AWTY 128 - NEERDS (Wotakoi: Love is Hard for an Otaku)

Hello and welcome to who are weaved there yet? In exploration and education and anime. I'm your anime idiot, patrick dugan.

I am an anime expert, dee hollander.

And I'm Bernie mccullough, your anime otaku. No joke. This week, being very transparent.

This is an all serious episode. We are owning up to just being fucking the worst.

I was going to say weeps, but I guess it's the same thing.

Yeah, we're just going to talk about everything that's wrong with us, all of our character flaws.

Just be very earnest about it.

We're getting into it. This is going to be an eight hour episode, and then I'll let you two talk.

Going down a comprehensive list of all our anime merchandise that we realize we have too much of until it's too late. It's like, ah, I do have a lot of anime shirts, don't I?

That might just be you, pal. I have a lot of anime merchandise.

Yep.

I've only been gifted anime merchandise and mostly from YouTube.

That's number one.

Brendan, you spread it like the plague. It is. Listen, you're the one who bought me the all my body pillow. Granted, it's a keychain body pillow. I do enjoy it, though. He's off my body.

That was just a necessity.

We just need that. Yeah, you gave me the microphone. You're like, let's weave this bitch up.

Not enough, but yeah. Why are we talking about our secret shames?

We made a podcast about.

Well, I can tell you today we're watching Wotakoy Love is Hard for an Otaku. Remember, right in the title?

Remember in like the first mel Giusla game where it's like Audacon, he's named after the Otaku convention because anime is so weird and zanyan. He's pretty state, except for that one time he pissed himself in front of a snake. Like, he's pretty good. It's like comparative to stuff we see these days. It's like, oh, boy. atakis and weaves. Oh, boy.

Yeah, I mean, how we let things slide.

I found out about this show because part of the theme song was a trend on TikTok for a little bit, and I really liked it. So then I looked it up and I was like, this sounds like a fun little romantic comedy. So I thought we could give it a try. We'll see what happens.

We'll see.

Yeah, we needed a mellower show after a couple big bad fighting ones.

I don't know. We're talking about kanti Collection was very mellow.

Yeah, but in the what is actually.

Happening near that mellow, the show wasn't mellow. We were because we just zoned out immediately.

My eyes went two different directions while.

I was watching that same but that's because I believe it always knows that.

Oh, no.

But yeah, I don't know anything about this show. Brendan, have you heard about this?

Yes. I figured we would be watching it eventually, so I held it off. It came out, I think, a few years back, 2018. Okay, yeah, it's a new ish, but not like this season. And yeah, I mostly heard about it because people were talking about it online, going, It's Nanomee with romance about adults. And that was the biggest selling point. I really knew much else besides they wrote taku's falling in love as adult. And like, that's all we want. That's all we need. I'll probably get to this eventually. And then we started the podcast. I was like, we'll get there.

Yeah, adults.

I'm in Otaku. I don't have to have shame about all these figures of high school girls.

Making it clear on the record I don't have figurines. I will not cross that line, because it's all downhill from there. I know how bad I'll get.

Adults hoping for romantic comedy anime about adults are very similar to the people who fish for gay representation in anime and just put any gay representation of anime just on a pedestal, even if it's not good, it's a similar feeling.

It's like you're hoping for a unicorn, but you find a donkey. It's like, Isn't it beautiful? It's like, no, but it's real.

I'll take you.

But the only other thing is a donkey that dies at the end, violently. So I'm going to take this alive.

Donkey, or a donkey that you think it's a donkey the whole time. And at the very last episode, it's separated and it's just too mad, going, hey, I think you're great, but let me introduce you to my sister. It's like, I don't want to meet your sister. I want you, donkey. Look at you. Fire emblem. Three houses. Anyway, I've heard good things about this, so I'm looking forward to actually digging into this.

Yeah.

But, yeah, we're going to watch the first three episodes. Let's Otaku powers activate.

No shape of a body pillow.

Oh, my God. Nerd. Is that up?

I had to get out of my system real quick.

I've had that stock photo image of a bully pushing a nerd into a locker sent to me three times in the last week.

Wow.

From different people.

Says so much.

Yeah.

You're seen in this moment, no one.

Hates nerves more than other nerves. Like, how dare you out nerd me, you fucking dork. Let me show you in those locker.

Yeah, I know how to be reasonable about it. You don't.

You took it too far.

Stop being so loud.

You know the voice actor's birthday? That's crossing a line.

And you celebrate it.

You sent them cakes to why? Actually, no, jack. Anyway.

Brian is actually one of my very good friends. Anyway, so in episode one, we start off with a cute girl sleeping in a bed. There's moving boxes all around as to imply that she's just moved.

Transfers in.

Yeah. And she's a redhead, which I love. And she gets up, it's time to get ready for work, and she's like, wow, I woke up before my alarm. What a beautiful day. And then she looks at her phone, and she's like, I slept through all four of my alarm.

As soon as she woke up, I'm like, what a beautiful day. I was like, she messed the alarm immediately.

So she runs out the door. She gets ready, runs out the door. It's her first day at a new company. She says she's had a lot of bad luck nowadays, and she hopes that no one at the new office finds out her secret. ooh, what could it be?

My Wonder. gee, maybe it's not the title.

She makes it on the train just in time, and she's back on schedule. She won't be late for work, and she sees an ad for an anime movie, and she's like, oh, my God, she looks so cute today. Then we get the opening, which, again, is what made me look into the anime. And I just think it's neat.

Really neat.

