No Game No Life Review

No Game No Life has been one of the more popular animes of this season and for good reason. The series ran over 12 episodes, adapted from a light novel series with the same title by Mad House Studios. Many were initially worried that the storyline was perhaps a title too similar to Sword Art Online, however it proved itself to be an entirely different show trying to achieve an entirely different purpose.

Story

The story for NGNL initially appears quite simple, however as the series progresses it becomes clear it is much more complicated than that. Sora and his little sister Shiro are professional gamers and all round shut ins from society. They have a negative attitude towards the world and yet are extremely close to each other as brother and sister. The pair are accidently sucked into a game world by a man the only know as ‘god’ of this game world and so their story beings. The key part of this world is all conflict, growth and almost everything else has to be settled with a game. Both Sora and Shiro are geniuses in almost everything; Sora in particular is very knowledgeable in battle strategy and general function of games and gambling alike. The story of NGNL revolves around intense mental battles between different individuals/association in order to progress the story.

The story is overall quite satisfying. The introductions of new characters, situations, sudden unexpected developments and a good slice of comedy keep the story constantly entertaining and interesting.

Characters

The main characters in NGNL are very well written, however the sub characters can leave a little to be desired. Sora and Shiro are the two main characters of the show and are both interesting in their own respect. Sora has a distinctive character than combines the attitude and brains of a strategist with the humour and likeable idiot character. Shiro is equally smart if not smarter than her brother, however she remains silent throughout most of the series distinguishing herself from Sora in many ways.

The side characters in NGNL are not necessarily bad, but can often lack the depth. Each side character represents an important role in Sora’s plans and all remain relevant to some degree, however at times they feel very one dimensional. Considering the amazing amount of depth and development that is put into Sora and Shiro’s characters, it seems like many of them are ignored once a new character is introduced or a plot point is passed. In saying this, part of this issue is due to the 12 episode limit for the first season which left only so much time to do so many things and will no doubt build on this issue next season.

Art and Animation

Madhouse has never been one for poor animation and NGNL is certainly no exception. The character designs are nice and the scenery is amazingly detailed at times. The animation makes heavy use of filtering the overall colour either pink or blue colours improving the scenes overall.

Music

Music has been used reasonably effectively in this series tying in well with the older medieval style scenery. The music really stood out when used in battle scenes, it increased the intensity of the scenes dramatically and showed that NGNL is not just relying on voice acting to highlight plot developments in scenes.

Conclusion

No Game No Life is a slice of life that is a little bit different and in a good way. The plot is simple, relatable and it has a good line up of characters to match. It is not flawless, however it is a series with a lot of potential and in the hands of Mad House, little can go wrong. I give this series an 8/10, a great series that is well worth your time.