And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? is a romantic-comedy anime. Created by Shibai Kineko, And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? features original character designs by Hisasi. Broadcast on AT-X, Nippon BS Broadcasting Corporation, Sun TV, and Tokyo MX, And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? features animation production by Barnum Studio (Girls Beyond the Wasteland, Strike The Blood) and project No.9 (High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World, The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess).

Produced by Kei Fukura (A Lull in the Sea, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes) and Takao Kiyose (Boogiepop and Others), And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? features theme song performances by Luce Twinkle Wink (opening) and Yoshino Nanjō (ending). And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? also features voice-work by Rina Hidaka and Toshiyuki Toyonaga. And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? will appeal to fans of anime series blending online virtual-world and real-world settings.

Ako Tamaki/Ako (Rina Hidaka) seems like a girl with everything in the world at first glance. Despite seeming like Ako has everything she could ever want; it couldn’t be further from the truth. Though Ako has a loving husband and the best friends in the world, Ako finds something is missing – something that she can’t quite put her fingers on. It’s a virtual world and she isn’t living a real life in the digital realm – it causes an illusion to feel real even when its only a digital dream.

Ako grapples with the real world of her beloved Rusian (Toshiyuki Toyonaga) and his own reality in the real world as Hideki Nishimura. Now a major question arises. Can Ako take a step back from her digital obsession and the fantasy it always provides her and face up to reality? Can Ako go an entire summer without internet access or more gaming hours? The game is on – figuratively – as Ako faces the real world.

The character designs by Akane Yano (Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World) are one of the series highlights. The character designs are sometimes a little over-the-top but the style is quirky and fits the style of characters. The designs elements add something comical and compelling to the series brand of comedy.

The animation isn’t top-tier but it does have some worthwhile elements and fans of MMORPG anime may appreciate the art style. The art direction by Masakazu Miyake (The Helpful Fox Senko-san, KonoSuba – God’s blessing on this wonderful world!!) is effective for the series and so is the chief animation direction by Akane Yano (Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 2nd Stage, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World) and Takuji Mogi (The Dangers in My Heart, Teasing Master Takagi-san). And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? is not aiming to be groundbreaking as an animation but the animators do enjoy exploring the virtual and real-world landscapes and the counter-balance that exists between them. The animation does a good job reflecting these contrasting elements.

The cinematography by Takeshi Hirooka (Girls Beyond the Wasteland, Strike the Blood) is vibrant and colorful. The cinematography is beautiful and looks effective for the series style of animation. The production is all the better as a result – the cinematographer highlighting the animation well.

The score composed by Maiko Iuchi (A Certain Magical Index, Waiting in the Summer) is a nice backdrop to the series charm. The score by Iuchi remembers to highlight the romance and comedy elements. A solid score for the series – the style of music fits the genre well.

Written by Tatsuya Takahashi (Domestic Girlfriend, Dropout Idol Fruit Tart), And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? isn’t a perfect series concept but it does have some fun elements at play. Fans looking for some romantic- comedy fun will find the writing style enjoyable enough. Some charm certainly exists within.

Directed by Shinsuke Yanagi (Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even In Another World), And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? will appeal to romantic-comedy fans in need of some more casual fun. And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? might not end up as an impressively long-term series partner but it does have some quirky elements to charm audiences.

And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Funimation (now Crunchyroll), And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation pleases with bright and colorful animation. The art is spectacularly well reproduced with an abundance of engaging colors on the release. The visuals definitely play a big role in the series aesthetic – and the encode capably handles the art style. Background animation and line art are well presented and encoded on the release.

And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The sound direction by Satoki Iida (Classroom of the Elite, Magical Girl Raising Project) is highlighted well on the release. The soundtrack score is a big part of the audio presentation. Dialogue is crisp on the release. The soundstage is effective and benefits by the lossless encoding.

And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc 1:

Episode 3 Audio Commentary

Disc 2:

Episode 05 Video Commentary (HD, 24:12)

Promo Video (HD, 00:44)

Luce Twinkle Wink "1^st Love Story" Music Video Promo (HD, 3:11)

Commercial Collection (HD, 1:25)

Textless Opening Song "1^st Love Story" (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song "Zero Ichi Kiseki" (HD, 1:32)

Trailers (HD, 9:31)

And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? features compelling production values and some quirky elements. Fans of romantic- comedy anime series may wish to explore the series and its world. The production will certainly appeal to a certain romantic-comedy audience subset. The Blu-ray release offers an impressive high-definition presentation and lossless audio. The release also includes some extras. Recommended.