POLARIZING OPINIONS
There are only two opinions when it comes to No Game No Life, and they are as polarizing as they get. Ask someone what he thinks of this anime and the reply will be either IT’S THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER or IT’S ANOTHER TRASHY FAN SERVICE CRAP; ANIME IS DEAD. So which of these two replies is the correct one? Surprise, both of them are! No Game No Life is one of the most awesome fan service trash of all times.
BEST OF ITS KIND
There have been a lot of shows with a very similar premise to it, where introvert otakus are taken to a magical realm and are treated as saviors simply because they are introvert otakus. There is Dog Days, Ixion Saga DT, Mondaiji, Outbreak Company, Gate, and many others. Well, this show happens to be by far the most enjoyable amongst them. It tries a lot more to flesh out its setting, make the challenges more exciting, make the characters funnier, have lots of references to various pop culture titles, and taking fan service to the extremes.
NICHE AUDIENCES
And that’s why there are polarizing opinions about it. It is a show for niche audiences, distilled escapism, made by otakus, for otakus, pandering anime fans and gamers as much as it can by giving them what they seek in guilty pleasures. But by doing that, it makes itself very self-indulgent, which in turn makes it seem autistic, deviant, and stupid in the eyes of anyone who is not that much into anime or videogames, and is more interested in plot or characterization. If you are not one of them, you are not going to enjoy it because it was never meant to be a show for you, or all ages, or all tastes.
PRETTY COLORS
It can still appeal to a lot of people on a superficial level though, since, as far as presentation goes, even if you don’t care about the fetishes and the references, the colors are still very pretty. I mean, holly shit, the fantasy world in this anime is full of details and coloring filters that make you think you are tripping balls out of too much LSD. The character designs are fairly typical but even there thanks to lively motions, extreme facial expressions, and heavy doses of cosplay fetishes of any kind, they instantly become attractive, even if their charisma is on a purely carnal level. That is why I place it around the same level as the Monogatari franchise, since it combines artsy visuals, heavy doses of fan service, and witty dialogues. At the same time it is not as good as the Monogatari franchise because it was adapted only partially, and we are never shown much character introspection.
COOL EXCUSES
And at least when it comes to sexual stimulation they bothered to have excuses for the girls losing clothes, or wearing cosplay accessories. It doesn’t happen in a lazy way where a guy bumps on them as they undress, or they wear sexy clothes for no reason. It’s all part of the games. It even has a sense of progression, since you really feel like events are moving the story forward. Meaning, there is actually plot amongst all the “plot”; something which is very rare in such anime, where the story is moving in circles, or is not going anywhere at all. And it’s even a cool type of plot, where you are playing games, and conquer entire nations in the name of fame, glory, power, and excuses to do erotic stuff just for fun. It’s an otaku’s wet dream, taking over the world and hoarding sexy girls because you are good at games.
SELF-INDULGENCE
And this is where things become too self-indulgent for their own good. There are lots of games, and each one has its own rules, but nobody is really following said rules because he can rewrite them any way he likes. Essentially, all the games are “make belief” where you can do anything you like by using your imagination. That essentially makes the show pretentious for trying to present the two protagonists as super intelligent and charismatic, winning in a challenge with wits and cunningness, when in reality it is just random bullshit. Those who like the way challenges play out in the show is not because they make sense but because they are completely chaotic, unpredictable, and thus exciting.
PRETENTIOUSNESS
There are also parts where the protagonists try to pass off as some sort of discriminated children in our world, because nobody understands them, and that in this fantasy land they can finally make good use of what they are really good at. Being idealized forms of otakus and gamers, they end up becoming undefeatable when it comes to challenges, while still immature and goofy when it comes to social skills and mundane everyday activities. They are even revering in their status of being anti-social, childish, and even virgins, since they like things as they are and have no reason to change if they have fun the way they are. Whoever questions them, gets completely trashed in a challenge and is then lectured about the error of his ways. Of course the pearls of wisdom he receives are nothing but illusions of grandeur. Nothing they say can be taken seriously.
LIGHT NOVEL TRASH
These pseudo-deep themes end up being the show’s worst aspect because they are embracing escapism in the typical light novel way; and yes, No Game No Life is based on a light novel. That is why it is full of deviance and promotes incest and pedophilia. And don’t tell me they are just a joke because the aren’t; the author himself made hentai out of the two protagonists. This stops being fun and turns to cringe-worthy because it is promoting the worst aspects of otaku mentality. And to let you know, if it was a hentai, I would love it more than Bible Black because it wouldn’t be making a joke out of its fetishes. But it isn’t and thus I don’t like it much. It’s fun but not mature. Entertaining but not smart. Erotic but also deviant. Idealistic but also hypocritical. And above all, aimed at otakus and not viewers looking for something meaningful, or at least high budget animated porn.
