This show is exciting and enjoyable to say the least. From a technical side, things are pretty well done, and deliver. On a narrative stand-point, however, while things generally come together nicely (most of the time), there are some clichés that detract from the overall quality of the show.
The animation in NGNL is simply amazing. With vibrant, rich colors, and a bright and light color pallet, the show is definitely different from what you normally see in an anime. The quality is fairly consistent, too. The OP for the show is very catchy, while I found the ED to be alright. However, none of the tracks on the OST particularly stood out to me, but when used in conjunction with the animation, they did their job.
When it comes to the characters in NGNL, I'd have to say this is the weak point of the show. While they can be enjoyable and enticing to watch, the majority are, more or less, clichéd. Some have more personality than others, making them their own person, but there's still that factor there. I did feel attached to them overall, however, and enjoyed seeing their mentality -- especially with "Blank." (I have to give a "special insert" to Stephanie, however. Throughout the 12 episodes, she switches from the clueless one to the "what, she's intelligent?" punchline. It's really annoying, and honestly, I think, out of character for her. Choose one or the other, but stop alternating.) Character development was... iffy. At points it was good overall, but for some of the main characters with less screen time, it was definitely on-par -- nothing more.
The setting is creative... to a point. While it's a different world, it's still a "fantasy" world, and that means a lot of the races are your generic populous. However, in it's defense, it's fleshed out rather well, especially for the small timespan that we were exposed to it.
Episodic value (12 episodes) in total was insane. Right from the start, you're hooked on the story, and it just keeps pulling you from there. I enjoyed every second of this show (hell, I finished it in under 24 hours). However, I felt the pacing to be a bit rushed at points, and that lends to the short episode run of this season.
The overall storyline for the show is good. It has a generally well-executed rising action, climax and conclusion (though flaws are spotted throughout sparingly). The storyline itself is original in some aspects (the rules and games themselves), but fall back on the traditional (need for the win/conquest/power) that our main character (Sora) so increasingly desires. I ended up feeling engaged overall, but not deep enough in the story where I would call myself "hooked." Things made sense all the way through, thanks to great narrative, but left a LOT of holes and yet unexplored territory in the ending. (This being a MADHOUSE production, despite the show's seemingly positive popularity, who knows when, or even if, we'll ever get a second season.)
"No Game, No Life" overall is a pretty good show. It has it's flaws and can be clichés, but it does it's job of entertaining you very well (with beauty, I might add).
