‘No Game No Life’ is a gamer’s paradise

We live in a world where strength is often defined as the capacity to throw one’s weight around – literally and figuratively. The physically powerful pummel the feeble bloody senseless, and those with money and influence in high places… well, we already know what those people are capable of.

 

Sora and Shiro, the inseparable brother-and-sister duo of the anime “No Game No Life”, must have shared similar sentiments when they realized they wanted nothing more to do with mainstream society. They did, after all, end up shutting themselves in their room and devoting every second of their lives to gaming.

 

But who wouldn’t harbor such feelings in this day and age? Who wouldn’t want to escape the pointlessness of the daily grind, to run from the rampant stupidity and flagrant indifference of our species?

 

And what if you could get away from it all? What if you could enter a world where all the rules are crystal clear, and everything – from the most trivial issues to world-changing politics – is decided by games?

 

Game start

 

There exists an urban legend of a group of gamers so good, they have never been defeated. They enter a game, lay waste to every challenger, and exit without even so much as leaving behind their names. And so they have come to be called “Blank”.

 

What nobody knows is that Blank is actually two people: the 18-year-old NEET, Sora, and his 11-year-old shut-in of a sister, Shiro. To them, the real world is nothing but a “crappy game”. And so when a mysterious stranger offers a way out of their mundane existence, they do not even hesitate.

 

The pair is reborn on Disboard, a beautiful fantasy realm ruled by the playful god, Tet. Tet has outlawed all forms of violence and theft, binding the world’s 16 diverse races to a set of rules called the “Ten Pledges”, which requires that all conflicts be resolved through games.

 

Sora and Shiro, hardcore gamers that they are, quickly warm to their new environment. It isn’t long before they are embroiled in the bizarre politics of Disboard, as the human race of Imanity – ranked the weakest of the 16 – finds its very existence threatened by its power-hungry neighbors.

 

Player select

 

We realize how special our unlikely pair is whenever we see them in combat with the denizens of Disboard. Shiro is of super genius-level intellect, a master of the game, able to calculate every possible outcome in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, Sora is a master of the mind, able to read his opponents with precision bordering on clairvoyance, manipulating their thoughts and emotions with disarming alacrity. It’s no wonder Blank is unstoppable – they’ve got all the bases covered.

 

It’s an incredible dynamic, the interactions between brother and sister as enjoyable as they are telling of their deep, unbreakable bond. Which is a boon considering that, individually, Sora and Shiro aren’t that great as characters. Sora is far too full of himself to be truly likeable, not to mention so horny you’ll eventually find yourself wishing someone would just douse this kid in ice cold water. Shiro is your standard “emotionless little girl” archetype, more robot than human, and therefore difficult to relate to. Blank is truly meant to be a team; without the other, it just ceases to exist.

 

But true to most fantasy games, it’s more fun with a party. Though horrendously bad at games, Stephanie Dola, the granddaughter of the deceased king of the human country of Elkia, becomes the siblings’ first ally. She is frequently the unfortunate casualty of Sora and Shiro’s pranks, and because of her persistently (and amusingly) high-strung nature, she becomes the show’s de facto comic relief.

 

As the story progresses, the “party” grows to include characters from the other races. A personal favorite is Jibril, a sexy, information-obsessed angel who froths at the mouth every time there’s even a hint of new knowledge to be gained.

 

Here comes a new challenger

 

The games are, of course, the soul of “No Game No Life”. From the wildest incarnation of chess to an unbelievably dangerous word game, the games are as exciting as they are cerebral. The rules may seem simple, but there are often twists and turns that derail what would otherwise be straightforward wins for Blank. Making matters even more nerve-wracking, the stakes are always ridiculously high, with defeat entailing something far worse than bruised egos.

 

Thanks to this, the tension never lets up; the premise may say that these guys are unbeatable, but we are never really quite sure until the very end of a battle. It is also immensely gratifying to see how Blank defeats impossible adversaries using nothing more than a combination of sheer wit, sound strategy, and impeccable timing.

 

As riveting as the games are, the manner in which they are presented is sometimes challenging to follow. “No Game No Life” is a wonderfully paced series, but on occasion, the games’ rules and proceedings move too quickly, necessitating the use of the pause and rewind buttons just so you can understand what exactly is going on. This becomes increasingly problematic in the games that aren’t familiar to non-Japanese viewers, such as the aforementioned word game, Shiritori.

 

Despite this hiccup, these games, hands down, are some of the most thrilling and intelligent action scenes in anime.

 

Graphics: Maximum resolution

 

With “No Game No Life”, Madhouse proves they are the masters of color. From the off-black outlines to Shiro’s lustrous locks, viewing a single episode is like staring at a rainbow. But as rich as the visuals are, they are never glaringly bright, the numerous hues and shades coming off as soft and easy on the eyes.

 

Squeeze in several nods to real games and other anime ranging from “Skyrim” to “Evangelion”, and “No Game No Life” is as entertaining to watch as it is gorgeous to look at.

 

But if there’s anything that pulls this anime down, it’s the unbridled fan service.

 

While we’ve seen skimpily dressed women in other anime before, the ladies of “No Game No Life” repeatedly find themselves at the mercy of Sora’s perversions.

 

After losing a wager, Stephanie is literally made to behave like a dog. But of course this isn’t enough – she has to be stripped down to her bare necessities, as well. Not exactly the most flattering depiction of a woman. Then there’s Shiro, whom we all have to remember is a pre-pubertal child. Within the first ten minutes of the inaugural episode, we are treated to two gratuitous shots of her panties. And it only gets much worse.

 

It’s true that some of the fan service is self-parodying, but too much is still too much. What we ultimately end up with is something akin to the harem anime genre, where you have a bunch of women degenerate into powerless sex objects for the show’s single prominent male to toy around with. Disgusting.

 

Game (not) Over

 

A vast, enchanting world; stunning, alluring visuals; fascinating characters; and exciting, brainy games make “No Game No Life” fun and deeply satisfying to watch. And while it ends on a high note, its story is far from over. Its compelling mythology is simply too rich to be contained within one season, so don’t be surprised to see the series returning in the future.

 

It’s a pity the excessive fan service besmirches an otherwise brilliant anime, because at its heart is a message that should empower not only gamers, but anyone who has ever felt they have been treated unfairly by society’s biased standards. The words “strong” and “weak” have been abused so blatantly they have ceased to have any real meaning, anyway; “No Game No Life” reminds us that whoever or whatever you are, the sky is a limit that can be surpassed. — TJD, GMA News