I like the part with the little dance. I know, the little dance.

Okay, that was the part on TikTok.

Yeah, got you. Because it's easy. It's a simple little thing.

It's like, from the perspective of the phone.

Yeah. So she gets there. She's at the office. We find out her name is Narumi. And then a pretty coworker comes in. Her name is Hanukko, and she's there to help her out if she needs anything. And she shows naomi to her desk, and she's like, wow, she is so professional. So beautiful. Big titties. She's perfect.

What more could he ask for?

And then Hanukko tells Narumi that they're a good company. Like, everybody gets along, and we're just a family. It's just kidding. She doesn't say that, but she does say that it's, like, a good place to work. And she's like, well, but changing jobs at this time of year is weird. Like, did something happen at your old company? And Narumi is like, oh, no, it's just complicated.

Yeah, talk about it.

And then they passed two guys in the hallway, and Narumi seems to recognize one of them. He's got blue hair and glasses. ida, guess what?

That's all I need. I don't even need that much.

Write down his real name.

I did, but I will not get it. Right?

Yeah, his name is hirotaka. So they know each other from middle school, and she tries to act normal, and she's like, hey, would you want to go out for dinner later so we can catch up? But her ulterior motive is to make sure that he doesn't tell everybody that she's in Otaku because he knows. And so as they're walking away from each other, she thinks she's in the clear. And then he turns around, and he's like, oh, hey, are you going to Summer Comicat this year? And she's just like, Because Summer Comic Cat is a convention, big nerdy anime convention in Japan. So now it's dinnertime, and they go to a bar. They're both playing video games at the restaurant. Just on their little switch. Not switch devices.

I don't know if they were even trying to avoid it because we see, like, weaver most later. You didn't even try to change that design. So I think they just lean into them. We'll pay the fees for any copyright infringement.

So she tells him that if her secret gets out at the office, then she'll tell everyone that he's in Otaku too. And he's like, I don't care.

It's fine. I'm an adult. I don't care what people think about what?

I like, yeah, I have interests. It's fine.

I play my video games on my lunch break at my desk.

Everybody knows. And he's like, so do you have a boyfriend? And she's like, no. The last one that I met at my old company started avoiding me once he found out that I was an Otaku. So that didn't go well. Fucking Joe. And that's pretty much why she quit. It just made her too upset. So the next time she gets a boyfriend, she's like, I'm just going to completely hide my otta side.

You'll never know what a perfect sharing.

Everything with you potential life partner except the things I actually care about. This is going to be a good relationship.

Don't look in the box. What's in the box?

Figurines.

So he's like, maybe you should get a boyfriend that understands you better. And she's like, no, because then that would mean that I have to date no taku. And I super don't want to do.

That every Otaku I've ever met.

Yeah, I mean, it's fair when you're like, I see the lack of standards a lot of other people have for themselves. And I'm like, oh, no, thank you.

I've been to a comic convention. I smelled a con. I don't want any of that in my life.

Like, the men who are into this tend to be not great.

Thank you.

Valid?

You're welcome. Just kidding, brendan, you're great. So he's like, you know, I'm fine with just, like, dating in games. I don't need a relationship. And then she like, reaches up and pulls his glasses up and he's like, what? And then she puts them back down and she's like, you're not my type. So they'll just be good friends, right?

Yeah.

You're not a boy kissing another boy. I'm not into you.

You don't have those big Yowy hands.

Yeah, she's in Otaku and she says she's a Fujioshi, which is a girl who's into yowie.

I kind of get where she's coming from because he's playing Monster Hunter on the switch and he's a Bow user, which is disgusting.

All right, I'm really trying to not just shout nerd every second in this episode challenge. Yeah, that was the first one. That was like, restrain it. Okay.

Sorry.

What? The actual tally is like strikes. Like in the one piece episode. I only got a certain limit of this. Yeah.

I'm like my inner bully is trying to rise up. I can't let it.

My hands are bawling into fists. where'd that trash can come from, I don't know.

You got to be careful. He lives right down the street now, actually. Kick my ass.

I can be there in three minutes flat.

So now Rumi says that hanukkah knew what comicat was when he mentioned it, so she might be one of them. And then the other guy that eda was with, she's like, what's his deal? And he's like, oh, he's got a girlfriend. So she's off to work again. And hanukkah is showing her how to use the copier. She freaks out because she can't stop it from copying. And then the other guy from the hallway, Kapakura, he's talking to ida. And he's like, I'm so jealous that you have a cute childhood friend. That's so cool. So eda takes his game out, and he's going to play. And then Kapakura is like, what are you doing? Don't you have work to do? And then eda points to the clock, and he's like, it's twelve three. I'm on my lunch break. Thank you. Go away.

You're lucky I lasted three minutes into this conversation.

You're lucky I gave you any attention.

I got double joe's to hunt. I got to get that jam to get the full armor set, and it's a bitch. So I got to grind as much as possible. Sorry. matron is fun.

So Narrumi is off to go to lunch, too. She peeks around the corner and sees hanukkah sitting at a lunch table. And she wants to get to know her. She's like, based on her reaction about comey cat, like, she might also be in Otaku. I should make friends. But if she isn't in Otaku, then that makes me look really bad. Oh, whatever. So she goes up to her, and hanukkah is looking at her phone, and she sees that she's looking at a picture of a popular cosplayer. It's a woman who cosplays men. So she's like, really handsome when she's in cosplay. And Narumi is like, oh, I love that cosplayer. So they talk about it a little bit when hanukkah realizes that she's looking over her shoulder. And hanukkah is like, wait, were you at this event the year before? Do you write dojinci? Are you this person? And Narimi is like, are you that cos player? And she's like, I am. And then they're like, fans of each other. So they start talking. It's really sweet.

