New Game!

New Game's goal as an anime is to be a mediocre "cute girls doing cute things" show. It succeeds in that regard.


Normally I try to review an anime in the context of what it was trying to be. I don't expect action anime to seriously delve into character's inner minds. I don't expect slapstick comedies to have a coherent plot. I found it difficult to accept this show for what it was trying to be.

There are no well written characters, there is no interesting story, the setting is barely passable and there is no "point" that the show is attempting to make. There ... is absolutely no reason to watch it unless you are a fan of "cute girls doing cute things" shows.

More power to the people who enjoy this kind of show, but I personally will continue to avoid watching it and it's ilk.

What i really didn't like about this show is the fact that the story have nothing about with the reality in the video game industry.i was spectating some serous and painful story about someone who want to make a life in the video game industry but NO, the main character arrive to this company and all was so easy to do!!!!!! i have spend more than a year learning the bases of 3D (modeling,texture,lighting, rendering, concept art and animation and i can tell you that you CAN NOT learn 3d in some weeks! I remember i did my first 3d character ... after 4 month learning 3D, and my character was really BAD done, UGLY as hell whit ERRORS everywhere. i means, how does someone get a job in a company who have done a game for PS3 without any knowledge about what 3D is? I really get a little angry after episode 2 of this show. This have no sense. in an other hand, why there are only girls in this studio?? As i know, in this industry there are more mens than womens. The writer of this story have not idea about what he/she was writing. Does the writer know what unwrap is?? well, it is a painful and required job to do before texture any object that you create in 3D and i didn't see the main character doing this kind of stuff with her 2 creations!!!!!!!!

Anyway, im ok with the simple art, sound and characters done in this show.

so, if you like the cute girls doing cute things you will enjoy this show but if you are looking for some solid story that are more close to the reality of the industry of entertainment i recommended you to see bakuman, nodame cantabile, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso or even skip beat.

A few seasons back I watched a rather subpar show about a group of high schoolers making a game. So I guess someone decided it was about time to do another such show, but utilizing pros this time. What results is propaganda so ridiculously fake that you might as well be convincing someone that cheesecake is in fact ice cream cake. New Game! depicts the not-so-realistic game studio Eagle Jump, which apparently has a reverse-discriminatory hiring practice as not a single guy shows up in the entire show. It follows recent high school graduate Aoba as she learns about office life from her sempai. It ... feels very much along the same vein as shows such as Working! and Sore ga Seiyuu! Know that despite the 4-koma tag, these episodes are actually full length.

If you want to laugh at a show as it attempts to sell you on the fun of staying up all night doing work, dig in. Likewise, those who enjoyed girls' club shows such as K-On, Tari Tari, or the like may also enjoy this. If you're like me and tired of the same moe format being applied to every conceivable setting, then you'll probably want to skip this one.

Animation:
The animation is standard fare moe material, most of which takes place in a relatively bright and happy office. Expect pretty good detailing in the studio, the narrow building entrance and certain details definitely feel fitting based on my time in Tokyo. I mentioned Shokomeza earlier, and honestly, despite the characters here being supposedly older these characters act and behave even more childish. There you have it, a show with middle-school aged characters working in a supposedly professional gaming studio. The animation highlights of this show for me include the cute yet obviously uninterested hedgehog Sojiro and Hifumi's true smile - about as moe as you can get, ok fine they got me on that one.

Sound:
The show opens with a playful song by the VAs that somehow reminds me of Working!, and no it's not because of the exclamation point. The ED is a likewise cheerful piece though it isn't as catchy, and the first part is pretty low in pitch (sounds like it's out of the comfort zone for some of the VAs). The BGM is mostly unobtrusive though also rather fittingly upbeat.

Aoba and her cubicle mates are all voiced by relatively junior VAs. Their performance is fine though Megumi Yamaguchi stands out more because of her character than her performance. However, the managerial level is full of veterans including Eri Kitamura, Ai Kayano, and Youko Hikasa; the latter two deliver very strong performances. Overall, expect a very light and cute sound package throughout.

Story:
The show follows Aoba as she learns how to design and create 3D models for a game, which happens to be a sequel to the game that she first fell in love with as a child. The plot is pretty simple and follows the company as the workers seek to master up. In addition to getting us closer to the looming deadline, each episode has a particular focus, be it Aoba's first nomikai (drinking party), or her first paycheck. It's trivially easy to figure out what the episode is going to be about, just check the episode title. The show builds to a natural and predictable climax and resolution. There is a tiny bit of tension right at the climax but really, this isn't a particularly exciting show. Overall, I got a handful of laughs along the way, but honestly speaking this is not a show that you'll want to chain.

