RIOTUS

Let’s Play opens with a fantastical fight of magnificent proportions; dragons and sorcereresses and heroic knights abound! The magnetic swirl of colors and fight sequences is a visual treat and feels straight out of a fantasy adventure game…and that’s because it is. Just when this group of heroes triumphs, the show snaps back to reality, and we meet the real heroine of the story:

Sam (Kana Hanazawa) is a 22-year-old woman who spends her days working at her dad’s tech company in LA, and her nights dreaming of making it big in the video game world. An avid gamer herself, she has developed a puzzle adventure game called Ruminate, which is steadily moving up the charts thanks to glowing reviews from new players. For once, it feels like her life is going well—and she’s surrounded by friends who cheer her on, as well as an adorable pup named Bowser. 

After a bad day at work—involving some spilled coffee, one ruined shirt, and a confusingly intimate run-in with her scary supervisor Charles (Yūichi Nakamura)—the only thing keeping Sam going is her game rating. But that’s when the wildly popular video game streamer known as Marshall Law (Shimba Tsuchiya) drops his review of Ruminate. Spoiler alert: He thinks it’s trash. TRASH, dammit! (How dare he?) 

Sam’s numbers start dropping as Law’s fans (I’m gonna call them The Haters) start review-bombing her game. From there, Sam and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day continue to spiral, especially when…*gasp*…she finds out Marshall Law himself is moving into the apartment next door! Oh yes, only in the world of rom-coms could fate be so deliciously cruel. And I know you’ll be eating up every second of it.

“Life is S-Rank” does a decent job of setting up the premise of Let’s Play, based on the Eisner-nominated webtoon of the same name by Leeanne M. Krecic, AKA Mongie. It has a lot of characters to introduce—shoutout to the opening titles’ artful use of video game stat cards to provide a snapshot of each player—and gives us a brief whirlwind of mentions while keeping Sam at the forefront of our hearts. She’s an endearing character, with Hanazawa’s voice acting adding to her charm. You’ll want Sam to win…while also giggling away at the predicaments she gets herself into. 

And this show promises predicaments, particularly of the romantic kind: The anime dances along rom-com tropes with confidence, leaving you with no choice but to pick your OTP. Who will it be: The annoyingly handsome Marshall Law? Or perhaps Charles, Sam’s overbearing boss, who’s taken a special interest in her. Or, could it be a character we hope to see more of: Link (Tomokazu Sugita), a paramedic who also works at Sam’s favorite café and harbors a secret crush. At this point in the show, the possibilities are endless (and endlessly entertaining)!

The pilot packs in a lot of story and succeeds in making you excited to see Sam’s journey. With so many supporting characters, I can only hope they get their time to shine later on. But for now, Sam’s father, the esteemed CEO of Young Technologies (Kenta Miyake), is the comedic highlight of the episode. He turns any big-boss-man tropes on their heads and shows just how deeply he cares for his family.

The animation style pulls from its webcomic inspiration and keeps a soft, romantic feel to it, with occasional bursts of hilarious action-fueled scenes, as well as a bunch of nods to video games. Contrasting light and soft colors are used to reinforce not just the differing settings in Sam’s life but also how she’s feeling at that moment. All while the bouncy soundtrack pulses like Sam’s heartbeat, skipping with each new revelation, and infused with heady feelings of hope. 

Let’s Play is a feel-good anime for gamers and rom-com fans alike; the two worlds pair together nicely to make for a fun yet soothing watch. It’s also comforting to know that, amidst the romantic tension and offbeat office shenanigans, there are surprisingly touching insights into the mental health struggles many of us face. The series’ monstrous physical manifestations of emotions like anxiety and depression are used effectively and feel all too real. That’s what elevates this anime from a traditional rom-com into one that’s going to come for your heart.