I like, how into it. hanukkah is like, oh, it's you. Like, I'm this person. And the roomy is like, I've been exposed, and I feel vulnerable and disgusted. She's so like, cool. Yeah. Oh my God, we met before. It's so positive and already into it.

So two weeks go by. Now Rumi talks to kabakura apologizing for making too many copies of a thing. And he's like, hey, be more careful next time. She's so cute. And he goes to check on some work that eda did for him. And then eda fixes a problem and goes for a cigarette. And kabakura is like, he's so unfriendly sometimes. And while he's smoking, he's reminiscing about the old days with Narumi. And he gets a text from her asking to go for a drink again. And she wants to ask him something, so he agrees. And I love that he doesn't smile. He's one of those characters that doesn't smile. But he uses cute emoticons in his text messages.

Yeah, like the ascii emojis. So it's not just the smiley face, it's like the whole text face.

Yeah. So it's 06:00 P.m.. It's time for them to go. But Narumi is still working because she got distracted earlier and she's super slow at typing when someone is watching. So she's still working. More time passes and she finishes. And he waited for her. He's just playing a game and then he's in the middle of a fight, so now she has to wait for him. So they go to the bar again and the bartender assumes that they're a couple. And eda is like, oh, no, she's not my girlfriend. And the roomie is just having a laugh, cracking up at the prospect because they're not interested in each other, right?

Not at all.

Not at all. So she's talking about her shitty exes and she gets sad. She's like, why do I always make bad choices with men? How come I always attract shitty men? And he's like, listen, we're cool, but also, if this is what you just wanted to complain about, I'm going to go. And she's like, no, I have something else that I wanted to ask you. And she needs help in a video game. Yeah, she's trying to get a ruby, and he's explaining that she's just got to keep grinding because it's got a low drop rate. So after presumably hours of playing, they're on their way home. And she's like, I'm so glad I have you to help me with this stuff. And then he's like, hey, we should go out, right? We should go out. And he's like, if we were together, I could help you with video games all you want, and I can wait for you when you work late. And I don't ever want to make you upset like the other guys have. So I'd like to go out with you. And then she shakes his hand and she's like, sure. Yeah.

That's a nerd thing to be like. This is why it's strategically advantageous for us to be dating.

Let's mid Max our relationship. I like how he gives her a few options. I wouldn't judge you. I'm going to talk to Too. She's like, I don't know. it'd be very awkward. And he's like, and I can help you at the conventions as your assistant. She's like, don't they shake hands like a business arrangement?

Yeah, but that's the end of episode one.

God. Dating in the first episode.

Crazy.

What a wild show that says, yeah.

We'Ll talk about it. But in the beginning of episode two, I was starting to get nervous. But they squashed that real fast.

Yeah. So we start off with episode two. We see god, I don't know why I wrote their last names down for all my notes. I'm going to forget them. Anyway, eda wakes up. We see him walk out of his bedroom, flops down on the couch, starts playing Monster Hunter sometime. Passes, and he starts doing his morning routine and he gets on the bus. So I don't know. I guess we just see a little peek in his life and it's just games all the time and then anything else when he needs to be bothered to do it. And then when we get to work, we see more girl narumi narumi, narumi talking to Hannah the whole time. hanukkah. She's talking to hanukkah and tells hanukkah about it. Oh, about them dating? That's right. So she's like, yeah, we're like, dating now. And we'll see how that goes. And Kavakura, I want to say kurabara so bad. Like weird anime dyslexia where I'm just thinking about Weird timbos from other shows. Kavakura ask you about it. He's like, oh, so you guys are dating? Yeah, we figured we got a lot in common. We got history. Like the other skills. He was like, oh. And they look over and see the women there and the room. He ducks down below her cubicle at her desk. He's like, oh, you guys get into a fight? No, not that I think of. I don't know why she's more shy than usual around me. And we see her, like, peeking up, like, trying not to make eye contact. But they're staring at her. There's nowhere else to look. And hanukkah says, like, hey, I mean, if you're dating now, you should probably be able to look at each other. That's kind of a requirement in a relationship.

Yeah.

I don't know. It just feels awkward now. It's like, well, you're dating. Imagine how he must feel knowing that once you start dating, you feel worse around him.

You are ashamed to even look at each other.

