Full Dive: “A Disappointing and Painful Experience”
Introduction
What is Full Dive Anime?
It has been said that life is like a video game, except there are no Autosaves, restarts, or do-overs. No matter how good or bad my life is, I cannot be transported to another world where I am an immortal King, the Villioness taming the final boss, or some other place where I fight The Demon King and all the world loves me. Nope, no matter how s*** my life is, I have to play the hand that I'm dealt. Such is life.
Full Dive (short for 'Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier Than Real Life!' or Kykyoku Shinka shita Furu Daibu RPG ga Genjitsu yori mo Kusog Dattara) is a Japanese light novel series written by Light Tuchihi and illustrated by Youta. Since August 2020, Media Factory has released four volumes under their MF Bunko J imprint. From January 2021 to January 2022, a manga adaptation featuring art by Kino was serialized in Media Factory's seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive.
ENGI's anime television series adaptation premiered in April and concluded in the spring of 2021. Kazuya Miura was in charge of directing the anime. "Full Dive: This Ultimate Next-Gen Full Dive RPG Is Even Shittier Than Real Life!" director Kazuya Miura has also directed "Kemono Michi: Rise Up," "DRAMAtical Murder," "Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs," and "Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!"
Kenta Ihara handled the series composition and screenwriting for Full Dive, while Kenmotsu adapted the character designs for animation. Kevin Yuuta, based on the original character designs by Youta.
Full Dive is a 12-episode anime series with virtual reality, gaming, and escapism themes. It falls into the comedy and fantasy genres. The anime is aimed at the seinen audience. Full Dive has a PG-13 rating, making it appropriate for teens aged 13 and up.
Full Dive It is the story of Hiroshi Yuki, a high school student who becomes obsessed with the virtual reality MMORPG game Finalizing Quest. So being short on cash because he’s subject to bullying, Horoshi finds himself unable to purchase the game he’s reserved.
After leaving the original store, he comes across another where he thinks he can save a yen or two. Reona Kisaragi, the shop manager, tricks our protagonist into buying the game Kiwame Quest by using verbal abuse and oppai. Although the game provides an incredibly realistic and challenging gaming experience, Hiroshi refuses to stop playing because he has already spent money on it, resulting in many frustrating and painful situations.
Brief Overview of the Plot
In recent years, the gaming fandom has expanded dramatically, with fans clamoring for more immersive content. Every gamer's (or at least mine's) dream is to feel like they are a part of the game, but what if you were in the game and the rules of the real world applied to the virtual world? Full Dive is based on this premise. To put it mildly, our protagonist's daily life was less than ideal.
The anime follows Hiroshi as he ventures deeper into the harsh world of Kiwame Quest. You can do it in the game just like you would in real life. The anime explains this well by stating that because of auto-save, if you make a mistake, such as killing your best friend, there is no way to undo it. The player is compelled to continue playing, to survive the game, and to avoid making the same mistake twice.
Faced with challenge after challenge, he is physically and emotionally exhausted. Though intended as a comedy, the show often portrays Hiroshi's experiences in a sad and disturbing light.
He never seems to improve at the game or learn from his mistakes, though, in his defense, the game world he’s inserted into doesn’t help much. He makes terrible choices while shouting and complaining whenever things go wrong. The few other characters, including his in-game guide, Reona, offer little help or sympathy. Overall, Full Dive provides a cynical look at gaming and virtual reality through the lens of a fairly unlikable protagonist. Fortunately, his unlikeability does change as the series progresses, but that story, my friends, is for another day.
Analysis of Main Character: Hiroshi Yūki
Hiroshi's Character Traits
Hiroshi is portrayed as passive and subject to random bullying from several classmates and his sister, but he did not start this way. In the first episode, once we get past the introduction about immersive gaming, we learn that Hiroshi was probably a high achiever when he entered high school.
Unfortunately, due to a track injury that hurt more than his pride during his First year, Hiroshi has lost his mojo. He avoids everyday reality in favor of the virtual world because he lacks resolve. His friend Takafumi informed him that being a gamer had made him a target. His lack of initiative makes him a sitting duck in real life and in the game; Hiro, like Ken Kaneki, though for different reasons, is oblivious to the world's ways and easy prey.
Over time, his gaming lifestyle has left him lazy, inept, easily angered, and unwilling to put forth genuine effort in any endeavor. He wishes to find an easy solution to every problem without working hard or practicing his skills. He barely develops common sense and foresight, never thinking about his actions or their consequences.
Hiroshi's Reaction to In-Game Situations
Hiroshi's default reaction to any challenge or setback in Kiwame Quest is to scream, shout, and complain rather than calmly analyze the situation and develop a strategy. He believes that success and skill mastery will come naturally and without effort, Something we see in episode four when Reona provides Hiro with a walkthrough. The only player to complete the game created the walkthrough, but few people use it because he mocks those who need help as "trash players."
Hiroshi’s Lack of Improvement and Effort in the Game
Despite it being established early on that a player's fundamental life skills and abilities translate directly into Kiwame Quest, Hiroshi needs to make more attempts to improve himself physically or mentally to improve at the game. He wants rewards and power-ups handed to him rather than earning them through hard work. Even after many hours of playing, Hiroshi remains just as unskilled and incompetent as when he started. This is a significant part of his character development, as Hiro lacks the necessary abilities to handle real life.
