My Love Story With Yamada-kun at LV999

Finally. A shojo manga about what girls really want: gamers. I feel so seen.

My Love Story With Yamada-kun at LV999 (ugh… can anime titles chill the fuck out, please?) was not a show I intended to finish. My whole game plan was to get drunk, watch the first three episodes, then move on to Hell’s Paradise and forget about it. That… didn’t happen. Instead, I watched the whole thing.

And you know what? I don’t regret it. For all it’s issues, I had a damn fun time with this show!

After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Akane plans to attend a gaming event to make him jealous. While she’s there, she runs into Yamada, her rude MMO guild mate who turns out to be a super hot pro gamer! Slice of life and video game shenanigans ensue.

One thing I really love about this show is how it treats MMOs and their communities. It shows you that you can make some truly genuine and good friends through online gaming. And it also shows you that some of those people can be a bit… weird. It’s an honest depiction, but it’s also a wholesome one. As a kid who grew up with the genre, that actually feels really special.

As for the plot itself… it’s okay. Not incredible, by any means. It’s very typical shojo manga romance, if a bit more grounded in reality than something like ‘Fruits Basket’. It’s your standard ‘pretty normal girl falls for a hot, distant, and mysterious guy’ plot. Only the guy is just a gamer who doesn’t know how to talk to girls and doesn’t even seem aware of the fact that he’s gorgeous.

One common criticism I see pointed towards this show is it’s protagonist, Akane. Honestly, I get it. In the first few episodes, she is kind of annoying. And petulant. And repetitive. But after a few episodes, they focus less on… all that, and more on her more wholesome, likable qualities. Plus, seeing what is essentially a normie get sucked into MMOs because of the community is really wholesome to me.

But how is that community? Well, it’s an odd collection of weirdos. Some of them are likable and funny, others are obnoxious temporary antagonists turned friend, and others are just more hot guys because it’s a shojo manga and we need more attractive men in the cast. I don’t hate any of them, but I also don’t really care for them that much either.

Except for Kamota. He needs more screen time.

Visually speaking, this show is a mixed bag. Some shots look a little rough around the edges. And then you’ll get a shot that pops the fuck off for absolutely no reason! Why the hell did the animators go so hard on a shot of a fucking leg and a waitress?!?! I don’t get it!

Some of the shot composition is actually really cool! There are some neat little visuals in this show! Such as in the second episode, when Akane’s hangover memories are returning through the foam of a beer glass as it fills. This show plays a lot with shot composition, editing, and color.

It’s the music that really gets me. For some reason, they went for a low-fi hip-hop vibe for the soundtrack. It’s simultaneously engaging and relaxing. It’s a weird choice, but it works really well!

Except the OP. Kana-Boon has no room for chill. Only bangers.

Overall, this one was pretty fun. It was a decent little romance show with some occasionally really impressive visuals and music. If you want something sweet and simple, and you can get past some rough characterization in the early episodes, you’re in for a great time.

What is it about MMO love anime that really gets me?