Yeah, so it's like, you probably got to get over the hurdle. She's like, I don't know. It's like, no, you did. I am telling you, this isn't an option. Yeah, this isn't a debate. This needs to happen. Kavakur tells him. He's like, I go over there and talk to her. He's like, I don't know. That would be like an active time event where I'm building up my relationship stat with her. Like spending time. He's like, first off, stop referring to everything as a dating stick. That's not how this works. He's like, you just got to go over there and talk to her. You're dating out. You're going to need to do this. So they get up and walk over, and hanukkah tells her to stop wasting her good fortune. She lists all the stuff I eat. It's like, he's tall, he's in good shape. He's into the same stuff you are. He's just not like he's got a very calm personality, so he doesn't, like, fly up and or anything. He's got a lot of patience. He's hot. That's primary allstate. She's really into Ed, but she's just, like, listing off all the top qualities, like, Why? He's great. And she's like, I'm kind of jealous, honestly. He seems like a great guy, and the roomy is like, yeah, he's good, but I don't know. He's not really my type. I'm more into Kabukora type of guys. And right as she says that, both of the guys walk over and it's like, oh, lovely. Thank you. What perfect timing. We see, like, a little rpg menu pop up, like, different options of, like, fight, like, defend, use, item, run away. It's just, like, scrolling through the options. She's like, Run away, and we see eda shut the door with his foot, being like, no, that's not an option anymore. She's sort of panicking, like, going through the menu. I'm like, what do I do? And that's why hanukkah steps in, kind defending her, like, hey, she's nervous. She's starting a new job. She's in a new place, meeting new people, and she stuck her foot in her mouth. Let me just talk to her for a bit. And Kavakor steps like, no, she's got to own up to it. Like, they got to work this out. This is their relationship. No interfering with other people's stuff like you always do. hanukkah is like, I always do. And it just they go at each other, like, right there, and it's just like, ah, the tension. So you see them, like, bickering back and forth, and then while they're bickering back and forth, the roomies tries to sneak away. And then we get, like, a little quick aside being, like, on the two others being, like, odd. They used to be volleyball captains in high school, like, for the men's women's volleyball team, and they used to fight over, like, the small gym area to practice in all the time. So they got a weird rivalry between them.

A rare type of Otaku who also.

Does sports, who's good at sports. I've never met one, but I'm sure they exist somewhere.

It's nice that we can start talking about sports fandom as being a fandom and being like, yeah, in America, it's just socially acceptable to just rattle off stats and stuff, but if I do it about a video game, I'm a weirdo. So it's like, yeah, we can finally acknowledge, oh, it's just a different flavor of fandom, but you're equally fucking obnoxious.

We all go to the sports stadium, dress up in cosplay, wearing the team makeup of our colors, and we scream at each other.

We cry furiously when things don't go our way. That is a very nerd thing to do.

We know a lot of information about random, attractive strangers that we know that we've never encountered with at all.

Our fandom was always better when we were young.

Oh, no, listen, card capture is still good. I won't argue. While they're picking back and forth, rumi is just trying to sneak out and going to the elevator. We start smashing the button, and we see ida comes up behind her and apologizes, being like, hey, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much space you needed. Sorry if I didn't give that to you properly. It was easier when we were just friends instead of dating. And he's like, Maybe it was too soon. Maybe I shouldn't have said I liked you so early. And then we got to go, quickest time. Like, he didn't say I like you and the room, he says, like, he didn't say I liked you. And then the writer is like, check back to the previous episode if you want to confirm that. He definitely didn't say that.

It's purely transactional.

Yeah, so it's kind of the first time of him admitting, like, I like him.

That didn't help.

Yeah. So right as the elevator opens up and then the room, he turns around and hugs him and says, don't say that you regret telling me how you feel. Like I'm sorry. Like, they said, we're kind of rushing it, not rushing into it, per se, but it's all happening at once. So it's just coping with a lot of stuff at once and getting used to things while I'm getting used to other stuff. So I'll try to be better, communicating better, being clear, but don't say that you regret telling me how you feel. She hugs him, and he's taller than her, so her head's buried in his chest. And right when she says, he just slams his hands up onto his face underneath his glasses because now he's embarrassed and doesn't know how to cope with his feelings. And I was like, yes, my favorite trope. Two idiots in love. There's not a miscommunication of planning behind each other's back. And he said, she said, and I'm jealousy spending time with us. They're just idiots. They just don't know how to express feelings. And then we see the sports Utah is running by in the hallway, yelling at each other, and ida basically says, he's like, yeah, that's exactly what that looks like. So kind of even without, like, addressing it, they're like, yeah, what you're assuming is probably what's happening, right, with these two going back and forth at each other so passionately. So then after work, he says he wasn't mad, but he was scared that she didn't like him anymore once they actually started dating. And she says, like, you know what? Let's cheer ourselves up. Let's go to the arcade. So I'm forgetting, but we get, like, a pitiful. I put him down as the Sunday array because he says, let's go to the arcade. He's like, Why are you making that dumb face, and he'll say stuff like that, where he's like, you're doing a dumb thing, and I don't like it or something. Not necessarily.

I love you so much.

Yeah, not necessarily being, like, mean, but he's just so point blank because he doesn't have the greatest social skills. So I'm like, I think this is ascendary as we get. I'm like, that's enough for me. And then we go back in. What back in? The Murray and hanar discussing which character? I guess back in the office, they're discussing what character, I guess, in a show they think is cutest. And the Murray is like, something like that something. She's like, the heroin is the cutest, and hana is like, no, the side character is the cutest. So they're just otakoing out with each other now that it's out in the open, and the roomies like, oh, I got to do ot because I messed up earlier. And Kavakura says he's like, all right, let's go out to drinks afterwards. Like, when you're done. I'll treat everyone to drinks. After me and Hannah started yelling at each other and made things awkward. The other day, I was like, God, we are adults taking responsibility for how they portray themselves in public.

What crazy.

I'm not used to this in anime. And Narumi says, like, she's like, oh, you guys go to the bar. I'll catch up. I want to go to the bookstore after work to get something, so I'll just catch up with you guys after. Well, I haven't been to the bookstore in a while. I'll go with you. And they're like, yeah, you know what? screw out. Everyone go to the books. So we're all good together. We'll just go to the bar afterwards. And on the way there, eda reveals that he can't wink. He's like, I don't even know how this came off there. I can wink. But it's with both eyes at the same time. He's just blinking.

They were just walking silently, and he was just like, I can't wink. It was just something he wanted to share about himself with his new girlfriend.

