Works' "top-notch production" for taking a "late-90s nightmare version of Japan's otaku paradise into a truly grimy and lived-in battleground" and Ranko for being "a cool, funny, and badass action heroine".

Caitlin Moore called it "the kind of episode where you spend 25 minutes with your jaw hanging open as your brain scrambles to process everything happening on the screen.

Every time you think you have a handle on the latest twist, the plot one-ups itself in some way, either playing with yakuza movie tropes or just going balls-to-the-wall wild."

While criticizing the opening scene for giving away the series' overall concept, he concluded that "this amounts to a minor gripe in a highly enjoyable, often hilarious first episode.

"[21] Moore placed it at number three, saying "Akiba Maid War pulls no punches, with perfectly timed comedy as dark as a Berkshire hog.