16Bit Sensation: Another Layer caught me at possibly the most opportune time. I’m 23, working my first job out of college, and I find myself wishing every day that things would just go back to the way they used to be. Before mediocre mobile gacha games ruled the industry, there were bishojo games. They were titles filled with fun narratives, heart, soul, and lots of beautiful girls to date. Despite me being biased, considering my love for the 1990s anime art style and classic visual novels, the premise of this show grabbed me from the start as a nostalgic struggling artist trying to make ends meet.
The first episode opens with a 4:3 aspect ratio shot of the main protagonist Konoha Akisato totally freaking out over having been transported back in time to Akihabara in 1992. If I were her, I would probably warm up to that reality swiftly. I miss Japan, especially the Akihabara from 12 years ago. Veteran bishojo otaku might be scoffing at me as they read this, considering I wasn’t even alive in the 1990s, but I’ll sing my praises of the period nevertheless.) The circumstances Konoha is thrown into at least seem better than continuing her current job as a sub artist at a lousy male-dominated company that rejects her every suggestion and only makes low-budget hypnosis games to try to make a quick sale.
The first episode of 16Bit Sensation: Another Layer is chock-full of references to bishojo games from the 1990s. The game that transports her to 1992, Dokyusei, is a classic Japanese dating sim. (The international version released in 2022 and is available now on Steam, by the way.) You can tell that the creators behind this series have an overflowing love for video games, much like Konoha herself.
About halfway through the episode, Konoha goes on an absolute spiel about her love for the 1999 visual novel by Key, Kanon. By sheer coincidence, I happened to have started watching the 2006 anime adaptation of it recently. It was then that I realized just how many small references to Kanon were included in this first episode. The taiyaki stand, the snow of December, the random bumping into strangers on the street. It’s all there.
Konoha is a loveable and relatable protagonist from the very beginning. After all, at her core, she’s a cute girl that loves video games. Even better, she’s a cute girl that loves cute girls in video games. I can’t wait to see what kind of game she creates in the coming episodes. Whatever it is, I’m confident she’ll make the girls in it shine.
16Bit Sensation: Another Layer is available to stream on Crunchyroll. The manga is published by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan.
