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Hey guys, kanna here! And guess who saw No Game No Life: Zero? ME!!! I'm pretty happy about it.
Anyway, this isn't going to count as part of my Halloween line up because it's not horror, and while it could be considered supernatural, I just don't think it quite fits the supernatural genre entirely. But hey, that's just my opinion.
I saw this movie with one of my best friends (and fellow blogger), Chibi Dragon. You should check out her blog; she is an AMAZING writer. She reviews anime, movies, and video games. She also sometimes live streams her games on twitch (I don't have the link for it, but when I get the link, I'll edit this post and put it in).
Anyway, where to begin. Um...background, I guess, considering that's what the movie started off with. Seriously, we got 19 minutes of behind the scenes footage and background on the movie COMBINED. Not that that's a bad thing; the behind the scenes stuff was actually pretty interesting.
So, background:
No Game No Life started out as a series of light novels published between 2012 and 2016 that were written by Yuu Kamiya. In 2013, Yuu and his wife adapted the novels into a manga series. That same year, an anime adaptation produced by Madhouse was announced. That anime adaptation aired in 2014 and was twelve episodes.
Fast forward to 2016, when the movie (at the time, untitled, I think) was announced. It was then named No Game No Life: 0 and released in Japan on July 15, 2017. This movie is based on the sixth volume of the light novel series.
So, with that said, let's dive into Disboard (before it became known as Disboard)! This is No Game No Life: 0!
So, before our movie even starts, we get some background on what No Game No Life is (which I just gave you). We learn what it's about, which I'll address when I review the anime...eventually. Yeah, I know I'm doing things a little out of order. I'll try to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
Anyway, after we learn about what No Game No Life is about, we get some behind the scenes stuff with the director and all the voice actors who returned to voice characters that were related to the characters they previously voiced. And this is also where I questioned Chibi Dragon if we were even at the right showing, because the interview was with the voice actors from the English dub, and we got tickets for the subbed showing. You would think that for a subbed showing, you would have behind the scenes stuff with the Japanese cast and crew. So I was really confused.
Lucky for us, we were at the right showing. Yay! Although, the theater wasn't as crowded as we thought it would be. When Chibi Dragon and I saw Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, that theater was PACKED. And this one only had maybe half of the theater, if that. I don't get it.
Moving on.
After that behind the scenes stuff with the voice actors from the English dub and the director for the English dubbed movie, the movie finally started. And, boy, were we excited.
The story is set 6000 years ago; before the main series even started. It details the Great War, a seemingly never-ending war between all the races in Disboard (the world No Game No Life is set in), and humanity is forced to live underground in order to survive. Sounds like a pretty cool story, right?
The movie revolves around an eighteen-year-old boy named Riku, who wants to ensure the survival of the human race, even if it means sacrificing their lives. He meets Schwi (I'm not sure if the spelling of that is right...anyway, it's pronounced Shoo-vee), an Ex-Machina (the Android race of Disboard), and wants to kill her at first. However, when she explains that she was cut off from the Cluster collective and isn't a threat, he ultimately takes her under his wing. So now the majority of the entire film revolves around the relationship between Riku and Schwi. And their relationship provides all the feels you could ever want from this movie. There's humor, heartwarming stuff, and even some of the most tearjerking stuff you could imagine. Seriously, bring tissues to this movie. You will probably cry.
There are a couple of characters who might look familiar to those who have seen No Game No Life: Corone Dola and Jibril. Let's start with Korone.
Corone Dola is (and this isn't really a spoiler, because if you've seen No Game No Life, you'll be able to see the resemblance) Stephanie Dola's ancestor. She has a bit of a big sister personality and is the one who leads the humans. This ancestral link then leads to the question, "Are Riku and Schwi the ancestors of Sora and Shiro? Are Sora and Shiro reincarnates of Riku and Schwi?" There are a lot of theories out there.
Let's talk about Jibril. Jibril is a Flügel, a race that has the appearance of angels, but whose personalities are far from angels. Jibril is every bit as demonic in both personality and fighting style in this movie. Think about Yondu's line from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie; the one about being pretty as an angel, but "sure as h**l ain't one," and you'd get Jibril. The final battle of the film is her versus Schwi and the results aren't pretty at all. I won't say much more than that.
Overall, No Game No Life: Zero was freaking AWESOME. I highly recommend it. The animation is beautiful, the music is amazing, the character designs are great, and the storyline is good. While it might seem like a typical hero's sacrificial journey, it's so much more than that, and it's played out in a fashion that you actually can get invested in. If you're looking for a good anime movie to see on the big screen, then this one is for you. Chibi Dragon and I saw the subtitled version, but there is a dubbed version playing tomorrow (Oct. 8), and that's the last chance you'll get to see this movie before it comes out on DVD.
The one thing I was let down by with this movie (aside from the confusion about the behind the scenes with the English dub cast and crew) was that there wasn't an after credits scene promising more No Game No Life. Even so, I still give this movie a solid 10/10.
Well, that's it! Stay tuned for my first of probably two Halloween reviews, which will either be Hellsing or the live action adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul! ~k
