I’m Morioka Moriko. Thirty years old. I’m a recent corporate dropout and NEET. I’m not your average NEET schmuck.
I chose the NEET life. I’m an elite NEET.
Moriko Morioka (CV: Mamiko Noto) has resigned from her company and is now a NEET with no plans on working again any time soon. As she looks at her computer she decides to play NantarSG, but in the past 6 month of not playing, the service has been terminated. She does a search for recommendations and decides to play Fruits de Mer as the hot male character, Hayashi (CV: Ryouta Suzuki). In game Hayashi meets Lily (CV: Reina Ueda) and Moriko finds relief from reality.
THOUGHTS
While this is a comedy and a romance show, it’s probably one of the most relatable shows I’ve ever seen. Here we have this adult woman who has worked really hard, but she has no sense of accomplishment and finally she gives up on spending hours and hours on a job she doesn’t enjoy and finds something she enjoys doing more. But being a NEET isn’t following social conventions. Being 30, society expects Moriko to get married preferably as soon as possible but instead she’s living off her savings because she couldn’t continue with her job anymore. You’ll see her avoiding society, suffering from anxiety about what is expected from her and how she thinks society sees her for being a NEET, and struggling her way through awkward interactions with other human beings. You will also meet Yuta Sakurai at the other end of the spectrum – a young man doing well in his career and who likes his workplace and coworkers – but who also needs a place to escape to as well.
Somehow this show manages to cover a range of people, despite the main characters being perhaps in the older range compared to the usual age of main cast, but without actually being old. They have expectations on themselves, and expectations from society, and anyone who has ever felt that pressure should be able to relate to them at some level. Although, to a lot of the western audience, Yuta’s struggle as a foreign-looking man probably goes over their heads, while anyone in Japan certainly would understand what struggles he has been through.
I’ve already, in a very outdrawn fashion, explained this show is relatable and why. Now… is it worth watching? Yes, I certainly think so. The pacing may not be everyone’s cup of tea as it slowly builds up to a point, rather than going quickly to it, but if anyone here likes Natsume Yuujinchou, or Natsume’s Book of Friends, you totally know that this kind of pacing can be extremely well used. And this show is one of those in which it’s well used.
I liked it so much that after the last episode, I watched it from start to finish right away. Yes, I marathoned through a show I literally had just finished watching. I watched the show once again for this review as well, since by the time writing this it’s already been a few months since the show stopped airing. Together with NatsuYuu this is probably one of my forever recommendations, and pretty much for the same reasons. They are relatable and you will see characters grow in a much more natural and realistic way, than in a lot of other shows. It’s slow, but real. If you enjoy romance (with some comedy), then this show is even more for you. But do note that while in other shows you might want two characters to kiss, the comments on Crunchyroll demand them to have sexual interaction. It never goes that far, but your patience might.
There is an unaired extra in the BluRay box release. I’m not sure if it’s in the Japanese release only, but it’s also available for premium users on Crunchyroll. It’s not necessary to watch for the sake of the story, but if you enjoy the show, you might enjoy getting a tiny bit of insight in what happens after the show ends.
This post is available thanks to the love and support of my readers and patrons. If you want to support the blog despite the fact I am more or less on maternal leave, read this page!
All posts are unscheduled while I’m on maternal leave, but I still use tags that relate to certain series. Such tags include Mahou Shoujo Monday and Crappy Android Otome Games. Some new may appear as time passes, who knows?
Buy this show for how relatable it is, or how wholesome its romance is, and support this blog and the creators.
Get volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4 and volume 5, or pick the BluRay box.
The Anny Blog 