No Game No Life...
No Game No Life seemed like something I might enjoy...
In No Game No Life, all war and overt violence is banned, so, as a result, all disputes are resolved by playing games. Any types of games are allowed from games of chance to card games to video games. The series progresses with Sora and Shiro challenging opponents to obtain some objective and then using guile or other mathematical gymnastics to outthink their opponents. After the victory, Sora and Shiro, in long-winded speeches, explain in some detail how they knew they were going to win even before the game started. In this way, our heroes make quick work of the locals and manage to amass an impressive harem in the process.
Even though No Game No Life repeatedly breaks the fourth wall to insist that it is a children's show, the series is actually has quite a bit of fan service including nearly bare breasts, breast fondling and panty shots galore. Since Shiro, is underage, there is a running gag with lolicon references to Shiro. There's also a slightly yuri vibe between a number of the characters in the series. But, despite all of the suggestions to the contrary, there are no actual naughty bits in the series. A nice change of pace in the series is that although Sora is portrayed as the typical male pervert, it's actually Shiro who is, in my humble opinion, more of a pervert than her stepbrother.
Since a major premise in No Game No Life is that there is no war and all disputes are resolved with games, obviously, there is no bloodshed in the series. The series is fast-paced and engaging, but, my biggest issue with the series is that it is incomplete. The series builds slowly in anticipation of a conflict with the war beasts and a looming fight with the elves. But, then the series ends without coming anywhere near the final conflict for control of Tet's realm itself. Overall, even though No Game No Life is incomplete, I would still give No Game No Life a 3 out of 5.
In No Game No Life, we follow the adventures of Sora and Shiro, a couple of brilliant shut-ins who have spent their lives playing games and crafting their online reputations as the unbeatable duo, Blank. One day, Sora and Shiro meet Tet, a self-proclaimed God, who invites them to his realm to play games. Sora and Shiro enter Tet's realm with nothing and very quickly, using their unmatched game playing skills, end up staying in a palace. Sora and Shiro, playing together as Blank, plan on using challenging one opponent after another until they work their way up to Tet himself and win control of the entirety of Tet's realm.On the internet, they're legends: the tag-team duo known as BLANK, famed for their incredible game-playing skills. In the real world, however, the lives of 18 year old Sora and his 11 year old stepsister Shiro have been spiraling out of control. Now existing as shut-ins, they rarely leave their house and are unable to be separated without suffering panic attacks. Games, for them, are the safest retreat from reality. Until they win a chess match against a mysterious opponent known as Tet and find themselves pulled into a game bigger than any they could have ever imagined.
Now, in a world where the outcome of games determines the fates of both civilizations and species, they must defend Humanity in the ultimate challenge, vying against a host of otherworldly competitors for the right to rule them all! But if they fail, it means slavery or destruction for all mankind. No pressure, of course! Can two misfits who can barely handle their own lives somehow rise to the occasion and save the human race?
In No Game No Life, all war and overt violence is banned, so, as a result, all disputes are resolved by playing games. Any types of games are allowed from games of chance to card games to video games. The series progresses with Sora and Shiro challenging opponents to obtain some objective and then using guile or other mathematical gymnastics to outthink their opponents. After the victory, Sora and Shiro, in long-winded speeches, explain in some detail how they knew they were going to win even before the game started. In this way, our heroes make quick work of the locals and manage to amass an impressive harem in the process.
Even though No Game No Life repeatedly breaks the fourth wall to insist that it is a children's show, the series is actually has quite a bit of fan service including nearly bare breasts, breast fondling and panty shots galore. Since Shiro, is underage, there is a running gag with lolicon references to Shiro. There's also a slightly yuri vibe between a number of the characters in the series. But, despite all of the suggestions to the contrary, there are no actual naughty bits in the series. A nice change of pace in the series is that although Sora is portrayed as the typical male pervert, it's actually Shiro who is, in my humble opinion, more of a pervert than her stepbrother.
Since a major premise in No Game No Life is that there is no war and all disputes are resolved with games, obviously, there is no bloodshed in the series. The series is fast-paced and engaging, but, my biggest issue with the series is that it is incomplete. The series builds slowly in anticipation of a conflict with the war beasts and a looming fight with the elves. But, then the series ends without coming anywhere near the final conflict for control of Tet's realm itself. Overall, even though No Game No Life is incomplete, I would still give No Game No Life a 3 out of 5.
