Have you ever wondered how your life will be, if everything was solved by playing a game, this anime grasp a rather popular genre with an interesting concept, but it lacks support from the characters and the ending
Story - 9/10
This is a story about two sibling gamers who are good at every type of game they play, known as ‘Blank’. They become bored of the world they live in, and one day gets a challenge from an unknown player in chess. They beat this unknown player, however that unknown player was actually a god named Tet, who brings the two siblings into his own world known as Disboard. A world where there is no conflict and everything is sorted by games. Simply put, if you want to rob someone, beat them in a game. Want to become a king, beat them in a game. Want to conquer other territories and factions, beat them in a game. And if you want to be god, earn the right to face him off in a game, meaning, don’t lose on your way there. Sora and Shiro make it their goal to become god of Disboard, and to do that, they must conquer every territory in Disboard, in order to have one final faceoff against Tet, for the position of God.
The pacing of the story is actually rather well done, with some minor distractions here and there. Each game is paced quite well and cleverly done. The games don’t take too long, nor do they finish too quickly, I felt like the games were at just the right pace. However, between games the story gets kind of boring, as in nothing really happens. It feels like those episodes were there to make the other supporting cast interesting, but in actuality, they really didn’t get development. So those stories in between was just used to build the upcoming game, and I don’t think it needed that much to build up.
Characters - 6/10
Sora and Shiro make up for our main protagonist in No Game No Life. They’re the inseparable brother and sister combo known as ‘Blank.’ Because if they were separated apart they panic like crazy. Sora becomes a quivering, spineless coward and Shiro becomes almost catatonic. Sora is probably the absolute main protagonist, as he does most of the talking, and Shiro is kind of just there to be the badass player. However despite these characters being likeable and someone you would cheer for, they are unfortunately not developed. Throughout the whole show, it never really seemed like they change their attitudes towards different games as if they’ve played the game before, and know it already.
The other main character in the show is Stephanie Dola, the princess of human kingdom. Now her role in the anime is kind of a target to everyone’s pleasing. She is filled with fan service, as we always seem to never see her properly dress. Her role felt like she was to be a useless bystander who’s completely naïve, as she is what usually triggers Sora to explain their gaming strategy to the audience, so in theory, we the audience, are Stephanie Dola, and that’s kind of slap in the face to us. Because at time, she is shown to bet somewhat intelligent, but is clearly outsmarted by our protagonists and she is shown to do dumb things as well.
Unfortunately for the majority of the cast, they never really felt fully developed. They all have unique and interesting backstories, but apart from that, they don’t seem to grow as the show goes on. Sora and Shiro, are always confident in their games, and never seem to think otherwise. Whereas the supporting characters were just there for the sake of fulfilling a certain role in Sora’s harem.
Animation and Sound - 8/10, 8/10
The art style and colour palette is really refreshing for an anime. The art style uses quite a lot of neon colours, favouring red and blue. The art style is really unique and works well with this anime, as we are in a game world sort of, where everything is sort of peaceful and is handle ideally by playing games. This can be seen as when we were in the human world originally at the start of the anime, Sora and Shiro’s room are completely dark, and the light you can see is there computer monitors. However at times, it can get super bright, because of the art style. Some of the 3D used, is kind of bad, it doesn’t fit well with the style. The game set pieces are quite good though, especially the last one being a very fast pace action sequence. However there is one glaring problem, I find with this anime, and it is its use of fan service. Honestly it felt unneeded, and added nothing towards the anime. It felt completely overused.
The soundtrack is quite good for my liking. The opening theme is epic, and really catchy, which really gets you pumped up for the show. The ending theme is rather forgettable, despite being sung by Shiro’s voice actor. The soundtrack for the show does a really good job in accompanying the game set pieces in the anime. It really as a good variety of music to suit the different genre of games, and adds some electronica, to what already sounds like an epic JRPG soundtrack, which is a huge plus. The gaming theme techno soundtrack is really enjoyable to listen to, and gets intense. However it only peaks during the games, the soundtrack is rather forgettable when there isn’t a game being played.
Enjoyment - 8/10
There is one thing that bothers me about this show. It’s the way our main characters approach every game. Because their philosophy a game is won, before it even starts. They always have some master plan and strategy, that will always get them the win. And so knowing the characters are going to win the whole time, is kind of predictable and boring. However, the show insist that we watch as it cleverly unfolds the strategy behind the characters, and that is what is enjoyable. The journey path to getting the win, is what makes this anime exciting. They also make use of simple games, and turn it into intense games, such as a simple scissors, paper, rock game or even flipping a coin. There is always some sort of calculations for every game, and surprisingly seeing glimpses of that, is kind of enjoyable and rewarding. However when there isn’t a game being played, it is kind of boring and generic. The characters don’t do anything special between games, as they just research all the time. And I enjoy the concept of the anime, but I think the characters weren’t doing much to make the story interesting.
Verdict - 8/10
For the story of I give it a 9, because I love the concept and enjoyed it a lot. I thought each game was paced perfectly. The games were exciting to watch, even though I knew were going to win, but the path to winning is the most exciting thing you’re going to get out of this anime. However without a proper ending, the show feels really incomplete.
For the animation and sound, I give it both and 8. The animation and art style is really unique and well done. The colour palette is refreshing and suits the show. However the 3D is less than desirable, while the fan service is kind of unneeded. The soundtrack is really good, when they’re playing the games, but other than that, it is nothing special. The opening song is epic and amazing, but the ending is forgettable.
The characters get a 6 from me. The main protagonist Sora and Shiro are both character’s you would route for, but the other characters aren’t really that interesting outside their backstory. And all the characters in the show, aren’t really developed at all, they pretty much maintain the same throughout the entire show.
For my personal enjoyment, I give it an 8, as it was really exciting watching how they come away with a win, even if the whole premise set is up as a win the game before it even started scenario. My biggest problem was getting to know the characters more and the fan service getting in the way.
So for the overall score of No Game No Life, I give it an 8/10. It has really interesting concept with exciting set pieces, but the characters are lacking and fan service gets really distracting. I recommend this anime to fans of comedy/adventure, gaming genre or even psychological anime fans. Because there are some intense moments in the anime, just be wary of the overuse of fan service, and try to enjoy the journey to the win, rather than expecting the win.
