History Manga / RecoveryOfAnMMOJunkie

* ChristmasCake: Not referenced by name, but Moriko states that because she's 30, she is practically an old maid. So she wonders why anyone would be interested in her, let alone two men.

* NiceGal: Nico. She shows up and playfully teases Koiwai's character a little when he first joins ''[=FdM=]'', but gladly helps him level up once Moriko identifies herself as Hayashi (she was using an alt character) and asks for help.

** Kanbe, as the guildmaster, looks out for the well-being of the members of @Home Party. [[spoiler:Ironically he's one of the younger members of the guild, who works as a convenience store clerk and currently is interviewing for more permannt jobs.]]

* SpoiledSweet: @Home Party's rarely-seen Nico is this kind of character. According to Pokotaro, she tends to give expensive pieces of equipment to guildmates and [[ThinkNothingOfIt dismisses their thanks]] by saying that helping one of them helps the entire group. She shows up and playfully teases Koiwai's character a little when he first joins ''[=FdM=]'', but gladly helps him level up once Moriko identifies herself as Hayashi (she was using an alt character) and asks for help.

** Kanbe, as the guildmaster, looks out for the well-being of the members of @Home Party. [[spoiler:Ironically he's one of the younger members of the guild, who works as a convenience store clerk and currently is interviewing for more permanent jobs.]]

* TheMatchmaker: Koiwai does this when the main characters need a kick in the butt.

* RealMenWearPink:
** Pink seems to be Sakurai's favorite color. His keyboard is pink, his game avatar [[spoiler:Lily]] has pink hair, and he also owns more than one pink article of clothing.
** Koiwai's phone case is pink, with stickers on it.

Has a 10-episode anime adaptation with a special by [=Signal.MD=], which premiered on October 6th, 2017 and is simulcast on both Website/{{Crunchyroll}} and Creator/{{Funimation}}.

* ArtShift: Hayashi’s ImagineSpot in Episode 3 after receiving Lily’s gift is portrayed with art reminiscent of 70’s shoujo manga like ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' to emphasize Moriko’s skewed/idealized view of how a man should treat a woman, especially in regards to gift giving.
* BadBoss: In the manga it’s established that Moriko worked for a really nasty one who would force her to do both their workloads, stay overtime, and [[NeverMyFault blamed her]] whenever anything went wrong. It got so bad that Moriko felt she had to act as a buffer between her boss and a newer colleague just to keep the newbie from being crushed.

* CoincidenceMagnet: And how. Yuta Sakurai becomes best friends with Moriko Morioka in an MMO. It turns out he has a friend at work who used to talk to Moriko on the phone a lot for business reasons. Yuta was very impressed by a personnel manual Moriko wrote back then. Through the course of the series, he runs into her by accident in a convenience store, where they both want the last piece of chicken. Later, they collide by a street corner where he accidentally knocks her unconscious with his elbow. His friend from work ALSO has a chance encounter with Moriko, recognizes her voice from back then and asks her out. And ... it just so happens that they used to be best friends in ''another'' MMO, many years back. And the student behind the counter in the convenience store? He's Yuta's and Moriko's guild leader in the game. This in a country of 127 million people. Lampshaded by Yuta, who repeatedly wonders about a possible connection between two seemingly unrelated things, then dismisses it as ridiculously improbable, only for more evidence to cause him to consider it again.

** A major theme in the series, which briefly touches on the reasons people might game. It goes without saying that Moriko is using MMO gaming as a means of retreating from the real world, after her job left her lacking confidence and depressed. It is a gradual {{deconstruction}} of the trope because it shows the negative effects it has on somebody and that one should balance their life.

* GiverOfLameNames: Moriko struggled to give her character a cool-sounding name, but just ended up going with "Hayashi" (which is derived from her own -- see MeaningfulName), and she berates herself for not coming up with something better. In the OVA she actually gets to meet Hayashi; he notices her staring and figures she's wondering about his name, saying that he gets that a lot, prompting Moriko to mentally apologizes.

* ImaginaryLoveTriangle: Sakurai likes Moriko, but is convinced that Moriko and Koiwai like each other and doesn't want to interfere. Koiwai is pretty transparent about being a ShipperOnDeck for Sakurai and Moriko, and Moriko seems to like both guys, but not to the point of having romantic feelings for either one of them. Meanwhile Moriko has a crush on Lily, not knowing she's played by Sakurai. [[spoiler:Things change, however, when Moriko learns that Sakurai is actually the irl identity of a friend she made in another mmo years ago]].
* InsecureLoveInterest: Morioka and Sakurai are ''both'' like this, constantly thinking the other must dislike them and self-conscious about every self-percieved 'flaw.' They would be doomed if it wasn't for Koiwai.

* LoopholeAbuse: The Demon King of the OVA can be defeated by someone wearing an [[ChainmailBikini armor bikini]]... but it doesn't doesn't matter who wears it.

* MomentKiller: In episode 8, Sakurai tells Morioka that [[spoiler:he's Lily]] over the phone...and then realizes his phone's battery was dead. [[spoiler:He tells her in person the next day.]]
** In Episode 10, it almost looks like they're going to kiss while in Sakurai's kitchen when his clothes dryer goes off, spooking both of them

* ChainmailBikini: The secret weakness of the Demon King [[spoiler:Koiwai]] in the OVA special is a metal bikini. Morioka is ''way'' to embarrassed to actually wear it, however.

