{"id":1213,"date":"2014-06-18T16:51:53","date_gmt":"2014-06-18T20:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/?p=1213"},"modified":"2014-06-18T16:51:53","modified_gmt":"2014-06-18T20:51:53","slug":"social-commentary-in-no-game-no-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/social-commentary-in-no-game-no-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Commentary in No Game No Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

No Game No Life<\/em> has pulled in its fair share of attention this season, and not without good reason. The series has plenty of appealing qualities, and feels as though it\u2019s been expertly crafted to appeal to anime fans. The rich color palette offers a visual break from shows with more typical art styles, and the \u201cgamers save the day\u201d premise is a guaranteed hit in its target demographic. Add in some self-aware humor and plenty of creative world building, and the series\u2019 popularity seems all but inevitable. For all the thought that went into making it a hit, it\u2019s refreshing that the creators have also been taking the time to throw in some thoughtful social commentary.<\/p>\n

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I want a fancy crown armband to wear while lording my racing game skills over my friends, because I’m a jerk like that.<\/em><\/p>\n

Much of No Game No Life<\/em>\u2019s clever observations are presented through the central protagonists, Sora and Shiro. They\u2019re not the first NEET\/hikikomori characters to take the lead in an anime series, but their actions touch on a point that other shows miss entirely. Rather than defining them, the Blank siblings\u2019 awkward eccentricity is shown as being a side effect of their genius-level intellect. Shiro in particular helps make a fascinating observation: being really, truly smarter than everyone else can be extremely isolating. The small amount of information we get about Shiro\u2019s backstory (and Sora\u2019s to a lesser extent) shows the difficulty of functioning in a society where most people\u2019s minds work differently from one\u2019s own. While most shut-in characters never get a satisfying explanation for their behavior, No Game No Life<\/em> has done the heavy lifting necessary to justify its heroes\u2019 mental states. The result is some solid human drama amidst the otaku humor and oversized, magical chessboards.<\/p>\n

With the protagonists believably out of place in modern society, the series quickly spirits them away into what seems like paradise. A pair of brilliant, skilled gamers in a world where games are used to resolve all conflicts should be on the easy track to success. It\u2019s a fantasy that appeals to the geek in all of us: all the time we\u2019ve \u201cwasted\u201d on our hobbies suddenly turns out to be the ideal training for saving or ruling the world. Of course, there\u2019s always trouble in paradise. But rather than stick to tired old \u201ccatches\u201d like defeat meaning death (hello there, Sword Art Online<\/em>), No Game No Life<\/em> uses its world\u2019s fatal flaw as an opportunity to further examine human nature.<\/p>\n

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Bonus points for having an anime sibling dynamic that isn’t particularly creepy or pandering.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cheating is supposedly forbidden in No Game No Life<\/em>\u2019s universe, or is at least ground for an instant loss in any contest. It seems like a common sense regulation, the kind we\u2019d take for granted in any competitive field. However, much like in real life, there are always unscrupulous types who are willing to anything to guarantee victory. In the case of No Game No Life<\/em>, we have supernatural beings that use their magical powers to cheat against human opponents. After all, your opponent can\u2019t call you out for breaking the rules if they don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re doing. The obvious effect on the series itself is that Sora and Shiro have to adopt unconventional strategies to beat their magic-wielding opponents. What\u2019s more subtle is the commentary on human nature: utopias only work until someone finds a loophole, and people with an unfair advantage have no interest in giving it up in the name of fairness.<\/p>\n

No Game No Life<\/em> didn\u2019t need to make any of these observations in order to be a good show. \u201cQuirky heroes taking on magic-wielding opponents in absurd variations on normal games\u201d is an entertaining premise on its own merit. If all No Game No Life<\/em> had going for it were Sora\u2019s impassioned speeches to his sentient chess pieces in episode four, I\u2019d still like it. However, these small nuggets of commentary give the series a reason to tell its stories beyond just amusing the audience. Every anime season is chock full of shows that don\u2019t have much to say beyond, \u201cWatch the next episode and buy some merchandise!\u201d In that environment, a series like No Game No Life<\/em> is more than just fun; it\u2019s a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n

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The manga version of\u00a0<\/em>No Game No Life\u00a0comes out this October. You can pre-order if from Right Stuf here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Kawaii Overthink is written by Paul Jensen. You can follow his ramblings about anime and manga on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>. Check back every Wednesday for new articles.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No Game No Life has pulled in its fair share of attention this season, and not without good reason. The series has plenty of appealing qualities, and feels as though it\u2019s been expertly crafted to appeal to anime fans. The rich color palette offers a visual break from shows with more typical art styles, and [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1213"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1218,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213\/revisions\/1218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}