So I Watched I Want to End This Love Game…
Article at a glance:
- The “I love you game” premise is a goofy but effective setup that leads to real character-driven development, even if the pacing sags a bit in the middle episodes.
- Yukiya and Miku carry the whole show. their backstories and growth are genuinely well handled, even though the side characters barely register.
- The production is solid across the board, with standout voice acting that nails the vulnerable moments, but the season ends without any real payoff for all that build-up.
Right, on a friend’s recommendation, I decided to watch I Want to End This Love Game, and I have to say, I had a lot of fun. Yeah, I have my issues with it. I know some of those issues get resolved later in the manga, but I have to judge the anime on its own merit. Especially since there’s no sequel confirmed, I can’t be sure if the anime adaptation will even get that far into the manga. But, once again, regardless of the issues, I did enjoy the anime a lot. And well, here are my thoughts on it.
Either way, welcome back to yet another review. I know this one’s a little late, but I just finished I Want to End This Love Game today. And I really want to talk about it. So let’s just get right into it.
Plot
I like the plot overall. The premise of the “I love you game” allows for a ton of goofy interactions that are very entertaining. Sure, there are still a bunch of rom-com cliches here, but the plot isn’t completely reliant on them. Other than that, the plot does a decent enough job of setting up for all the character-driven interactions, and it also provides some good natural triggers for character development. So, all in all, the plot is decent, unlike you might expect, the plot does move forward, things do change, and both our MCs get a substantial bit of character development. On top of that, the backstory for both MCs is really well handled.
I only have two main issues with the plot. Firstly, for the middle chunk of the season, you will feel the length. And secondly, there’s no proper conclusion to this season. Sure, we get a bunch of character development, but it leads to nothing. Now I know they do confess for real and start dating later on in the manga. But again, I have to judge the anime on its own. Because we might never get to see that part of the manga animated. But the pacing kind of dying for 2-3 episodes right in the middle of the show does hurt. It is not a death blow by any means, but as I said, you will feel the length.
Characters
I don’t have to write a whole essay about the characters this time because there are only two characters we care about. It is not exactly a flaw because the story IS meant to be focused on Yukiya and Miku, but I really do wish that the side characters had a little more substance. But putting the side characters aside, I have to say, our main duo is written really well. Miku and Yukiya’s interactions are the life of this show.
Yukiya has to be one of the better romance MCs because of how much he has actively worked on himself. Legit, this guy looked like a nerd in middle school, but he actually worked out, built up some muscle, started caring about his hair and stuff to actually look good in high school. And again, he did all this because HE wanted to be the first one and only one to date Miku. That’s dedication. He is extremely introverted but still does his best in the game, once again, just for Miku. He legit does anything and everything possible to make Miku happy. And by the end of the season, he really does get closer to her.
Miku’s development is a little more chaotic. She was pretty insecure for a while, and then she had a pretty bad breakdown after Yukiya called someone else cute. Miku’s crying was genuinely hard to watch because of how much the VA nailed the vulnerability in her tone. But she recovered soon enough after Yukiya cared for her when she was sick. She had to overcome her insecurities and realize that Yukiya only has eyes for her. It was a pretty sweet character arc overall.
Once again, I really wish we got the payoff of them finally dating, even if in the last episode of the anime. But still, their interactions were amazing.
Production
First and foremost, I have to say I Want to End This Love Game had amazing voice acting overall. Both Yukiya and Miku’s VAs nailed their emotions perfectly. Be it just goofing around with each other or the voice shakes when their characters are being vulnerable, they did a fantastic job. The animations are butter smooth, and the art looks good. The opening theme is very fun, though the ending theme is kind of middle of the road. But you know, minor issue. Really not much to complain about in terms of production; they did a great job all around. Nothing out of this world but serviceable enough.
Summing Up
Here are my final review scores for I Want to End This Love Game
- Plot – 7/10
- Characters – 8/10
- Production – 8/10
- Enjoyment – 8/10
- Overall – 7.75
So yeah, a pretty fun show with its fair share of flaws. I still recommend giving it a chance if you like romance shows. Maybe wait a little to see if they announce a Season 2 just to be safe. Either way, those were my thoughts and opinions on this anime. Let me know yours in the comments. I will take my leave here. See ya!
Also, check out my thoughts on Wistoria Season 2 here!