Just trying to know his turn. So he just blinks. And hannah's like, that's really cute. And copycore was like, what? No, that's just blink. Everyone does that. What? He's stupid, and it's not cute. He's stupid. He's an idiot. And the room, he's like, nah, winkingsy. So he sees she, like, winks and does the fingers up and poses like, Ha. Come on. Give it a try. And he's like, starting, like, I can't my eyes. It's so hard for him. And when they eventually get to the bookstore, capacore is, like, called off guard. He's like, oh, this isn't a bookstore. This is that kind of bookstore busy thing. It's not like a Borders or barbs and nobles or any other bookstore that's out of business now because of Amazon. It's more of a niche hobbyist otaku bookstore. It's full of mango. Yeah, all that stuff.

And he's like, Nerds, that one snuck out.

Compose yourself. So they go inside, and Kabagor says, no roomy is into this stuff. And Hannah says, not as much as you are into it, or she's into it more than he is. Kind of hinting, like, don't act like you don't love this place. Don't act like we dragged you here. And when she's saying that, I noticed that hana is holding a copy of Ancient magus Bride saying she might have to buy this. And now she is top to your wife, who. Thank you, Hannah. Good taste. And then we see roomy steals. hana. They're like, oh, we're going to browse a bit. We're going to go to the women's section and just browse a bit. Like, you guys entertain yourself. We'll meet up front in, like, 30 minutes and then go to the bar. And they're like, Wait, what are we? And then the girls are already gone.

Shit.

So it's EDA, and Capacore is looking through stuff, and EDA is, like, behind him, like, every step of the way, real close. He's like, God, why are you little space man? You're real up close. And he's like, oh, I buy all my manga digitally, so I don't usually come here. And when I do it with narumi, so I just fall behind her, just watch whatever she's looking at. He's like, God, she must love that. That must be great, stalking her. So while they're walking around, EDA picks up, like, a little magical girl looking series. He's like, hey, kava core, aren't you into this? He's like, yeah, I love it. But he looks disgusted and, like, hates me.

I do.

I love it. I love this show.

Make me say it out.

And he's like, Why do you say it like that? He's like, I'm still in my work clothes. He basically says, I like, separating my hobbies from work. I like coming here, my casual clothes. And he's like, don't you come here with hana all the time? No, we come separately because I like browsing and looking at my own stuff and taking my time. She likes running in and getting stuff done, and she knows exactly what she wants. So just different. Same hobbies, but different. Skip down my notes a little. Yeah. Meanwhile, over in the women's section, we just see narumi and hana just looking at that yowie. Just those big yowie hands getting rid of camera kind of pants. zooms out a little bit. We see a bunch of other women there, all talking with their friends and talking about all the specifics. And the roomy saying she's so happy. Finally have a friend she can deep dive with the stuff about. And they have the same Utah and as they're wrong, by the way. Oh, let's look by the magazine section real quick. And hana picks out a Cosplay magazine, and she's like, oh, I already know all I need in this. Why don't you check this one out, though. it'd be kind of neat to look at the picture and article. She's like, yeah. And the different tips of how to cosplay. We're different sizes, so we can do the big and tall cosplays really well paired nicely. And the room is like, oh, cosplay takes a lot of courage to be out in public. I don't know about that. And hannah's like, no, you can do this. We all look great together. Like, really just pushing her into it.

I relate to this.

I was like, I know a few people like this.

The people I cosplay with, Matt and joss, they're the same height. We're all the same height. So it's like when joss and I cosplay hades and persephone, it's always like, this is weird. But also, we look great.

Need someone with the lifts, those elevator shoes, get that height, put joce on.

Some stilts force perspective stuff like the hobbit.

Just stand really far away from the camera so I look smaller. And then we see EDA gets ready to go. He's like, Guys, you already will head to the bar. And all of them have bags, being like, well, we bought a lot more than we thought, and we kind of want to go home, so we'll catch you later. We see them all running home to their own apartments, just wanting to read all the manga they bought, like, right then and there. And edith is the only one that didn't say. He's like, all right, just go play my games. Can't do that anyway. And I think he says, like, this is a problem, being friends with, like, Otakis. They all get so into their hobbies. It's all they want to do. Yeah, you're right. And then we see a little post credit scene, and we see everyone's exhausted the next day at work because they all stayed up too late raiding their own mango. So we see. Hansey's capacora. And yeah, he's probably pretty tired too. You know what? He's probably not paying attention. He's not ready for. I'll give him a little glamorous shot to keep him on his toes to startle a bit, and she looks at him and winks and gives, like, a pose, like, really modelesque shot to startle him. And then he just gives, like, a smirk and, like, a wink back and catches her rock guard. And she's like, all flustered. I'm like, fuck, I wasn't prepared for that. And she's like, really flustered. And then we see Tabukura walking away, like, I guess Honda is feeling better. I bet she finally pooped. Oh, my God, what a weird. Like, why is that the first place.

That'S a real couple shit.

And as he's thinking that, he's going into the bathroom and he sees EDA in the bathroom trying to wink, and he's, like, really struggling. And that's episode two.

So, yeah, we start out episode three. We see narumi and EDA at lunch, and EDA is asking how her draft is going, and she's stressing and freaking out because it's almost con time, and she has a yowie zine to write.

Two weeks till the con, and she's got a rough draft. It's like, not good.

