When I scroll through the wide array of anime available in various streaming apps I have a variety of reasons for why I start certain shows. Some look interesting. Some were recommended by friends and others had fun descriptions than made them look interesting. Then you have this show where I simply looked at the title, laughed, and said why not. This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Sh-ttier Than Real Life stars Hiroshi Yuki. Hiro is down on his luck in real life and pours his time into video games. As he goes to by the latest game he is too broke to afford it and is tricked into buying a 10 year old dead game from a smaller game store. Why was this game dead? Because it’s full dive technology was so advanced players felt everything, both the good and the bad. Now Hiro finds himself in a game world that treats him worse than his actual bad life.

Starting things off with the story I was surprised at how well I liked it. The first episode was miserably boring and I seriously debated quitting the show because of that. Thankfully I didn’t because it really gets good. As Hiro plays his new game he immediately starts things off horribly wrong and earns the hatred of every NPC. Unfortunately this game models real life to a large degree and restarting his save file is not an option. Every bad decision he makes he has to live with it and if he wants to keep going he has to find a way to solve the problems he runs into. He often contemplates quitting as we find out that’s exactly how he approached the problems he faces in the real world too. I really enjoy how the video game takes an extreme version of mirroring his real life problem while both of them require the same mindset to solve. Every time Hiro tries to avoid his problems he only makes things worse and we see that play out very quickly as the story progresses. This also leads to amazing character development which is the core of what makes this show so entertaining.

With that I’ll move onto the characters themselves. I do not like Hiro as a character, but it’s clear you’re not meant to. He is a character who has faced a lot of struggle but fails to solve any of it and instead chooses to run from his problems. This destroys his reputation and he loses all respect from the people in real life and the virtual world. This is a story all about Hiro learning to have a healthier mindset to addressing his problems and moving towards facing them head on. So while he’s a terrible character it’s done intentionally as a catalyst for character development which is masterfully done here. You also have a wonderful supporting cast. The shop clerk that tricks him into getting the game plays along with him and encourages him along the way. All be it in a mocking way but effective all the same. Their dynamic works so well here and the banter is so entertaining.

The game environment is also something to be impressed by. I’ve watched a lot of shows use a full dive video game world and they really lean heavily towards the fantasy element of it. This show takes a more realistic and pragmatic approach. For example herbs don’t magically heal as soon as you click on them you have to actually apply them. Character’s don’t stop to explain situations when in the middle of a crisis instead they are more focused on their own safety. There are a lot of fantasy elements within the world of the game like monsters and such but it really focus on taking an approach that closely resembles how people would actually respond in these various situations. Plus it’s still a video game. It still has it’s own story and it comes with it’s own shocking twists that do a myriad of things. Some were shocking while others were incredibly well done emotional moments.

I only really have two problems with this show. The first episode is a slow and kind of boring process. Because Hiro is not a good character and he’s the star of the show the first episode suffers because we have to watch him take the steps needed to get to the video game. That’s when all the entertaining parts of the show really start. There’s also a lot of bathroom related humor which does make sense when you watch the show because it relates to an embarrassing incident Hiro suffered through which caused his real life dilemma. I also liked how his real life trauma from that experience is played out within the game. However, I did not like the fact that their was so much of that humor that it felt overdone. Probably because I’m not a fan of that style of humor myself but I can see that being a problem if it’s something you absolutely hate.

Overall this is a solid show. I loved the message behind it of learning to address your problems head on. Life has no do overs so if you are in a situation you have to solve it and keep moving forward. The character development is done really well and the character banter is incredibly entertaining. It does suffer from an incredibly boring first episode and an over reliance on bathroom humor but in the end I thought this was a good show that could have been great. It’s at least good enough I’m really wanting to see more of this journey.