Fumiya Tomozaki is an ace gamer in the digital world, but a bottom-tier character in real life. His favorite game is called Takfam, which is an obvious parody of Super Smash Brothers. One day, while playing Takfam online, a familiar player with the username NONAME asks Tomozaki if he wants to meet in person. When he does, he is surprised to discover that the true identity of NONAME is none other than his classmate – Aoi Hinami.

Aoi is the most popular girl in Tomozaki’s class. She ranks highest in athletics, academics, and Japanese beauty. Unbeknownst to all her peers, Aoi also has a passion for gaming, especially for Takfam. When she was defeated by Tomozaki, aka the great “Nanashi”, she thought she had found someone like her – someone who is constantly developing and perfecting their character. But when she found out that her supposed Mr. Perfect was actually a rock-bottom loser who has given up on life, she began to unload her disappointment.

Aoi ridicules Tomozaki for his appearance, but Tomozaki claims that someone as popular as her doesn’t understand where someone like him comes from. He says you can’t change your character in real life like you can in a game, but Aoi begs to differ. She brings Tomozaki to her bedroom and begins to explain how Tomozaki can change his character beginning with two simple things: Expression and Posture.

“Life’s not unreasonable or unbalanced,” explains Aoi, “The game of life may look like it has no rules, but it has a beautiful structure consisting of many simple rules in combination. Life is the ultimate god-tier game. I’ll teach you the rules of this game, one by one, and you will play it like you mean it.”

“If what you are saying is true, then the gamer in me wants to play,” says Tomozaki.

After agreeing to learn how to play the game of life, Aoi sets some goals for Tomozaki to achieve. The first is to get a family member or close friend to notice a difference in his appearance. The second is for Tomozaki to get a girlfriend by his third year of high school. (He gasps at this goal.) The third will be completed today.

Tomozaki’s objective for today is to talk to at least three girls: Yuzu Izumi, Minami Nanami, and a third of his choosing. The mask Aoi gave him in the last episode will be used as a conversation-starter. The idea is that he can tell people he has a cold.

Will Tomozaki succeed, or will he forever remain a bottom-tier character? Let’s find out now!

Lesson 2: Conversation

At Sekitomo High School, where Tomozaki attends, there is an unspoken rule that only the popular girls can wear neckties, while the others must wear bowties. Yuzu and Minami are both on team necktie. Conveniently, Yuzu sits right next to Tomozaki in his first period. He turns toward the brown-eyed brunette and asks her for a tissue. Yuzu fumbles through her purse but can’t find one. She turns to the silver-haired girl sitting behind her and asks for a tissue. The girl, whose name was Fuka Kikuchi, already has a package ready to present. She passes it to Yuzu, who then passes it to Tomozaki. The bottom-tier protagonist removes his mask and blows his nose.

“Thanks,” Tomozaki says to Fuka.

“Um, Tomozaki,” responds Fuka, “Why are you grinning?”

He realizes Fuka caught him practicing smiling, so he scrambles to come up with a cover.

“Ah! It’s just, uh, my teeth hurt! That was a grimace!”

Tomozaki decides to count this as his third conversation.

Having successfully spoken to two girls, ace-gamer Tomozaki makes his way to home ec, where he will try to strike a conversation with his third and final target, Minami Nanami.

One of Aoi’s requirements is that she must always be present when Tomozaki has his conversations. When Tomozaki arrives at home ec, he sees Minami in her usual spot, but Aoi is nowhere to be found. Tomozaki decides to lay low until she gets here, but to his surprise, Minami speaks to him first.

“What gives, Tomozaki, you’re here early?”

“Oh, uh…no reason.”

“No reason, huh? Well yeah, sure. I get that.”

(Don’t you love high school conversations?)

“Isn’t it fantastic though?” continues Tomozaki.

“Hmm, what is?”

“I mean, I gave you this dead-end ‘no reason’ reply, and you still responded with ‘I get that,’ and it’s like, isn’t it great how teenage girls can be so empathetic?”

Minami starts cracking up.

“What the heck, Tomozaki. What are you, some old fart?”

“N-no, it’s just that–young women these days–,”

“But you’re young, too!”

Another girl named Tama enters the room and asks what Minami is laughing about.

“Tomozaki was talking like an old man.”

Tomozaki starts to explain himself, but Nakamura enters the room and asks what everyone is getting so worked up about.

“Tomozaki is hilarious,” says Minami.

“Oh, he is, is he?” responds Nakamura.

“Tell us about it,” says one of Nakamura’s friends.

Tomozaki then recounts his conversation with Minami.

“That’s not funny at all, right” touts Nakamura. His buddies agree.

“Seriously?” retorts Minami, “All three of you have a busted sense of humor.”

“No, dude, you’re the weirdo.”

(He just called a girl ‘dude’?)

“What’s so weird about me, huh?”

“Let’s put it to a vote, then: Who thinks Mimimi was the weird one here?”

