"Gamers!", mediocrity, and the appeal of Beta MCs

Unexpectedly, one of the most satisfying animes that I am watching this season is "Gamers".

Gamers! is a comedy slice-of-life rom-com anime about a bunch of high school students that all enjoy games. There is a Beta-MC (your typical Japanese MC) and the synopsis appears to be rather ordinary. As a result, I did not have any expectations when I first picked up this anime.

Doesn't it seem like every rom-com these days features a beta MC?

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★ ★ ★​

Gamers! unquestionably has a beta MC.

Protagonist Amano Keita sucks at video games, even though the entire premise of this anime is about video games in the first place.

Unexpectedly, I actually personally found Amano Keita-kun to be quite appealing as a character. What I like about his character, I will discuss later.

Beta MC's (and shounen harem-type protagonists) these days have developed an extremely poor reputation in the fandom these days because they're completely useless as characters. Many of them do not have particularly redeeming personalities, and it is difficult to understand precisely what about them is so attractive that they end up with the harem they often end up with.

Incidentally, the opposite of the Beta MC is the OP MC, but really I think they actually are the same thing. Functionally, they fulfill the role of self-insert characters that the readers can fantasize themselves as. In the case of Beta MC's, everything is handed to them on a golden platter without any effort. In the case of the OP MC, an absurd ability (or hand-wavy "hard work" or "superior intelligence") results in them ending up with a golden platter.

In both cases, neither types of character are really that attractive.

Well, at least, that is from my perspective, as somebody who is not part of the male reader demographic.

The power-fantasy doesn't exactly appeal to me, and I don't particularly find these protagonists attractive as men. They're not really the type of character I would exactly like, simply because there is nothing to like in either the archetypical Beta MC or OP MC.

★ ★ ★​

Three episodes into Gamers!, I am actually really enjoying this anime because it is extremely humble, down-to-earth, and relatable if you have every considered yourself to not-be a riajuu. It very frankly pokes lighthearted fun at situations that all shy people (or formerly shy people) can think fondly back at.

For instance, the ridiculous middle-school-like tension with talking to someone of the opposite gender to the point that both parties are literally sitting on opposite ends of the bench while talking to each other.



If you are the kind of person who considers themselves to be shy, a bit socially awkward, or found connections with online friends rather than in real life, I think you would enjoy the themes in this anime. The treatment of this topic is done very well, and I would recommend this anime.

Gamers! manages to avoid the common pitfalls of most anime featuring Beta MC's because it doesn't try to pretend that golden platters will come to passive characters without them doing anything. First of all, it isn't a harem, so you can be rest assured with this point. There are multiple pairs of couples to ship in this anime, and every character is is awkward in their own way. Well -- this is probably because every major character is either a gamer or former gamer -- and the anime goes out of its way to make the point that we're all hopeless weirdos.

So the appeal of Gamers! is not exactly in one character, but the entire cast of characters.

And also its emphasis that there's nothing to be ashamed about doing the things that you like even if you're not good at them. If you love it and are passionate about it, it doesn't matter if you're mediocre.

Furthermore, it's an anime about shipping awkward otakus with fellow awkward otakus, which is a fun thing to watch in itself (+misunderstandings).

Actually there's a really tasty BL ship too. x3

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★ ★ ★​

Which reminds me, protagonist Amano-kun (also known as net handle "Tsucchie") is really adorable.

Watching this anime reminded me that I actually prefer characters like him over high-spec carnivore guys. This is true of my tastes in real life as well.

I do not know if true for the rest of you as well, but my taste in men varies between fantasy and reality. If I am reading BL or various private things along those lines, of I course I prefer the slightly aggressive high-spec male characters. I cannot help it. However, when it comes to real life, I actually cringe slightly when I am around guys that have too much presence and I absolutely have no interest in them. Truthfully speaking, I actually find very little attractive in those types of guys in real life in the first place and I would never date anyone like aggressive that. After all, there really aren't any redeeming qualities in the "bad-boy" types. If anything, they intimidate me more than anything else.

So I find it interesting that there is a contradiction between my tastes in fantasy and reality.

Speaking realistically, the types of guys that I like in real life are actually quite similar to MC-kun ("Tsucchie") in "Gamers!". Leaving appearance aside, there are several qualities that Amano-kun has that is in common with most of the guys that I have ever liked. The big ones are as follows:

• Honest and transparent personality. He wears his feelings on his sleeves and is actually really easy to read. Most of the time, those feelings are really good-natured, adorable, and sweet. He literally exudes good intentions and is honest to a fault. He is extremely humble about his faults too. For some reason I seem to like guys who have a self-deprecating sense of humor.
• Has strong opinions and a decisive will. Although ostensibly indecisive most of the time, when it really matters, he takes a position and holds it without regrets. I think this is one of the coolest parts about Amano-kun -- for instance, you'd think that classic indecisive "Beta MC's" would have difficulty turning down an invitation to join the gaming club, but actually Amano-kun has no problems declining despite the peer pressure because it contradicts with his beliefs. And I think this is a crucial point, to have a strong system of values and not be easily influenced by other's values/peer pressure.
• Seems easy to talk to and comfortable be around -- this for me is a major factor. I find it impossible to seriously like somebody I am not comfortable being with. People who have the type of personality that I feel like I can unwind to my true self while being around them is extremely important to me. Since I am a rather self-conscious person, and naturally I have a lot of my inside weird parts and quirks that I would normally be hesitant to show to 98% of people since its necessary to keep up outside appearances and such. Also, work can be stressful in the first place, if I can't be comfortable at home (aka. shameless) around the person I like, then my relationship with them will only become more stressful -- which simply won't work out for a serious long-term relationship.

Ehh.... it seems like I completely derailed from the original topic, so I'll stop for now..........

I think the point I was trying to get at is that when it comes to relationships, specs aren't everything. If anything, specs mean very little. It's actually the compatibility that matters the most, so I am saying that the notion that "otaku's and geeks can't get a significant other because they're too awkward" is completely false. Incidentally, awkwardness and hesitation comes from both parties. Geeks and otaku's get together in real life all the time, and watching a rom-com among otaku's can be quite a charming thing.

So yeah -- Gamers! -- I've been enjoying this anime so far.