A Return to Azeroth and MMO Anime

With the impending release of World of Warcraft Classic taking us back 14 years, I thought it would be a fitting time to clear my backlog of all MMO related anime. MMO anime, which often fall under the “isekai” category meaning “other world”, are supremely popular in the anime sphere. There’s a reason every season can afford more isekai slop to serve the masses. The current Summer 2019 season has six – yes, six – isekai shows!

I love the idea of the genre more than the results we’ve seen so far.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing reviews on a mix of bad and [hopefully] good MMO isekai as a way of clearing the backlog and getting in the spirit of Classic WoW. There are so many titles in this genre that I could never get to all of them, nor would I want to with how copy & paste most of them are. As such, I’m going off personal interests, general community feedback, and reader requests to create a shortlist.

The titles are as follows (release order undecided):

Yes, I know some of these will be awful. In fact, I’m counting on it. Let’s just hope there is something worthwhile as well in the mix.

Once Classic does release, I’ll also be using the time to power through other genres’ titles in the backlog on a second screen. My hope is to clear several smaller shows (you guys have sent in many requests for me to review) and at least one of the big ones – fingers crossed to have Naruto Shippuden done in a few weeks’ time.

Readers often ask me how I can watch so many shows (not just anime) and write the reviews as a hobby (doing these reviews isn’t in the top five on my daily priority list). Well, that’s my secret – multi-tasking. It takes time to get used to just about looking at two things at the same time, but it’s easy once you have the hang of it. (You can even play a game, watch an anime in Japanese, and listen to a podcast in English all at once with practice.) The difficulty does vary on the anime and game. It’s tough to play a fast-paced competitive game and watch a show at the same time, of course, but when playing something slower paced – like an MMO or strategy game – it’s a breeze. Mileage also varies on the show of choice. A sit-com or shounen anime? Easy. Something heady like Monster, Legend of the Galactic Heroes or Star Trek? One risks missing the details and nuance. If I ever feel like I’m missing anything, I’ll either focus on the show only or put on something else.

I also like to multi-task any favourite rewatches since just listening to the audio conjures up the visuals like an invisible layer before my eyes. I’m sure everyone has a film or series they can “see” just by hearing the dialogue.

I’ve been multi-tasking entertainment for over a decade now and Classic will make for a good binge session. And it brings me a few steps closer to the colossal One Piece. (One day, my friend, one day…)