Nakamura and his two buddies raise their hands.

“Okay, who thinks I’m the weirdo?”

“Me! Me, me, me! Me, me, me, me, me!” says Minami, as she raises her hand high in the air.

(See? She’s bouncy and bubbly.)

“Put me down with Mimimi here,” says a new voice – it’s Aoi!

“Nobody asked you, Aoi,” retorts Nakamura.

“What? Why not? I was listening, too, you know. Okay, so that’s two votes: me and Mimimi. Who else?”

Tomozaki and Tama raise their hands.

“We have four votes! So Shuji’s the one with the weird sense of humor,” announces Aoi.

“Thanks for playing, Nakamu!” says Minami.

Call Me Mimimi

After class, Tama hugs Aoi and thanks her for stepping in before she messed everything up, at least, those are her words. Tomozaki also thanks her.

“No biggie!” says Aoi, “You know, Tomozaki, you’re funnier than I thought. I was listening and laughing!”

“It was like he was on some kinda talk show!” says Minami.

“It wasn’t that funny, Nanami,” says Tomozaki.

“Sorry, sorry! Oh, and you can call me ‘Mimimi’.”

(Why not just “Mimi”?)

“I think our teachers are the only ones left who call her ‘Nanami’,” says Aoi.

At the end of the day, Tomozaki and Aoi meet in the abandoned sewing room to evaluate his progress.

“Anything else you might have picked up on today?” asks Aoi.

“That I’m an awful conversationalist, maybe? Like, I don’t know the right things to say.”

“But the home ec room got pretty lively, didn’t it? For someone just starting out, I’d say today’s field practice was a huge success.”

“Seriously?”

“But you totally whiffed the rest of it. First Kikuchi sees you grinning under your mask, then you blow your nose without even trying to be discreet. You’re the lowest of the low. You could be at the earth’s core, and that still wouldn’t be low enough!”

Hinami’s carrot-stick swapping is giving me whiplash, thinks Tomozaki.

“Well, I think that’s about enough for today. Tomorrow we’ll start correcting your posture, so come ready!”

The next morning, Aoi begins improving Tomozaki’s posture.

“Your mind and body are linked,” says Aoi, “Improving your posture will change your timid state of mind.”

Aoi has Tomozaki stand next to a wall to help him practice standing up straight.

Next, Aoi lays out Tomozaki’s objectives for the day.

“Talk to me and someone with me several times over the course of the day. And this medium goal here…”

“Have a girlfriend before starting year 3, right?”

“This’ll also help lay the groundwork for that. I want to see the reactions of these girls you talk to and the conversational mood before deciding on the next steps. Who should you be getting close to? What should you be practicing? Today I’m heading home with Hashiguchi, Matsumoto, and Mimimi. Make sure to join in our conversation.”

Once evening falls (again), Tomozaki tries his luck at another conversation. The two guys–Hashiguchi and Matsumoto–take the lead as they walk home. Aoi and Mimimi follow closely behind, with Tomozaki in the very back.

“You still doing strength training?” says one of the guys.

“Oh, yeah,” says the other guy.

“And not just during club meetings, either!” says Minami.

“What are you working on?” asks Aoi.

“Pretty much everything,” says the second guy. (I still don’t know which one is which.)

“So, uh, does that include the butt muscles?” asks Tomozaki.

“The butt?” says Hashiguchi, Matsumoto, and Minami at the same time…followed by an awkward pause.

(Do they not understand sarcasm?)

Aoi jumps in to save the conversation.

“Oh, I’m working on my butt, too!”

“So the secret to Aoi’s sizzling physique is all in her butt muscles!” says Mimimi with a smirk.

When they arrive at the train station, Tomozaki thanks Aoi for saving him.

“Don’t worry about it,” says Aoi, “Now, just to let you know: You and Mimimi are both getting off at Kitayono. No running away. Hang in there and do it right!”

A Young Maiden with Lots of Worries

“I didn’t know you lived in Kitayono, too,” says Minami, after they got off the train.

“Uh…yeah,” responds Tomozaki.

“Why are you so nervous?” asks Minami, with a slap on his back.

“You sure have a lot of energy, Mimimi.”

“Right? I intend to live my life with nothing but energy and a smile on my face!”

“I mean, there have to be times when you can’t be smiling and bubbly.”

“That’s when you need a smile the most! Or hard times’ll be that much harder.”

“Oh, right. Hinami was saying that the mind and body are linked.”

“Well! Don’t you two sound buddy-buddy! Give it to me straight, Tomozaki. Something fishy’s going on between you and Aoi, right? You’ve been giving each other all these looks lately–so what’s the scoop?”

“There’s no scoop,” explains Tomozaki, “As if Aoi Hinami would have anything to do with the likes of me!”

“Good one! Y’know, you can be pretty funny sometimes, Tomozaki. You should let your fun side shine! You’re always so glum.”

