Review of No Game, No Life: Zero

Unlike the TV series' theme of outplaying opponents in law-binding games, the movie is instead a narrative of the past, of how the seemingly powerless god Tet emerged triumphant among the Old Deus. The seriousness is definitely turned up a notch, and while the comedy is not the same as the TV series', I thought the movie presented a stronger story. The TV series is mostly linear: Sora and Shiro gain power by repeatedly outsmarting the other races in various games. The movie's story is more complex and layered. We're first introduced to one of the main characters, Riku. Humanity is caught in themiddle of the Old Deus's war, and Riku is tired of human casualties. This doesn't seem to bother any of the other races, who look down upon humans. Riku meets Schwi on a scouting mission, an emotionless android that was exiled from her brethren for pursuing knowledge of the human heart. Schwi decides to stick with Riku to learn what human emotions are made of, and seeing no reason to reject her, Riku accepts.

It was incredible to watch the bond between the two characters. They motivate and inspire each other, which eventually gives Riku enough courage to propose a drastic plan: humanity will alter the war in their favor through espionage and spreading misinformation. What follows in the rest of the movie is how humanity achieves this with Riku and Schwi at the helm.

The art and sound were absolutely outstanding; the action scenes were really beautiful to watch. Anyone who is a fan of action will appreciate the work put into the animation.

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic movie. It is more serious in tone than the TV series, but provides an important foundation for the story of the current characters. If you enjoyed NGNL at all, definitely watch this movie, but it'd be a crime to see this movie without having seen the show first.