How can something so verbose be so air headed? No matter how many explanations of absolutely out-there mind games this show tries to play, no matter how many times it flips a preconceived rule on its head, no matter how many times it dehumanizes a female, it’s still just a hollow, lifeless shell. Or is it? For all the things i'm about to figuratively yell about, there's a creeping sensation that i'm completely wrong.
To keep my reviews fresh and somewhat engaging I try to structure every review differently. As in, I look at the structure of the show and adapt my review to fill that structure. For example, in my HunterxHunter review, I split it into 7 parts. Each part represents one of the seven arcs in the show. It’s a little device I use to maybe engage readers a little more, who knows if it works.
And so I sit here wondering how the hell am I going to formulate this review for No Game No Life, because this show brings literally nothing to the table.
This show is so shallow, lifeless, and dull that I can’t actually think of a way to make this review interesting. Under these layers of candy-coated color and over-saturated landscapes and extreme uses of light neon bouncy happy colors, this show does a poor job at hiding the fact that its pretty god damn lifeless.
I know it’s really douchey to attack someone for their likes and dislikes. “YOU like SAO? What a peasant!” “YOU like Naruto!? Ha! What generic taste!”
I get that
So bear with me as I act like a massive self-righteous douchebag in this review…
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Are you kidding me, MAL? Are you kidding me anime fans? An 8.5? This show has an 8.5? THIS show?
What the fuck.
I get that “turn your brain off”, self-insert, escapist entertainment is well-liked in this community. I get that. And that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with escapism. I don’t personally think something should require “turning off your brain” to be enjoyable, but regardless, it’s a common saying so I’ll use it.
But what in the actual world compels this community to rate this show so highly, though? I get FMA, I may think it’s horrendously overrated like every damn shounen action show I’ve ever seen, but I get it. It does do things differently.
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Why this though? Why this? This isn’t even SAO level awful, not even remotely close. But why? Is it because there are giant 2D tits on screen every episode? Is it cause this show uses the guise of self-awareness to pander to its fans? Is it the fucking unbearable trope of trying to make good-for-nothing NEETS seem cool, “Cause that’s the demographic?”
I honestly can’t tell. I just don’t know. Why do people eat this shit up? Why is this show scoring better than half the Monogatari series? Or up there with Madoka?
There has never been a show with a base rating that has infuriated me so much due to that base rating. Saying I shouldn’t care what people think of something is bullshit, too. Of course I care about entertainment. Of course I want the best entertainment possible. Everyone should care about what people think of something, especially when it comes to entertainment because this is our leisure time! We want the best of this!
People thinking makes the world go around. I’m also petty and get angry when people like stuff I don’t like. I’m a douche like that.
If people think this show is great and it becomes popular, then we’ll have hundreds of copy cats the next year copying the shows formula. And that’s this industry. So don’t tell me that I shoudn’t care. I know I’m being a prick but fuck you I want to see something different, not something puts on lens-less glasses and goes “hoi aren’t I a smart guy! Look at my glasses!”
Man this show is shallow! Every female is fucking useless. Every. Single. One. Even the little sister which is made to seem like she’s on even ground with her brother isn’t really. Even when she needs to “save” him, its revealed that he always knew what he was doing. She’s a device he wants to protect, he’s a protector. And she’s there to appeal to that male demographic instinct of protection, that’s why she’s created with being the cutest possible thing in mind. The show goes so far as to rub that cuteness in your face, yelling “Look how cute she is!” and it falls flat, in my opinion.
That’s it, though. The big strong man is smarter and better at everything than these dumb, ditzy, drooling girls. Even the smart eleven year old Loli needs protection and care, cause god forbid someone is on the same level as our protagonist!
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I know I’m sounding like some ranting feminist. Trust me, I’m not. What gets to me isn’t that a bunch of out-of-touch execs and manga writers think this is what will appeal to a bunch of shut-in virgins. That people are so shallow that when they see some jiggling tits, zany kazoo background music, and an overly convoluted explanation for something retarded that they’ll give it an automatic 10/10. That’s not what’s annoying.
What’s annoying is that apparently it’s true! That is what people want! This is a show that’s almost in the top 100 highest rated anime EVER.
Holy. Fuck. It wasn’t even THAT bad. As I said, SAO was significantly more of a slog to get through and this show actually did get me to chuckle once every three or so episodes, which is more than I can say about most comedy anime.
So let’s get into the actual show. Much like the show I started this review in a very loud, eccentric way. What I’m saying has literally no substance in the long run and doesn’t reflect what the populace actually thinks of this show. It’s here to reiterate what many people ehav ealready said in the past about similar shows. This is the most generic possible anime that insults intelligence under the guise of something not-generic. It delivers cringe-inducing characterization choices. It’s well animated, although the style itself is fairly ugly, in my dickish purde opinion. There’s a few things we need to talk about.
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Characters:
The designs lack any inspiration at all. A show that can compared to this one is Konosuba. Which is a similar comedy-focused show that, although not lacking in faults, still felt somewhat inspired in various areas. Even the character designs were generally solid.
Here in “No Game No Life”, we have a generic MC who’s there to be generic. He’s a NEET with, as the show puts it, “social anxiety issues”. However, he’s one of the most charismatic people in the world who’s perfect at talking and charming the ladies. Much like most NEETS are, right? Oh yeah, don’t let this basement dwelling virgin that cuddles up with his eleven-year-old sister charm the panties off of you! This characterization is lacking in metaphoric chromosomes.
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We also have said sister. Who’s eleven. And a imouto deadpan Loli. That’s it. That’s her character. Everything else she shares with her brother. They’re both inseparable from each other and there’s a hint at incestuous love from her, but not enough for it to become something of substance since that’d be TOO REAL for a show trying so hard to be self-aware of its ridiculousness.
Her character design is similarly uninspired. While her brother is as generic looking as they come. You know, a sexy, fit, charismatic, basement dwelling virgin who stays up for days playing video games… she’s this wild magical looking Loli. Which looked cartoonishly out of place in the real world.
I know the excuses people will use, too. “Well Artrill, they aren’t supposed to look of this world because they aren’t!” Yeah, I’d believe that if our protagonist wasn’t Gen-Ericson McGeneric.
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Every other notable side character is a moron girl that gets outclassed by our genius protagonist. It’s also worth noting that there are two girl designs in this show. Big tittied monstrosity and flat-chested Loli. That’s it. There is no in-between. There is no “regular” looking female character.
There’s big-boobied redhead punching bag, or “Steph” as they call her. They try and make her "useful" but every useful thing she does is because of our amazing main characters knack at manipulating her uselessness. I can’t remember a single piece of dialogue she had past episode three because all her voice lines are just loud yelling and hysteria-driven shrieking. Which is HIIIILARIOUS!!!
Have you ever seen a shounen action anime where every joke in the show is just a character reacting really loudly to something?! Well if the answer is yes then you must have seen every single shounen anime ever! Why the fuck is every single piece of comedy in these shows so in-your-face-forcd-down-your-throat? Where’s the subtlety? Where’s the nuance? Where’s the not gag-inducing dialogue? No. How about we actually get some good gags at all!
Why does one in every fifty gags in this show feel original? Hell, half the time this show got me to exhale air through my nose (cause that’s laughing) was because it was just copying something from a different show. Whether it’s a Jojo, Evangelion, or Phoenix Wright reference.
References aren’t inherently bad either, and many shows piggy back on doing referential humor. A perfect example is Community, which is my all-time favorite comedy. The difference here is that the references in Community get utilized creatively. Entire episodes play homage to certain references. The show creates something new and original with them.
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Then there’s bird girl. Or Gerbil. Or is it Jibril? I can’t tell because she’s just another big-tittied idiot who bends to our protagonists will after her introduction episode.
Except this one has wings!
Wow! You’re really outdoing yourself with the character designs, show! Where’d you go to design school? “How to pander to our base demographic”-College? With a major in Fanservice-ollogy and a minor in I-Don’t-care-enough-to-make-a-funny-minor-pun?!
Bow down, Monogatari, Cowboy Bebop, HunterxHunter, THIS is how you do character design! Creative, distinctive, well-drawn and personality-infused character designs? Pff! Who needs THAT!
