So Far in My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 – First Impressions

Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru/Loving Yamada at Lv999! is a manga series written & illustrated by Mashiro and adapted into anime by studio Madhouse in this season, Spring 2023. The story is about your everyday ordinary girl wanting to live her love life in peace. But she got cheated on by her gamer boyfriend who started seeing another girl online. Broken-hearted, she tries to get back to him with the foolish idea of stalking him at a game festival. But she trips & falls which hurts her like salt in her wound. One of her high-heel wears off, her knee is scrapped, & she’s just questioning her life choices. At that moment, the dude she bumped into helps her out, like the prince brought Cinderella’s shoe back. She recognizes him after a while by his behavior in the MMORPG they played earlier online. That’s how a cute romance story begins.

The Appeal

The Characters

What’s a romance without good chemistry? Although if it’s mishandled, then it’ll be like that cheater boyfriend who just went on like happened. No drama, no wavering, no development, just another dumb rom-com. But what pushes the main couple forward is their characters which fit right in with their actions. Akane is overbearing and bursts out often with emotions, either she’s feeling too sad or annoyed, she doesn’t hold back. But she also has a kind side which is the reason she felt so heartbroken. It also allowed her to win the hearts of future characters. Now, how does that affect Yamada? A Pro FPS gamer trying to be left alone in peace but his life got intruded on by Akane seems to be doing fine. He lives alone, is in his last year of highschool, doesn’t have any friends, and doing pretty okay. But his character takes a turn after interacting with Akane. For someone who doesn’t care about others started to feel what other’s care is like. He begins to crack and starts helping out others, only so they leave him alone. But he genuinely started seeing others for what they are. But, he keeps his cool all the time. Akane & Yamada are polar opposites that are naturally attracted to each other.

The Visuals

This show has some interesting editing choices and cute, playful transitions when characters react. The changes in the art, cartoonish faces, colorful & comedic background, and snappy sound effects make fun to watch. The pacing is good, the voice acting is nice, and the animation isn’t half bad. So far, I’m enjoying this and will watch it till the end.

Conclusion

With a lot of banger shows this season, including some slice-of-life shows, this might go under the radar for some people. If you are looking for a cute romantic simple story, then this is it. I haven’t even mentioned the OP & ED which are pretty cool and well-executed. 6 episodes are out and the plot is developing well. It reminds me of Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku and Recovery of an MMO Junkie, the good romance anime that isn’t in a school setting. Give it a shot & see how it goes.

Thank you for reading ♡.