No Game No Life (review up to volume 4 with later updates to happen)

Yanked into another world by a mysterious phenomenon, we follow the gamer siblings as they attempt to surmount what is deemed to be the BIGGEST game of all time!

What’s this novel about? I’ve always pondered about how one could express the term escapism which is universally different when trying to describe it to various people. This series is essentially that wish being fulfilled as our protagonists get teleported to another world called Disboard (clever name) due to the actions of an almighty loser.

We follow the exploits of the NEETS Sora and Shiro who are known together as blank as they are presented with what seems like the most challenging thing they’ve encountered in their lifetime. A simple chess game goes wrong, which is ultimately the trigger pulled by the God of that world, Tet, who on paper just looks like an immature child.

The whole premise is set up so that our protagonists must conquer all the races that exist within that world called the Exceed which are totalling 16 in number before being able to challenge the ruler Tet. However, our unfortunate gamers are classed with the pitiful humans they are, that are ranked dead bottom called Imanity. Using them as their base for their grand operation we follow the trials and tribulations that our gamers are presented with, and as their motto says “(___) never loses” which means running away is not an option as they are always confident in their winning chances.

The games themselves are quite extraordinary as there is always great variation between them; from word connectors that can literally makes things appear and disappear with a click of a finger, all the way to the standard dating simulation game that may seem mundane at first but as it progresses, will only pose more difficulties for the players as they attempt to overcome those obstacles.

The way in which the games are narrated is probably the series strongest point if you don’t mind the overpowered characters that we have in the NEETS. The series is suited to those who want to see how the game turns out which includes all the individual processes that take place before we get the grand conclusion that is WHO WINS? So if you dislike the fact they win all time, then this may not be for you as it’s really all fun and games as they say.

The characters also add another dimension to my overall enjoyment as there are multiple personalities residing within the cast who are all of different background, from the cynical Wearbeasts that manipulate others to the knowledgeable Heavenly Winged that seem to possess an array of weapons and other magical abilities.

The cast however is mostly female and so this is essentially a harem as each female introduced seems to have some sort of affection for our sole male hikikimori Sora, much to the dismay of his step-sister Shiro who is assumed to have extremely poor communication skills on the outside but can be riled up when it comes to these sort of things.

The outside and inside are two totally different things and when it comes to gaming can be like oil and water, they don’t mix well which is seen in different online personas that contradict their real selves. Heck I’m beginning to doubt if the prologue for volume 1 was legitimate or not, as it’s been hinted several times they have experienced heaps of IRL problems. A lot can be expanded upon but then again it’s not the main point so there is not much that is required to clear my doubts.

Going back to the characters, you are bound to find many enjoyable which is the case for me as I particularly liked Steph (our deuteragonist maybe?) to an extent, who is our unfortunate dim-witted former princess that just gets manipulated many times by our sadistic main Sora who gets his enjoyment out of that. Well if that doesn’t crack you up, then I don’t know what does. Steph herself at times can be shown to reliable on certain occasion and is usually the trump card to settle things which is ironic as that’s not how she’s set up to be most of the time.

The series does have a lot of fanservice but it’s more just sexual teasing most of the time and doesn’t really hinder me as the reader except the repetitive bath scenes. We get the joke!

The harem is a very good harem which can be a recipe for disaster in other series but with NGNL they are following their character archetypes to the maximum and leaves nothing else to be desired personally. The characters are plentiful which for me is a necessary thing as it hits the sweet spot because too little can bore a reader whereas too many can confuse the reader unless it’s intentional which I have no problems with.

The last part is just me putting my final thoughts together and I wouldn’t say this a masterpiece or anything but it really uses its basic concept well. I’d highly recommend the novel for a fan of the anime but in my opinion is not that much better than the anime which is solid from what I remember. If you want to see some clever games being played that involve a battle of wits being applied, then look no further and this will entertain you surely.