STORY 8/10
NGNL tells us a story about two NEET siblings called Shiro and Sora who are presumably a genius in their own rights. The siblings then found themselves transferred into another world that has gaming as their guidelines and cornerstone. The premise isn't bad and I myself found it as highly interesting, but of course an interesting premise must also be accompanied by a good execution and this is where NGNL falls abit short. It is certainly not horrible that is destroys the whole series but it is enough for me to go a bit "ehh?" Some part of the stories doesn't feel right and while I realize that this is a fantasy world some of the things that Sora and Shiro has done can make you go "uhh, but ummm okay?" Kind-of-moment. Overdramatization of some things are also a problem in some cases. I understand that the creator of the anime wants us to feel sympathy on a character but sometimes it feels like that such dramatic scenes are not necessary and creates an awkward stiuation rather than a sad situation for the watchers
ART 7/10
The artstyle of NGNL needs awhile to get used too, but it is certainly not bad. There is abit of a strange preference to the colour of orange for some odd reason. The world does look extremely georgeous and can be such a joy to watch the landscape. I have no real qualms for the artstyle but it is not perfect.
SOUND 8/10
The voice actor is good and again there is no qualm with their acting. I personally like Shiro's seiyu since I adore her in Sakurasou No Pet Na Kanojo and she did Ibara in Hyouka (both anime which I highly recommend you to watch if you haven't). There is also the famous opening that is sung by Konomi Suzuki (who coincidentally sang the ED of SnPnK) and the bgm music in the episodes are appropriate but nothing memorable.
CHARACTER 7/10
Here is what I believe to be the biggest pitfall of NGNL, the character aren't bad to be fair but they aren't likable. I understand that Sora and Shiro is shown to be genius reclusive people but it is amazing how they sometimes act like they are seemingly okay with social things and then on another scene they seem like they can't talk even if their loves depended on it. That is not the biggest problem tho, I can to some extent understand such thing as that they can everything if they are together stuff. But the main problem is, I find myself to not relate with the characters there are too much inconsistencies in them that sometimes I found myself unable to like them incompletely. And then there is the case of character development, of which there is little to no character development , I don't see any difference on how Shiro and Sora sees interact with everyone. You could argue that they add new relationship to the series and the siblings interacted with them. But adding a cast of characters doesn't mean anything if all of them are bland and boring. I feel sometimes that the side characters are there just too fill in the screens and the occassional fan service scene.
ENJOYMENT 9/10
With everything I said about the cast of characters, i still thoroughly enjoy the anime. The game was fun to watch albeit very predictable in its own way. The comedy can be bland but mostly it is quite well written. The show also have enough action and suspense to give a viewer to keep on going for another episode. NGNL I feel, is one of those anime that is just asking you to watch it without any further thinking. It is just enjoying of Sora's and Shiro's genius mind (again albeit it a little over the line) and just nod your head along to the conclusion.
OVERALL 8/10
In the end, NGNL is an enjoyable watch the plot is certainly interesting even with an average execution of the plot. The cast of characters are certainly unique but sadly not relatable. It is neither a very bad anime or the best anime of 2014. It is just a good anime and for me, it is enough to make me watch it and thoroughly enjoy it.
