Loving Yamada at Lv999!

 Loving Yamada at Lv999! (山田くんとLv999の恋をする) is a 13 episode romantic comedy based on the manga of the same name by Mashiro.  The anime originally aired during the Spring of 2023.

    College student Akane is dumped by her boyfriend, who cheated on her with a girl he met in an MMO called Forest of Savior (FOS).  Akane has been casually playing FOS due to the insistence of her now ex-boyfriend, but suddenly feels an urge to get into it more intensely.  Having little outlet for her frustration and anger she tells the first guild-mate she runs into about her man troubles, much to his disinterest.  She attends a real life event in the area for the MMO, giving herself a makeover beforehand, hoping to run into her ex and his new girl friend, in an attempt to make him regret his choices.  While trying to get his attention she falls and ends up being helped by a hansom but aloof man.  The man is the guild-mate she has previously complained about her problems with, who also exclude a lack of concern in the real world.  Her ex recognizes the man as a famous local gamer named Yamada, Akane quickly claims the two are dating.  Yamada, being as aloof as he is, ends up going along with it and lets Akane drag him to a restaurant where she proceeds to get hammered and complain about her life.

    Akane wakes up with a raging hangover to find herself in Yamada's room.  At first she feared they did something she might regret but he assures her hes not interested, his life almost solely devoted to competitive gaming and finishing high school.  After this initial semi-intimate encounter the two continue to bump into each other to the point they exchange contact information and become involved in each others lives.  Through Yamada, Akane also becomes involved in other guild members in the real world, building friendships and trying to push past the pain and anger of her ex.  One of Yamada's friends and the head of the guild recognizes chemistry between the two and works to encourage it.  Akane, 20 years old, doesn't want to be romantically involved with a minor, but something about Yamada's open honesty...if he is rather emotionless, comforts her.  Yamada doesn't think hes one that love and relationships are suited for, never sharing those feelings himself.  He can't understand why anyone would want that from him nor does he think of anyone that way.  As they spend more and more time they start to notice things underneath that may change their direction.

 

    This cute and someone amusing series sets its self up to revolve around the MMO.  Instead the game works as a background character and the real focus is on these two vastly different personalities navigating each other and a personal world that appears to be rapidly evolving. Yamada's character is however quite unrealistic in his nature and situation.  One thing thats never addressed is why he lives by himself.  Presumably he is able to afford it between his semi pro gamer earnings and some sort of familial support, but why is he in that position at all?  Then there is the problem of his monotone personality and approach to life.  He puts a lot of effort into things but treats everything like none of it matters, diametric concepts.  Akane's character is more believable.  She is rash, lets her emotions guide many of her decisions, but is quite aware of her position and circumstances.  She is trying to live her life the best she can but keeps running into roadblocks.  Growing close to Yamada seems strange to her at first and she struggles with those feelings and her position as a grown woman who needs to think bout a realistic future.

    Aside from the flaws of Yamada's character the motivations of some of the other guild mates are rather unrealistic as well.  For a series that tries to be realistic it devles too much into fantastical tropes and character types to truly pull of a good modern tale of loss and love.  The artwork is pretty good for the series, putting a lot of detail to build the mood of the moment with lighting and exposition.  The characters can be quite expressive even changing animation style from time to time to enhance an emotion.  At times the writing gets cliched but when the story rights its self and focuses on the main characters dialogue and conflicts it becomes enjoyable.  In the end though it was cute and had some shining moments, but gets bogged down by some strange choices in support characters.  The worst part is the unbelievable personality of Yamada himself.

     The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll.