No Game No Life

This is a product, a well done one, but if you were looking for an anime that concentrated on its deep story, and well written cast and lines....this is not it. This is a product, not a piece of art, with the main intent on selling.

It starts off in an interesting group of characters. The main character who is good at video games and hacks into them just to put in his name as black (because you cant do that no matter what and the anime is trying too hard to make him a self insert character) and his 11 year old sister..s panties..kinda ... just keeps zooming in on them first episode....so if you have a thing for 11 year old anime girls this is the show for you. They work together as an awesome duo beating games and are brought into this magical world in which there is no bloodshed or war because everything settled by games and bets on those games! cool right?! yes very...but the show tries so hard to make it a harem anime and it totally wastes that setting. It will switch from going between cool games and strategies being played to shipping him with some chick, or his 11 year old sister or him picturing said girls (including his 11 year old sister) sexually .

I dont mind sex done right.....Gankutsuou handled sex perfectly, so did the video game catherine...this just uses sex as a means to sell to eeeeveryone with tastes for anime waifus.......

if you are into a good setting with a shit ton of fanservice and odd dialogue mixed in with kinda good dialogue..by all means man, go for it.

if you were hoping for a master piece or an anime that would blow you away, this isnt it

This review contains heavy spoilers and its commited to those who have actually seen the show, so I wont explain every rule or how every game works.



INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

In NGNL's world, everything is regulated by games. There are no wars, robbery or fights and 10 rules determine this world's order.

In my opinion, NGNL is a bad anime packed of cliches and plot twists without much sense that I wouldn't recommend to anybody unless you are a big fan of isekai and ecchi stuff.

Tet, the god of Disboard transports 2 siblings ,Sora and Shiro, to his world in order to challenge him. This could be a ... summary of this show. However, a better way to summarize this anime comes to my mind: 2 OP main characters that cannot lose a single game due to their pockets being full of plot armor machines and deus ex machina devices.

No game no life has been one of those shows I have know since I started to watch anime, as it showed up in a lot of "anime you should watch if you are starting" type videos. Nevertheless, I never gave it a chance because I have been always more interested in other genres such as action or mistery. After 3 years and a lot of bad and good reviews, I decided to watch this show without any expectation.

And, what was the outcome? I didnt have to finish the first episode to start regretting my decision.



STORY

There are a lot of anime where there is no action, but the plot put ourselves in tension as if it was an action shonen show. This is the case of shows like Death Note, Bakuman or NGNL, where characters "fight" following their own world's rules (the death note in death note, manga in bakuman and games in NGNL). This way, as in every action show, its very important to follow those rules and if it isnt done properly, it will cause a lot of plot holes to appear.
And NGNL is an obvious example of that.

After trying my best to ignore the horrible amount of similarities between NGNL's world and other fantasy anime's one (Medieval period appearance, dragons, kingdoms...) the already mentioned plot holes started to appear. In this type of anime, plot holes have a massive impact.
In order to defend my opinion as best as possible, I will provide you with some examples and comparations:

→ "She is cheating": We know both of our MCs are very smart, but they just need a quick look at the people which are inside the inn to know that Kurami is cheating. We have to assume that both of them have an excellent observation abilty (because its needed to play a lot of videogames), but they dont know until the second episode that humans share the world with 15 more races (they also dont know they can use magic). This means that is IMPOSSIBLE for them to know that there is somebody using magic in order to help a player. And its even more IMPOSSIBLE for them to discover that person because she is hiding her elf ears behind a cap.

→ The first important game: Until now, the MCs have only played games they knew, but when they challenge the main contender for Elukia's crown, they play something that seem to be chess, but which ends up being something competely different. Sora and Shiro managed to go through their opponets with ease because they knew the rules of the games they were playing and they could use Disboard rules in their advantage. However, this time, they dont know the limits of the game and they almost dont take advantage of the already mentioned rules.
So... How do they win? Easy answer: PLOT ARMOR
Shiro starts losing (obviously, as she doesnt know shit about this game) but her brother steps up and starts to take the decisions. This is when I lost my hope in this anime, as Sora - who has NEVER played this game before - is able to overcome every movement of his enemy. This game has a bigger amount of deus ex machina than a fight between 2 super saiyans. Everytime one of the players manages to outperform the opponent, the other one surprises us with a movement that was not part of our plans nor respected the rules of this world (Sora being able to break elf magic).

→ "I know more than 40 languages, but I decide to play using words of a language that I DONT KNOW while I still think Im going to win": Nice joke Jibril, I thought you were part of one of the smartest races.

→ War beasts and their technology: Why are they the only race that lives in 21st century while the other races that were showed used magic or lived in the Medieval period. They are known for their sixth sense, not because of their intelligent.
This is just dumb.

> I bet you all remember that time when Kira lost his memories in Death Note, and then he get them back when he touches his death note. Well, thats a plot twist we didnt expect and it also respects the rules stablished by the show. Thats what im looking for in these type of shows. But when Im watching NGNL, it feels like Im watching a hurdling competition and a runner starts to fly over the fences.


And the best part is that the comedy steps up as the more important genre of this show, in detriment of the historical and military plot this anime could have developed.
Jibril is known for killing hundreds of elves in a war that occured in the past, but Fii (the elf that helps Kurami) doesnt hold any resentment to her and she forgives her if she agrees to lick her feet. Horrible.


I dont think that everything is wrong with the story. For example, NGNL doesnt resort to the typical isekai resourse wheer the MCs are the saviors of the humanity, as their objective is to be the best at every game they play. This way, their final objective is to unify the other 16 races so they can challenge Tet.

I enjoyed the last arc (leaving aside the fact that they dont explain why the war beasts have that 21st tech) more than I expected tbh.

About the comedy, I wasnt persuaded at 100%, but I have to admit I laughed at the references.


Summarizing, I consider that NGNL story has a big and wasted potential, but as the author tried to fulfil the requirements of every isekai (comedy, ecchi...), he got rid of it. What is the result? A flat and awful story.



CHARACTERS

Both Sora and Shiro are two flat characters. The author didnt insisted enough on the backstory for me to be invested in and I dont like incest jokes (b-but they are not real sibl-SHUT UP!) so I couldnt stop myself from hating them.
They are both smart and timid while in they are in front of a lot of people (I will return to this fact later) but aside that, what non-cliche characteristic defines them in order to make them more enjoyable? The answer is zero, at least for me.

Shiro is a kawaii 11 years old girl which excels at chess and shooters. She has no appeal aside from his physical (if you are a lolicon). Even if that didnt disappointed me because it was what I expected since I watched the first episode, a question popped up in my brain: Was it necessary for the plot to have a 11 year old kawaii loli? There are lots of 500 years old loli, why would you want your loli to be 11 years old?
I would havent been disappointed at this if it werent for the age which Shiro started to be considered as a genius: 1 YEAR OLD!!!! It was not necessary a 11 years old kid for the plot. If she would has been 18 yo (the same as Sora) she wouldnt has been that useless. It was Sora who moved the plot forward almost everytime.

I loved Sora's reasons to believe in humanity but I didnt liked how similar he was to other isekai MCs. He always had to be the coolest guy in the room and that doesnt match his social disorder case. This way, the author contradicts himself, affecting the building of his most important character. Why cant an isekai MC be shy?


When the siblings are introduced to us in the first episode, the author states that both of them have a social disorder but... do they? I expected them to be extremely shy, but they werent at all. They also didnt have any type of difficulty meeting people they didnt know.
But, in episode 4, they remember they have a "social disorder" when they are holding a speech in their crowning moment of Elukia kingdom. But they just needed to hold their hands to forget again about their mental disease. We almost dont see more about this in the rest of the anime.


I would like to point out the bad use of the female characters this show does. As in every isekai I have seen , females are relegated to a second level, where they only do the job of being ecchi machines. Take as example Steph, Jibril, Kurami or even Shiro. Wait, thats almost every important girl of the show, isnt it? Cool.



ART AND DESIGN

Another isekai, another Medieval world. Im tired of this and I didnt even watched a lot of isekais xd.

I dont tend to criticize Madhouse works, but in this case, I dont like the palette used. It seemed that I was watching the show through a red tinted-len.

I dont have much to say about the designs, as the most of them were similar to other isekai anime designs.



SOUND

The soundtrack is the best part of this show. It has a nice variety of themes and they all fit the topic properly. However, that epic theme whose name I dont know was used over and over again so I got a little bit bored of it.

In general, I enjoyed the seiyuu but their job wasnt spectacular. Was it intentional to have Sora voiced from the same guy that voiced Kirito?

The opening song is great and the visuals are pretty but I dont think the ending matches the theme of the show properly, as I find it a little bit slow and sweet, while the show's charm relies on comedy and ecchi.




In conclusion, there is no excitement in watching a show where you know that the MCs will always win. What if they lose a game? that could help them grow as characters, but thye author prefered the easy way and went for a comedy-ecchi show.
I would have enjoyed more a darker and deeper plot, but I guess this is too much for an isekai anime? In the end, there is still no better isekai than Grimgar.

Thank you for reading my review!!!

I am not someone who watches anime for the prettiness etc. I just can't do it. I tried Fate Stay/Night and it was just embarrassing - so this will give you a guideline of whether to listen to me or not.

This show is so completely predictable it bored me out of my skull - and I will substantiate a belief in a God (any god) in order to pray that this doesn't get a second season. Waste of time imho.

This show is built on the dream-fulfilling Mary Sue self-insert style of harem anime that only has fanservice going for it. I can normally bear with ... fanservice but this is 90%, with such a fragile plot that you can see every twist coming. I mean, having a premise of 'these characters can literally never be beaten at any game ever' gives what you'd expect, I suppose. I also dislike lolicon and this was far too much for me - my colleague forced me to watch this during our lunch breaks at work (hence why I had to sit through the whole thing) and most of the time I thought I would vomit due to the almost-explicit scenes.

Said colleague insists that it is a show 'not to be taken seriously'. But, what does it have going for it apart from that? The jokes are bad, it's hella trope-y and the art is only 'ok'. Most of the humour is derived from 'this show is almost 18+ but we are trying to keep it under hehe!'. Gross

Even the references to other shows or franchises (which are prolific) did not make me laugh, and I usually love that kind of thing.

1/10 I wouldn't recommend. Every week my friends heard me complain about this terrible show, day in day out, and they also said it sounded appalling. When I showed them clips (even in-context) one of my friends actively gagged and the other, he had to ask me repeatedly if we could stop because it was boring him. This sounds like a butthurt stereotypical online review and it certainly is. Gimme muh wasted time back, honestly the worst anime I have watched in 12 years of viewing.

Here it is; another copy and paste trope-y Isekai series. I’ve come to loathe this genre and No Game No Life certainly didn’t help matters.
You got your stale horny virgin male protagonist that, even though irl is a worthless loser, becomes a king in a gaming world.
Now, I will say that the world, artistically, was tastefully done. The character designs are absolutely beautiful and the reason why I took an interest in this anime in the first place.
However, the pretty outer shells of these characters hardly make up for the hollow insides. Sora, the mc, is as I stated earlier, perpetually horny but ... what makes him a sorry sack of crap is his constant pedophiliac desires for his 11 year old sister, Shiro. This creepy premise doesn’t end on one note, it is a reoccurring character flaw throughout the entirety of the anime. Also, I want to preface my next point that I am in no way a prude. I’m a guy that enjoys the presence of ecchi anime girls in a series but the degree in which this series takes it is distasteful. Not to mention most of these lewd scenes are instigated by Sora being a complete f*** boi and sexually harassing every woman/girl in his wake. He is truly a disgusting person and I don’t know why we’re meant to care about him at all. If anyone finds this mc relatable, they may want to consider getting checked… by the police.
Finally, the plot is an utter waste of time. There is nothing to invest in here. The characters can do anything and know everything because they’re “geniuses”. What a cop out. It doesn’t bother to have the audience deduce anything themselves because 90% of the time we have no idea what they’re even trying to accomplish or how it connects to the world they’re in. What is the overall goal here and why should I care? Turns out I don’t and I never will. We’re just supposed to accept these characters are smart with no evidence that they hold any real intelligence since every example is nonsense.
I don’t have anything else to add since I dropped this trash heap at episode 10 because I honestly couldn’t handle the cringey attempts at humor and being beaten over the head to a bloody pulp with the forced albeit lame sexuality this show can’t seem to carry itself with.
Please save your existing brain cells and watch something else. If you want a good isekai might I recommend The Rising of the Shield Hero?

Initially drawn in by the beautifully colourful artwork I wasn't expecting too much from this anime other than a fun experience. The premise seemed interesting enough and good for some escapism but unfortunately as the series progressed it became dull and flat to anyone outside a narrow audience. The main character Shiro, is your standard -insert self here- I'm going to show everyone i'm cool really, and his sister is basically just an extension of him with cute panties (she does at least have quite fetching hair and wears a crown well). She talks in monotone and may as well be his pokedex except with ... an attachment disorder, which would be fine if we got a window into that but from the shallow level at which the characters are handled and from what I've read since I think it's unlikely to happen.

Shiro is an incredibly unlikable character which in itself wouldn't be a problem, I don't mind characters who are arrogant and cruel necessarily but there's no motive or reasoning behind it, even if we are to believe he's oblivious to it it's not presented as saying anything about who he is that he acts that way, beyond he isn't that bothered about morals and doesn't really care about the world. Stephanie a side character whose use as comedy value is cringe worthy, is even more badly developed, her personality is completely inconsistent as she just exists for gags, ones that are more degrading than funny. Watching her fail miserably again and again in episode 5 just pulled the plug on this anime for me, while she is also not a particularly likeable character, Shiro and his sister treat her terribly for no real reason, and the show seems to justify this by her been seen as being stupid and successful.

As for the plot, you already know from the beginning that -blank- will win every game, fine okay that isn't necessarily a bad thing but the how isn't particularly interesting either, while it's fine that the enemy character doesn't know the 'rules' or 'limitations' and as such -blank- can bend or cheat them to show us an impressive tactical win. The audience don't either, so it really just ends up being a case of the plot bending to be 'oh by the way this is totally a thing now'. Exactly like if you play a game with a child and they pull the whole 'btw my character can now fly' 'my character now has infinity health' 'well my character now has infinity health +1' and thus our neet has found a world where he can't lose, not because he's super smart or amazing at game theory but because it's bend that way to accommodate him, as are all the cute girls in it. Fanservice isn't a bad thing, but with some capable writing it could actually just be integrated into the plot properly.

I guess this is where tastes drastically differ because I honestly can't see how people are rating this above a 7. Here we have another transported to a different world, "Isekai" show and good lord this one might be one of the worst.

Art (2)- All of the coloring looks smudged and it feels like I'm watching it through a filter, for something that came out in 2014 the quality just seems poor. The design is decent but the art quality is just awful and hard to watch for certain scenes.

Characters (2) - If terribly awkward and borderline creepy NEETS are your thing, you might ... like these siblings.

Story/Enjoyment (3) - I mean, I was curious to say the least. The premise seemed interesting, another fantasy world and everything is resolved by games. You have two giant shut in nerds who get their biggest wish. The story felt like a disheveled mess of random tropes and plot points haphazardly thrown together.

Sound (4) - I mean this was just decent, some nice little electronic to carry the tone of the scenes. This is probably the best part of the show

Overall (3) - I really don't see why this is so hyped, this show is hot garbage.

This show is complete trash. It's not only a cheap quasi-ecchi Isekei, its completely boring. At least Sword Art Online had some entertaining points about it. I wish I never saw this show and really question how the average score is hovering around 7 when there are so many other series that are averaging 7 that are completely better.

Story:
Very dumb storyline. Not much else to say. Two overpowered brother/sister combo with an unhealthy incestual relationship faceroll everyone in the world through betting on games. The teenage perverted protagonist is a super-genius capable of making Einstein look like a moron.

Nothing new, and its all boring. ...

Art:
The art is the one redeeming quality of this show. It is a pretty anime, and I suspect that is the reason the scores are relatively high (shallow viewers).

Sound:
Decently adequate music and sound. The production values are high. Style over substance here.

Characters:
Completely terrible. There is absolutely no development and depth to the characters.

Enjoyment:
None. I am a fool for forcing myself to sit through this whole series.

Overall:
Must avoid at all costs unless you love seeing a brother/sister duo grope each other while cheating at chess, cards, etc to overtake a virtual world.

Another over-thought, attempt at being clever anime that completely misses the mark.

- On our first introduction to the characters; a 15 year old dead-beat and his 11 year old 'genius' sister is ruined by a G*ddamn panty shot. I nearly stopped watching there, but decided it was stupid to judge the anime on one bad choice.

-The duo is known as "Blank" in the online world, and after being whisked away to a parallel world, begin the process of overthrowing the government(s) by playing games -> which is the way all issues are settled in this world.

I like the premise of a world ... where all disputes are resolved by games, it could have been interesting. Instead it falls flat on its brothers c*ck. Oh wait, that was the 11 year old sleeping on her brothers crotch. Nevermind.

-The wholes series tries to shoe-horn in how unbelievably skilled these two are, if it succeeded at anything, it was how unbelievable it actually is. The convoluted methods the characters go through to justify how they win makes me think the writers sat in a room for days planning this out, giggling at how terribly clever they are. No. The more the characters talked about strategy and how they won, the more obvious it became that the writers really weren't clever.

This anime is less about games than it is about a harem though. Of course this loser 15 year old NEET just happens to stumble upon the most gorgeous women in all the land and of course they all love him and want to do him - his sister included. Its tiring and boring. This is probably how "Nice Guys" view the world.

The animation is fine. Its modern and had a little same-face going on, but the costume designs range from interesting to "did you even try?" Bad girls have tits, good girls kinda do. Blah blah blah. Harem anime. I'm too gay to care about this shit.

The best thing I can say about this anime is that I love the opening. The anime has the substance of deep-space, but at least the opening has a decent beat going on.

People I think will like this anime: People who hate themselves, masochists, Nice Guys, Perverts and people who don't know what "taste" really is.

People who will hate this: People who've seen the best anime has to offer. Spare yourself this BS anime series and go watch FMA:B or a Miyazaki movie. Any of them.

Usually I can overlook the fanservice model that a large sum of animes like to incorporate into their art, but this show takes it to a new level and it's honestly appalling to me. The premise of the anime to the point where I stopped watching, is that a brother and sister combo are the best gamers in the human world and ultimately get transported to a new world. Sounds like a fun idea, but the direction the show takes is just shoving nudity down your throats, including the 11 year old sister.
Roughly my review boils down to if you're a pedo, you'll like this ... show, if not, you wont.

