And you thought there is never a girl online?
12 Episodes
2016
Alternate Titles
Netoge
Netoge no Yome wa Onna no ko ja Nai to Omotta?
Genre
Comedy; Romance; Game; Fantasy; Magic; Psychological
Synopsis
Gamer Hideki Nishimura (AKA Rusian)’s last romantic venture ended in trauma: confessing his undying love to a catgirl online, only to be told she was a middle-aged man in real life. However, a year spent playing solo and Rusian returned to the in-game marriage system and wed support player Ako. All is going fine until his guild decide to have their first offline meeting, wherein Rusian will find out if his in-game wife is a real woman. He discovers there are bigger problems, though, like the fact that Ako can’t distinguish between games and reality, strongly believing the two are married offline, too. It’s up to Rusian and fellow guildmembers swordmaster Schwein, and premium player Apricot, to bring some sense into their deluded companion and show the good side of the real world.
Content Advisory
This is not a comprehensive list of every individual use of strong content, merely a guide to show you how extreme it gets and how strong it tends to be. Also, the tags I’ve given each segment (e.g. Very Strong Language) is based on my own system and does not necessarily reflect the tags the BBFC (or other national equivalent) use. According to my system, the ‘Mild’, ‘Moderate’, ‘Strong’ and ‘Very Strong’ adjectives are based on strength, not on volume. Now, obviously, the strength of any type of content is subjective; what I consider strong might just be a relaxing weekend for you. Hence, I have added an explanation for my decision to allow you to make your own informed decision.
Please also note that the ‘colourful’ language I am referring to here is based on FUNimation’s English Dub. The Japanese Dub may (and probably does) differ.
Strong Language
One scene has a character using strong language, however, it is censored by the game’s chat logs.
Otherwise, mostly mild language (e.g. crap, ass, bastard, etc.)
Moderate Sex References & Moderate Sexual Fetish References
The most extreme references have a character comparing his feelings to being violated and tossed aside, some hot and heavy couples’ chat and the classic ‘please be gentle’ anime trope.
One character suggests another is drinking her urine
Apart from these, the series is mostly tame references to breast size and the like.
Mild Sexualised Nudity
None of the nudity depicts any nipple detail, as any and all detail like that is covered by a conveniently placed plant pot or other means.
One scene shows some female characters bathing together and another scene depicts a character kneeling on the floor buck naked. However, as previously mentioned, no detailed nudity is shown.
Mild Violence
The fight scenes are pretty mild, since it’s mostly game fights. As such, injuries are represented by digital squares and little else.
Reasons to Watch
This is the difficult part. I don’t want you to see this entry as an oversized ‘DON’T WATCH THIS’ post. Equally, I don’t want to influence your opinion with a biased review – there’s a reason this website is called ‘Anime Insights’ and not ‘Anime Reviews’! In this section, I’m going to try to convey to you some of the reasons (in no particular order) that I’ve seen this show’s fans give for enjoying it!
This is a show primarily for gamers, but that doesn’t mean it’s inaccessible to anyone else. A lot of the concepts are explained throughout (although not all), and since a good deal is outside the game world, viewers can enjoy the comical romantic and friendship antics that ensue. I say ‘primarily for gamers’ because its humour is aimed at gamers (especially MMORPG players) as a lot of the jokes and situations will resonate with them.
The series takes a deeper approach to the game anime genre than most. Rather than simply building a world, the series deals with addiction, the boundary between realities and games, phishing scams, 24-hour players, etc.
Rusian and Ako’s relationship may give viewers a fresher take on the romance genre, particularly when gamers are involved. It’s rare for protagonists to be in a relationship or enter a relationship so early on in their series.
Barrier of Entry
Some viewers may find Ako’s instability irritating. She can occasionally appear psychotic, which is played for comedy, but I have seen similar characters that people often can’t see that comedy in.
Like I said before, those who know nothing of MMORPGS (or games at all) won’t get the same out of the series as those who do.
Music
Opening Theme
1st Love Story by Luce Twinkle Wink☆ (Ep. 2-12)
Ending Themes
1st Love Story by Luce Twinkle Wink☆ (Ep. 1)
Zero Ichi Kiseki by Yoshino Nanjō (Ep. 2-12)
Hardcopy Note
Special features are locked to Blu-Ray only. These include a video commentary and an audio commentary featuring some of the English Dub voice actors and the ADR Director, as well as the textless opening and closing.
Trivia
Original Character Designer and Light Novel Illustrator Hisasi has a number of manga they wrote and illustrated themselves. However, they are all erotic manga, which may go some way to explaining the fan-service in this anime (even if it never reaches anywhere near their own work).
Staff List
Animation Production: project No.9
Director: Shinsuke Yanagi
ADR Director: Cris George
Series Composition: Tatsuya Takahashi
ADR Script: Tyson Rinehart
Music: Maiko Iuchi
Original Creator: Shibai Kineko
Original Character Design: Hisasi
Animation Character Design: Akane Yano
Chief Animation Director: Akane Yano & Takuji Mogi
Art Director: Masakazu Miyake
Lead Voice Actors
Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Hideki “Rusian” Nishimura
Rina Hidaka as Ako Tamaki
Lead Voice Actors (FUNimation)
Dallas Reid as Hideki “Rusian” Nishimura
Trina Nishimura as Ako Tamaki