What’s good, guys n’ gals! Although this one is bittersweet we have reached our final review for our Anime REvisited pick; And You Thought There Is Never A Girl Online. When we started this series we kept our expectations to a minimum. This isn’t to say that we assumed that the series would be terrible in any way, but with the amount of anime that we watch that deal with the concept of MMO’s and net game culture, we wanted to reserve our judgment until after the last episode of the series.

For the final episode of this title; Rusian and the rest of Guild Alleycats joined forces with Nekohime’s guild to form the ultimate guild, as they stormed Fort Cantor in order to take it back from the previous guild that had it. Eventually they won but soon they had to defend it against Bats’ guild – who had returned to finish what they started before. Nekohime’s Elite Guard managed to take out most of Bats’ guild, until only the leader of the guild himself was left alive. Sadly 90% of Nekohime’s guild (including Nekohime herself) was defeated by Bats as he approached the throne room where Kyo stood tall. To her this was all about payback as Bats went to work and thought he had defeated her in one shot. Instead she used premium items to keep herself alive long enough for her fused guild to hold Fort Cantor for a week; thus causing Bats to lose.

With their mission accomplished (at least for now) Rusian and the rest of Guild Alleycats celebrated with Nekohime’s guild as they gather together and took a screen cap of their victory. Back in the real world it was time for the school festival as Ako and a few other girls completed their assignment as they were working on a maid café. Ako relapsed for a moment saying that she couldn’t handle the social stress that came with being a maid for the maid café, until Hideki reminded her not to run away from her problems like she usually does. This of course shows that she’s growing and socially maturing, and by the end of the episode (after the end credits) Hideki told Ako that she can have anything she wanted – in the game of course.

Normally she’d be head-over-heels upon hearing that, but what she really wanted to do is kiss him; in real life. Just as their lips were about to touch the other members of Guild Alleycats showed up. Hideki told everyone that Ako can have anything she wanted in the game; insisting that the game and real life were separate, but Ako was the one who wanted a REAL relationship with Hideki, and NOT the one in the game!

Although it’s considered to be an underrated title based on popularity alone, we actually had fun reviewing this series. The overall plot may not be a ‘mind-blower’ right away (considering that it’s focused on the affairs of net-game life and school life), but the concept of the plot was pretty much exactly what we thought it was going to be. Again; whenever we review a series for this segment, we never go into it with high expectations. Instead we review each episode and do a thorough analysis before coming to a final conclusion. One thing that we did like about this series was the growth factor. In the very first episode we see Ako having difficulty distinguishing reality and fantasy from one another, and by the end it’s like she finally figures it out and even gains real friends along the way.

School life can be cruel at times as well as awkward for the socially challenged, but at one point and time many of us were Ako; a social reject who loved nothing more than playing net-games and making online friends, while keeping an invisible wall around her to protect herself from ‘normies’. If you’re gonna jump into an anime title that deals with social anxiety and growth, net games, and real friends, then this title just might be right up your alley! After the first episode it seems like an intervention and a therapy session due to the fact that Ako is addicted to online gaming; which is a real thing in the United States and several other countries. The main character wants to help Ako tell the difference between the game and reality, while the other friends she meets help her with her academic issues to keep her from falling behind in school. The balance between school life and the game is pretty much even, and the fanservice is not overblown nor in your face. (But it’s there.)

Should the series get a second season we’d probably see the relationship between Ako and Hideki mature and one day lead to a real-life marriage down the road. So to wrap it up; this anime title is pretty much what you’d expect to be. There’s school life, dealing with social anxiety, net games, and social maturity. If you’re looking for a title that can give you the elements of what otaku deal with in real life, then you’re gonna wanna check this series out!

That will do it for Anime REvisited, but like we said before, there is more content to come! Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! 😉