Alright, before we start this review, let me tell you some things. I am a gamer, I was recommended to watch this by a friend, and like most animes I watch, I viewed it all in one sitting. Now, onto the review.
This show is bad. I mean, really bad. I did not like this at all. Let's break it down.
---Art---
This is the best aspect of the show, as the colours are nice and pretty, very neon like. The animation is also pretty good.
---Sound---
Nothing memorable, really it is not special.
---Character---
These characters are annoying. Our protagonist's are two ingenious, super computer like, brother and sister. Sora's ... design is male anime protagonist, and Shiro, who is a loli. Both of them are NEETs, and can perfectly predict everything you can do, so its impossible to win. Shiro is "smarter" than sora in more logical games, like chess. The other characters are just pretty much there for fan service.
---Story---
Ha, story. Without spoilers, it is ridiculous. Basically, two impossibly intellgent NEETs are sent to a world, where everything is decided by games. Of course, every game seems to come down to who ever cheats the best. I mean, really, whats the point of creating a world decided by games, when some of them have an inherent advantage. Anyways, so our perfect characters pretty much just do whatever they want and have everything go their way. What angers me a lot, is that they do not change in the slightest. At the beginning of the show, they are introverted teens with extreme intelligent, and at the end of the show, they are the same.
---Enjoyment---
I did not like it, to say the least. There's one part of the show, where they play a chess game, except the pieces can move in their own, with no regard to the rules. This irks me because chess is a logical game, and they are making it an extremely illogical. The protagonists never lose any game, which could have been a great story piece if they did, but of course, this anime wants to annoy me. The protagonists don't really gain anything either, which is perhaps, even more infuriating. And all the fan service, which is shoved in your face, literally referencing how they can keep fan service pg-13 by hiding nipples and stuff.
---Overall---
This show is asinine, and I have no idea why it is almost a 9 on MAL. I am a gamer, this show does not appeal to me, and the only thing good is the art.

The scores below were calculated using Radiant's Anime Ranking Formula.
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Story: 4.5/10

No Game No Life begins as a promising Isekai(In-Another-World). Using games to solve all conflicts? Count me in!

However, that's literally all the show has to offer. The main characters, stereotypical NEETs, all manage to magically win in very improbable situations using the power of plot. All the other characters are blatantly either plot devices or for the sake of fanservice.

Experience: 7.5/10
...
The art style was a fresh breath of air, with bright color schemes and outlined characters. The animation was surprisingly fluid; I found myself admiring it quite often. Choppy scenes are next to none.

The instrumental opening theme was artistic, and so was the ending theme. I didn't skip them nearly as much as I usually do for anime. As for the soundtrack, nothing really stood out except for one song they use to hype up the viewers. The other tracks were very forgettable, out of place, and scarce.

I give NGNL a positive rating in this category because the few things it does correctly, it does them very well.

Enjoyment: 3/10

For all the analytics, I think how much someone can enjoy a show is also a valid way to judge how well done it actually is. Personally, No Game No Life felt lacking and something better used to kill time. If someone likes it, I can understand that. It does have some positive parts overlooking its flaws. However, if you're looking for depth and a more serious show, this isn't for you. It's the food equivalent of chips, and I'm not a fan of chips. To each their own; no doubt some people thrive off of this stuff.

Overall: 4/10

Using my unique rating formula, which averages the rated categories with additional priority to the more important category of Story, and some priority to the enjoyment factor, I have come to rate NGNL as a 4/10 show. It sits well with me.

TL;DR: Not recommended, except to kill time.

(Spoiler free review, TL;DR parts added)

The story: 4/10
The synopsis and the general idea are very interesting. A brocon loli and her 18 y/o brother, with absolutely no parental guidance get thrown in a world of games with no explanation, everything is settled by games then. I ignored the no background build up or explanation whatsoever because the idea of two 'geniuses' playing games to take over the world and beat that world's God seemed more than interesting. The characters, together as 'Blank,' never lose, so the 'thriller' or 'excitement' isn't on whether they will win or not, it's on *how* will they win. (Though ... there's sometimes the 'What if Blank loses' idea, but you'll let go of that idea later on) So there's that, it's how the idea was executed that dropped the rating. Some of the games were intriguing, but others were incredibly, abnormally idiotic. Especially the final game. The pace of the story is, as well, a reason why the rating dropped. It's a mess. One of my main problems, as well, is the excessive usage of fan service. This anime will sure teach you what 'fan service' really is. There is not a single episode without at least one 'fan service', there's a whole character existing just for the sake of fan service, it gets *too extreme*

TL;DR
+idea seems interesting.
+some games are good.
-execution is very bad.
-pace is all over the place.
-some games are horrible.
-Too much fan service, disturbing loli scenes

The characters: 2/10
Holyshit, this is a horrible set of characters, the least unbearable character was Sora, an 18 y/o shut-in NEET with a lot of sexual frustration. That being said, he's not so much of a great character, either. But my main problem was with Shiro, and Stephanie.

Shiro is another average loli that's in love with her half brother. First, I do not understand why she's 11 years old? There was no reason for that. It made everything much, much more disturbing. I don't know about you, but seeing more than a couple of scenes of a naked 11 y/o is not that very pleasing. She also seemed much, much smarter than Sora was, but for some reason he always got the spotlight.

Stephanie: The worst possible character I've ever had the displeasure of watching. An annoying character with absolutely no dignity whatsoever that exists for the sole reason of fan service. Pantie shots, nudity, having a collar tied around her while walking all around her country as a freaking dog (One of the outcomes of her losing a game against Blank) Later being tied to a tree while almost naked in front of the town as well. There's all kinds of fan service going on here, 99% of them on Stephanie. The character has no self-respect, dignity, and not a single brain cell. This anime is the first to introduce me to stupid characters existing just to be made fun of, and for extreme fan service.

The supporting characters weren't any better, either. It seemed like Jibril only was there for the purpose of worshiping Sora just because he's a genius and would do irrational things like licking an ex-enemy's foot because her new God told her to do so. Izume, though an annoying character, would knock some sense into their world by constantly being suspicious about the main characters and their intentions.

What I somewhat liked: The relationship bonds between the characters. Sora and Shiro's mutual trust was very nice, and Izumi's realisation at the end of the anime was also a bit heartwearming. That's all the positives that could be there.

