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REVIEW: No Game, No Life Episodes 1-12 Streaming


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thekingsdinner



Joined: 25 Sep 2010
Posts: 1067
Location: Geertruidenberg, Netherlands
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 2:50 pm Reply with quote
Hm, I didn't think this show was anything that special, just a quick fun thing but it hasn't left any impression on me. It works as a time-killer though.

I always felt sorry Steph. I never understood why Sora and Shiro treat her in such an abusive way, it's actually kind of annoying.
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Shikiari



Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Posts: 462
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 2:54 pm Reply with quote
"Steph, Sit!"

Good review. In my own opinion, it was easily the best and most enjoyable show of the year so far. Eagerly awaiting another season sometime in the future!
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kevinx59



Joined: 27 Jan 2012
Posts: 959
Location: In sunny California
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:24 pm Reply with quote
Nice review (strange, because I usually disagree with Carl's views). One of my favorites of the last season. I was kind of worried at first that with Madhouse doing the hyped up Mahouka at the same time this series would get neglected but no, the art and animation was simply spectacular. The character designs were cute, the colors mesmerizing, and the games ridiculously awesome. That last shooting battle was especially intense, and the animation was almost movie quality. I also liked how in episode 8 spoiler[when Sora disappeared the ending theme sounded distorted and glitchy to reflect how something was wrong. It was a small but creative touch.] Hopefully there is another season.
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The Coffee God



Joined: 22 Jul 2010
Posts: 412
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:45 pm Reply with quote
kevinx59 wrote:
I also liked how in episode 8 spoiler[when Sora disappeared the ending theme sounded distorted and glitchy to reflect how something was wrong. It was a small but creative touch.]


Also, if you paid attention to that ending spoiler[Sora was absent in the ED animation, to also signify something was amiss.]
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Cyclone1993



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 947
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:50 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed this series a lot more than I thought I would. It was touching and surprinsingly cerebral from what I thought would be essentially a harem fanservice fest.

The animation style and character designs were very unique and easily stand out compared to a lot of the stuff that came out this year. I found their mistreatment of Steph as a comedic bonus so I didn't mind it's inclusion.

One thing that always annoys me in reviews of the series is how the leads are unbeatable. That's the point of the series. The joy isn't from wondering if they will lose... It's how they dominate everyone else. The how is important. Watching them figure out how to win is what makes the series so entertaining.
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eragon2890



Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 159
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:03 pm Reply with quote
I completely agree with all the strong points.

Harem and fanservice and cute catgirls are also 3 of my absolute favourite things I love about anime, so all the so-called "negatives" only make it infinitely better for me! (And a large percentage of the anime fandom, everybody knows harem and smexy funservice is super popular and that won't change anytime soon, god bless) It was my absolutely fav series of last season, and I want to cosplay Sora, but because I have a lot of friends who also want to c(r)ossplay him, we are going to have to play a game to decide who gets the right to :3

Anyone got any idea for a game whe should play? Something more original than "jan-ken-pon!" www
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EighteenSky





PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:07 pm Reply with quote
Cyclone1993 wrote:
One thing that always annoys me in reviews of the series is how the leads are unbeatable. That's the point of the series. The joy isn't from wondering if they will lose... It's how they dominate everyone else. The how is important. Watching them figure out how to win is what makes the series so entertaining.

This is what I've always thought as well, I know Shiro and Sora are going to win but the pleasure is taken in seeing how they win from seemingly impossible situations. Same with any 'overpowered' or 'unbeatable' character in any other series.

Most of the points in the review I agree with (though my only negative is that it ended). The shitori episodes is hands down the joint best anime episode this year along with episode 16 of Mahouka.
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meepsheeps



Joined: 16 Jun 2014
Posts: 399
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Oh. For the first time, I actually agree with this review! Also a B (aka 73%) from me.
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Shippoyasha



Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Posts: 459
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:21 pm Reply with quote
I loved everything about this show. The fanservicey elements were actually very well done as was the comedy.

