This anime just finished up not too long ago, so you might already be familiar with this, if not here is what it’s about. A high school student by the name of Kazuma Satou was on his way home from a video game store, eager to play his new game. However before he could enjoy that game, he had a tough decision to make. After a heroic choice made on his part, he tragically ends up dying. He soon reawakens in the afterlife and is given an option from an attractive female by the name of Aqua, to either go straight to heaven or be sent to a new world to take down a demon king. This starts young Kazuma on an adventure of a life time (literally).

Instantly from watching this anime you’re going to see a strong connection between the main character and his RPG video game. Not only does he choose to be a shut-in, but he’s also enamored into that genre, just like the main character, Hideki Nishimura from Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? Another quick turnout for this anime is, the harem aspect that Kazuma quickly finds himself in after he decides to take Aqua with him to this new world. It’s not a bad way to go about given his situation; it’s something Hideki knows all too well.

Finally, Kazuma’s connection with his games leads him to implement strategies and other choices that he can take and use in this new world he now has to deal with. Who would have thought that his extensive time gaming would lead him to be better prepared for this journey in the afterlife?

Here we are with another anime that just ended in April! Phantasy Star Online 2 was recently released in Japan on the PS4 on April 20th of this year and it had been on the PC as early as 2012. Fans of that game series won’t even need to watch the entire anime to correlate the resemblance it has with Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? The characters are faced between real life and a video game world. Both main characters of their respected anime have a girl chasing after them. A lot of the action in both anime take place in-game and tell some compelling stories between the party and peers. They both also include a gaming club, in order to grind out and achieve a higher level in-game.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game or the anime, we’ve got you covered *ahem*. Itsuki Tachibana is a perfect high school student in almost every way. He gets exceptional grades, he has perfect attendance, and the only thing he didn’t involve himself with was this game called Phantasy Star Online 2. He never considered himself to be a gamer in any way, but that all changed one day when he attracted the attention of student council president Rina Izumi. She recruits him to become the vice president of the student council and to keep an eye out on the student body that is playing Phantasy Star Online 2. Because she is so busy, she wants to know from Itsuki if the game is affecting them negatively. The only catch is, he will now have to learn how to play in order to accomplish that goal Rina set him up with.

This anime is based around a distinctive individual by the name of Kodaka Hasegawa, who recently transferred to a new high school. It wasn’t long before he was labeled a “delinquent” and feared from his fellow peers because of his unique blonde hair and tough looking face. One day he meets a female student by the name of Yozora, who has a bad temper and imaginary friend. As you can imagine, she doesn’t have too many friends herself. So they decide that it would be in their best interest to form a club. Thus the “Neighbors Club” is born and both Yozora and Kodaka add new members along the way in hopes to finally make some new friends, using this club as fuel.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai or Haganai for some, has a lot of the same qualities from Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? For starters, the atmosphere from the high schools and school clubs are fixtures for both series. The Neighbors Club has some variety to the subject matter and it’s not limited to, but does include gaming. For instance, in Haganai there are times when the club is playing an RPG and it shifts their perspective right into the game world, as if they were actually fighting in it.

Both anime carry the harem aspect down splendidly, however Haganai to this point has more ecchi moments. They both experience a gender bending situation throughout. Akane Segawa, for instance has a male character in-game but is a female in real life, unbeknownst to Hideki, initially. In Haganai a large portion of the show has a certain club member who is categorized as a male in stories and games, but they later find out it was not what they had imagined.

Virtual reality has advanced immensely by the year 2022 and a new virtual reality RPG was created by the name of Sword Art Online. “NerveGear”, a technology known to allow it’s users to take control of their avatar in-game by just mere thoughts. The majority of this anime takes place in the game world and depicts their characters in a similar fashion to Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? Kazuto Kirigaya, a gaming enthusiast was fortunate enough to get his hands on the beta for the game. It seems all well and good, until he realizes that you are not able to log out of the game until you have completed all one hundred levels. What’s most alarming is that if Kazuto dies in the game, he will die in real life. What an undesirable position he finds himself in!

Like most of these anime on this list; Sword Art Online took its source material from a light novel. Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? was no different in that regard. While Sword Art Online is less comedy driven, both anime present some excellent fantasy-action in their respected games. Kazuto Kirigaya and Hideki Nishimura, may be playing their games under a different set of circumstances, but undoubtedly you feel the same sense of unity and teamwork throughout. If you’re seeking another harem, Sword Art Online is well suited to fit your needs.

Kyousuke Kousaka considers himself to be an average guy, in terms of looks and grades. His overachieving little sister Kirino, doesn’t care too much for her brother. As they got older, they happened to grow apart from each other. One day, he bumped into his sister and found an ero-game inside a different game case and much to his astonishment; it was a part of his sister’s collection. When Kyousuke confronts Kirino about it, all she can do is tell him to keep her otaku life secret from everyone at school. I mean, she’s a professional model after all; she can’t let her peers know of her nerd life.

The certain attitude and willingness to keep her nerd life separate in school, is very reminiscent of Akane Segawa from Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? They both shun the otaku life at school but in reality, they love it very much. They seem to thrive on their double-life personas. Both girls have a tsundere-like personality towards the other main characters, Kirino to Kyousuke and Akane to Hideki. Those similarities can’t go unnoticed. The other critical comparison is the understanding that Kirino has between the real world and the fictional world of her ero-games, which she makes her older brother play. Both anime also deliver offline-meet ups, giving a sense to the audience where these anime are heading.

Yuuta Togashi, a high school teen, who used to have delusions of being a “Dark Flame Master” was quickly isolated from the rest of his peers, when most of them found him to be an oddity. Yuuta tried to put the past behind him and wanted to start fresh at a new school. What he encountered was a teenaged girl by the name Rikka Takanashi, who also happens to share similar delusions. With that, Yuuta struggles to fight off a dark past that he thought was history.

So let’s bring some clarity to everyone. We have both male and female teenagers who can’t distinguish properly between reality and fantasy. Does that sound familiar? If it doesn’t, it should! Both Ako and Hideki share that mindset, Hideki to a lesser extent but it’s still present. Misapprehension is not the only thing Rikka shares with Ako. They both have very comparable hair color to one another. Continuing with the likeness between anime, a school club and harem are relevant to each story. The universal theme between the two is strongly emphasized in the main characters mind-sets about their distinct misunderstanding of reality and fantasy.