So we see them at the con. eda's waiting out front, and narumi shows up all dress cute because she's tabling. She has to sell her products, so she's all drift up. So they go to the table. We see just, like, a montage of narumi interacting with all the people who come up. And they're all like, oh, we love your work. Oh, you're so cute. This is great. And we see edith's getting a little jealous both of the attention that narumi is getting and also the reaction that she's giving the fans of, like, oh, I so appreciate you being around and showing that you love me.

So easy to show emotions.

So he's like, okay, I got to take a lap, and goes walking and sees Kabakura. He and hana are also there. So hana steals narumi, and they go do some Cosplay photo shoot stuff, and.

The scream, like, he bumps into Kavakur, and we see hana walk by in the background in cosplay already, so you don't recognize her. And then so we see her walk away, and we hear her meet up with Nirumi.

Oh, yeah.

Greet narumi does when she for the first time. I'm like, I've heard that scream so many times. icons.

This made me misgoing the cons.

Yeah, that's going to be so weird when it finally happens in 2035 when it's safe.

I don't know how it's going to happen.

Who knows?

Anyway, not depressing stuff. So the boys are watching the photo shoot and seeing all the fans just, like, freaking out over hana's, Cosplay, and edith's like, hey, so do you get jealous of the attention that she's getting? And he's like, oh, yeah, of course. That's why I don't pay attention. He's just staring at his phone screen like, no, not engaging. Not going to get mad. It's fine. I know it's an internal problem. I'm not going to put it on her.

Yeah, I'm an adult. This is how we deal with our problems.

Emotional stoicism heals everything. So they're back at the table. harumi starts freaking out because she thinks she's going to miss her favorite artist, who's on the other side of the con. And EDA is like, no, I can cover the table for a minute. You can go check it out. So she excitedly tries to run over there as fast as possible and trying to break through the crowd, she hears two girls walking the other direction saying, oh, I heard there's this tall, handsome boy selling, yowey, we got to get over there and check it out. So she's like, oh, fuck. I set him up to be so humiliated. I need to do this as fast as possible, and just tries to sprint back.

That's my tall, handsome boy selling my yowie.

Hey, don't talk about how hot my boyfriend is.

I don't even acknowledge that with him.

We're not there yet.

I said he was average a week ago.

We're not to the level of perceiving each other. So she runs back and is like, I'm so sorry. It was probably so awkward for you. And he was like, I kind of loved it, and just loves the attention because he has that distance of, like, yeah, I don't give a shit. It's fine. It's not my stuff, so whatever. But also mentions that a guy, like, grabs his hands and is, like, doing anything for you, and she's like, his first con harassment. What a sweet summer child.

Yeah. He says, like, this is what this guy is doing. Interesting. He has no real reaction to the guy doing it. It's like, I've heard about this so often.

He's like, this is a good anthropological study.

Yeah, exactly. Text hana kavakura about it.

But, yeah, so they wrap up the day and they leave, and they're already prepping for, like, next week's con. So the cycle continues.

Where do you want to go to relax next weekend? There is no relaxing.

What season you have a break in? December. And that's it. So, yeah, next segment, they're at lunch trying to make plans for what they want to do later, and it is like, hey, how about you come to my place tonight? And she's like, okay. So it begins. What underwear am I wearing? I don't know. Okay, but that's what I'm prepping for. So they're on the bus heading back and just casually chatting, like, oh, yeah, I know we were friends in high school, but I can't honestly remember how he met anyways, and sort of just leaves it at that. So they get back to his place, and it's very awkward. So she's like, what do I say? I'm in his house for the first time. Let me try to smell your house. You know how everyone's house has, like, a distinct smell? And he's like, I've never had friends, so I've never been to anyone's house. And she's like, fuck, I'm fucking this up so bad.

Oh, no.

And he's self conscious about whether it smells like cigarettes. He's like, I don't smoke inside that much, do I?

Yeah, because it is a natural thing of, like, oh, some people have, like, different detergent smells or things like that. But he just immediately goes to, oh, it fucking smells bad. And here shit.

Yeah.

Fun fact if you are a smoker of cigarettes and you do smoke inside, it will smell that. I say that as someone who lives in an apartment that previously had a smoker, and after four plus years it still stinks of smoke. That shit don't come out.

No, but yeah. So they're settling in. Both so nervous. EDA EDA seems to go in for the kiss.

So fast.

She's like, this is my time to ascend to heaven. Because I'm dead now, beige or don't fail me now. But but he just reaches past her and grabs the we controllers. It's like Mario cart time. She's like, oh, thank God.

I like she says out loud. She's like, maybe we should do this another day when they're pink. Yeah, but I'm wearing cute underwear.

He's like, oh, I don't have a pink controller. He's like, yes, that's what I meant.

So they just start playing some Mario kart. And I love when anime is like, yeah, no, we're just blatantly saying, this is the actual thing. We're showing monster hunter. We're playing Mario kart. We tried to sue as Nintendo.

We're not playing Mario bart.

Yeah, so they keep playing, but oh, there's a knock at the door. Friends are here. Kabakura and hana come in because surprise, this was a sleepover, not a sexy, romantic time.

But I love it.

Didn't tell her. So yeah, adult sleepover, but the actual fun kind that you want to have just reminds me of high school.

Not like a weird swinger's party. Yes.

Mario kart. And then fucking.

Honestly, if I know the show wouldn't go in this direction ever, but if they did end up being like a poly thing, the four of them, I'd be for it. I love it.

Yeah, they all have the exact charisma to make one functioning.

Yeah, it definitely get that feel from the opening of like, here are the four main characters. They're all in love with each other.

Made just by association. They're all in love.

