「私たちは何も知らない」 (Watashitachi wa Nanimo Shiranai)
“We Don’t Know Anything”

After what I would have considered a rocky first episode, Netojuu no Susume returns this week with an extremely strong second episode. Plus bonus story at end.

General Impressions

So, let’s get back to business. First off, can we all talk about how cheesy it was watching Moriko and Yuuta meet each other? I don’t think I’ve ever considered the idea of someone getting smacked in the face by someone else’s elbow. Much less getting smacked by someone’s elbow and getting completely knocked out as a result. However, as much as I want to rag on the story for throwing something so damn lame at us, I must admit that I found something a little endearing about it all. With the lead up of Moriko and Yuuta being sleep deprived from a long night gaming session (I’m assuming Yuuta is Lili at this point), I think the whole idea that there was a tiny itsy bitsy possibility of Yuuta and Moriko figuring out each other’s identity saved the interaction from turning into a throw away one.

Moving on from that interesting first (or second at this point) interaction, I wanted to talk a tiny bit about what would happen if Yuuta and Moriko figure out each other’s identity. In today’s world, it’s not too much of a stretch to become real life friends with people you’ve met on the internet (I’ll include a story of mine at the end of the post). With a good chunk of the population building relationships and developing friendships through a screen instead of in-person, it isn’t too hard to believe that Yuuta and Moriko would be able to it off using all the time they’ve shared in-game as the catalyst to bring their two world together. If anything, I think I’ll be devastated if the show ends without the two bridging the gap because based on their interactions in-game, the two obviously have strong feelings about each other.

Besides that, I don’t really have much to say about this week’s episode since it feels like everything is building up to some kind of mini-climax next week. Moriko seems to be on the cusp of finding something special in her life (online and IRL), we’re slowly getting glimpses of her past where she had to deal with the shitty reality of working in a rough environment, and the Guild Members outside of Lili have been slowly breaking out of their shells and giving us a compelling reason to see them more as just faces on the screen. Until next week, I’ll reserve giving out any kind of opinion since I think things could go in just about any direction from here.

Story Time: In the past I was an avid League of Legends player. One time while I was playing Top Lane, I ended up going against someone who was obviously not used to the lane. After scoring a few early kills and realizing that they’re also learning how to use their champ, I told them we could make a peace treaty and that they could farm until the mid-game. Along the way I tried explaining to them some basics about the creep wave, lane management, what to look out for, and where the optimal places for vision were. Fast forward to the end of our game (we won) and this person decided to add me as a friend. We chatted for a bit, realized we got along with each other pretty well, and eventually became friends in real life when we went out to grab some food at a AYCE ShabuShabu place in Rowland Heights.

P.S. Lindsey, if you’re ever reading the site, this was about you. Hi!

 

Preview

8 Comments

  1. This meeting in the Real Life world with MMO fans can be an 2 side Sword. If the other think you are female and want to meet you. How you do react when you just play an female avatar role play? Yes, you play a men that just shine trough his female side… (No not surpassing the Gay line)

    See, sometimes it is not good to meet up in real life, or just tell them the truth.. Trust me, in my earlier age of MMO (Everquest 1999) most players was thinking avatar = real life person

    Worldwidedepp
  2. This was what I had expected from the start. Seeing Yuuta layeth the smackdown to Moriko (People’s Elbow included) might’ve been cheesy, but it was in-character for both at that point (sleep deprived, sickness)
    Good build up, finally got more Mamiko Noto goodness and expecting more for next week, so no more 3-eps rule for this one. Automatic must-see

    SeeStriker
  3. Man, that nightmare. Being reduced to just another faceless drone expected to sacrifice everything they are for the Good of The Company. It must have been soul crushing for Moriko, and likely why she quit; She was too much of an individual to be able to reduce herself to such a degree.

    EspyLacopa
  4. …if Yuuta and Moriko don’t figure out each other’s identity, …

    it’d be a real disappointing Anime series – who wants to watch 12 episodes of tease?
    Anyway, I (I’m hoping) think they really will get to know each other in real life from their
    on-line time. Probably the hopeless romantic in me, though. This could be a good story
    of coming out of each other’s shell and finding real companionship and maybe romance.

    She’s already attracted to him – several time she mentions it through this episode – his
    cute name, etc. Amazingly, in an on-line world, usually people are thousands of miles
    apart – here, they seem to be literally minutes from each other. What are the chances?

    Anyway, really liking what I seen so far…

    mac65
    1. Considering most of Japan’s population resides in the Tokyo area, it’s not really slim chances for them to be nearby 🙂
      I think it’s reasonable for two random Japanese players to discover they both live close enough to single-day visits to be easy.

      I’d say literally bumping into each other, not once, but twice, is the unbelievable part! But I accept it as part of the story.

      A few years ago, I fell in with a small group of friends all playing on an asian server. 3/4ths of the group lived in California and two of us live less than 2 hours from each other. (No, we haven’t met yet) The non-Californians all live very nearby in western states.

      It seems like “what are the odds?” but they’re actually pretty high.

      We all played at the same time of evening (most likely same time zone).
      We all spoke english well instead of the server’s native language. (increased odds of being in the USA)
      California is the most populated state. The chance of an American being in CA is a bit higher than being in any other individual state.
      CA is home to subgroups and populations more likely to play online games (and asian ones at that) in addition to having regional cultures in which being a “gamer” is acceptable.
      It’s not surprising to me that more often than not, ppl I meet in games are in or close to my local region.

      danny
  5. It seems to me that if Moriko told enough of the details of her story to her guild, “Lili” will figure it out even with the gender switching.

    The details are unique enough and some members of the guild are gossipy so it seems unlikely Lili won’t hear of it and (at minimum) become suspicious.

    Although, if this follows the grand tradition of anime romances, neither of them will figure it out until nearly the end and the entire series will just be one long audience-torturing tease. (so close! so close! ARRG! They’re so dense! etc etc)

    I hope it comes to light sooner than that because exploring the development of the relationship here would be more unique and interesting.
    I’ll lose interest fast if it’s just an adult elite-NEET version of the same old anime high school romance hijinks.

    And being an adult woman who plays online games …. this series could be relevant to my interests!

    danny

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