This show does occasionally get a bit more sobering. And by that I mean the corny generic “comedy scene” music stops and we get “drama”.
Or as I like to call it, “Redhead crying hour”, where our favorite busty redhead, Steph, cries for most of the episode. This happens for one or all of these reasons:
A.) She fucked up and is a moron, which leads to tears.
B.) She gets insulted by our protagonist and is a moron, which leads to tears.
C.) She’s a useless moron there to be loud, eccentric, and fan-service bait that drools over our protagonist. She’s sub-human trash I’d treat like an empty bottle of Gatorade and throw in the trash. She drools over our protagonist, even though he’s “awful”, as she convinces herself in the most boring tsundere way.
But the show even half-asses that. She’s not actually tsundere and it’s mostly played for laughs. The only issue is it’s not actually funny. I get that in animation you can do all sorts of wacky physical humor due to the lack of physical bounds, but that’s what makes it all the more boring.
There’s a reason we no longer see the whole “running off a cliff, looking at the camera and THEN falling” gag in animation. Physical humor in animation isn’t easy to pull off because it’s such a clichéd field. “Oh the character makes a wacky face and yells and jumps around!” Hasn’t been funny in 60 years, show. Stop using it for 6/10ths of your punchlines.
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Regardless. She cries and cries until our protagonist says some generic recycled shounen drivel about “believing in yourself and having hope for humanity”, then she cries some more.
Yes. We get it. She’s a weak, dumb character. Hilarious and awesome!
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Relationship:
The headline of this show is the relationship between our main character and his sister. I've seen so many people just gushing over how dynamic and interesting this relationship, however, I just didn't see it. As I said above, his sister is quite literally just the same as him except she's a deadpan Loli.
Towards the final arc of the show we finally got some deviation between the two, the sister being more calculating and less emotional. While our protag is less calculating and more emotional. But at that point its been ten episodes and extra characterization feels tacked on, especially since these characters are so constantly NOT evolving.
Their relationship never goes past "cute and simple". So I find it hard to praise a show on that. Especially since it does weave into fanservicey at times, with his sister being exploited similarly to the other girls on the show. While our protagonist isn't so keen on seeing her naked, its still a line this show teasingly tries to cross.
Thing is, this fan-service is just not too good... and no, i'm not talking about the actual nakedness of the girls or the camera angles in which they are filmed. That's mostly subjective, if you like 2D eleven year olds then all the power to you. I'm talking about context to fan-service, especially in regards to their relationship.
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If fanservice, and by fanservice I mean purposefully titillating scenes, are mandatory. Then you might as well try to weave them into the narrative. I want to say that the show does try to do that but it does it in such a corny and half-assed way that I can't help but feel like its patronizing.
"So these characters have to get to know each other, lets throw them into a bathhouse cause then there'll be funny physical humor where the flat-chested loli is embarrassed that she is flat chested! That's NEVER been done before!"
Now compare that to something like Monogatari's fanservice and you see the stark and obvious difference between the two. But i'm not trying to constantly compare this to something like Monogatari. I'm trying to point out how fanservice can be a part of the story, or how fanservice can be tacked on because the show needs to market these characters somehow.
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I won't even touch on how sexualizing an eleven year old is weird. This is anime, this happens constantly. I'm not pretending like this is the first show to do this kind of creepy shit. But if you are going for creepy shit, at least put effort into said creepy shit. Make it extra creepy and spicy.
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Animation :
So lets talk animation. Above I mentioned that it is in fact well-animated. And it is. It honestly has some really solid animation throughout. There is a lot of movement and said movement is pretty fluid and entertaining. I actually was fairly impressed by how well animated the entire show is.
The artstyle is another, wholly subjective field i'll mention. It's not really my thing. The entire show is over-saturated and incredibly colorful. To the point where it's almost blinding. Even during the a certain episode where half of it is in black and white, the show still feels very blinding in its color.
This is most definitely a stylistic choice. I just don't like that stylistic choice. It makes the show hard to watch for extended periods of time.