“That’s none of your business. Besides, I’m fine not having fun all the time. For example, I like Tackfam, right?” Well, it’s like…I don’t play Tackfam because I want to have fun. I play my very best because I like Tackfam itself. The fun is just a bonus.”

“You might be a little like Tama in that respect. She won’t bend–or she won’t let herself be bent. Even in a situation where she’d have more fun if she did bend, she won’t unless she’s okay with it all. And that’s awesome! I totally respect her for that! With me, it’s like, ‘Always be bending!’ I bend this way and that, even bending over backwards to make things fun. What do you think? Is that admirable? I’m actually a young maiden with lots of worries.”

This is one of the few moments where we see Minami not smiling, but she seems more genuine this time than she usually does.

“I had no idea,” says Tomozaki.

“Though my worries are small potatoes compared to Tama’s. Which is why I, flexible as I am, am trying to protect her,” continues Minami.

“I see. So you support each other.”

“Yes, that’s right: mutual support! Though I guess you could say I’m doing most of the supporting. Well, I’m down here. See you later!”

Minami and Tomozaki split ways.

The next day, Tomozaki meets Aoi in the sewing room. Tomozaki explains his conversation with Mimimi.

“You seem to be good at speaking your mind,” analyzes Aoi.

“Isn’t everybody?” asks Tomozaki.

“Not necessarily. Take Mimimi. Minami is super flexible. Is she good at saying what’s on her mind?”

Tomozaki agrees that Mimimi would most likely agree with those around her.

“And Hanabi. Now, she’d have no problem speaking her mind.”

“So it’s actually difficult to just come out and say what’s on your mind,” analyzes Tomozaki.

Aoi explains that this is Tomozaki’s “killer technique”.

“Anything else you noticed in the course of boosting your conversational XP?” asks Aoi.

“What I noticed was the division of conversational roles,” says Tomozaki. He continues to explain that Mimimi always starts with phrases like “Check this out!” or “So yesterday?” Then, there’s someone who expands on the topic, usually a select few members like Aoi or Mimimi.

“Hex-actly!” says Aoi.

(“Hex-actly” is how the English subs translate the catch phrase, but in the Japanese audio, it sounds more like oni-tada.)

“Wait, that’s twice you’ve said ‘hexactly’!” notices Tomozaki, “What is that?”

She pauses for a second and says, “Well, now that I’ve said it twice, I give up. It’s a line from a retro game I liked when I was little, Go Go Oinko.”

“Oh, Oinko! I remember now. So you’re a fan?”

Aoi suddenly gets a burst of excitement and says, “You know Oinko?! I expected nothing less from Japan’s top gamer!”

She goes on a rant, but suddenly snaps herself back into her ‘boss girl’ persona.

“Let’s get back on topic,” she says.

Aoi hands Tomozaki a set of flashcards with memorized topics that she uses when she runs out of things to talk about. She also gives him a pocket recorder to get a good feel for how he talks.

“Now, about our plans for Saturday,” continues Aoi.

“But we don’t have school,” says Tomozaki.

“All the more reason! We’ll meet at Omiya Station at 11 am. You’ll be spending the day with me. Hehe”

Thoughts: Social Masks

People often say that humans are like icebergs, what you see on the surface is “fake” and what you don’t see below the surface is “real”. I’m sure most of us are familiar with the fact that only 10% of an iceberg is above the surface. The facade that most people portray outwardly is like a mask that they use to hide the part of themselves that they don’t want others to see. The sad part is, this hidden part is often the side they want to portray, but are too afraid of not fitting into society to show it.

The concept of social masks is present in several S-tier anime including Oshi no Ko and Attack on Titan. Despite being less popular, I believe that Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki portrays this concept far better than those other two.

Aoi Hinami likes to portray herself as refined and dignified, and if I dare say, perfect. What she doesn’t like to show is that she secretly has a passion for gaming. When Tomozaki starts talking about Go Go Oinko, Aoi seems to break character and goes into a rant about how much she loves the game, but she quickly snaps out of it and goes back into her “boss girl” persona. It’s likely she is hiding her passion for gaming because it’s generally not considered to be a “mature” hobby.

Minami Nanami is a bubbly and bouncy girl on the outside, but harbors a lot of deep emotions on the inside. She confesses to Tomozaki that she is actually a maiden with lots of worries. One of her mantras is that whenever she feels down, she has to up the ante on her bubbliness or it will be that much harder to smile when things get rough. The probelm is, this means that the happier Minami looks on the outside, the sadder she feels on the inside, and only those who truly know her will know that she is suffering. I firmly believe in the importance of staying positive when things get rough, but it’s also important to be real and honest with yourself and others when things aren’t going right.

As for Fumiya Tomozaki, he is a rock-bottom loser on the outside, but a master gamer on the inside. Will Aoi be able to turn him inside-out and improve his appearance in the game of life? Find out in the next review of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki!