Review of No Game, No Life: Zero

9/10. I'll be upfront with my opinion. This is the complete opposite approach to the anime. The entirety of the TV series was focused on the theme of the ingenuity of imanity, and the movie takes it one step, hell, 100 steps above. As much as I enjoyed the comedy, the carefree and playful tv background drew similarities to Konosuba - certainly a mismatch with the serious and depressing grand theme I mentioned above. As some reviewer rightfully pointed out, Ivan's generic tear-jerk death and his daughter was a poor attempt; however, I offer an alternative opinion that this lays the groundwork to the viewer trulycomprehending imanity's struggles. I, too, felt nothing for the daughter's reaction but noticed the suffocating situation imanity is in.

The relationship between the two was decent. Robot-human love is not groundbreaking, but Schwi and Riku are likable characters. I wish the movie was longer so this relationship was more developed. Death is always a good tear-jerker, but a progressive buildup to that death would have been much more devastating.

Back to the theme I find incredible and unique in anime, the overwhelming despair was maintained throughout, and the climax was perfect. Imanity's resilience and ingenuity weighed this world, where failure is not just slavery, death, and a master-calling play, but extermination without any concern by the true races. The scene with Riku's CV at the end was arguably one of the best voice-acting performances.

In this era, Riku and Schwi are not playful "gods" destined to win by always hiding a deck of aces in their shoes. They work with what they have and arr believable in how they pull the strings to a victory rather than calculating the future with Laplace's Demon-like abilities. In the tv show, imanity was cheating and bullshtiing its way out of bad situations. As much as I had hoped Riku would win, the ending could hardly be considered a victory, which just adds to the emotional weight of this movie. Regardless of the result, I, as a viewer, felt joy and sorrow with every outcome the two achieved.

Compared to the tv, this movie fits the reinstated theme many times better. NGNL is no longer just a comedy for a quick laugh but a serious homage to the efforts of mankind.