Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? – 08-09
I am Ako, destroyer of worlds!
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Welcome back, everyone. I’ve got another two-fer, so let’s dig in… |
Phish out of Water
The piece was stereotypical, yet captures that causal mendacity very well
It was pretty much a done deal, with little left to speculate, as we confirm that some sneaky phising allowed Nishimura’s Rusian account to be hacked up and down. To the young man’s credit, he responded in the proper manner when confronted with all the evidence. You may take my stuff, that’s replaceable. But you do not mess with my online waifu/real life- erstwhile girlfriend. This set’s in motion what became the meat of the episode; that being community.
Virtual stuff is worth cash, that’s just weird…
Overall that’s what I like the best about the episode. I love that virtually everyone did their part in helping out. Lots of people can look from the outside in (with your’s truly very much in that party at times) and see a bunch of folk wasting time on fake stuff. But this was a nice turn around, even when painted with very very wider and wider still brush strokes. Rusian was someone in their community and they didn’t take that the least bit for granted.
Reversal of Fortune, snitch!
It was a simple mistake, and even with a warning, the bad guys can get the best of us. The Legendary Age guilds knew that, and knew that the best way to combat a turd sandwich was to offer ingredients that are the polar opposite of turds and hunks of bread. Sure, Nishimura got some ribbing about it, I mean, who can blame anyone for some honest little burns here and there to let the lesson sink in a bit, but no one just flat out was an asshole to him about it. They wanted to build a community after all, and this is what community does, support each other. Was it a bit heavy handed? Yes. Was it something that needed doing? I think so, and that makes for a good discussion.
Work for that happy ending
Fanservice in the Water
First time?
So now we go to our next episode with a two fold plan. The first and most obvious is getting friends over to Kyou’s very ostentatious digs, the second and most plot worthy is getting Ako away from Nishimura so that she can concentrate on getting her summer homework done. And goodness but doesn’t that bring up the reason why she doesn’t bother to do good in school…it’s a feedback loop going on in that brain of her. It didn’t happen this time around, but I do wonder what they got up their sleeves, as far as story goes, to nudge her in the right direction.
Maids and Monsters…
The meat of the episode, if you will, is the bath scene in which our heroines do most of the typical things that expected of them; measuring body worth, showing off for a camera that isn’t “there” in as non-posing a way as possible, and generally being very cordial and pleasant. Which doesn’t last for long. Before we got there, the mischief was already set in motion by Ako as she did everything she possibly could to get away from her studies, including treating the house like a monster’s maze/dungeon. Which was good way to introduce some of Kyou’s oojo-sama background. Very pleasant stuff, and pretty much spot on.
Is Schwein up for the Rusian Bowl?
But the real kicker, if you will, is Ako’s revelation about married life in Legendary Age vs. married life IRL. So, how does’t that logic stack up, and what did you think about the other girl’s reactions? I mean, I can kinda see Ako’s point, and I can empathize with her a little, if it weren’t for the fact that I see games as games like the rest of “humankind”, a diversion and not a road sign for real life. But, that’s a tough nut to crack, and even though neither Nishimura, nor “Rusian” was around at all, he was there in spirit. See you next time.
Almost a Yuru!
Bonus Section
Episode Nine Eyecatch
I actually had to look this up…
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I really like the authenticity the show has in the rambling conversations of the girls throughout episode 9. Most of the time, a show won’t take the time to just show that kind of conversation, and the bonding that comes along with it. But we’ve said before that this show might not have too much space between the starting point and ending point to cover, so maybe that’s why it has time for this kind of indulgence. Really nice to watch, and liked that they brought up things like Ako’s description of married in game and out.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
..which gives me an excuse to talk a bit more about Akane’s feelings, or her possible feelings, for Nishimura. And in tradition of the show, all I have to do is mention it and that takes a life of it’s own.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It certainly does take on a life of its own, because I also think the show has done a great job with Kyou and Akane. It’s somewhat similar to Project No. 9’s last show in KOYA, but this time there’s an actual declared couple. I think they’ve really hit the right balance with Akane being interested but not so selfish or desperate that she’d break up Ako and Rusian. They’ve also used her confidence at being a fairly popular person in RL well with that, because she just seems like she’s a well-balanced character, probably the most balanced one in the show. But even then they left her room for growth because she’s never wanted the two parts of her life, the gamer and the riajuu, to be aware of each other. It seems like now, especially with Nanako around, Akane’s accepted more the idea that they don’t have to be two parts of her that are separated by a wall, they can just be two parts of her that people see.