Okumura Masamune becomes the sole member of his high school’s manga club after his senior peers graduate. The boy proclaims his 100% devotion to 2D girls and expresses a complete lack of interest in their 3D (real-world) counterparts. He soon starts to miss the time spent with people who understood his hobby and passion. These reminiscences are interrupted by a knock at the door. When he opens it, he sees an attractive girl who introduces herself as Amano Ririsa and says she wants to join the club.

Because of his convictions, Masamune is initially discouraged and plans to do everything he can to make her change her mind. Unfortunately, all the traps he set for normies end up failing. Ririsa not only speaks passionately about works that true otaku appreciate, but she also idolizes the same heroine that he does. The girl asks him to help her with cosplay. Stunned by the whole situation, Masamune allows her to join and offers his help, despite it clashing with his deeply held principles. Both of them quickly find common ground, spending hours after classes discussing and analyzing their favorite titles.

2.5-jigen no Ririsa (2024) – Audiovisual Design

Video

It’s a bit difficult for me to unequivocally evaluate the visual quality. Aesthetically, the whole thing looked perfectly fine. However, in many places I was somewhat bothered by a lack of detail and depth. Maybe this was the style J.C. Staff chose for the series, but a lot of shots looked rather flat. I can’t say that the adaptation looked bad – absolutely not. Even so, considering how packed with details the manga panels (on which this adaptation was based) were, I’m not about to praise the anime’s visuals either.

Censorship

In most cases when I write anime reviews, either censorship isn’t an issue or any changes are so minor and cosmetic that I don’t give them much thought. Unfortunately, 2.5-jigen no Ririsa deserves at least a short rant about how J.C. Staff handled this adaptation. One of the manga’s selling points was the really nice fanservice – showing off the heroines’ charms from various angles and in various scenarios. Of course, that wasn’t the only noteworthy aspect of the work, but I don’t think anyone familiar with the source material would deny that it made reading it a lot more enjoyable. I don’t have much to complain about in terms of the adaptation of the story or dialogue, but the massive downgrade in fanservice dealt a seriously heavy blow to this title’s appeal.

Imagine if the now-defunct studio Xebec had cut out most of the scenes showcasing the heroines’ assets in To Love Ru. I’m not talking about standard censorship in the form of heavenly light rays or other tricks to cover certain parts of the frame. Oh no. In that case I’d simply mention at the end of the review to wait for the uncensored Blu-ray version. Here, those scenes were outright altered so much that I don’t think anything will change in the Blu-ray release. There are plenty of comparisons between the manga and the adaptation online, so you can pretty easily look up and see the scale of changes for yourself.

Audio

The voice actors, as expected, did a fantastic job. Maeda Kaori as the main heroine (Amano Ririsa) sounded exactly like I imagined her voice while reading the manga. It was no different in the case of Kitou Akari (Tachibana Mikari), or Enoki Junya as the protagonist (Okumura Masamune). In terms of voice acting, it was as good as it could possibly be. I’ll definitely be listening to the soundtrack outside of the show as well. At least a few tracks really caught my ear, so they will most likely end up on my playlists.

2.5-jigen no Ririsa (2024) – Story and Characters

Introduction

I’ve been reading the manga basically since the first volume was released. Even though I’m not really interested in cosplay (I do sometimes enjoy browsing photos from Comiket, where Japanese fans, especially the girls, dress up as popular characters) and dressing up as characters myself doesn’t really appeal to me, it was still nice to see a lot of behind-the-scenes aspects that I never would have even imagined. When I saw that 2.5-jigen no Ririsa was getting an adaptation, I was excited that I’d get to see characters I had already grown quite fond of in animated form. The first PVs (promotional videos) looked rather promising, so I automatically added this title to my watch list for Fall 2024.

Briefly about the Story of 2.5-jigen no Ririsa (2024)

Okumura Masamune is the only remaining member of his school’s manga club after the older students graduate. He declares his total devotion to 2D girls and has absolutely no interest in 3D girls from the real world. Before long, he starts to miss the time he spent with people who understood his hobby and passion. That nostalgia is broken by a knock at the door. Upon opening it, he finds an attractive girl named Amano Ririsa standing there, expressing her desire to join his club.