TL;DR
+Relationship bonds and mutual trust between characters
-2/3 main characters are appalling
-Stupid character with no dignity existing for fan service

The Art: 8/10
Animation is nice. The colours are too bright and neon, too much pink and purple is used which I expected not to like but ended up liking a lot, made the anime stand out. What I didn't like was the drawings of the characters (Especially Shiro. Seriously, what is wrong with her mouth?), and the clothes.

Sound: 6/10
Mediocre forgettable music, voice acting wasn't bad but I had a problem with Shiro's voice.

Enjoyment: 5/10
In spite of all what's mentioned above, the anime succeeds in not being a boring one, and excluding the disturbing loli scenes, mindless fan service, and the shitty excuse of a character Stephanie, it could entertaining.

Hello, this is my first review on this site. I write it not because I want to ruin someone's impression on this anime. Each time I tell people that I don't like this anime all I hear is "You have no taste" "Go watch your SAO then" and etc. I'm tired of that.
Firstly, I'll write about all things I like in this anime. It has it's own style and color scheme. It is funny and has many references.
Now bad things. Many people say about this anime "Well clearly MCs will always win. Just relax and enjoy HOW they win". I can't. Because I ... have constant feeling that MCs aren't smart. All other characters act dumb. I just can't view antagonists as a threat if they constantly make stupid decisions - like playing against two people at once. Wow. But the thing I can't forgive is that how creators treat that human princess (I don't remember her name, sorry). They literally remove her brains each time she interacts with MCs. Each time she opens her mouth creators say from it "Oh look at our super clever genius MCs, you should associate yourselves with them, not with that dumb trash". Maybe I'm oversensitive, but I can't stand when characters gets abused for such stupid reason. Oh, and that nice moment when MC literally brainwashes her into falling in love with him. You know, the act that almost universally considered "evil"? Yeah.
I don't want to say that thing, but I suspect that creator of this thing sees himself more intelligent than others for no reason and wants audience feels the same about themselves.

No Game No Life is pure wish fulfillment. Every element of it is built for that, from the protagonists' superior intelligence to their immediate and lavish success (including Sora's waifu harem) to their escape and rejection of the real world. Life is a bad game, in the words of the leads, and they speak for the presumed audience. Seeing people who can't fit in here shine elsewhere, when their unrecognized talents are allowed to take effect, is obviously meant to strike a chord with people who are unsatisfied with their own lives.

It's rather shameless about it. I can't imagine a young man having the nerve ... to watch NGNL with his mother in the room, even if he might enjoy it in private. Camera angles and effects of motion or wind are deliberately used to expose the female characters' breasts or underwear, and the game-based rules of the world are frequently exploited to create sexual situations. The latter is not strictly a contrivance, because Sora is a sexually frustrated character and the show's fascination with these things mirrors his own - as well as that of the target audience.

For the most part this isn't that unusual. Most of these components are standard to the ecchi genre, to which NGNL belongs. What's slightly less standard is that it uses those techniques on an eleven-year-old character. When combined with the fact that this particular character is the protagonist/audience surrogate's sister, this element alone is enough to make the show understandably repellent to a lot of people. Its success as a franchise does not appear to have been hampered too much by that - at the very least, it has the marketing right.

Judging a wish-fulfillment show by its depth or narrative consistency is to miss the point somewhat. It's not too different from judging pornography by its acting. These things are not the goals of the works in question. NGNL doesn't waste much time contradicting the established traits of its characters and destroying some of the sense of its world, but if doing so helps its visceral appeal that serves its goals. From that angle of analysis, it's the right sacrifice to make.

If it's only about wish-fulfillment, maybe NGNL should have just begun with Sora in the role of God and his harem fully stocked. Instead, it makes choices that theoretically make it better as a traditional story at the cost of the wish-fulfillment, like giving the siblings weaknesses.
It goes on to bungle that, from a narrative standpoint. The siblings' primary weaknesses are co-dependence, fear of crowds, and difficulty with people. Either by forgetting those weaknesses or contriving a way to make them irrelevant, the story nullifies them all within its twelve episode run. Sora and Shiro successfully play out a game and win while separated, despite turning into helpless wrecks the first time they're out of sight of one another. The show allows the weakness to be debilitating only as long as there are no stakes present. Sora becomes a charming, generous, sociable guy when its time to earn a new waifu. The siblings lose their cool when exposed to what they think is Tokyo - and then completely regain control when they learn that it isn't, before that fraudulent weakness can do anything to harm them.

In all likelihood, this inconsistency exists because of thoughtlessness on the part of Yuu Kamiya, the author of the original light novel. It works out from the standpoint of wish-fulfillment, though. People don't really want to be gods. They want to face challenges and overcome them easily. That's why it's better for Sora to have to win his harem one by one, and why it works better when he has these illusory weaknesses.

If we accept its capacity for wish-fulfillment as the only valid criteria to judge it by, and assign it a numerical value accordingly, NGNL might well get a perfect score. But that doesn't sit right with me. I think it would look silly at the top of my list. In my estimation, great artistic significance is a necessary condition to earning a place there, and NGNL does not have that. Even a slightly lower score like an 8/10 would feel inappropriate, because it indicates excellence. I don't think NGNL is excellent. I think it's crass, poorly planned, cliche, and often tiresome. If I were to make such criticisms of a work of pornography, the defense would state that they were irrelevant. But I don't think a fan of NGNL would do the same. He would try to defend its story and its characterization. Thus, at the risk of closed-mindedness, I'll have to judge it the way I would judge a normal work of graphic fiction.

And by that standard it comes up short. Sora and Shiro cannot really be the protagonists of an interesting story - at least not in the world of NGNL, where all conflict is resolved by games. They are invincible there. The series begins with them defeating the God of that world. Nothing they do from then on contains any tension or doubt. Their victory is a foregone conclusion. The story manufactures drama by pretending otherwise. In one goofy scene, Sora has to rely on outside intervention from his sister to win at Othello against a character who should stand no chance against him in that game. Othello is a simple board game with easily-understood rules: precisely the type of thing where Sora and Shiro reign supreme. This doesn't appear to be some whim of the character's either. The show tries to pretend he can lose there, but it's completely transparent.