I think before hana kamakura come over, EDA makes her martial, like, do you want to take a shower now or later? She's like, what? He's like, oh, yeah, we also got beer. And I was like, here's a beer, you sweaty mess.

Yeah. I was like, Is he so out of touch that he's like, yeah, shower beer. That's the first thing you offer him that enters your house.

Hey, listen, some dude was like, hey, here's a shower beer. Get in there, champion. Like, fuck, yeah.

Okay, sure.

I assume there's a camera in here somewhere, but you offered me a beer, so that's the price, I think.

Yeah, this is the price of a mission.

But yeah. So they're hanging out and EDA mentions to narumi, like, yeah, so this is the most people I've ever played video games with. And I'm actually having a fun time. And he smiles. It never happens, but it finally happens from friendship.

Yay.

The roomy makes a remark of like, I thought we were going to have a romantic date together. And he invites her friends over her, and she kind of shuts that shit down. Like, what is he thinking? And he's like, I've never had this many friends over. She's like, I'm sorry. I doubt it to you. I apologize. She's like, yeah. She like, feels bad for thinking he was, like, shitty or had bad attention.

So, yeah, the flash forward we see Kabakura just gets out of the shower, and he is like, okay, I'm up next. I worked all day. I'm gross sweaty. Let me take a shower real quick. And hana is like, okay, so while you're in there, I'm looking for your porn stash in your bedroom. Okay, bye.

But he kind of gives her, like, a thumbs up, like, good luck challenge.

You go ahead.

Yeah, she's trying to set up the embarrassment of like, no, don't look. And he's like, fuck it. I dare you.

I dare you.

You want to know that much about me? Go for it.

He goes in the shower, and then the girls are like, okay, we're going in. And Kabakur is like, don't feel super comfy with that. I'm going to sit this one out for now. But then they start going into specifics of like, okay, check his winter clothes. Okay, check his off season things. Check all these boxes. And getting so specific, kavakura is like, Wait, have you searched in my room too?

Have you done this to me? Yeah, like, when the Roommy asked, like, Kavakura, you want to go look for his porn stash? Stash? And it's like, a qc, like, filter, and she's got, like, big eyes and, like, holding her hands. Like it's a really cutie shot of, like, let's go look for our friend's porn. What a shot.

But, yeah. So he joins and what's that peeking out of his shirt? narumi sees he he's wearing a couple's necklace. And what's that in the background? Hannah also wearing a couple's neck goods.

Cute shit.

But less cute shit is narumi sees all the big titty figures that he has and is like, I.

Don'T have big titties.

That's not me. How can he love me when I'm not a big titty anime protagonist? I'm just the regular just a regular anime protagonist. So keep digging through it. No one can find any porn, but she happens to find a box that has the old card game that they used to play when they were in middle school together.

Straight up, yuki. Yes.

So she's going down memory lane, and Ed is out of the shower and comes back in. So they reminisce, and they're like, oh, yeah, all these pencils and stuff too. And he's like, yeah, we met because I traded you a character pencil, and I still have that pencil, so I definitely remember. So she, of course, is like, fuck, I fucked up. Saying it was just, like, a throwaway friendship moment that I forgot earlier because it apparently meant something specific and significant to him. So she's like, I'm sorry. You are welcome to punch me in the face because I'm a dipshit.

And he says, okay.

Yes.

All right.

Close your eyes. So she's like, okay, maybe not full strength, but he goes in and gives her a kiss.

Punches her in her.

Face with his lips, and she returns a favor by headbutting him because she was startled and thrown off.

Not prepared for that.

Yeah, and then there's a weird moment of like, oh, yeah, I'm a man. You should be expecting that. I have urges. And it's like, okay, weird. And then she's like, But I'm not a big titty figurine, so you probably don't like me. It's like, okay, no, this was cute for a second, but then we turned into insecurities about stuff and just weird things. I don't know, it felt weird. Well, then they go back out into the living room and Ha fell asleep on Kabukor's should they're holding hands.

There was something about seeing them like hold hands that was really like the interlaced fingers. I loved it.

So cute.

Innocent and genuine versus the two people yelling in episode two at each other.

Yeah, but yeah, so we see post credits, eden nurumi having lunch, and he's like, hey, don't worry, I got you a pink one. And she's like, what? And he pulls out a pink week controller and she's like, oh, okay, cool.

Rad, so you didn't buy me new underwear. Got it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

But also, Kavakura is at his desk and he opens a drawer and just sees porn. He's like, Where did this stash come from? So EDA hides his porn and Kavakura's desk at work. Perfect. Class act.

I mean, they would never expect him to be there.

That's why he was so secure. He's like, he'll never find it. It's not in this building.

You know when you got someone coming over that night? You clean up the park, you take the trash out, put a little candle out to get the sense smelling nice. You hide your porn at your friend's desk at work.

Standard usual three.

Might have some porn in your desk. I left when we worked.

Oh, no, it's been on that county for for so long at this point.

That's someone else's problem.

Someone else's porn now.

But yeah, that's where we're at.

Yeah, so that's that. How are we feeling about it?

Are we there yet?

Yeah, it was fine. Not the greatest, like, wrote romcom we've seen.

Yeah.

But yeah, it's cute. It's nice that they're adults. They still have the emotional availability of high schoolers, so it still works. But, yeah, it was pleasant, but it was fine. In terms of speaking to me personally.

Well, you hate weebs. You hate Otakis.

Yeah. I was watching this and I was like, why is no one stuffing these nerds into locker?

