Review of Darwin's Game
NO SPOILERS: So, I'll start by saying this is a pretty good and enjoyable anime to watch that I would rate an overall 8/10 - and I think a lot of the reviews here are wayyy too focused on certain minor aspects which makes them unreasonably critical of this anime as a whole. Now i'll move on by telling you what D-Game isn't: It isn't some super well-crafted world that has a 'scientific' explanation for everything. What I mean by that is, a certain level of suspension of disbelief is required - and you just have to accept that the game operates in a certain way.Whether the 'how' is explicitly mentioned or not.
Furthermore, I would say the way the game works is pretty simple, and the way players operate within the game is pretty consistent. So I don't know why other reviews are saying it's complicated - I think they're just making it complicated. It's a game (even if it does occur in the real world).
You don't need to know how the game protects you from law-enforcement, or how the general public are unaware of the events that they bear witness to, or how sigils (abilities/powers) are 'powered', or even how the teleportation works. But those are just consistent mechanics of the game that you should accept if you want to enjoy watching this show (and honestly, I don't know why you would be so anal about something like that in the first place. Anime is not real-life lmao - isn't that the whole purpose of it? To enjoy the fantasy/fiction which we are unable to experience in real life???)
What D-game is though is a fairly well put together enjoyable death-match anime. The MC has pretty good character development in the first season, and the clan members he acquires along the way are pretty likeable.
The game isn't balanced. I mean, it's not supposed to be - it's literally DARWIN'S game. It's survival of the fittest. It's a juxtaposition of the real word where things are more egalitarian. This is supposed to be about natural selection. But whilst the MC has a pretty good 'sigil' (power) it's more about how he uses it more than anything. There are players with just as good (if not better) sigils if utilised correctly - and there are also characters whose sigils are just straight trash when it comes to combat (but can help with other things).
Anyway, the MC recieves the pretty typical MC treatment, and sometimes he escapes situations he probably shouldn't be able to at the beginning of the season - but he at least admits his luck. This is acutally touched on pretty well by another character, as they tell the MC that you can only recieve a lucky opportunity if you survive long enough for those opportunities to present themselves. I mean, the show isn't completely non self-aware of this trope I guess.
It's just a fun and enjoyable casual anime to watch. There's no deep lore or a crazy well-written story. Just take it at face-value and there's little to complain about. The art and animation are pretty good, most characters are atleast semi-interesting, the pacing is good and there's no constant annoyances. The only thing I will say is that during the first half of the season certain directions of the story can feel more 'convenient' than logical - but I would say that's just so that the MC can experience some shit first - after that, I would argue that it becomes more logical and more immersive to watch.
There's no real plot-twists, and the show is pretty straight forward unlike something like Future Diary/Mirai Nikki (which I also similarly enjoyed but would say is inferior to this as a whole). What you see is what you get - and I liked what I saw. I don't think anyone who isn't pretentious would regret watching this through - and I am excited for a second season since I would say that I'm happily invested in the story (even if it's not majorly complicated or deep).