Reviews

I went in expecting something that would ride the Squid Game hype, but Tomodachi Game definitely takes a different turn, being far less about violence and more about psychology and strategy and the result is one of the most intensely compelling scripts I've seen in an anime. As you'd expect, the series is about a group of people playing children's games for decidedly morbid reasons, it's been done plenty of times, your Saw movies, your Squid Games, etc, but where Tomodachi Game really succeeds is how far it goes into the thought process of making each choice. I'm admittedly the kind of guy who talks through my though process when playing board games and if you're that kind of person you'll love watching the main character. The show is basically a crash course on Game Theory and Prisoner's dilemmas, and best of all it plays fair. This is the kind of show where if you rewind and watch again after a particular detail is revealed, they totally set it up beforehand and the planning and payoff is just so much fun and so satisfying to watch unfold.

The show's pacing is a bit of a blessing and a curse. On one hand, taking each of the game scenarios somewhat slowly gives you that juicy decision-making and strategizing that I crave so much and watching the protagonist DESTROY his enemies with FACTS and LOGIC is the appeal of the show, yet each game is so compelling I found myself wanting more of them. I imagine the effort it takes to plot out even a single game's worth of story must have been exhausting, but it does sometimes hurt that there are only three different games across the different episodes because I just love each one so much. The second game might drag a bit too much for some people's taste, the "analysis paralysis" phenomenon board gamers watching the show are probably familiar with certainly takes hold, but every strategy they agonized over was deeply compelling to me.. Really though the best shows leave you wanting more, and I want more of everything Tomodachi Game has to offer. More of the games, more of the logic, more of the mysteries, it's all just so good!

The visuals are fine, though probably the true week link. It doesn't look bad and there's a lot of fun stylization whenever the characters get really intense, but aside from the surprisingly good CGI integration of the mascot character nothing really stuck out as truly great visually, and occasionally the characters looked a bit off model, this really is a script driven work. I watched the dub and the cast did really well and all fit their characters.

I really hope there's a season 2, but even if there is I don't think I can restrain myself, I think I need to hunt down the manga ASAP.