* CoincidenceMagnet: And how. Yuta Sakurai becomes best friends with Moriko Morioka in an MMO. It turns out he has a friend at work who used to talk to Moriko on the phone a lot for business reasons. Yuta was very impressed by a personnel manual Moriko wrote back then. Through the course of the series, he runs into her by accident in a convenience store, where they both want the last piece of chicken. Later, they collide by a street corner where he accidentally knocks her unconscious with his elbow. His friend from work ALSO has a chance encounter with Moriko, recognizes her voice from back then and asks her out. And ... it just so happens that they used to be best friends in ''another'' MMO, many years back. And the student behind the counter in the convenience store? He's Yuta's and Moriko's guild leader in the game. This in a country of 127 million people.

* CoordinatedClothes: Lily and Hayashi first bond because he finds bracelets that are identical to hers. Later, [[spoiler:Lily buys Hayashi a matching outfit in episode 3.]]
* CrashIntoHello: Moriko and Sakurai meet when the latter turns a corner running while talking on his cell phone and knocks Moriko over. Slightly {{Deconstructed|trope}}, in that he ends up taking her to the hospital and paying for her care.

* CrushBlush: Moriko gets this in real life pretty much every time Lily says something sweet or cute. Once they start interacting more, She and Sakurai have this expression 90% of the time.

* DreamSequence: The second half of the OVA has Moriko fall asleep and dream about being transported to the world of ''Fruits de Mer'', where she interacts with other in-game characters and real-life people. [[spoiler:The ending reveals that Yuta had the same dream]].

* AmbiguouslyBi: Moriko created a male character because she wanted to be a hot guy as eye candy, and when she first met Sakurai she thought he was so cool he was blinding. But when she met Lily online, Moriko thought 'she's an angel!', and after befriending her is constantly seen gushing about how cute she is. Moriko also absolutely {{Squee}}s when Lily asks to be partners, acknowledging that the atmosphere feels somewhat romantic and that what she's feeling for Lily might be akin to a crush. The ShipTease is very strong between the two, even when Moriko [[spoiler:is unaware that Lily is being played by a guy]].

* AmbiguouslyBi:
** Moriko created a male character because she wanted to be a hot guy as eye candy, and when she first met Sakurai she thought he was so cool he was blinding. But when she met Lily online, Moriko thought 'she's an angel!', and after befriending her is constantly seen gushing about how cute she is. Moriko also absolutely {{Squee}}s when Lily asks to be partners, acknowledging that the atmosphere feels somewhat romantic and that what she's feeling for Lily might be akin to a crush. The ShipTease is very strong between the two, even when Moriko [[spoiler:is unaware that Lily is being played by a guy]].
** Koiwai is interested in and cares for Moriko as a person, and he also finds her attractive. At the same time however, he seems to be excessively invested in Sakurai's life for a work buddy, and is seldom seen doing or even ''thinking about'' anything not related to Sakurai. And when he doesn't, it's usually about Moriko. Koiwai gave them both [[AffectionateNickname affectionate nicknames]]'s and he goes out of his way to [[ShipperOnDeck help their relationship develop]]. Then in the OVA [[spoiler:a dream puts Koiwai into the role of a Demon King who is holding 'Princess Sakura(i)' captive as his soon-to-be-bride and he gets ''way'' too in character about this. Additionally, his weakness is set up to be Moriko in a ChainmailBikini, but then it turns out that ''Sakurai'' in the bikini works just as well]].

* TheBeard[=/=]BoyfriendBluff: In Episode 3, Lilly says that Kanbe offered to pretend that they're "partners" to keep random male players from creeping on her. After she explains this to Hayashi, she asks him to become her partner, which he accepts.

** In Episode 9, it almost looks like they're going to kiss while in Sakurai's kitchen when his clothes dryer goes off, spooking both of them

* FictionalVideoGame: ''Fruits De Mer'', where much of the series takes place.

* MeaningfulName: The 'Mori' in 'Moriko' is spelled with the kanji 森. Hayashi is spelled with 林. Both kanji are different ways to say 'forest'.

* EmoteAnimation: After Lily chides Hayashi for asking about Lily's age, Hayashi begins crying. Lily tells Hayashi she was joking and to stop spamming the cry emote. Cut to real life, where Moriko is crying while jamming on her keyboard.

* ArtShift: Hayashi’s ImagineSpot in Episode 3 after receiving Lily’s gift is portrayed with art reminiscent of 80’s shoujo manga like ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' to emphasize Moriko’s skewed/idealized view of how a man should treat a woman, especially in regards to gift giving.

* CrashIntoHello: Moriko and Sakurai meet when the latter turns a corner running while talking on his cell phone and knocks Moriko over. He ends up taking her to the hospital and paying for her care.

* UnkemptBeauty: Moriko often gets embarrassed when she is caught out without makeup on.[[note]]Some of this is a cultural belief.[[/note]] Guys still recognize she's a beautiful women in such situations. Later explored a bit more in Episode 5, when Moriko realizes she is more literally an embodiment of this when she acknowledges she's got MessyHair and gets a makeover.

* UnfortunateImplications: While most likely not intentional, phonetically translating "poko" ("poco") from Spanish and "taro" (when spelled "太郎") from Japanese would cause Pokotaro's name to mean "Little Boy" ("ko" when spelled "子" on its own also means child). On its own this means very little but then you consider his ''wife'' is playing a male CampGay character and you stop wanting to think about it. This is not helped by the meanings of a few Japanese words phonetically containing "poko" in them.

* SquishyWizard: The manga shows the @Home Party guild is almost entirely made up of these. Both Lilac and Pokotaro are this in the literal sense, being magic casters who specialized in high attack stats with really crappy defense in consequence. Meanwhile Kanbe is an assassin which is also a class with fairly low defense, and Hayashi is said to have pretty bad defense for a Knight class character.

* JokeCharacter: Harumi. With big boobs, big muscles, and towering height, most players are gaping and at a loss for words when they see her for the first time. [[spoiler:Koiwai]] admits he created her this way to elicit laughs.