Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku or Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii is an anime series released in 2018 as a manga adaptation in the romantic comedy genre. The anime was adapted to TV from a webmanga series written and illustrated by Fujita. It is created by A-1 Pictures, which we know with the Kaguya-sama: Love is War, and Yoshimasa Hiraike directed the anime. The series was originally aired in Japan by Fuji TV from April 13, 2018, to June 22, 2018. With the broadcasting rights of Amazon Video and broadcasting with English, it increased its popularity worldwide. Also, A-1 Pictures made its fans happy with an OVA episode on March 29, 2019, after the first season of 11 episodes. Another good news is that a new OVA episode will meet with fans on February 26, 2021. On the other hand, fans are eager for a second season, so has the show been renewed for a second season?
What is the plotline of the anime?
Momose is an office worker at her new workplace. But she has a secret she tries to keep from everyone. She’s an otaku (this is the term for addicts – anime or game addicts, for example). She doesn’t want her secret to be known because being an otaku in Japan is actually nothing to brag about, and nobody might take you seriously. That’s because Momose is afraid of this, so she doesn’t tell anyone at her new place of work that she is an otaku. But luckily, things change when she sees an old otaku friend in the same company. She had first to tell Hanako, her director, and then Kabakura, the director of her old friend Hirotaka, that she is an otaku. Although Momose is shy at first, when she finds out that Hanako and Kabakura are also otakus, she is very happy, and our perfect quartet is formed.
Anime is not just about being an otaku or not. In the first season, we witnessed these four love lives, and the series contains many romantic elements. What unites them in common is that they are otaku. But they’re all a different otaku. For example, Hirotaka is a game addict, Hanako is a cosplay addict, and Momose and Kabakura are more anime and manga otaku.
You can immediately notice the quality of the cleverly prepared scenes and lines in the anime. If you are a strong anime viewer or a gamer, you will find a lot of yourself. It is also lovely that the production did not hesitate to reference different games, anime, and manga. For example, you can see our characters while watching an anime that you probably know or have seen before, while reading the manga.
Will there be a second season of Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku?
A-1 Pictures, Amazon, or any related company has not yet renewed the series for a second season. Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku is one of 2018’s favorite anime, and the number of viewers waiting for the second season is quite high due to its release on Amazon Videos. Animations can sometimes take years to renew. Many reasons, such as financial calculations and source material adequacy, may delay the approval of the new season of anime. Since there is no official statement yet, we will evaluate the new season’s possibilities under these main factors.
Manga status of the anime?
The anime series is based on manga like most anime, and the main source material is manga. The original Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku, written by Fujita, was initially distributed at Pixiv and later became popular in Comic Pool. In 2016, in the WEB manga general elections, it came 1st in the women’s edition and 1st in the general category. The manga boasts cumulative sales of over 10 million copies.
The manga series published by Ichijinsha began broadcasting in 2014 and currently consists of 9 volumes. The manga series hasn’t finished yet, and that’s good news for the anime. The anime series covers the first 4 volumes of the manga in the first season. 5 volumes of stock material remain for a new season. When we evaluate the second season of the anime in terms of stock material adequacy, we do not see a problem. It will be processed from the 5th volume of the manga in the possible second season.
Popularity and the disc sales (DVD & BluRay) sales of the anime
Disc sales are very important for an anime to be approved for a second season. Like all TV productions, anime is for-profit series, and they need to earn a good income from disc sales. For an anime to be profitable enough to be approved for the new season, it must sell an average of 4,000 copies in disc sales. However, Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku sold 2,800 units in its first season and fell short of the target. In terms of disc sales, a second season seems difficult.
However, the overall popularity score of the series is 91.4%. This score shows how popular the anime is on social media, views, and google searches. 71,700 fans follow the anime’s official Twitter page. Although there was a failure based on the disc sales in the first season, the second season’s possibility is high since Amazon holds the broadcasting rights and good views.
Other productions and OVA episodes
Another factor that increases the chances of the anime’s second season is additional productions or mobile games. Although Wotakoi does not have a smartphone game, it does have OVA episodes and a live-action movie. These additional productions show that the producers want to keep this brand on the agenda and still see it profitable. From this point of view, we can say that the possibilities of the second season have increased.
- OVA Episode – 29 March 2019
- Live-action Film – February 7, 2020
- OVA Episode – February 26, 2021
When is the release date of the second season?
There is no renewal yet, but we’ve made detailed speculation for you above. As a result, we think there will be a new season with an 80% probability. Except for disc sales, all other evaluation results keep the probability of the second season-high. It is not yet clear whether A-1 Pictures will be featured in the second season, and the creator of the last OVA episode, Lapin Track, may also be the creator of the second season. If the series is renewed for a second season, it may appear on screen in early 2022, considering the production period. Till then, check out other beloved romantic comedy anime such as TONIKAWA, and Hi Score Girl.