Review of No Game, No Life: Zero

This film is the ultimate example of trying too hard. It makes the attempt to pull at the viewer's heartstrings constantly but almost never makes an actual impact. There is constant talk of the strength of the "heart" of humanity, which all comes across as nauseating in its frequency. The hackneyed monologues go from having almost no impact to downright annoying. In fact, annoying is an ideal way to describe this film. There is nonstop gurgling of "otakuism" that fills this film including the sexualization of a childlike robot, the onee-chan character of Couronne, Riku crying about his chastity, all of which is irritating anddetracts from the experience. The characters are easily the worst aspect of the film as they all seem to have one characteristic that is beaten into the ground over the course of almost two hours. Riku's only character is his determination, Schwi's only character is her devotion to Riku, Couronne's only character is that she is a big sister, etc. The fact that these characters do not develop absolutely kills the first hour of the film, as it is meant to build up these vapid drawings that the audience is supposed to care about. The plot only really kicks in the second half, in which the film actually becomes somewhat entertaining and emotionally resonant. In the end, though, nothing could make up for the waste that is the first half as I already disliked the characters and really couldn't care about what was in store for them. For a film about the strength of the heart, it really lacks one and tries to make up for it with trite sentimentality.

As for positives, the animation itself is pretty good, with some rocky CG during one particular fight scene. The soundtrack and sound design are also well-done with some music with a surprising amount of power and punchy sound effects that make me wish the people behind them find a decent film to attach themselves to.

This film attempts to provide an emotional story to back up the original anime but ends up trying too hard to make the audience "feel" as it collapses into fifty-thousand bassy explosions and loli screams.

4/10