At best, the implications of the world are under-explored. They create a kind of brute lawlessness. Perhaps one could work and build savings there, but he could always lose everything in a game. This would undoubtedly change the way people act. Things like national borders would be difficult to enforce, because an intruder could always force his way through just by winning games - but this might lead to the creation of a game-playing warrior class which enforces the borders. NGNL does not deal with this. The nation-state itself would have to be re-evaluated, because armies would become pointless. Yet NGNL's world resembles any other fantasy story. It changes the method of conflict resolution but does not think through the consequences.

Teto, that world's God, pulls quite a fast one on the siblings. He tells them that all the games in his world follow simple well-defined rules. This is quickly proven false: they end up playing a game of chess where the pieces have human wills. These wills do not follow well-defined rules. The resulting game resembles the imagination-based playing of young children, where the rules are constantly re-invented by both parties so that they will not have to admit defeat. Naturally, the socially-inept Sora becomes an incredibly charismatic leader for the duration of this game (a skill that he would not have praticed in the games he played on Earth, which never contain that kind of human element.) Later they play a video game where their own physical characteristics effect their characters' stats. Elements of the real world they hate so much intrude on this perfect new game-based world, but the siblings don't complain - or even notice.

A lot of the dialog deals with the concept of strength proceeding from weakness. This idea is supposed to be personified by NGNL's heroes, but that is blatantly untrue. Sora and Shiro's success comes from their absurd intelligence, which can only be understood as a great strength. It's the most significant theme of the story, and it is quickly contradicted by its own events.

The siblings even use their phones constantly without depleting the batteries, in a country where electricity has yet to be discovered. The characters, world, and themes immediately fall to shambles. NGNL gets all this wrong in just twelve episodes and still finds time for its annoying, overdone sexual humor. Unless it's your first anime, chances are good not much of that will seem new to you. Ever seen an anime where the girls are bathing and the guys act as if sneaking in to watch them is a kind of life-affirming quest?

There are a couple of redemptive elements. In some of the games, there's enough detail and believably to the method the twins use that seeing it unfold is entertaining. They defeat one character who has every other advantage by using knowledge from their own world, and that makes sense. There's a conflict between Sora and a character named Clammy that arises because of two legitimate but conflicting points of view, rather than sheer malice on the part of the latter. It also has a visually appealing art style - that's its most uncontested strength.

No Game No Life is lazy and exploitative. Most of its artistic choices were made not from interest or inspiration, but for marketing. It's cheap, which is why it gets done all the time. Its one particular strength is that it makes good wish-fulfillment if that's what you're looking for. If it isn't, a critique like this must only serve to reinforce what you had already guessed by reading the synopsis.

Another isekai, before the famous isekai trend started. And I would say that this is the main culprit behind all the trashy isekai shows we have been getting for so many years. Maybe all bad isekai tropes can be tracked right here.

Story progress is almost non-existent; it’s all about the main duo winning one game and moving to another one; some are interesting with a cool concept, some not. Winning of the main duo brings no impact since we know from the beginning they are going to win. They are super-genius after all. Every challenge is a piece of cake; zero impact.

The main focus of ... the show is comedy. Some jokes are funny, some fall flat, some are cringy... it's a mess; not to mention a lot of fanservice and even occasional nudity. The only redeeming quality is the artstyle. Very good looking, very unique, very colorful. No other show looks like this.

This franchise is also known for a lot of controversies around it – mostly plagiarism. This doesn't bring the show down quality-wise, but, for those who are wondering, this is the main reason why it didn't get a sequel for so many years, and who knows if it ever gets one or if the novel will ever get finished, since the author has been bombarded with lawsuits.

I don't get the love and popularity behind this show. I find it really bad. But who am I to judge? If so many people like it and find it funny, chances are, you will like it too. If you don't mind any of my criticism, you are free to give the show a try and see for yourself.

Pros:
+ eye candy-type artstyle

Cons:
- plain characters
- predictable (protagonists always win)
- non-existent story development

Double-edged:
+/- controversies
+/- hit or miss comedy type
+/- lots of fanservice; not everybody likes it

4/10 (BAD)

If you are looking for a highly rated anime that you can binge, this is not the one you are looking for. From the insanely high reviews you would think that it would be the next best thing you have watched in a while but you will be wrong. From the lack of character development to the over the top and forced incest/loli/fan service, this show may make your eyes bleed.

After seeing all of the hype, I just had to watch this show. The general plot behind it sounded interesting and very promising. Unfortunately, by the 2nd episode i was highly disappointed. Instead of the ... utilizing the potential of the theme , we got to get incest jokes and a obnoxious big breasted supporting character who makes you want to blow your brains out.

The main chracter, Sora, is likable; however he is somewhat boring and follows the typical anime trope of a good looking nerd who somehow gets every girl without doing anything. The other main character (the little sister Shiro) has no emotion or enjoyable personality traits. A plank of wood would suffice as a replacement character (sorry that may be rude to all the planks out there).

The visuals are pretty but at times I think they are distracting and too bright. I will give props to the production team for fluidity as well as a sense of unique style.

This show reminded me of SAO, in that it had great potential. I enjoyed the first arc of SAO when it was semi-serious, focused on characters, and didn't abuse fan service. But at last it ended up falling short just as No Game No Life does. Both of these shows inevitable focus on side material (fan service, quick jokes, etc) as the main driver and content of the show rather than keeping it as the supporting material that it should be.

People need to stop praising this show so that no more people have to endure the pain of being let down worse than a Hillary Clinton supporter.

This is literally the pinacle of anime and is what every single god damn fricking anime creators should strive to create this is a masterpiece of an anime show about how a young gamer and his little STEP SISTER thats aged 10 form a bond deeper than love and enter a gaming world together sure they might see eachother naked but guess what? STEP SISTER MORONS NOT BLOOD RELATED SO ITS NOT WEIRD but as they travel through this magical world the main character of the show forms sexual ties with some red head not important tbh cos not a trap and also not a ... millenial dragon and possible dike after he becomes king with help from his STEP SISTER they try to conquer the world, sounds similar right? let me take u back to ww2 to a guy named adolf hitler but unlike hitler the main character doesnt want to slaughter everyone and create the perfect world only to be stopped by idiots who dont understand his master plan he wishes to make humanity great again like a true hero he collects many wamen around his adventure including a furry a trap a bird and before the finale they was about to conquer the wolf land and become one with the wolfies

I only watched the first 4 episodes before I dropped this, so if I say something that is contradicted by something later in the series, then sure, that's my fault. However, I really gave this anime a chance, and 4 episodes was enough to make me realize what the rest of the show was going to be.

