*Spoilers throughout for No Game, No Life*
Now and then, I’ll write a review about a certain anime I’ve been watching and explain how it can relate to us spiritually. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not that easy. In this case, there is some religious background to the anime, especially in the beginning with Tet explaining how the world works. He is god, and he made the ten rules of the game (like the ten commandments) and whoever doesn’t follow them…well, you better follow them.
Plot Summary: Sora and Shiro, brother and sister respectively, are master gamers. When I say masters, I mean they are probably the best in the world, even being able to beat hackers. They seem to mainly play PC games, and their avatar/character is always named Blank and doesn’t make any communication whatsoever. Basically, they join a game and beat everyone in it and become the best, period.
Sora and Shiro cannot be without each other, even if it’s for a few minutes or even a short distance! It’s honestly a little weird, seeming that they are siblings. I did enjoy the comedy here and there, but sometimes I felt that the “physical” line that you don’t cross with you sister/brother was going to be crossed at any time (which they did cross during EP 4 where they kiss…it wasn’t meant to be a kiss, but it was still an excuse to show it).
As a gamer, I loved the fact that they used many gaming terms and nods to different genres, ways of playing a game or figuring it out, and the like. There were some things that Sora (he’s more the main character than Shiro in my opinion) would say and do that made me smile as a gamer. Some of the games are just plain board or card games, but the last battle which is all about guns (fps) was fun to watch. I could imagine top champion players playing against Izuna, nobody would beat her.
There are some issues I do have to clarify in regards to this anime. The first one is that gamers are locked in a room, don’t go outside, and have no life. I don’t agree with that at all, and I don’t appreciate that Shiro/Sora, seeing that they are experts, that the only way to achieve that status is to live the way they live. I also saw this similar situation in Mekakucity Actors, where one of the characters is a shut-in, but I guess this is a cultural issue that spills out into these anime.
I will always do my best to bring up the spiritual aspect in what I write, so that way you can see a different perspective in gaming/otaku culture. For this post, I just want to reach out to those who struggle with this, and let you know that there is more to life than just video games. I used to spend hours upon hours playing, but honestly I could have been doing more with my time. Now, I not only get to write this blog, but I graduated college (years ago), got married, running a side-business, working a full-time job and blessed by God with all I have. Keeping gaming as something that I do to enjoy has been my passion, and though I won’t be able to be as good as Shiro or Sora, I’m thankful that I can still bring it (PS3: Samuru1) and have an abundant life where I can be a blessing to others.
What was your take on No Game, No Life? How was it as an anime, or how did you feel about it as a gamer? Let me know! Would like to see others opinions on this one, God bless!
John 10:10
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
I can comment! Yay!
I surprised myself by enjoying and finishing this anime, despite the questionable parts. I’m not a gamer myself, but I love the game references that I can identify.
I’ve got to agree about the shut-in, always-gaming aspect of Shiro and Sora’s lives. Many otaku characters have that unhealthy element, and I try not to feel too bad for them, since they’re fictional (if I take anime too seriously, I feel sorry for all the characters, since God usually isn’t part of their anime’s world, and that’s sad). I used to have a major anime-binging problem–I did it to escape life. Looking back, I wasted a lot of hours. However, the binging was just a piece of what was going on with me, and taking that bad habit out wouldn’t have fixed my struggles. So I identify with characters who have social anxiety and game or watch anime all day… but I prefer it when they can face their anxiety and start getting better (like, I believe, happened in Mekakucity Actors). Sora and Shiro, on the other hand, took escaping into games to a whole new level. That’s unfortunate.
Yeah right! Took me forever, I’m not very wordpress techy, that thing is a learning curve in itself 🙁 I agree, yeah, I did the same thing so I could definitely relate to Sora/Shiro, but yeah, took it to another level. I haven’t finished Mekakucity, so I hope he does get better and it does have a strong, positive vibe to the anime. Very good one by the way, going to write on it later. Glad that God set you free from what you were dealing with. I feel the same was with me, I did it as an escape (anime included, watched HUNDREDS of episodes), but now it’s under control 🙂 Thanks for commenting!!!