No Game No Life, Best Anime show for Gamers
This anime –launched in 2014– is an adaptation of the Japanese light novel with the same name. It follows the story of Sora and Shiro, two siblings of 11 and 17 years old renowned in the gaming industry due to their superpower gaming abilities. However, both of them are isolated from society. They spend most of the day confined at home playing video games and persistently avoiding social situations and relationships.
They are so good at games that they even defeated the God of Games in an online match, which led them to the main plot. Since the deity wanted revenge, he asked permission to send them to a virtual world where they were trapped. They said yes because they didn't believe a word and were transported magically to a new horrible path that led them to several adventures to come back to the real world.
There are three things that I like the most about this anime:
The gamers were trapped in this world because their social-isolated lifestyle made them vulnerable. Sometimes I feel that I don't want to connect with anyone and reject plans with my friends to stay locked up playing a new game. This is an excellent approach to show young gamers the importance of socialisation.
They highlight the importance of knowing classic games since chess and poker are critical to solving some obstacles in their path. Sometimes, gamers become haters of traditional games and rant about them when an elder try to teach them. The twist they use to add to classic games is fantastic. My favourite example is free will chess, where the pieces can express their emotions during the battle—the best fictional chess battle after the Harry Potter's Philosopher Stone one. It was fantastic to see Bishops and Pawns raising their swords against each other like in a real war.
The connection between siblings is lovely. It is fantastic to see them facing the barriers together without forcing them to blame each other.
What I don't like, in the other hand, is that the anime is full of fan service, which is ok if you are a teenager, but it might be too much if you are a young adult like me. That's the only thing I don't like about the show.
No Game No Life has been available on Netflix in Luxembourg but was recently removed; hopefully, it will be back soon. It is still available for streaming in Crunchyroll. It is a good anime as it shows the consequences of having unhealthy habits and values within the gamer community.