Anime: Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta?

When the first lines in a show go along the lines of "Please marry me", you pretty much have a good idea of where things will go. Netoge is an instant girlfriend show that was ridiculously popular when I visited Japan. The show focuses on the relationship between our protagonist, Hideki Nishimura aka Rusian, and his online wife, Ako. One day, his MMO guild decides to have a live meet up, lo and behold Ako is actually a bijin. Unfortunately, she can't seem to differentiate between the online 2D world and actual reality. Will our protagonist to able to convince her that they are not the same thing?

For me, this show had a lot of promise early on; the premise reminded me of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu from oh goodness eight years ago. However, half way through the show it seemed to direction. Rather than focusing on the uniqueness of the characters' situation, it decided to focus instead on the gaming aspect; thus reducing the rest of the show to a standard school-based slice-of-life with a bit of MMO fantasy. Despite this, it is still an interesting watch. If you like romcoms or are looking for a show to make fun of MMO mechanics, definitely try this show out.

Animation:
The animation quality in Netoge is fairly average overall. Background and scenery range from simplistic, computer-assisted images of school grounds to more detailed renderings of the fantasy world. The fantasy world is drawn slightly differently to help the viewer acclimate; there's stronger saturation in the colors and character outlines are drawn in a distinctive dark-blue color. Character drawing is a bit on the plain side; the flat character shading sometimes clashes with the more detailed, computer-generated backgrounds. All the characters are readily identifiable and, humorously, appear similar in the fantasy MMO world. Ako is particularly easy to spot with her ridiculously large blue eyes. The characters also have unique smiles that remind me of those in Denpa Onna.

There is a fair amount of action in this show, mostly the character's imaginations of the actual battle scenes in the MMO. There isn't any blood though there are many MMO character deaths and a few humorous group wipes. This isn't primarily an action show though so the choreography is only average and, other than showing a few fun MMO mechanics, the actual battles aren't too exciting. There is a moderate amount of ecchi in this show, ranging from bouncing body parts to multiple bath scenes. It's reasonably tame compared to true ecchi-based shows.

Sound:
The OP is a moderate-paced song with a decent melody; it reminds me a lot of the instrumentation used by ClariS. The ED is a playful song sung by one of our VAs; melodically it isn't as strong though. The BGM is distinctive for having a fittingly electronic feel, though it also has bits of your more traditional string instrumentation. Two or three playful tunes become familiar by the end of the show. Overall, the BGM is better than your average show but nothing too spectacular.

The VA cast is a mix of veterans and up and coming talent. All of the VAs give fitting personalities to their respective roles though Inori Minase probably had the most challenging character to voice, not to mention the random pig references.

Story:
I always have a soft spot for shows that play into philosophical questions, even if they don't outright explore them in depth. In Netoge, we get to explore perspectives about identity and how our online and offline selves relate to one another. In particular, our protagonist has an online (married) relationship with another character. He then happens to meet the person playing that character in real life. How is he supposed to interact? Should he assume the persona that he was playing as online? Can he even do so after seeing how cute she is in person?

Aside from the improbability of an entire guild being at the same school and the unlikely nature of immediately becoming an ace PVP shooter in an online FPS with no prior experience, the show is a pretty well grounded and well rounded. The initial main plot revolves around getting Ako to start realizing the difference between the online and offline worlds, but honestly it doesn't make much progress. It's probably more accurate to treat this as more of a slice of life with occasional rounds in the fantasy world. The overall plot fits somewhat into roughly defined arcs that don't necessarily build to a climax, though there are occasional cliffhangers.

In addition to the nice plot elements, the show is also pretty entertaining in the comedic department. Expect a lot of laughs as characters occasionally behave in absurd ways, and expect some additional bonus laughs if you've played MMOs.

Character:
This show also impresses in terms of character personality. All of the main characters are pretty interesting and differentiated from your run of the mill cookie-cutter mold. Ako (healer) is a dynamic girl who somehow switches between anti-social mode and super-clingy girlfriend/wife mode. Kyou (ranged DPS) is a confident student council president (despite never seeming to have any actual duties) who happens to come from a rich family; her online persona literally represents the group of MMO players willing to dish out serious cash to make the freemium model work for the rest of us. Akane (melee DPS) is a hot-headed tsundere who secretly loves playing online games, her attempts to keep it a secret are pretty humorous. Finally, even our protagonist (tank) stands out from the typical nice guys- he can take care of business when it matters.

This is one of those shows where relationships are defined early in the show and then remain relatively stagnant thereafter. Though there aren't any truly dynamic characters, there is a good deal of nice character interactions. Expect romcom elements including third wheels and jealousy mixed in with the other story elements. There are a fair number of supporting characters but the show does a great job of maintaining focus on the main cast.

Value:
This is a pretty solid romcom with a decent mix of action and story as well. It intersects quite a few different genres but successfully does so without becoming an angry fruit salad. Though I would have liked more focus on relationships rather than MMO grinding - think I've seen enough of that for a lifetime already - it was nonetheless an entertaining and occasionally thought-provoking show. It's not at the level of something like Nisekoi but definitely above average overall. What are you waiting for? Game er... watch on!

Netoge is an anime adaptation of a series of light novels that tries to hide the fact that is yet another addition to the harem genre. To the high-school, harem, ecchi genre to be precise. There is a Greek proverb that roughly translates to “The prostitute wants to hide, but the enjoyment doesn't let her” and that applies here; Netoge doesn't delve deep into the harem genre as, for instance, Nisekoi, or to the ecchi genre as Shuffle, but, believe me, it enjoys being in the company of both.

Continuing on rough translations; the title means: “And You Thought There Is Never a Girl On-line?“ you can probably guess that the anime tries hard to prove that notion wrong. The protagonist is the stock, average, good-natured boy, whose main hobby is playing a popular MMORPG. An off-line meeting of the small guild that he belongs in, brings light to the fact that the three other members are gorgeous girls that attend his school. What's more, one of them, his in-game wife, is a shy introvert who has problems distinguishing reality from the game and gleefully proclaims that he is her husband.

The guild manages to open a legitimate club in the high-school and eventually the number of hot girls goes from 3 to 5. Of course, no other penis-wielding character is to be found, except the mandatory scenes of envious classmates -you know the ones, those who are more akin to tapestry than actual characters.

The story is non-existent, the characters inconsistent, and if you have ever watched one of those, you know exactly how much progress will be made in 12 episodes.

As I said, the anime doesn't take the genre tropes too far. Also, the girls are cute, a fact that is enhanced by the good animation. Finally, the narrative mixes reality with the MMORPG's gameplay, which is an interesting storytelling device, but mainly gives us a chance to see the girls in exotic garments, like a beautiful priestess's dress, or slutty mage's robes.

Concluding, Netoge is an average series. It has some interesting elements, but it carries all the genre's problems. If you are not a fan, I'm positive you can find something better to watch. If you are a fan, well... you could do a lot worse. 5.0/10.