Story 3/10
The story just makes no sense to me. So a brother-sister NEET pair get sent to a fantasy world where all conflicts are settled through games. However, these settlements are also used to determine who gets control of the land, or taking over other kingdoms. The kingdom, where ... our heroes live, is a human populated land where none of the humans can use magic. At some point, there is someone that is basically trying to make the human kingdom a puppet state to the Elves or something, because they have magic that would enrich their lives.

So, why don't they let the humans let people with magic take over? They don't give a good reason. We just get some bullshit speech from the brother character saying like "humans are weak, but those two who now rule the human kingdom will promise to make their kingdom show their strength?" Okay, but that puppet person was correct still. There's absolutely no reason for them to NOT have magic people rule over them. It would make their lives better having magic users around. I mean, all settlements are handled through games anyways, so what difference would it make? The magic people can't hurt anyone in any way, so I don't see the problem. Magic people being better at winning games? It's a fantasy world, literally anything could happen. Nothing establishes what makes the world horrible, or even what makes the other kingdoms bad, other than "they see humans as stupid." The whole world isn't explained well enough to show the problems with having one kingdom take over another.

The other main plot is that the two protagonists try to take over every kingdom so they could fight a God. Why? No reason. Just for bragging rights. So, why should I care?

Again, you can criticize me for not finishing the show, but after listening to that speech, I just thought "You know what, this show is actually really stupid".

Art 6/10
Art is okay. The whole fantasy world is full of saturated colors. I know some people think it's eye ipecac, but I don't really care that much about it. Characters designs are okay I guess, but nothing I would say really stands out.

Of course you got all the lewd and ecchi stuff. This is kind of reserved for enjoyment category, but I don't care about that stuff unless there's really a funny visual gag with them. You also get a bunch of lewd shots of the 11 year old sister, so there's your pseudo-pedophilic visuals for those who enjoy that.

I'm not an art or animation critic. I just care about funny visuals or good action scenes. Nothing really stood out. But overall, I would say it's passable.

Sound 4/10
I don't remember the OP nor ED. None of the music really stands out. Sound effects are, well, what you expect.

Voices are okay, but nothing really stands out. It's passable. What matters though are the characters, which I will go into now.

Character 2/10
I don't like the main characters. Now this is where I can finally explain why this show sucks.

First of all, the main characters, Sora and Shiro, have an incestual-pedophilic-relationship. I swear, whoever wrote this thing is the head writer behind all the step-sibling porn on PornHub, or whatever companies make them. However, even the Folgers commercial has more a realistic sibling relationship depiction than this. The way they talk to each other like some "gamer guy gamer girl" love relationship and the constant agreement on stuff that they do is just, no. I don't know what Japan is like, but no sibling relationship, especially a little sister older brother one, is EVER like this. It's just a sibling fantasy that this author wished he had.

Second of all, when you think about it, why did this show need two protagonists. As mentioned, both characters agree on a lot of stuff that is situational. Additionally, both characters have the same trait of being masters of gaming. If they both have the same thoughts, feelings, and experiences, it could've just been one entity as the protagonist. Both characters are always together anyways. It's not like there would be any problem of them being separated anyways since they're almost the same character who have no trouble with games. They have slight differences, like the sister is shy, but better at learning. But again, they are both always together, and the issues are instantly resolved with the other sibling constantly around. There isn't any character development, it's literally just "We both can do this." "Oh I can't solve it, but she could." "Now it's his turn to solve the issue." So, what's the point of having two characters? I'll tell you why. Loli incest sells, people.

Third of all, the main characters have an incestual-pedophilic-relationship. I just needed to mention that again.

Fourth of all, besides the whole sibling relationship, the whole NEET status is just unrealistic. So both are shut-ins with no one else to talk to, not even online because they're way too good for those people and want to stay anonymous. First thing to point out, both of them are in pretty good shape, despite their horrid living conditions. Second thing, their personalities. So the little sister makes sense. She is shy and clingy to brother because that's pretty much the only person she could love, and can't really communicate with others. Okay, but how the fuck does the brother go around? He has demonstrated his ability of talking to others with full confidence, even to girls (which he claims can't even get a girlfriend because of how he is). Am I missing something here? I know it would be stupid to have an anime going around a guy who refuses to talk to people, but like, I just find it very contradicting and unrealistic to me. You can't tell me that a guy sitting in his room playing video games all day can just go around telling people what to do, telling girls his feelings his love, and giving spontaneous speeches to a crowd of people with full confidence. Yeah, you can say this just sounds like some 4chan greentext post, but seriously, I just think it's stupid when you want to portray a NEET like the most perfect person on the planet.

So you're probably thinking, don't you read fantasies to get the feeling of experiencing these unrealistic things? Don't you wish you had a family consisting of yourself and a loli sister, and absolutely no parents to think about? Don't you want to have the life of playing video games all day while having the confidence as Tommy Wiseau? Well, if that's the point of this story, sure go ahead. I just think all of this adds up to just being pure shit in terms of character.

Now the other characters. There's Steph who is just loud and annoying, and filled with fanservice. There's even one scene where the brother clearly puts her in a fanservice outfit. There's also that God name Tet, who feels like Kyuubey from Madoka Magica. Yeah, that's pretty much it. They're not interesting either. There's this whole harem thing that happens later I think, but do you think I give a shit about that?

Enjoyment 2/10
I don't know who these watchers are, or what they watched previously, but this show is the definition of "Overrated". Why do people like it? This show was just boring.

First thing to talk about. The comedy. It's not funny. There's stuff involving characters freaking out and slapstick stuff, but the build-up or reason behind these moments aren't anything like detrimental on scale, or kind of like "who care?", so it just feels forced in the end.

There are also the fanservice jokes. Now, let me say this. I like dark humor, and this show puts in jokes relating to the siblings' incestual loli relationship. However, it's pretty much established from the very beginning of the anime about what their relationship is like. So in other words, there's really no punchline for these jokes. Yeah, Sora can't see little sister naked without being called a pedophile. Where's the funny? He's already treated that weird relationship as normal throughout the show, and no one really makes a surprised response about it in the show. What's so funny? The fact he implies he is a pedophile when it was already established? That's not funny. Basically, when the basis for something is weird or absurd from the beginning, you can't really make any jokes about it.

