Review of Darwin's Game

5/10

April 12, 2020

2 min read

6 reactions

--The review contains spoilers-- Ahh, the edgy seasonal anime of Winter 2020. I can't help but feel this has a story structure that made Tokyo Ghoul such a success in season 1. 1. MC is oblivious and joins a game 2. His life is threatened so he naturally adapts 3. He is in danger every episode 4. His friend dies and he turns into an edge-lord with no mercy5. rinse and repeat for season 2 but with a different 'stage'

Story:
In the beginning I felt this series was very promising since I've watched King's Game and can see how bloody the story can get. However, Darwin's game involves a soft-hearted high school boy who randomly sees an invite from a friend who dies the morning the invite was sent; next-thing-you-know you've signed away your soul to a sketchy serpent site and news of your existence is a danger. Luckily though, you have friends with experience who can help you beat a costumed bear... nvm you got your friend killed- Darwin's Game is exactly what it is, a game where survival of the fittest (Darwin's evolution theory) is almost emphasized every episode; it determines whether you have the necessary strength to rough it out with other D-Game participants. I must admit though, the more entertaining segments are in episode 11 so you'll most likely have to bear MC getting his allies killed off and making terrible decisions that somehow work according to his plan despite always having big gambles... 4/10 (I like trash opmc anime but this tops the cake off)

Art & Sound:
As expected for an Aniplex production, well articulated visually and audibly. 7/10

Character:
probably the weakest aspect of the series is character development, we wouldn't have known MC had an idea of making a clan within the first 4 episodes since he focuses on beating sonic the hedgehog trying to amass rings. Overall 6/10 character development since he wins over new characters including the #1 D-Game player.

Enjoyment:
null - I don't want to put too much effort into a garbage survival game series but it was pretty entertaining