The Emotional and Physical Torture Hiroshi Endures
Throughout the anime, Hiroshi experiences various forms of emotional and physical suffering, primarily as a result of his own choices. This entails experiencing extreme humiliation and embarrassment, primarily as a result of verbal abuse from NPCs like the blacksmith who berates Hiroshi in episode 7 when the town is under attack by goblins, betrayal by other players, and more. While intended as comedic, the sheer amount of punishment heaped on Hiroshi sometimes becomes challenging to watch.
Examination of Other Characters
Reona Kisaragi: The Game Store Manager
Reona dupes Hiroshi into purchasing Kiwame Quest and then appears as his unhelpful fairy guide in-game. Rather than offering helpful advice, she frequently cracks jokes or quips at Hiroshi's expense. Her personality and motivations are only partially explored, making her appear to be little more than a plot device to torment the main character or a developer used to provide feedback on the gameplay. It should be noted that this Kiwame Quest is over ten years old, so it is interesting that so much interest is placed in a relic of a game.
Analysis of the NPC Characters
All of the non-player characters in Kiwame Quest have been written with one goal in mind: to make Hiroshi's life as difficult as possible. The NPCs have no empathy for Hiroshi and are constantly insulting, stealing from, and attacking him. They serve as obstacles rather than fleshed-out characters.
The Absence of a Male Rival or Best Friend
The main character usually has a rival or close friend who is a male character in the game, and this is a common trope in anime about video games. Unfortunately for Hiroshi, he is utterly alone in this world. The absence of this trope adds to the sense of isolation and pain he experiences on his journey. My expectations included the return of either Martin, who could have become Hiro's new best friend, or Tesla, who could have become his new rival.
The Role of Female Characters in the Anime
Female characters like Reona, Mizarisa, and Hiroshi's sister Kaede exist mainly to belittle, embarrass, and undermine Hiroshi. They are not portrayed as equals or allies. Even potential love interests end up betraying or manipulating him in the end. The female characters primarily serve as additional tormentors and complications rather than meaningful relationships.
The Lack of Sympathetic Characters
No one in Full Dive is likable or sympathetic except for Cathy and, on rare occasions, Reona. This makes it hard for the audience to care about the story or Hiroshi's predicament. The absence of any character exhibiting kindness or concern for Hiroshi adds to the isolating bleakness of the anime's tone.
Discrepancies in the Game World
Use of Humor in Full Dive
While Full Dive is classified as a comedy anime, the attempts at humor often feel mean-spirited, relying on Hiroshi's pain and humiliation as punchlines. The tone becomes increasingly cynical and bitter rather than funny as the series progresses.
Inconsistencies in the Game’s Realism
Despite Kiwame Quest supposedly being based on ultra-realism, characters sometimes display special powers and abilities that break their own rules. This inconsistency undermines the show's premise and makes the world feel less believable.
The Game’s Lack of Fun and Entertainment
Moments of levity or fun are scarce in Kiwame Quest, which seems intentionally designed to frustrate and punish players. It needs to be clarified why anyone would voluntarily play a game focused so heavily on emotional anguish versus entertainment, damaging the plausibility of the anime's premise.
The Anime's Humor Aspect
Failure of the Anime as a Comedy
Despite its label as a comedy, Full Dive rarely delivers on the promise of genuine laughs or lightheartedness. The show has a cruel undercurrent because of its humor, which relies on Hiroshi and the other characters' misfortune. Hiroshi and Reona's witty back-and-forth is entertaining, especially after he is finished shining his sword and she tells him the truth: "This game is sh*t." and that the developers will essentially blow up his gaming council if he dies. At this point, the anime begins to take itself more seriously, though many viewers may have already tuned out.
Analysis of Specific Humorous Scenes
Scenes intended to be humorous often rely on awkward social interactions, cruelty, or Hiroshi's humiliation. The characters' suffering is positioned as the punchline, leading to an uncomfortable viewing experience rather than amusement or joy. The most notable example of this is the ongoing chase scenes between Hiroshi and Alicia, which began in episode one. The ongoing conflict would involve two other NPCs: Martin, whom he eventually makes amends with, and Mizarisa, an inquisitor with a sadistic obsession with Hiro.
Conclusion
Final Thoughts on Full Dive
Full Dive provides an ugly look at gaming addiction and escapism through an unsympathetic protagonist and a bleak virtual world. Neither fun nor funny, the anime's attempts at humor feel mean-spirited and fall flat. With few likable characters or meaningful relationships, the show becomes a depressing slog. Hiroshi's refusal to improve or learn makes watching his repeated failures more frustrating than entertaining. While the premise holds some promise, the execution fails to deliver a satisfying story or comedy.
Potential for Improvement
With a more sympathetic and well-rounded protagonist, the inclusion of genuine friendship/rivalry, and dialing back the cruelty, Full Dive could have better executed its exciting premise. Creating a proper character arc for Hiroshi and developing the supporting cast could have made his struggles more compelling. A story focused on genuine challenge and growth rather than endless punishment could have been both comedic and engaging.
Personal Recommendation
To be completely honest, I would have had to reveal major plot points in order to defend this anime. I'll just say that even for fans of the gaming anime genre, it is hard to completely recommend Full Dive. Some insightful comments on virtual reality and the allure of escape are lost in a slow pace and unlikable characters. Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, and even Bofuri offer more nuanced perspectives on gaming wish fulfillment and virtual worlds if you are interested.
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Full Dive Official Trailer
