Hideki Nishimura, aka Rusian in-game, confesses his feelings to a fellow player in an online game. She flat out rejects him, but then goes a step further to rub salt in his wounds by telling him that she is actually an older man who is playing as a young, cute girl. Heartbroken, Hideki is done with women forever! Or so he thinks… Time passes and he meets another female character online named Ako. They spend time together and before he realizes it, she likes him and confesses her feelings to him. While cautious, he accepts and then learns very fast that she is just as cute and outrageous in real life as her personality online is. You see, Ako has a problem, she hates school and cannot differentiate between Rusian online and Hideki in real life. Hideki and his fellow classmates have to help her see the light and start to enjoy reality at the same time.

At the crossroads of these two series, we find Moriko and Ako both rejecting reality and wanting only their online lives. Easily, the viewer can relate to both as there have been disappointing times in real life that it seems only your online friends can relate to you about. What both Netoge no Yome and Net-juu no Susume also do excellently is that they blend the MMO online fantasy world with reality quite well, so it never feels as if the series is too heavily based in one over the other. This is a great stepping stone for Net-juu no Susume fans.

Arata Kaizaki is 27 and has no job. He just cannot manage to keep one and every interview that he goes to, rejects him. Dejected after his mother tells him that she is unable to continue supporting him month to month and will be cutting his expenses in half, Ryou Yoake appears out of the blue and offers Arata a deal: take a pill and be turned back into a third-year high school student for one year. All the meanwhile, the institution behind this pill will pay for his expenses as well as support him. Arata ends up taking his pill and is transformed into a high school student. But it comes with a catch, he has to live now with Ryou. Suddenly that impression of smooth sailing sails right out the window.

ReLIFE and Net-juu no Susume again are centered around two adults fed up with reality–proof that adulthood is a sham–and are looking for a way out. Arata gets a fantasy setup while Moriko plays games. Both characters grow throughout the series, at least we see that Moriko is starting to grow, and realize that they were not alone in the life that they previously had. They had just chosen to think they were. In both series, characters will learn how important human interaction is as well as a romance that can be touching.

Boring high school student Keita Amano is just another gamer trying to navigate high school life. He meets Karen Tendou one day who is the most popular student in the school. She asks him to come with her and he obliges… only to end up in a room where he is asked to join a club!? There Keita is going to meet a slew of characters who will not only challenge his sanity on a daily basis, but also push him to think about gaming and the things around him a bit more.

We heard you like awkward. Do you like awkward? Because we got you some awkward. We hope that is okay. Both series deal with it frequently and while Net-juu Susume does handle it better, no one can disagree that the characters are awkward. Obviously, the characters are all gamers, which is somewhat rare these days, and of course there is an enjoyable romance budding. If you missed Gamers! in the summer, now is the time to watch.

Gabriel is the most powerful and intelligent angel in all of heaven. She is also adorable and clearly well-respected. When she goes to Earth to help humanity, Gabriel ends up being sucked into an online game and then next thing you know, she’s an angel only in name wasting all of her time on video games, sleeping, and snacks. This Fallen Angel ends up meeting a demon named Vignette who is supposed to be evil, but is actually straight-laced and good-natured. Then, Raphiel, a sadistic angel, and Satanichia, whose processor is about as fast as molasses in a blizzard, join in and before we know it, we are laughing from the opening to the ending about their antics.

Net-juu no Susume and Gabriel DropOut both focus on a main, female character, who is over reality and honestly cannot be bothered to keep up appearances. While Moriko is a bit more relatable since she is… you know… not a supernatural being, the jokes are funny and the humor keeps the series light and upbeat. We are also seeing a slight diversifying of storylines among the main characters. Plus, who does not want to drop out of reality?

One day, while playing a game called Elder Tale, suddenly players find they are unable to log out, trapped in this world. Shiroe, a player who is well-versed in the mechanics of this game decides to make sense of things. Teaming up with Naotsugu and Akatsuki who are both trying to make sense of everything going on around them, they try to make a new life online and help out the NPCs that they are surrounded by. Life, Liberty, Fantasy, and Online Politics are at play? Shiroe has got his work cut out for him.

While Shiroe did not choose the lot he was given, he has effectively dropped out of reality. Now, he works with those around him online a lot like what Moriko does. While Shiroe cannot logout of Elder Tale, there are many scenes and events that make you feel almost as if they are not in a fantasy world by taking events and problems seriously as well as mixing in politics. Moriko is the same by working hard with her online teammates. Enjoy!

Tomoko Kuroki is awkward. After playing countless games, she enters into high school with the mindset that high school boys cannot be much different from their game counterparts. Oh, how wrong she is. Tomoko has a terrible time trying to make friends and meet people because of her thought process and she does not even realize that she is the one who is awkward! Yuu Naruse, her best friend, attempts to help her navigate high school life.

Moriko is awkward slightly in an adorable yet funny way which can also be said of Tomoko. While Moriko is leaving reality, Tomoko has been gone for a long time and in fact, would probably greet her with arms wide open! There is visible trauma in Moriko’s past–look up black companies in Japan–and while she felt alone, and probably was, Tomoko is alone because of her social skills. Together these two are trying to piece together their lives while looking from the outside in. Either way, get ready to laugh.