The Wonder of Anime Presents: For the Lovers is a love themed collection on The Wonder of Anime, including guest essays. This essay is by Mel.
For helping me love myself and create space for loving anime, manga, and more in my romantic relationship, I want to say thank you and I love you, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.
I don’t remember how I discovered you, but discovering you was the best thing that ever happened to me. The way you speak to the animanga, video games, cosplay fans and more, I think any one of us feels seen in your anime. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, it follows four otaku adults around as we see them navigate work, romance, and adulthood (in a nutshell). I discovered this in my mid 20s when I was struggling with my identity so when I tell you, this anime spoke to me, it was speaking to my every cell! Seeing Narumi, the main character of Wotakoi struggle with dating and being herself was so REAL! She complained and struggled with the idea of being this cute and “normal” version of herself all the time while concealing the BL and anime loving side of her identity. She even up and QUIT her job, moved to a new town, and got a new job after her ex-boyfriend discovered that she was into BL and anime! Like girl, it cannot be that serious though! But with her ex finding out about her hidden side, she feared that her ex told everyone in the company after finding out. Now at the time I couldn’t say I was an otaku, but now, very much so. I am so immersed in my love for anime, manga, and manhwa that it led me to eventually starting AniMel – Anime and Manga with Mel, but that’s a story for another time. The introduction of Narumi and her story in Wotakoi was when I realized that this story was built different.
Seeing Narumi navigate her new job where she reunites with her childhood friend, Hirotaka, mattered because she could only be herself around him. I didn’t expect them to jokingly but then seriously start dating because they were both otakus who were struggling to make connections. While this romantic aspect is so fun to watch unfold as they clumsily but sweetly navigate being romantic after being friends for ages, it’s the other relationship that made this anime and manga slowly penetrate my heart. Hirotaka was a loner who found love and comfort in his childhood friend and first love, found friendship too with coworkers – Kabakura and Koyanagi. It hit home how being more deeply involved with Narumi stretched Hirotaka’s boundaries, letting him grow into someone you didn’t meet at the start. The moments where our characters start fostering this community where they can all be themselves and just hang out was when I thought “Wow, I think this might be a new favorite”. So much of a favorite that I have rewatched this too many times to count.
Now why a love letter to Wotakoi? It quite literally changed my life. Aside from propelling me to start AniMel, one of my favorite passion projects in life, it helped deepen my connections with my current friends while also helping make new friends. Making new friends through anime is so meaningful because making friends in adulthood is hard, but connecting over something like anime as adults makes the friendship much cooler.
It didn’t just strengthen my relationship with my friends, but my now husband as well. At the time, we were just dating for a few years and he was a huge One Piece fan since we first met and I knew that but at the time, I didn’t have that bond and connection with anime because I was rediscovering myself as an adult. In finding Wotakoi, it reignited a passion for anime and manga which opened the door to connecting over One Piece with my husband. The love and joy he felt sharing it with me, the jokes we have between each other that are anime related, and the nerding out moments we can have together added a layer of love between us that didn’t exist yet. For this new layer it added to my life, I am eternally grateful.
Wotakoi makes me proud to be my unfiltered self aside from being an otaku; it made me proud to be chatty, proud to be weird, proud to be different, and helped me love myself in a way I needed before reaching my 30s. If I can ever recommend an anime to anyone feeling unsure of themselves, struggling to love themselves, or otherwise, it is Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. Because it isn’t just the love with others that is hard in this anime, but the love we have for ourselves. This anime is so easy to watch, it has so many humorous moments that remind us to enjoy the good moments, moments where we feel so seen through this anime, and it helps that the characters are wifey and hubby material. I am personally biased regarding Hirotaka because who doesn’t love a quiet type with glasses that love to game but i super caring and considerate?! SWOONS
Mel is the host and creator of AniMel – Anime and Manga with Mel, a channel dedicated to thoughtful analyses and reviews of the stories she loves most. From anime and manga to manhwa and webcomics, Mel blends research, personal insight, and clean message to help viewers better understand what makes a series resonate. With a candid approach to her breakdowns, Mel focuses on revealing the themes, character arcs, and hidden details that elevate a story.
When she’s not in content creation mode or catching up on her favorite anime and manga, she enjoys working out, spending time with her infant son and husband, and researching her latest obsession (whether it be creating wine, different teas, skincare, etc.)
Awe, this was a great post! I watched this anime a while ago, so I don’t remember it perfectly, but I do remember it being very heart warming and I remember that hand dance in the opening! Loved it!