Review of Darwin's Game

what? darwin's game: the peak of mediocrity, and the definition of a general waste of time. this anime is just so underwritten and unoriginal that it is hardly even entertaining, not bizarre or unique in any sense. which is actually quite a shame, considering the concept itself is actually pretty interesting and funny. sure, i wasn't going into this expecting anything huge. to be honest, i started dg on a complete whim upon opening netflix, having never even heard of seen it before. something dumb, sure, even something comedically bad; but dg just tries so hard to be a type of cool it can't pull off. trustme when i say, i am VERY EASY TO PLEASE. like, even if a show's writing is dogshit, if it's fun to watch, i'll enjoy it. no game no life, danganronpa the animation, umaru chan, all moral trash, but still very entertaining. in fact, darwin's game is the ONLY show that i've sat through the entirety of and didn't care. it's not cringe or anything, i didn't dread watching it, it's just, so lame.

for starters, its world building is tremendously poor- game mechanics are never explained clearly or elaborated. problems are often solved with fancy big words and trump cards that nobody really cares about, but lets it slide because, "even if i don't understand it, it must be cool if they're playing epic music with cool lighting". and it just leaves such a bland taste in the mouth, because its poor writing just causes you to have, like, no reaction. it doesn't make you happy, it doesn't make you sad (which is saying a lot, it's genuinely rare i don't cry), the most it can get out of the watcher is surprise from gore that lasts a few seconds. there's a lack of comedy (or at least, some with taste), and no fun plot twists. it's just predictable.

but the most outlandish thing about this anime is its characters.

gosh, i have so much to say about this section, first and foremost, i'd like to award dg a plastic medal for not dumbing down its female characters. they're there, they're useful, they have as much depth as the men (that's not saying a lot ig), good for them good for them. anyways, they're still written terribly. as is every character. well, i guess i shouldn't say written poorly as much as it is just, not written at all?

starting off with the main character, kaname. he's somewhat of a gary sue- well, he does have his major flaws but nobody seems to acknowledge them and he basically gets everything he wants? he's introduced as a normal guy roped into a super scary game, and develops into a normal guy inside of a super scary game. throughout the entire show, they make him out to be progressively super powerful and special. like, oh wow, he's someone special big shots are interested in and need to look out for. but really, he's not? he doesn't get anymore powerful besides literally basic training, which is even mentioned but not condemned? and why does he keep winning? his power... is kinda boring despite the anime making it out to be super rare and cool. like, good for him he can make a handgun and small grenade out of thin air. which wouldn't be an issue if they talked about how he could achieve and push limits using a somewhat decent sigil. but he's literally carried by it, and that never changes. not to mention there are TONS of characters with better powers then him, thinking about it, MOST CHARACTERS HAVE COOLER POWERS THAN HIM. hell, the normal dude in the last episode who got a sigil and then died last second for kaname's character development had a cooler sigil.

sheesh, he's just such so badly written, because he somehow goes from scaredy cat to cocky bastard to literal psychopath while still being so boring to watch. and the reason behind that is his motivations suck ass. "omg the game killed my friend who doesn't have a personality, i'm so mad i'm going to end this twisted game." they're cliched and just seem so forced.

but what sucks most of all about kaname sudou is that, hot take, he's a shitty person! like, moral wise, he sucks! he spends the entire anime classically against the act of killing (despite all of his close friends being murderers without good justification)- normal anime troupe, can be done well. but then, he, SPOILER WARNING FOR THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH, just ends up killing literally everyone? he doesn't go into a blind rage of justice, he literally goes dead silent and shoots characters that we don't even know, mercilessly. this isn't revenge, this is a petty excuse for mass murder. and the ending just totally rubs me the wrong way, holy fuck, they just start murdering random and rather innocent people and NO ONE mentions it? the most logical response we ever get is the blue haired girl whimpering "we shouldn't do this, killing is bad!" and then we just continue and nothing changes. which, hear me out, the fact that he's a bad person isn't my main issue. it's the way that he faces NO CONSEQUENCES. ZERO. why doesn't he face any consequences?? he's constantly rewarded and supported for torturing and shooting several groups of people, and we're supposed to be on HIS side? they ended the show as if they were doing great deeds, like killing anyone who tries to kill is the best way that will solve everything. if i took these scenes out of context, people would literally assume he's the antagonist.

onto the side characters because i'm going to get a headache thinking about kaname much longer. they're all based on really stale personality troupes: shuka is an effeminate maniac, rein is a seemingly emotionless nerd, sui is a coward with a crazy side (or a mockery of DID rep), and ryuji- who is ryuji again? it's so sad because i have seen shows with rather basic character personalities that are still amazing, good example being the promised neverland.

the worst part is the way they follow kaname like dogs. he didn't do anything other than have basic survival skills, so why is he treated like a god? they could all literally wipe the floor with him if they just tried, but instead, they give up midbattle for the sake of not having to write kaname as an actually decent character. like, shuka. a really fun, powerful woman known as "the undefeated queen", who has an interesting backstory and some decent potential. remind me again why she is reduced to kaname's swooning love interest? they don't even have a fun dynamic or any chemistry, which if they did, i'd actually really enjoy. she just goes from an enemy to an ally that seems willing to give everything for kaname, just because he, what, pinned her to the ground despite her sigil easily having the ability to get through it?

the side characters all act like they're on such high moral ground, when they've murdered tons, fighting against killing by... supporting kaname's plan to "kill anyone who gets in his way"? pardon?

the best part about this anime by far is it's art and sound design. it's sound design other than that one scene in episode one when kaname collapses onto his knees and makes a sound that sounds like a wooden door was just shattered, is good. the op and ed sequences are catchy. the art is beautiful, there's great animation and pretty lighting throughout the entire show. i'm just a bit sad that such a budget was put into such... normal character designs. sui, rein and shuka are pretty designs, sure, but i feel like you can find a thousand copies of them. and about a trillion can be said for kaname's ass design. if i drew kaname and posted it with no context other than, "guess who", i doubt anyone would guess him anytime soon. the rest... tbh i kind of forgot them already (i'm writing this review minutes after i've finished). even side characters or antagonists' designs feel undefined, equivalent to the effort of bg characters.

that all being said, it's not an eyesore. it is a very pretty anime with nice composition and music.

closing up, darwin's game feels like if akame ga kill and sword art online had a really ugly child.

ok bye