Review of No Game, No Life: Zero
Spoiler-free review: This was overall a pretty solid movie. If you liked the TV series of No Game No Life, then you'll probably like this one. It takes place as a prequel to the anime series, set in the warring time period before Tet became the true God of the world. Story 7/10: The story hit most the points of a good plot. It had an engaging introduction, effective rising action, a jarring climax, and a beautiful ending. Its biggest pitfall is the lack of consistent tone. The movie finds itself with a much darker story and art style than the show; consequently, a more somber,serious tone accompanies the the story to great effect... most of the time. Despite this direction, the clear influence from the very lighthearted TV series weasels its way into moments, breaking the building emotion and tension with, to be frank, very niche humor. In pandering to both the movie's vision and to the fans coming from the TV series, it breaks much of the development. In addition, weak character writing finds itself playing a negative factor. What would otherwise be a very impactful movie finds itself in an awkward situation.
Despite that, the strengths of the movie's story are clear. It is most similar to the hero's cycle in that the story primarily follows the developments of the main protagonist, Riku, and how the story unfolds around him. The story questions motivations in their relationships with values and does a good job of exploring the depths and peaks of such a topic. In the main character's transitions between despair and hope, the story is told through the mannerisms and thoughts of Riku. In addition to the success of the story's thematic goal, its more grand story line is also a sight to behold. Even if one focused only on the action, they would still see an epic war unfolding with great animations. All of that grandeur actually compliments the more sensitive aspects of the story. Overall, the story is definitely good, but definitely not outstanding.
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Art 9/10: The TV series already had an innovative color palette and distinct art style. The movie takes that stunning color blending to the next level in this movie. In accompaniment of the darker setting of the movie, the bright colors find themselves being used more sparingly. It's this contrast of beauty even in darkness that sets both the tone of the movie and forces the viewer to exclaim in admiration. All these stylistic decisions and implementations definitely help build the world in ways that dialogue and narration can't do. The more explosive animations are definitely on point as well. The character movements are fluid when it matters, and the artists clearly don't shy away from incredibly ambitious tasks. As the movie is heading towards the end, during the climax, the animations are absolutely incredible both in scale and effect. While the movie isn't groundbreaking, it is a celebration of what can be done by a great studio with time and effort.
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Sound 8/10: The movie has a beautifully dynamic soundtrack that has something to accompany every mood and setting that is created in the movie. The OST has a few identifiable themes that create parallels in scenes that add to the meaning of the movie. When not taking a deserved role at the forefront of the scene, the soundtrack serves as a great backdrop. Again, however, the inconsistent tone of a few scenes greatly detracts from the ability of the movie to properly build, soundtrack included. Despite that, both the soundtrack and sound design are solid. On a personal note, the "theme song" played only during the ending was fantastic. The feel of the song simply nails all the emotions that are inspired by the ending and gives them finality. The credits were, for me, an integral part of the ending of the movie for that reason alone.
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Character 5/10: The only two dynamic characters of the movie are the hero and heroine, Riku and Schwi, and we only really get to see and explore the character of Riku. After all, for most of the movie, Schwi is never the one deciding how to push the plot along, but Riku is. The movie's use of characters is overall lacking and weak. Much of the dynamic between the characters is drawn from the TV series, and without that background, it may seem rushed and a little contrived. In addition to that, the recurring problem of inconsistent tone aids only in weakening the development of these characters as well. It is only the usage of Riku and his growth that pushes the otherwise stale characters along the in the grand plot.
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Enjoyment 8/10: I liked the movie. I believe it accomplished its goal in attracting the TV series' fans and catered to them well. Though a part of me wishes the movie could be entirely free of these influences, I know that I enjoyed the movie for all it was. Whether you come for a bit of humor, for a little more No Game No Life, or whether you come for a serious and touching story, you will likely find what you're looking for. Though not without its flaws, it was a very good movie, and I could see how, especially for some in the anime community, it would be a great movie.
Thank you for reading my review.