Due to his beliefs, Masamune is immediately put off and plans to do everything possible to make her give up. Unfortunately for him, all the traps he lays for normies fail. Ririsa not only talks with genuine passion about works that true otaku appreciate, but she also worships the same heroine he does. The girl asks if he will help her with her cosplays. Dumbfounded by this turn of events, Masamune agrees to let her join and offers his assistance, despite it clashing with his firmly held creed. The two quickly find a rapport, spending hours after school discussing and dissecting their favorite titles.

What is the series about

The central theme of 2.5-jigen no Ririsa isn’t just a passion for cosplay, but for all aspects of otaku culture. The author does an excellent job of showing that for true enthusiasts it’s something much more than a mere desire to gain attention. As fate would have it, the main characters found each other as if bound by a red string of destiny – both absolutely adore a heroine named Lilliel, whose adventures they keep up with in the latest volumes of the manga.

Their devotion to Lilliel manifests in different ways. Ririsa wants to breathe life into the 2D world. She hones her costumes to perfection, masters the poses of the character, and even plans the settings in which she appears – all to recreate as faithfully as possible the way the author envisioned this character, essentially creating a 2.5D version of her. For Masamune, Lilliel is the ideal woman and partner. Therefore, seeing Ririsa’s passion and how she pours her heart into everything she does, he wants to help her realize her dreams at any cost. He learns how to use a camera and how to compose shots because he wants to showcase his friend, and especially her version of Lilliel, in the best possible way. To Masamune’s surprise, the club slowly starts to grow, and the results of their collaboration become apparent in Ririsa’s stellar reception at every cosplay event they participate in as a club. At one point, they are forced to find a faculty advisor for the club so they won’t lose the room they’ve been using.

A key element of the plot becomes the message of accepting one’s own passions. The series boldly tackles the topic of society’s perception of hobbies related to anime, manga, and cosplay. However, the takeaways from the story could just as easily apply to any other hobby or passion. The turning point comes in a scene involving a club report, where the characters have to decide whether to remain true to their convictions or conform to others’ expectations.

Characters

Aside from the main protagonists (whom I’ve already written quite a bit about above), the supporting characters are also sketched with careful psychological details, which adds depth to the story. Take, for example, the character Nagomi – at first she may come off as unpleasant and condescending, especially in interactions with novice cosplayers. However, her behavior stems from a deep commitment to her passion and the high standards she sets for herself. Noa, meanwhile, initially withdrawn and struggling with communication, undergoes a significant transformation to become a full-fledged member of the group. Her frustrations with the difficulties in making connections are portrayed in a way that will surely resonate with many viewers.

It’s also worth mentioning Aria, whose arc constitutes one of the emotional high points of the series. Her story revolves around trying to rebuild her relationship with her father by cosplaying a character that he created. Mikari, on the other hand, even though she isn’t an otaku, brings an important romantic thread to the story as Masamune’s childhood friend – one that never overwhelms the main theme of the characters developing their passions. This subplot also allows the other characters to discover and develop their true feelings.

2.5-jigen no Ririsa (2024) – Evaluation and Summary

Despite the adaptation’s imperfections on various levels, the series still retains the essence of what can be found in the source material. However, one cannot ignore the adaptation issues that J.C. Staff is unfortunately known for. The most glaring is the degree of censorship, which in places heavily alters scenes from the original. This isn’t just about the fanservice elements, but also certain scenes that are key to understanding the characters’ motivations. Moreover, compared to the manga, the anime simplifies the female characters’ physical characteristics, which sometimes leads to the loss of nuances important to the story.

As a reader of the manga, I would say that in this case it’s much better to get acquainted with the original first. As for the anime version, it’s best to save it as a supplement. It’s worth mentioning that the first season adaptation (which has 24 episodes) covered roughly up to the middle of the manga’s ninth volume. Another season was already announced in the final episode of the first season.

Finalny werdykt

Final evaluation

Which translation do I recommend for watching 2.5-jigen no Ririsa (2024)?

• Lilliel – a significantly improved official translation, cleaned up from many of the stupid additions made by the infamous translator Katrina Leonoudakis. Memes about her translations have been circulating online for a long time. Personally, I don’t think it was that tragic in this case, but in a lot of places the extra bits were unnecessary at best. It’s nice to see that someone took the time to fix the official translation, especially since the fixes weren’t limited to just that.

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