This is the end of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. I already hate that we have to let go so early. It feels too fast, because we only had 11 episodes and we just met Kou. There is so much more I want to see them do. I know, there will be four more home video episodes coming out, but I would have rather seen them right now, here, without delay and special conditions. Just air them. Let me just quickly stop whining and tell you, this series has been great, relatable and made so well, I can only recommend it. Let’s take a look at the last episode. I will also be back one more time for a full series review, so it’s not good-bye yet!

Japanese title: ヲタクに恋は難しい (Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii)

Episode 11 – Love is Hard for Otaku

It’s the summer holidays and the couples are enjoying them all in their own ways. For Hanako and Kabakura that means each to their own but together; each one reads their manga or books while they are sipping their drinks in the same room. Hirotaka locked himself up and plays games. Narumi probably did what she always does and Nao took on some additional shifts at work, since it’s summer and many people take a break from work. More money for him!

Hanako and Kabakura end up fighting , because he doesn’t want to read her boys love and even dares to judge it, when he himself likes yuri manga. Narumi misses her boyfriend and decides to visit him, only to find him collapsed at home because he forgot to eat (or sleep) from all the gaming. Good thing she can make something with the few things he has at home (thanks to his younger brother Naoya). Speaking of Naoya, he wasn’t able to log on to the game all week, so Kou gets a bit worried and goes to look for him at Starbocks…

Highlights

Being a real couple

Sometimes I feel like Narumi and Hirotaka just hang out and are not in love. Since that kiss in his house and that I-don’t-know-I-am-still-angry-at-whatever-that-was-at-the-amusement-park they didn’t really do very much as a couple. To outsiders they could be mistaken as just good friends instead of a couple. Fine with me, just a bit unrealistic, since they tried to sell us that they only hold hands… Pfft. (Yes, still very angry about that.) So yes, they finally start to behave like a couple, where she demands to see him (#relatable) and he is happy when she takes care of him as if he were a little boy. Once again it also shone through just how well they know each other. They could have showed us another kiss, really, but well… They are a cute couple. I love them.

Envy of others

So, I am someone who thinks that the relationship Kabakura and Hanako have is really, really nice. She can depend on him, he can depend on her, they know each other well and can deal with each others aggressive personality really well. While I would have thought that they are fine with the relationship they have, in the end it seems like Hanako is doing the thing. That thing when you go and compare yourself to others (#relatable). It’s not healthy or good, but people tend to do it and it’s nice to see Hanako be a bit envious of Narumi and Hirotaka. Not because they are a fresh couple or still lovey-dovey. It’s just that Hirotaka has an open mind where Kabakura shuts off. Or rather, he did until this episode. I hope he reads more boys love from now on and maybe even talks about it with Hirotaka!

First 2D love

Talking about your first love was a taboo, which I did totally understand for Hirotaka, but it was fun how everybody was fine talking about their first 2D love. Other people would have thought it more embarrassing to talk about their anime-crush, but not this group. If anybody cares, my first 2D crush was Seiya from Sailor Moon (and if it counts David Bowie as the Goblin King in Labyrinth, though I am not too sure which one I saw first…)

Culture

Holidays

Since this is a series about working people, I will limit this part of the review to the workforce. All this information is from the limited experience I have with the workforce in Japan and what I have learnt at university, so please don’t take it for 100% true for all of Japan. It might be that only my surroundings are like this.

In general it can be said that Japan has not too few holidays. Most of the months have at least one holiday, sometimes they have a cluster of holidays like for New Years, Golden Week and Obon. That also means that all of Japan is travelling around the country, visiting families and more, so it actually is horror to travel somewhere, since it seems everybody has the same days off… On top of that, I heard that some companies have official summer holidays, where they close their office for a week or something, like I assume they did in Wotakoi. Like this, everybody gets some time off and is happy and relaxed when they come back, since they didn’t have to burden anyone with their absence. Which brings me to the paid holidays you can take, which are disturbingly few (younger employees get around 10 days a year) and nobody takes all of them at once, because that would be very, very burdening for the co-workers, who apparently have to do your work while you are not there… Like that, many people don’t dare to take more than three days off at once and most don’t use all of the 10 days in the end. In Japan it really is a lot about respecting your co-workers and not burdening others.

See you next time

I will be back with a series review sometime soon and I have also decided to review Grand Blue for next season! It’s a story about a diving club at university. The trailer is what got me intrigued, so I hope some of you will come with me on this new journey, which seems to be a pure comedy story with some youthful aspects. I hope there will be more things I can tell you about university life in Japan with the series and even if not, there should be beautiful scenes of the underwater world and a very summery feeling with the beach, sea and sunshine. I can’t wait for the summer season to start!

Thank you for coming with me on this journey with the relatable Wotakoi characters. It was fun!

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

Spring 2018 | Anime Info | Simulcast