Character:
If all you need from a show are cute girls interacting, then this is pure bliss. If you're more interested in dynamic characters reacting to changing situations or romance, then this is probably going to be a waste of your time. My main complaint here is, again, how immature everyone acts. I get that things are typically overstated in anime, but seriously, these characters are in the wrong setting; the management are more like babysitters than company leaders. That said the character chemistry isn't bad. Aoba is an inexperienced but hard-working newbie. Hajime is your brash, playful otaku who spends all her money on figurines. Yun is your Kansai-accented, goth loli who is uber-sensitive about having flabby arms. And Hifumi is, ironically, a shy, secret cosplayer. They really put thought into giving the characters a bit of depth and not spamming the viewer with a ton of supporting characters, both points that are greatly appreciated. The show really could do without Nene though, maybe I'm still recovering from Flora from Asterisk but loud, childishly-whiny kids really rub me the wrong way.

Value:
Honestly, this is a fair watch but probably the first show of the year that I will forget; there's just nothing significant that happens. On top of that, the plot isn't particularly exciting and the setting is even more far removed from the reality of the workplace than the Working! series. I really have no idea how this is considered seinin but regardless, there are other shows that are much more worthy of your time.

I watched New Game (both seasons and OVA). Here are my kinda unrefined thoughts:

Wow this is really similar to a real-life workplace. This is just reminding me of work. I don't know how anyone with an office job IRL would find leisurely watching this enjoyable. With episode titles such as "Salary is Just a Loophole in the Law to Lower Wages", how could I not feel relaxed while watching!
Oh Christ they're going out to lunch together on her first day and stuff like that. Wow this really is anxiety-attack material.
Speaking more broadly, this show incorporates the more unpalatable aspects of Japanese work culture. Foremost, incompetent ... project management and the long work hours. Framed another way, despite the show's typical SoL saccharine atmosphere, it does seem to present a somewhat authentic simulation of Japanese white-collar work, and that could be viewed as a desirable feature. Like a lot of things discussed here, it really does depend on the viewer's expectations and preferences.

Most of the cast ranges from bland to unlikable. Nene is annoying as hell. Hifumi is my favourite character, but the cast as a whole feels shallow and underdeveloped. That said, the content of the show hardly requires well-developed characters. I will also concede that the supporting cast got a bit more character development during season two.

OST and voice acting are unremarkable, although the ambient sound of the office setting is done well. The OST did frequently use '8-bit'-sounding music, like one would associate with retro video games, which did suit the theme of the show. I don't like the 8-bit music style at all (in any context), and due to this bias I felt apathetic about its use; someone else might find it charming though.

Animation quality is okay. Sometimes the character animations are fairly detailed, moreso than I'd expect from the average SoL series. The character designs are typical Doga Kobo SoL characters -- some are pretty cute. Cute outfits too, sometimes. Visually, I like the colour palette. It is filled with bright pastel colours, even moreso than the average Doga Kobo series. Indoor settings like the office or characters' bedrooms look nice with this bright colour palette. Visuals are probably the strongest aspect of this anime, at least from my perspective.

The plot consists mainly of your typical lighthearted episodic SoL stories, but usually with an office work-related spin or context to them. I know I'm bemoaning this point, but the stories are kind of triggering instead of relaxing because they just remind me of past workplace events. Especially when there's a 'light' conflict in the anime, it gets amplified in my mind because I'll randomly just recall a bad somewhat-related event from like literally years ago. Even outside the workplace, for example, there's a scene where the MC has to go get her blood drawn by an inexperienced nurse. WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT TO WATCH THAT? STOP REMINDING ME OF UNPLEASANT REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCES.

If I could sum up New Game in one word it would be 'mediocre.' This series doesn't really excel at anything in particular, aside from some visual aspects. Watching New Game felt like I went to a rundown diner and ordered a cheap burger and it arrived cold and soggy, but I still ate it. At the end of the day, I got what I expected. New Game is a typical bread-and-butter SoL show that isn't particularly remarkable aside from the unique premise. Even so, despite the unique premise, New Game felt shallow and formulaic to me. My lack of affection for the cast is also probably a major reason for my lack of enthusiasm for the show.

As you can probably tell already, I am not an impartial judge of this anime, so the reader should pair my opinion with some skepticism. However, I did complete both seasons of New Game (and the OVA), and more generally I am an eager consumer of SoL anime.


My personal rating for New Game: 4/10

I mainly just watched it during meals or immediately before falling asleep.

One outlier was the OVA, which I found fairly comfy. The characters go on a ski trip together. I found it more enjoyable to watch than the office environment, which is probably an indication of my own biases.