That's, like, exactly how I felt about it. When it was done, I was like, that was all right. I enjoyed the cute moments, and I laughed a couple of times when he was trying to blink and wink and whatever, but for the most part, I was like, I wish it was funnier. Like, I feel like my love story is funnier in a way.

Yeah.

And it's, like, more engaging, whereas this is kind of just really like there was one moment. I think it was a part where they were in the bookstore, the music playing in the background was, like, really high energy. And the way that Kabakura was talking just did not match the music. And there was, like, a weird dissonance. And I was like, this feels weird.

Yeah, like, self serious isn't the word I want to use. But when they are in their own stuff, they're like, yes, I'm in otaku when there are so many opportunities to be like, look at these fucking nerds. They're just like, yep, I am a nerd. It's like, okay, so you didn't go with the interesting, fun choice. You just went like, yes, we are talking about nerds in this show. That is the subject matter, very matter.

Instead of having fun with it, I think with my love story. Because forgetting his name, the main character's name.

Takio.

Takyo. Because he is a gorilla man, because he's so, like he's got such a big yeah, he's huge. I think in episode five, he jumps through a burning building and saves everyone and jumps out of it. It's so ridiculous. And he stops like a steel girder falling from a construction site. It's inherently ridiculous just by the character design of him. Whereas everyone in the show is like, yes, they're standard anime characters. There's nothing outlandishly, ridiculous or hilarious about any of these characters. Which isn't necessarily a problem. But it is. Yeah. Just kind of matter of fact. Yeah, they're nerds. Nursing has a lot of fun overreaction stuff. Like, she's got a lot of those fun facial expressions and stuff. But, yeah, for most of our, it's tough to really sell. And it's like, yes, here's one of our main protagonists. He has no emotions. He's deadpanned all the time. It's like, cool. You're not going to get a lot of out of him for the most part, but I think I enjoyed it a little more because I am taku.

Obviously, there were parts that I was like, this is relatable. But also it was fine.

Sfl called out by a lot of. It's like, this guy wakes up, plays video games, goes to work, plays video games on his lunch break, comes home, plays video games. Like.

Specific.

It me. I went to a car dealership the other day for an auto appointment, and I put my switch in my pockets because it was able to fit because I got those cargo pants sitting in that lobby.

That weapon was warranted. I couldn't hold that one back.

Yeah, the combination of bringing your switch in the cargo pants, listen, that's what.

Does it all fit in one cargo pocket. And my other one was full of snacks. I don't know. I can't fit that in regular pocket.

The other one was full of loose jelly bee.

Like napoleon dynamite. It's just a bunch of tater tots.

But it was hot, so they're all sticking together and no one wants to eat with me.

But then at the end of the day, you have just a giant dinosaur egg of jelly bean.

You did like an apple.

Hinch. Well, anyway, this was fine. I also liked the moments of good communication.

Yeah. Especially set up of like, these are people with no emotional intelligence when they actually do have genuine nice moments. I'm like. See, romcoms can do this.

Yeah. Anytime. We complain about they're adults, but they still behave like dumb high schoolers. I know a lot of adults that behave like dumb I know a lot of adults that behave like dumb grade schoolers. That is, unfortunately realistic. But, yeah, I can't see it. We talked about it. I think classmates, we talked about that, where it's like, yeah, but this isn't realistic. You can tort the story into whatever you want to tell. It like, you don't need to have these flaws in it if you don't want them, sort of thing. But, yeah, I think this is good for one season. I don't know if this would be great, like, an ongoing series, but I.

Had fun with these episodes, but I will not continue.

Yeah, cool.

Well, yeah, that's fine.

What we got going on next week, normally it's my pick, but I'm still on probation because of Can coley.

Happy birth to me. You know what time time it is? How many are there's? Too many to escape. Why? If you're a new listener, if you weren't here this time last year march is a special time for me where I get to celebrate my birthday with the one anime series that matters. And that's why we're watching zoids fusers.

Fusers with a z.

So you know it's quality.

Holy shit.

For zoids.

One time a year, I get to feel like Brendan. All this power.

It's true. This is like it's not just your birthday. Well, you use it to get your payback.

Retribution. Yes.

My revenge. So, yeah, we're going to watch the first three episodes of zoid's fusers, a series I have not seen. So we'll see how actually okay it is. Probably not very, but we'll find it.

I can't wait.

I love how D is the only one who actually brings up something good for their birthday and then me. And to get up this rivalry and drag dea. And you're sitting through this shit, too. I don't want to. It's like tough law, collateral damage.

You have to it's an aliens versus predators thing. No matter who wins, D loses.

I'm just in the middle of it. Oh, boy.

If there's a show you the listener would like us to watch, you're out of luck. If it's on my birthday, send your recommendations to us. Our email is areweevariat@gmail.com or you can reach out to us on Twitter or Instagram at rweebeveryet on both. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at mrpatrick. dugan. Or listen to my fiction podcast, Echoed Location.

You can find me on Instagram at honey period. D on Twitter at honey d eight and honey d art or on twitch at honey d. And Honey is spelled H-U-N-N-I-E. You can find me on Twitter.

A BTS brendan. It stands for Almost Better than Silence, which is a video game podcast. I talk about video games. That's what makes it a video game podcast.

Oh, check that out. Thank you to camille ruley for our artwork. And thank you to Louis zong for theme song stories. You can find all of louie's music at Louisong bandcamp.com. Thank you, and we hope you'll join us next week as we learn to live with anime.

You got to find me a big tide.