No Game, No Life | Episode 1
Alphanega: I really liked this one. The premise is pretty interesting and I like both of the lead characters (and unlike that OTHER show I’m not feeling any major incest vibes…yet). Seems like they each have a specific skill that’s useful for games but I haven’t quite figured out exactly which one is which. It also looks pretty great as is typical of Madhouse and I’m always a fan of mind games even if this does seem like it’ll have more style that substance.
It’s off to a pretty great start for me and hopefully it keeps it up
GingaDaiuchuu: I really wish I could stop saying, “Well, if it wasn’t for all that brocon and loli fanservice…” before I start going into how much I liked a show, but here we are again.
Some more really nice Madhouse animation, and I’m liking the main concept and specific story structure quite a bit. Some of the execution feels like it’s leaving something to be desired, so hopefully that can be improved upon in the future. There seems to be a bit of a focus on style over substance right now, which generally doesn’t turn out well, but hopefully the story is strong enough that it will be a good watch overall.
Buckeye: That was just some serious stuff there. The idea appears to be silly on the surface and I was thinking it would end up being something like Mondaiji, but there just isn’t anything yet to suggest that. It was pretty funny with the way Tet revealed the Ten Commandments of this world while Sora and Shiro were falling. Anyway, the show looks interesting, and it definitely is getting an extended look. That art style is really unusual with all those bright colors there. Anyway, Madhouse has been great at animation, but it’s too soon to tell if this show will keep up it’s game in the coming episodes.
EyeOfPain: I was thinking it reminded me of Problem Children as well, but the characters just weren’t as much fun to watch, and no Kurousagi.
I’m disappointed the writers didn’t even bother trying to explain the two mains gaming skills, but if they had tried, I’m sure it would have been typical other-characters-commenting-on-how-awesome-they-are, or just plain nonsense.
bctaris: That is the only draw back in the long run of the show. But, just like the sudden transport to another world, it fits the show in with that old AIC-style of show where wish-fulfillment (here with Shiro realizing at the end that whatever this world is, it’s preferable to the last one) trumps logical explanation. That said, in the parlance of anime I think there’s logic enough to explain the characters: Sora, given her personality, somewhere on-the-spectrum, explaining her computational skills; Shiro just an ultimate NEET obsessive, The World God Only Knows-like and all that–so committed to himself that it lends well to the unwavering confidence he seems to have in gambling. Fair enough, I think.
So, yeah, despite the, er, lolicon cameltoe near the beginning…I actually enjoyed this. Surprisingly. Enough to keep going for a couple more episodes at least. Madhouse’s skills and usual experimentation have something to do with it, even if I think this particular art design can be a little too distracting, or harder than usual (even for them) to get used to. Like the underlying character design, mostly. The world design is nice, but not yet very original, except, of course, in the coloring. First full series Koji Odate seems to be in charge of in that department; certainly leaving his mark, and clearly doing a lot to generate original creator Yuu Kumiya’s Kool-Aid art/color style for the screen.
Nork22: The real world is a really crappy game. So if given an opportunity to play a better game of life, why not accept the invitation? During the free fall, God advises the siblings of the 10 commandments of this new world. I like how one of the commandments mentions if you are caught cheating, you instantly lose. With these siblings, they know how to beat the system by the looks of things even if their opponents are cheating. As for the incest vibes, don’t feel anything at all. These 2 know that for once they are siblings, and above all, they are gamers.
Sly05: It looks like this will be entertaining. The visual style and premise are quite neat. The show maybe depends a little too much on the siblings winning due to protagonist plot-armour rather than showing the clever ways they saw through cheating or how they played the system, but this episode at least piqued my interest.
Sensuifu: so another one not by Milton Bradley…
Could be interesting, at least it has some artistic flare to it. btw, Speaking of cheating..was that the THX Deep Note?
while the camel’s toe, lap riding, and bed sharing might seem like harmless undertones, the brocon/siscon tendencies are still apparent. Not as blatant as in other shows, but still there.
stardf29: This is off to a good start. I definitely like the world here, and Shiro is great; she reminds me of Mashiro from Sakurasou (including in seiyuu and tone of voice), but instead of being socially inept, she just doesn’t give a darn about the world.
Definitely needs more in the way of games and the protagonists not being too OP, but hopefully that’ll come next episode.
And the incest vibes weren’t that strong…
GingaDaiuchuu: Yeah, it’s more a case of seeing so much in the other shows I’m interested in this season that I just want no more. But everything else about this was so great, and that aspect was also so minor, that I really can’t complain at all. Hoping it stays minor and looking forward to much more.
