Story: 5/10
The story is average at best with no overarching plot line and lots of confusing things at time. Script writing is decent for most of the series but it is better in the first 2 episodes and a few other episodes. Most of the story tries to develop the characters but it doesn’t do a good a very good job with it. It just tells a side story of some of the spies which can be interesting sometimes but most of the time, it is really boring. You only hear of the characters in those side stories and they never appear again and it really feels like all the work they did was for nothing. The title is also called Joker Game which is a game that they play in the beginning of the anime and it would have been an interesting plot point but they don’t take advantage of it and just leave it there doing nothing to expand on it. They also just leave things about spies such as betrayal and deception in the dust. It feels like they had a great idea about the story but they absolutely fail the premise with these episodes about the characters which are uninteresting.
Art: 7/10
The art can be decent to amazing at time. It has its good moments but it also has its bad. Take for instance the train scene in episode 6. The background outside the train looks terrible. It’s like you take the grass texture from a game made in 1980, slap it onto the ground, and put nothing in the background. Other than that, the artwork is fine.
Sound: 8/10
The sound is solid. There Op is great and the Ed is fine. Everything else is fine and adds to the experience.
Characters: 5/10
The characters in my opinion are just boring. The only one that was actually interesting in this anime was Yuuki due to the way he is presented in this anime. Every other character is forgettable though. This is because many of the characters only get one episode to develop, grow, and become fully fleshed out. Now one episode is not enough for this. This makes all the characters feel really bland. Some can be somewhat interesting but most of the time, it is just boring. The side characters are actually more interesting than the main characters in some cases. The German general guy and the British intelligent officer were more interesting with a way more interesting character design than all the main characters. Overall though, the characters felt very average compared to many other series and how they handle character development within twelve episodes.
Enjoyment: 6/10
I really enjoyed the first two episodes of Joker Game. Although it was fun, all good things come to an end and it came rather quickly. Episodes 3-12 were for the most part, a step down from the first 2 episodes and didn’t give me the same sense of enjoyment that the first 2 did. The ending was especially disappointing for me and I really did not enjoy it.
Overall: 6/10
Joker Game was a unique show as it was set right before World War 2 and telling the stories of spies, something rarely done in anime. It starts off with an amazing first 2 episodes but with lackluster characters, and with an uninteresting story, makes for an experience that is quite boring although it can be interesting at times. Although the art and sound are solid, it can’t save Joker Game from its story and characters.
Watch if:
- You want something more unique in an anime
- Can stand an okay story with okay characters
- You liked Baccano!
- You like it where each episode focuses on a character
Don’t Watch If:
- You need a good story or characters
- Need a good ending
- Can’t watch anything boring
- Need a lot of action in the show
