J.C. Staff’s 2.5 Dimensional Seduction, a cosplay-centered harem anime, wrapped up its second cour this past week on December 13th. Cosplay as a major theme in anime is nothing new, as shows like Otaku no Video, Comic Party, and Genshiken have been around for decades. In the current decade, anime featuring otaku and cosplay themes continues to be popular.
In 2022, My Dress-Up Darling, another cosplay-centered show, premiered receiving positive attention from millions of anime fans during its 12-episode run. My Dress-up Darling currently sits at over one million users on the MyAnimeList database. 2.5 Dimensional Seduction, however, sits at around 114,000 users.
My Dress-up Darling has spectacular animation and hilarious characters that draw you in – the show deserves its recognition! But 2.5 Dimensional Seduction dives even deeper into what it means to be a cosplayer and otaku from different walks of life, so I hope it can be as well received as My Dress-up Darling.
2D-Loving Boy and 2.5-Dimensional Girl
The story follows Masamune Okumura, a hard-core otaku who has dedicated his life to consuming 2D media in an effort to avoid the real world. The lines between 2D and 3D blur when he meets fellow otaku, Ririsa Amano, at school. Ririsa expresses interest in Masamune’s manga research club, and Masamune eventually lets her join the club after Ririsa shows her dedication to the manga character, Lilliel – Masamune’s idol. Ririsa shows off the Lilliel cosplay she handmade, kickstarting her friendship with Masamune.
The first episode of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction may not be super engaging, as there is a lot of dialogue and ecchi scenes that I could see people getting turned off or bored by. Early on, I didn’t see the anime overtaking My Dress-up Darling or Comic Party in my heart (good luck dethroning Oreimo), but as the series aired I became more and more interested in every character introduced. Not to pull a “it gets good, trust me bro” on you, but the second cour of the 24-episode series is what made 2.5 Dimensional Seduction my possible anime of the year.
Cosplay From Every Walk of Life
Sometimes anime introduces a plethora of characters that don’t add anything to the story, or characters that don’t make us empathize with them. 2.5 Dimensional Seduction doesn’t fall into this, and I thought every character introduced had an important story to tell and a vital place in the plot.
Each main character comes from a different background: Ririsa is a hard-core otaku starting her cosplay journey, Mikari is an established fashion model turned cosplayer, Nonoa is a well-known cosplayer who struggles with anxiety and social situations, Aria has no idea how to cosplay until a family issue pushes her to try it, Mayuri deals with shame and career stagnation throughout her cosplay hobby, and Nagomi is the most popular career-cosplayer in the scene. Each girl comes with their own reasons for cosplay, and they all explore and experience the hobby differently, which made the show easily binge-able for me.
Not Just Seduction
2.5 Dimensional Seduction‘s directing and pacing make it easy to watch binge episode to episode, and while it may seem like just an ecchi full of fanservice and goofy scenarios on the surface, there’s a lot more to the show. If you are an otaku or a cosplayer, I can guarantee you’ll relate to at least one of the characters from the anime as it dives into subjects such as shame, anxiety, rejection, competition, and high expectations.
Without going into spoilers, episodes 19 through 21 of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction are what sealed the deal on this possibly being my number-one anime of 2024 (I still have a huge backlog, Kami-sama have mercy on me). The episodes deal with Aria and her difficult family history. Aria’s purpose in cosplay is ignited by her family’s hardships, and it’s just neat to see otakudom bringing people together and shining a positive light on an otherwise dark situation.
I’m so relieved that 2.5 Dimensional Seduction was able to run for a whole 24 episodes before concluding the first season. This gave time for every character to give their background story and built a strong foundation for what I think will be a great season 2.
I might not even wait until (the already announced) Season 2 as I’m itching to just jump into the manga, especially after that final episode. If you’ve enjoyed past otaku-themed anime, go watch 2.5 right now, as I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
© Yu Hashimoto / SHUEISHA, Ririsa Project
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