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I've spoken enough about how uninspired every character in this show is. Every character is a design I've seen multiple times before. There's literally nothing I can say about the design positively. Its either generic as hell or bad.
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THE mostly POSITIVES :
-The Story :
Here's where we get into things that I was decently impressed by. While the story beats are as generic as they come, the games which these characters do play are all pretty well fleshed out and engaging. Engaging in the most basic way, sure, but engaging nonetheless.
The show pretty much takes a popular game, whether its a board game or anything else, and adds its own spin on it. The spin is generally overly complicated and kind of illogical, but regardless... here we are.
The reason for this illogical and emotional spin on things is to once again service our protagonist and make him out to be the best at everything. Sure his little sister is a logical beast and can calculate just about everything, but it doesn't really matter since EVERY game doesn't service that. And every game doesn't service that not because the world in the show is like that, but because the writers wrote it like that. This makes a lot of the reasoning feel stilted.
Specifically a twist on the Japanese board-game, Othello, was so contrived, dumb, and unnecessary that it spoiled an otherwise fine episode. So put bluntly, this show feels like its fighting against itself with these games. Sometimes they are creative and visually pleasing, albeit nonsense. Other times they are just nonsense.
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In the shows finale a whole new world is created, and while the showdown isn't nearly as entertaining as the showdown mid-way through the show, its still decently put together. Here our characters face off against one of the two girl archetypes:
[Big Boobied idiot]
[Flat-chested soft-spoken loli] <--- This one
However, I will say that the conclusion overall is fairly well put together. The ending didn't feel sure of whether it'll get a second season or not, which made it seems a bit lame. But the actions before that were serviceable and were most likely some of the strongest moments in the show.
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The story itself is a bit more political than usual, which adds a certain sense of wonder. I guess. The world being fairly generic doesn't help. There's this sense that this show wants to feel as though its parodying itself, but it really doesn't pull it off. On occasion there are one liners that are fairly like-able and create for more engaging dialogue in-between the action, but for the most part the story is split up between three sections.
There's exposition, fanservice, and action.
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Conclusion :
When I was just beginning to become interested in film and the entertainment industry, my father and I would constantly talk with each other about objectivity and subjectivity in film. When I was younger I never really liked or truly understood what he was saying.
He has years and years in the film industry and obviously knows the way things work. However, i'd always argue with him about story elements. Whether a certain story was good or bad and why. He'd always reply the same way though.
"Well, how did the film do in the box office?" This always annoyed me because i'd say, "It doesn't matter, Dad, we're talking about the story!" And then he'd respond the same way.
This is because at the end of the day entertainment is made for the people. Regardless of how much hatred something like the Transformers movies get constantly, they still make billions in the box office. People always go to watch them and they keep going. So clearly the films aren't 'bad", are they?
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If we are talking about objective success, in regards to story, delivery, characters, anything. That objective success lies in what the audience thinks of something. How they respond and how they engage with the material. If that response is plentiful and positive then that piece of entertainment is an objective success.
My father would tell me that I need to understand this if I ever want to succeed in the industry. Sure there are niche markets. Arthouse films are a perfect example. But the most successful and recognizable arthouse films and shows are the ones that succeeded in becoming popular in that niche market. So at the end of the day every single piece of media that can be seen as objectively good is one that succeeds in its demographic.
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What i'm trying to say is at the end of the day i'm wrong about this show. I may not like it because it does everything I hate about anime. And anime does a lot of things I hate. The reason it does all those things I hate is because that's the market. The market its appealing to is my least favorite market in the entertainment business. However, it's doing it well since look how damn popular this show is. Look how good the reviews are!
So at the end of the day, i'm very wrong. Sure my opinions are backed up by some resemblance of logic, but that doesn't make them accurate in the long term. The best I can do here is understand why this show got so popular. Its the definition of escapist entertainment and that's fine.
I may not like it because it feels shallow and boring. But to others it doesn't. This is what they want.
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So this show is perfectly just there. I watched it and I'll most likely forget most of the characters and plot. It follows a very obvious archetype and there really is no tension built in this show. Every problem is almost immediately solved.
This is escapism at its most blatant and that's not a bad thing.
