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My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 premiered on April 2, 2023, with a wholesome episode that made the viewers head over heels for the main characters. It was a great start for the much-awaited anime that has the potential to become one of the new rom-com series of the year.
The first episode of My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 stood up to fans' expectations, introducing the main characters and setting up the mood for the series. As such, fans are now waiting for the next episode, which will show Akane waking up confused in Yamada's bedroom after spending the previous night drinking with him.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the first episode.
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 episode 1 sees Akane trying to befriend the introverted gamer, Yamada
The first episode, titled This Is Why I Can't Stand Gamer Boys, follows one of the most famous tropes in the rom-com anime series - introvert boy x extrovert girl. This trope is commonly found in shows like Horimiya or My Dress-Up Darling.
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At the beginning of the episode, viewers see Akane getting dumped by her boyfriend, Takuma, for some other girl he met in a game. This leads to the female lead being heartbroken as she could not believe her boyfriend cheated on her.
She then receives a text from her now ex-boyfriend asking her to return a piece of equipment, which hurts her even more. Following this, she joins the Forest of Savior game, where her boyfriend met his new girlfriend, Eri. In the process of releasing her rage and frustration, she begins mindlessly hunting, which is when she encounters a Noh masked Afro character.
The character turns out to be her guide-mate Yamada. She tries to strike up a conversation with him but quickly realizes that he is not the friendly type, but he is also not rude, as Yamada says he is simply "not interested." His aloof attitude makes her even more angry and she begins to lash out at that stranger about her breakup, which does not elicit an enthusiastic reaction from Yamada.
Later, she receives a notification from the game informing her that there will be an one-year anniversary event with avatars and various gifts for attendees, as well as the distribution of Prophet Stone (Purple) pin codes. She convinces herself that it will be the ideal opportunity to show her ex what he missed by leaving her. So, she goes shopping with her friend Momo and prepares herself to attend the event.
Akane's dreams doesn't last long because as soon as she arrives, she sees her ex with his new girlfriend and they appear happy, which isn't how she expected them to see. She desperately tries to reach him but trips and falls after running into Yamada, the Afro character from the game.
He returns her sandle that fell off when she tripped. After talking to him, she recognizes the boy as the game's Afro character. As if that wasn't enough entertainment for the day, Akane's ex-boyfriend enters the scene and immediately recognizes Yamada as his idol pro-gamer. At this point, Akane declares Yamada to be her new boyfriend to hide her embarrassment.
Surprisingly, Yamada agrees to play along for the Prophet Stone (Purple) pin codes, which turns into a comical moment where Takuma becomes disappointed as he always tries to reach Yamada. Although Akane was about to feel good seeing him like that, she then witnessed Eri consoling him, which further broke the female protagonist's heart.
After this, Akane pulls Yamada to a resto-bar where she drinks and rants about her problem to the latter, who just sits there sipping on his coke and wishes to go back home. However, after a moment, Yamada genuinely feels bad for her but is unable to express it. When she went to the restroom, Yamada leaves the bar for a minute.
Akane gets upset when she returns to see an empty table, but then Yamada returns with some band-aids and puts one on her feet. She feels cared for the first time in a long while and starts drinking more. In the closing scene, viewers see Akane waking up in an unknown room the following morning to see Yamada on his computer.
Final thoughts
With the premiering episode, My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 has raised the bar for fans' expectations. Studio Madhouse's animation was dreamy and perfectly suited to the plot. With incredible character designs, it will be interesting to see the growing connection between the two contrasting main protagonists in the second episode.
Moreover, Yamada's calm and antisocial personality in My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 is reminiscent of Giyu from Demon Slayer and Levi from Attack on Titan. Now, it will be interesting to see if he achieves the same level of fame as these characters.
The second episode of My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 will be released on Saturday, April 8, 2023.
