namely the Evangelion references, one of which was butchered by the crunchyroll translators.(Narumi and Hanako were arguing over who was best girl in Evangelion with notes over their head about whose team they were on. The order being Narumi on team Rei, Hanako on Team Asuka, Taro on team Mari and Hirotaka picking Unit 01 as best girl) But the anime original scenes which were a boon to the first episode have become rather problematic. Case in point, this episode starts with three minutes of Hirotaka waking up, going to the kitchen to play games, attempt to make coffee, realize he’s out of coffee and travels to work sleep deprived.
That scene was too long and while I can certainly relate to going to work sleep deprived due to late night gaming, nothing happens here. It’s more or less filler and I don’t understand why they are dragging out the runtime like this. It could be due to the short number of chapters that they are attempting to pad out the runtime which could be quite problematic. Seeing scenes of characters talking their preferences in manga and whatnot is fine as I enjoy the interaction but it more the other scenes that feel supplementary that bug me. The actual scenes from the manga where pretty good, I got a chuckle out of Hirotaka saying to Narumi that he shouldn’t have told her that he liked her only to realize that he didn’t actually tell her that when asking her out.
I do still quite enjoy the banter though at times it was trying a little too hard for comedy. The animation seems to have gotten rather bare as well and while a show like this doesn’t necessarily need godly animation, it is good for the subtle motion which give these characters life. What this episode basically established is that the other two coworkers also happen to be going out and are big otaku’s as well. Rather coincidental for them all to meet at the same workplace while happening to work in the same room but hey I will bite. Again the general scenes were fine but it felt there were too many moments of nothing happening on screen. I enjoy the characters enough for this episode to be fine instead of boring but going forward we need more content in here. At least so I have something to actually talk about on these episode reviews.
As I did not read the manga, I have not been noticing these runtime issues that you noticed. Also, I am not good at noticing animation inconsistencies so I still enjoyed the episode. does the added time and animation really take away from this show?
Also, since I’m new… how do I add a profile picture?
I actually like the lifestyle introduction.
Bookstores for otaku = Animate XD
Not wanting to go to an otaku shop in your work clothes.
Crisis mode dragon quest GUI.
Cheer up place = game center.
Skipping after work drinks (very standard work ethic) for otaku hobbies at home.
Also, I wonder if Unit 01 is supposed to be Yui Ikari? Does that make Hirotaka the clingy type that takes his wife’s surname and would end the world to be with her?
But I think Hanako kinda blew the reality bubble for me a little. Is she some kind of superwoman? Cosplay otaku, volleyball team captain, effective leader OL. Cosplay otaku are generally into making their own clothes and getting so involved in anime or manga that they want to dress up as those characters. All pretty time intensive. And she was good enough to be making a name for herself and selling her own photo material. Those types do not buy off the rack. On top of doing well at school and captaining a sports team???? Captaining a sports team alone basically wipes out most of your after school time, often weekends and much of your stamina. Throw in studies and I’m amazed she’s even aware of the existence of anime.
I agree with the inconsistent animation. I am enjoying the story but every so often I struggle not to skip past the poorly animated scenes! The fillers are wholly unnecessary though they have reduced as the series continues. I’m struggling to decide whether or not I like it even though I have enjoyed some parts such as the recurring “GODDAMIT” from Narumi that always makes me laugh out loud as well as some touching scenes like the one with the thunder and their amusement park date (up until the other couple showed up).
I enjoy how it feels like Hirotaka isn’t complacent and is trying to take their relationship to the next level by getting Narumi to see him as an actual boyfriend and not just her childhood friend who she is dating. I’m looking forward to seeing how they finish it up and your thoughts on it if you do complete it.
side note: the animation is not as bad as Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi. That one is laughably bad.
I admittedly have fallen behind in episodes. I think I will finish it and write a review but one of the main reasons I stopped blogging it is that I simply had nothing left to say. I more or less said everything with my first few posts and later episodes haven’t changed that. I don’t see it as a bad show as it can be enjoyable but when I look over at Hinamatsuri and see the real effort that went into adapting it, I feel that Wotakoi got shortchanged.