Review of No Game, No Life: Zero

full disclaimer, this review is coming from someone who had a thoroughly good time with the original series so there definitely will be some favorably bias at play here, but if that isn't a dealbreaker, I hope this review can be of some use to you. No Game No Life Zero, as is the tradition with any manga/anime series with 'Zero' in its title, explores the backstory of the main anime series, specifically with how the world of Disboard came to be. Jumping back some 6000 years when gods ruled the lands and Immanity was an unnamed race if you're expecting the same sort ofgoofy, light-hearted but at times mind-fucky nonsense of the original series you're in for a rough ride. NGNL0 takes on a noticeably heavier-handed approach in its storytelling, with the weight of war weighing down heavily on Riku's, our protagonist, shoulders as he struggles to keep the few survivors of humanity out of harm's way as the gods wage war for absolute power. I won't get into much more detail here for the sake of spoilers, but as far as storytelling goes, NGNL0 definitely gets the big picture right. It's gritty, it's serious and it delivers its messages with a surprising amount of tact, something I definitely wasn't expecting from a series that had me watching anime characters proclaim the healthiness of having no nipples while playing shiritori (Japanese word chain). Even with some of the cliches and cheesiness throughout its 2 hour runtime, I found myself charmed at the movie's sincerity to tell a genuine story and was hooked from beginning to end.

I will say though, that NGNL0 has quite a few narrative 'bumps' along the way that might take you out of a scene or two especially towards the end when the plot starts to properly chug along. While these aren't necessarily glaring plotholes, the story utilizes a heavy amount of hand-waving for some pretty important character development, which can understandably dampen the viewing experience. Coming from the main series you shouldn't really have any problem figuring out the gist of the characters and be able to fill in the blanks of the movie, but for newcomers or people who disliked the main series' characters, there's little here for you.

Aesthetically speaking, NGNL0 is marvelous and really can't be faulted. The gorgeous eye candy of the main series is as present as ever and the music is just as good, if not better than before. Double thumbs up from me!

Whether you'll enjoy NGNL0 simply boils down to how invested you were in the anime, to begin with. Questions you might have had about the world of Disboard get answered adequately and you get a nice personal story to boot, what's not to love? Even if you weren't necessarily interested in the world originally, like me, you'll probably have a good time watching this movie and leave with a smile on your face.