Sure, the protagonists are ridiculously overpowered. But the show really isn't about a struggle to win battles. It's just a comedic adventure that moves at a brisk pace.
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Shaterri



Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 173
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 5:37 pm Reply with quote
IMHO this review is just about spot-on, though I actually would have put it the other way: this feels to me like a show that doesn't trust itself enough. It has a frankly clever premise (not necessarily the alternate-world schtick, but the specifics of that schtick); good characters, and great chararcter/visual design; and it's just downright smart. It could legitimately be a great show. But it seems to not really appreciate how good it actually is, falling back to fanservice (and occasionally really lazy fanservice) as though the rest of the material wasn't enough to carry it, and often ends up undermining itself as a result.
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Kaioshin_Sama



Joined: 05 Feb 2005
Posts: 1215
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:35 pm Reply with quote
I would have much rather seen someone like Zac write a review for this. Carl is always way too soft on fluff shows like this while being ultra critical of ones that actually seem to have some merit while I find Zac usually tells it like it is regardless of anything. Anyway yet another Carl Kimlinger review I find utterly disagreeable and which completely misses the point. Not sure why he always seems to get every review for shows that I really feel need a more critical take.

In any case speaking for myself, honestly this is one of the most soulless otaku baiting shows I've ever seen that can only really claim some good seiyuu performances and solid production values as strengths. As for the many shortcomings of No Game No Life:

-The characters themselves are the most blatant sort of wish fulfillment archetypes. They don't grow at all either.
-Pretty much everyone has to be made to look like a fool next to the main character who never loses and is pretty much the biggest loudest asshole around
-The games are pretty much contrived bullshit that aren't really as cleverly constructed as the author seems to think they are and basically just serve as a means to an end for the main character to win
-There's no competitive feeling to the games because we already know the result and the rules just seem to be made up on the fly
-The fan service is pretty much constant and really obvious in all cases, pretty much filling space between games where normally you might see things that would make you give more of a shit about what you are watching.

When you boil it all down and take the fanboy glasses off and just look at the show for it's raw elements it's pretty much about as typical dumb LN anime adaptation as a show can get, but for some reason it's incredibly popular and seen as this masterpiece series just because it's apparently kind of fun. Really I don't get it, I'm not exactly averse to fun by any stretch, but this show is just too obnoxious and up in your grill try hard cool at all times that it's too insufferable for me to consider it all that fun and enjoyable to sit through.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:53 pm Reply with quote
No Game No Life was so clever, so funny and so well written that it deserved the rating I gave it of Masterpiece. I can't wait for season two.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 7:05 pm Reply with quote
review wrote:
For some reason everyone that Blank defeats and adds to its roster of allies is a cute girl embodying a distinct physical and/or personality fetish. Interesting how that happens.

The harem blow is softened by Sora's disinterest in romance, and by a cast of girls with enough entertaining little kinks that they never quite achieve full harem oblivion.


It's also softened by not being much of a harem outside of them simply being cute girls around him. Romantic interest is basically limited to Steph, and that's mostly a joke. And Jibril is the only other one that really sticks around on a permanent basis and becomes a live-in underling, and she *definitely* has no romantic interest in Sora. The rest are temporary allies at most and certainly express no romantic interest in him. I really, really appreciate that, as one of the worst things about so many LN-based anime is how damn near every girl ends up falling for the protagonist. So that alone was worth a lot to me here.
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lakm06



Joined: 01 Dec 2013
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 7:27 pm Reply with quote
Yes, the characters personalities were interesting and the art design beautiful to look at but what brought me back week to week was the games. You could feel yourself completely immersed in the game choice, the rule of thumb for each game, the bet each player would "Ascente" and the step by step process our MC's would make to win. Simply sharp! Would love to see a second season.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 7:49 pm Reply with quote
I have to agree with pretty much everything in the review, except that I think I was put off by the Steph abuse and excessive fan service even more than Carl was. Together those were nearly a deal breaker for me. And yet even the service was ok when they bothered to make it part of the plot instead of merely attention-filler.

So overall I did enjoy it a lot, much to my surprise, and I would definitely be on board for a second season (especially with how the first ended).
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