Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

Episode 10

Despite being secret gigantic dorks, the Wotakoi cast possess the appearance of average people with healthy social lives. They go out drinking, they chat with each other at work, they hang out at each other's apartments—all normal friend stuff. Even the most introverted of them, Hirotaka, enjoys the company of his closest friends (and girlfriend, of course), and we've seen him come out of his shell more and more as the show has progressed. I really appreciate the way Wotakoi demonstrates that adult nerds can balance their hobbies with their social lives, often facilitated by befriending birds of a feather. That said, this isn't always the case, and not everyone finds it so easy to be so outgoing. This is where Kou comes in.

Kou is the latest (and given that this is the penultimate episode of the season, probably last) disaster nerd to join the cast of Wotakoi. She's quiet, dresses plainly, shrinks away from other people, has no friends, says sorry too much, and I love her. She brings a different dynamic to Wotakoi's spectrum of nerd experiences—one that's awkward, socially anxious, and all-too-familiar. We don't get into her headspace much, but her appearance and mannerisms tugged at my heart, and I could see a lot of myself (especially my younger self) in the way she acted around people. Just the way she speaks, softly, hesitantly, and with a slight stutter, comes through in a register I know all too well. Props to Aoi Yuuki for capturing Kou's anxiety in a way that comes across as authentic. It's also an easy comparison to make, but she's like an older, less comically exaggerated version of Tomoko from WATAMOTE. Interacting with other people can be really hard, and that's why Naoya is here to save the day! Kind of.

Funny enough, the only reason Naoya goes so far out of his way to pester Kou is that he mistakes her androgynous appearance for a man's. Obviously, Kou is too shy to clear up this misunderstanding, so it will continue into whatever the next episode brings, but this being a romcom, it's safe to say her gender will have to come up at some point. If I'm being honest, it kinda feels like Wotakoi is having its cake and eating it too, since it would have taken an almost nonexistent amount of effort to make Kou a boy instead, and thus Naoya's presumed eventual romance with Kou would actually be queer rather than just appearing to be. It's not necessarily a problem in the context of Wotakoi, but in the grand scheme of all anime, it'd be nice to have more cute nerdy gay couples represented too. Nevertheless, Kou and Naoya are very cute together, and I like how Naoya's motivation to become friends with her felt like a natural extension of his concerns for his similarly introverted brother. He's a good boy! Just not very good at video games.

Bless Naoya's heart though, he really wants to try and get good at video games so he can spend more time with avid gamer Kou. That's where the main cast comes in to help, however futile their effort may be. Naoya at least has the good sense to make his character a werewolf, since he's basically a human puppy in real life. Kou's decked-out cyber warrior character also feels appropriate for her, in the way that it doesn't quite fit with the high fantasy aesthetic of the MMO they all like to play. I'm sad to report that Naoya does not in fact get good at video games by the episode's end, but he does become closer friends with Kou, which is the important part. Naoya's insecurity about his lack of gaming acuity stems from his older brother, who over the years has lost any patience he might have once possessed for his younger brother's folly with a controller. Kou, however, is not Hirotaka, and she's actually fine holding Naoya's hand through the parts that are too tough for him (which is pretty much every part). What's important for Kou is that she genuinely likes spending time with Naoya and vice versa. The MMO environment becomes a safe and comfortable way for the two of them to grow their friendship, especially for the timid and socially anxious Kou. Wotakoi has mostly focused on physical nerd relationships, so I appreciate this acknowledgment of the importance of online friendships as well. Naoya may still be bad at video games, but he wants to play them now because of Kou, and Kou likewise has a new friend who makes her life (and gaming) more enjoyable. This is Wotakoi at its sweetest.

The B-plot of this episode is about Hirotaka breaking his glasses. That's pretty much it. As a nearsighted fellow myself, I empathized easily with his sight-based struggles, although I would have just not gone into work if I didn't have any spare pairs! Of course the conclusion is that Hirotaka can't get any work done without his glasses, so Kabakura forces him to take a break and get new ones. The little Wotakoi-esque twist is that Narumi also can't get any of her work done because she's too worried about her blind boyfriend. There wasn't much to this segment outside of giving Narumi and Hirotaka more opportunities to be insufferably cute together, but sometimes that's enough.

Kou makes for a wonderful addition to the otaku crew, and I'm a little sad we only get one more episode with her. In general, I'm going to be sad to see Wotakoi go. It's been a consistently affable pick-me-up each week. It's not the best-looking show, nor even the most painfully relatable nerd comedy, but it has a good heart and good characters. I'm going to have to pick up the manga too, because I really want to see where Kou's story goes after Wotakoi's done such a good job introducing her character. She's younger than the main crew, but college is another space that anime doesn't explore as often as it should. It's an anxious interval between presumed adulthood and actual adulthood, and people grow and change a lot during that time. Kou's story is just beginning, but her little smile at the end of the episode is a great beginning.

Rating: B+

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku is currently streaming on Amazon.

Steve is a longtime anime fan who can be found making bad posts about anime on his Twitter.