Other than that, you got your big boob grab, the small boob jealousy, failing to perv on cute girl. Yeah, I've seen all this before. Oh, they do reference some games and anime. Yeah, I know they're NEETs and gamers or whatever, and I sometimes like references in other anime, but for this show, I just feel they're cringey.

I will admit, there is only one joke I did laugh at, or more like, only one time I laughed in the entirety of what I watched. It was when Steph was trying to ask the male protag about something important, and cuts to him responding back to her questions while furiously jerking off. See, THAT'S funny. It's completely unexpected, while having an absurd yet somewhat relatable situation. Okay, maybe not that funny since I already know he's a pervert, but still, it got a laugh out of me.

Now the other part: the main game plot. I don't find it entertaining. So the plot is that the Sora and Shiro are so good at game that they get sent to a world where all conflict is resolved through playing games. And, there you go, that's my fucking problem. If they are experts at games, I'm sure not expecting them to lose. I don't feel any stress or tension when the action happens. Additionally, they are both NEETs living in a world completely made for them. There's absolutely nothing for them to lose. They get to play games against people all the time, meaning they could reclaim their stuff back easily if they lose. Plus, it's a fantasy world with lots of stuff to enjoy. What's the draw back? They had nothing back in their original world, and this whole fantasy world is an upgrade. Anything they raise stakes on is pretty much no big deal to them if they lose. They're not going to be banished back to their old world or anything. If there's no real issue, then it's not fun to watch them compete for basically nothing.

The real main plot is that Sora and Shiro become the kings of their kingdom, and all the other kingdoms are competing against each other using this game-settlement thing. Pretty much when the protagonists win, they get land an a new girl or something in their harem, and if they lose, then the other kingdom takes over their land. However, I have mentioned my problem with the story. If they win, they win. If they lose, their kingdom gets taken over by a more powerful kingdom with magic. But, why is this bad? All what Sora says is that he wants to prove Humans are better. Yeah okay, that's cool, but really, what do you lose from all of this? You really don't lose anything that important. The protagonists just win for their own bragging rights. Nothing bad is going to happen to them. In other words, no matter how big these stakes are, I don't feel anything. I don't care what happens knowing there are no consequences. Where's the fun in that?

As for the games themselves, they are all like typical games, except they have certain loopholes in them. I know these loopholes are supposed to throw a curve ball into people's plans. However, I just don't think they are that clever. For one thing, there's magic that can be used, so now you know a game can easily be cheated that way, and the show can just throw in any random bullshit when it feels like it. Second of all, this is hard for me to describe, but for me, the way things are countered don't feel special. I know I didn't see the rest of the episodes, but with what I've seen so far, none of the action made me go at the edge of my seat, or make me feel so satisfied, or make me think "Wow, I would've neve thought of that". All I can say is, the execution of this stuff just wasn't good.

Overall 3/10
I was bored of it from the beginning to be honest, but at the same time I kept thinking "this is gonna get better, right?" There are other shows like this, like gambling or strategic battles and stuff. However, this one really fails to capture it. My biggest gripe is the whole idea that there is really no conflict, so all the games and competitions don't feel serious. Yes, I know, it is a comedy. However, the comedy isn't funny, and feels overdone or forced. There is ecchi stuff. Yeah, cool, if you're into that, go watch it and search up all the rule 34 you want afterwards. Could this show have been better using the same genres? Maybe. But, if you fail at one genre, at least try to do a little better with the others.

I normally consider myself generous when rating shows but this anime pushed my limits.

Story
Sora and Shiro are intelligent siblings who join a game world. They want to take over the world and become Gods. In general it’s a very basic isekai anime that offers nothing special. Half the games they play are not enjoyable to watch since they were boring and did not make sense (such as the chess game they played in the earlier episodes)

Art
I wasn’t a fan of the art. To be honest, the neon colours gave me a headache but the animation was fine.

Sound
The sound was average and nothing special or memorable.
...
Characters
The characters are godawful. There is nothing special about Sora and Shiro except for their weird sibling dynamic and their high intelligence. Watching their their relationship was like watching borderline incest, but that’s what’s expected of a crappy anime that follows crappy tropes.

Other side characters were forgettable, but I remember Stephanie or whatever her name was, but her main role I recall is acting like a fan service puppy.

That’s all there is to this anime in general; extremely excessive fan service that had nothing to offer. The up close shots of Shiros underwear made me feel like I was put on to an FBI watchlist.

The plot was lacklustre and 90% of it was fan service and 10% on boring games that were not impressive.

Enjoyment: 0/10
I don’t know who would enjoy watching this. The only good thing about this anime was the jojo references. Maybe if you are into lolis and like fan service over an actual plot, it might be your thing but if it is, you need to go outside and touch grass.

I don't like No game No life.

Art: The anime doesn't look good. It still is my personal opinion, but the colors are too bright and it's pissing me off. Seriously, these anime make you regret digital animation.

Sound: The opening is really good! Don't remember the ending and the ost did fit the anime.

Characters: The two main characters are two gamers that are super smart and can't stand to be separated. Shiro is just a cute loli, and Sora is a perverted introvert guy. Shiro has a super good memory and to offset that, Sora is a strategic genius. Their relationshop doesn't get ... more developed in the anime, nor their personality. They are just awfully managed throught all the show. Other characters are just used as oppenents for the game or fanservice.

Plot: A god transport them in a world called disboard, where everything is decided in games like chess. Sixteen races inhabit that world, and Humans are the weakest because they can't use magic. Sora and Shiro will try to save humanity from the other nations that have more territory and ressources and that are more powerful than humans.

While I do think that the concept is pretty interesting, and that the races aspect was enjoyable, the games between the characters are awful. The main characters are just too intelligent for you to predict their move, and most of the time the oppenent is just straight-up cheating. It's like watching kakegurui without the unique animation, over the top reactions and crazy characters. There's plot twist every 5 minutes, and because it's magic, everything can happen and the duels become hard to follow. Not because they're complicated, but because the games are not realistic. You're not invested into Sora and Shiro, because they're already super smart and don't need to train their brain or anything like that.

So yeah, I don't like No game No life. Sorry, english is not my native language!
I said a lot of awful things to no game no life, but don't feel dumb or bad for enjoying the show, it still is my opinion!