Trapped In A Dating Sim is definitely a show worth paying attention to if you like shows with unique and fun concepts, alongside shows that you can enjoy with your brain turned off. Let’s get right to the review!
Trapped In A Dating Sim Overview
Trapped In A Dating Sim, or Otome Game Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu is a fantasy, romance and isekai anime based on a light novel written by Yomu Mishima and Monda. The anime is being directed by Kazuya Miura, known for previously directing anime such as Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai, and Shinichi Fukumoto, who served as the assistant director of Tantei Wa Mou Shindeiru.
The series was animated by Studio ENGI, which was also behind director Miura’s previous directorial work, Uzaki-chan. The series is being published by Kadokawa, which is the entity behind several other anime giants like Your Name, Mushoku Tensei, and the Fate series. This series is also known as Mobuseka, or The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs. You can find our review of the entire episodic series here, or you can start with Episode 1 and go from there.
– Otome Game Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai Desu Review does not contain spoilers –
Trapped In A Dating Sim Review- The Plot
This is one of those shows that you either get or you don’t. There’s a lot in here to love, but one could reasonably hate its guts without causing much of an uproar. It is one of those shows where if you like it in its first episode, you will love it even more by the end. However, if you didn’t quite vibe with the first episode, you dropped it right there and then. It isn’t a hard show to love. It is just a hard one to get into due to the nature of its plot.
Read More- Summer Time Render Episode 11 Review: A Suspicious Imposter Among Us
The narrative of this show is surprisingly deep, layered, and complicated despite looking like the most cliched isekai from the top. It deals with the issues of impostor syndrome and finding a place for yourself in a world that is ready to chew you up and spit you out in a heartbeat. The plot is also unique in the way that it deals with the transportation into another world, which is the key aspect of what makes a show an isekai.
You see, the series goes by another name, called “The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs“. Our main character gets transported into a world that used to be a game and an otome game at that. If you didn’t know, Otome games are made to be specifically targeted toward women and usually have female protagonists. Our main character, however, is very much a male. He doesn’t change his gender upon being transported like many other shows, but that means he will live a life subservient to the feminine gender in a world that heavily values picking a partner to spend the rest of your life with.
Read More- Spy x Family Episode 12 Review: My Dad Is A Hero
Not only that, but the original protagonist is still in this world and is heavily influenced by Leon’s, our main character, presence in this world. The show becomes a balancing game for Leon in influencing it just enough to tip the scales somewhat in his favour so that he could live a decent life while making sure not to mess up Olivia, the game protagonist’s supposed journey and path to eventual happiness that she is destined for. Things then become immensely complicated when another person with the abilities of Leon enters the fray to ruin everything Leon ever worked for.
That is an interesting plot device on its own, but there are so many more things going on here. There are mechas, tea parties, futuristic robot attacks, politics, romance, friendship, and everything else you would want in a show like this. It has become cliche to say this these days, but there is truly something for everything. The plot is a little weirdly paced at times and isn’t very highbrow beyond what we have already discussed, but it is charming and satisfying to watch. Mobseka is one of those shows that make you want to read the source material afterwards to figure out what you missed.
Trapped In A Dating Sim Review- The Characters
The absolute highlight of this show is the main character, Leon. He is an absolute delight in every single way. His reactions to everything happening around him are as genuine as it gets, and he handles being stuck in a situation such as this one as well as he can. He doesn’t suffer fools and isn’t afraid of being labelled a villain for his actions, but those close to him know that he has a heart of gold, as well as everyone in the audience, because we know why he is like that. He has a distinguished personality that is not unlike several other protagonists we have seen in the past, but he puts his spin on things.
Read More- Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie Episode 10 Review: Victory Not Guaranteed
His actions make this show a highly satisfying affair. He puts down everyone with an attitude due to his game knowledge, but his hatred of the game he is stuck in is also extremely understandable. He isn’t afraid to play the villain and be the recipient of all the hatred that everyone throws at him, and he also is comfortable with dishing it out. His chemistry with his AI, Luxion, is also great and their dialogue lifts Trapped In A Dating Sim up in its slower moments. It helps that Leon is extremely capable and not afraid of much beyond his own hubris destroying the world.
However, this is where the depth of characters in Trapped In A Dating Sim comes to an end. Most of the other characters are inoffensive at best and caricatures at worst. There are some good takes on the failed protagonist and mean girl tropes here that make the episodes featuring them less predictable if nothing else, but other than that, the characters here can come across as flatly written, just like the games this show is based on.
Read More- Kaguya Sama Love Is War Season 3 Episode 12 Review: Grand Ultra Romantic Finale
The villains are also haphazardly written in that there is one primary antagonist, Marie, who is another transported person just like Leon, and her trying to get involved in things and getting shown up by Leon is highly amusing. Other than her, however, the show throws a smorgasbord of antagonists and bad guys at our screen to see what sticks. Some of them work, like the Prince and his friends, and some don’t, like the antagonist the show ended with. Overall, the show is very much a one-man show.
Trapped In A Dating Sim Review- Art and Music
For those who didn’t like the show, this is where most of their problems with this adaptation arise. Studio Engi did not do a good job putting this show in the medium of anime. While the Otome Game-like aesthetics were faithfully recreated, the show was painful to look at from time to time. The animation looked janky, the characters were uneven, and the movement was less fluid than some scrapbook art. That isn’t a quality that one would expect from an anime that is supposed to be good.
To add flames to the fire, the art in the source material is sublime, therefore making the adaptation even more of a disappointment. To make things worse, even the OST was nothing special, and you would forget about it as soon as you switched off the series for the final time. However, one silver lining to this acid cloud is that the opening theme was one of the best in the entire season. The song was, as the kids call them these days, a banger. It had three different melodies, all of which were catchy and very reminiscent of early 2000s anime.
Verdict
Trapped In A Dating Sim was a great time that managed to accomplish everything it set out to do despite having some obvious flaws in its production and animation. The anime was a very fun time, and a second season with better animation would be very welcome around these parts.