There aren't many things which make me genuinely laugh or smile; I'm rather begative as a person tbh, and when I laugh it is very rarely out of genuine joy. However, NGNL was able to make me genuinely laugh for the first time in around two years. Depressing, I know, but regardless of how often I feel genuine joy this show really hit the spot. Its clever mix of clever references to games like Ace Attorney and Skyrim alongside other pieces of humour broke through my typically hard outer shell as if it had turned to butter. I would always be eager to wait through the credits because there would sometimes be a witty comment at the end. (This is the only way to get the Skyrim reference.) While much of it was not tasteful in the slightest, I couldn't help but chuckle right tbrough the series. The poor taste actually felt like a rare example of fanservice genuinely improving tne quality of the show as opposed to just being there to fill up screentime. The characters use humour for subtle (and mostly shallow) development and to keep a sense of fantasy at all times throughout. While the character development is not deep, ut never seemed to bother me all that much; I want to learn about the characters more, but at the same time I feel as if this was done deliberately to keep you chuckling.
A common gripe that I tend to have with these kinds of shows is their reliance on stock characters. While the same can be said for this in many ways, the three key plot-driving characters (Sora, Shiro and Stephanie) always felt a different from most key characters i these kinds of shows - almost like they had their own unique personalities as opposed to very generic ones used in other similar shows while retaining their archetypes. It is very difficult to tell if they are really stock characters when watching it. While some people will probably say they are stock characters without looking back, I found myself questioning what they were right through the series, and I found myself liking them a lot more than other similar characters as a result.
The plot feels familiar yet unique at the same time. Alternate universes and game universes are commonplace within anime, but this put a different twist on the sub-genre and made it feel like a new experience when watching it. This was backed up by completely stunning visuals as well; the pinky-orange tint on the world of Disboard makes it feel like something out of a childrens' storybook (with Sora repeatedly referring to it as a "fantasy world") while the antics which occur throughout repeatedly reminding you that this is targetted at mid/late teen and adult audiences. This is a kind of weird comparison to draw considering just how different the tones of the shows are, but it is a lot like Madoka Magica in that respect that it is a childish premise aimed at a mature audience; this is further backed up by how Madoka, much like NGNL, uses an almost childlike art style at many points throughout, although the fluctuations between mature and immature art in Madoka are where this comparison starts to loosen.
The anime honestly has some of the best intro and outro music that I have heard in anime to date. From This Game's afdictive piano, guitar and vocals to Oracion's light guitar and vocals, there is no reason I can see for disliking this aspect of the show. Having Shiro's seiyuu perform Oracion is also a pleasant surprise, with there being so few shows - anime or not - use chatacters in their ending songs nowadays (the only other one I can think of off of the top of my head is Inazuma Eleven, which is a kids show). AAll in all, I am very happy with it.
A common complaint that NGNL recieves is thatit is pandering. While this may be true, I never really noticed it when I was watching. It is one of the few shows where I haven't subconciously filtered those kinds of scenes out, and honestly I never felt like I was watching it to fill some kind of fetish or anything like that. A lot of the comedy and showing off the personalities of certain members of the cast was done in less-than-tasteful scenarios, but this just made it feel like it wasn't afraid to offend its audience for the sake of being funny.
Anyway, in conclusion, I was happy to have had the chance to watch this anime. I thought it was outstanding, and viewing it is one of the few things which has given me genuine pleasure.
