Greetings! Railgunfan75 here. Anime reviews are one of the staples of this blog. I have reviewed an interesting array of series encompassing many science fiction, action, and drama. One genre which I have not touched upon yet is the slice of life genre. Contrary to what you may think, I am actually a fan of this genre. I enjoy this genre because there is something endearing about a series which just features quiet stories talking about the day to day experiences of the characters. There are plenty of great series which fall in this category and this year we have been blessed to have multiple good entries which fall into this category. One of these entries is a series called New Game!
Synposis (from Wikipedia)
Having been a strong fan of a particular video game when she was younger, Aoba Suzukaze, a high school graduate, begins working as a character designer at the game’s developer, Eagle Jump. As she works on modelling and designing characters for games in development, she becomes acquainted with her fellow co-workers in the character design department, as well as those from across the company.
Thoughts
I did a first impressions post on this series a few weeks back and I am happy to say that my thoughts on this series are the same now as they were back then. This series is great!
The story isn’t anything complicated, philosophical, or mind blowing but that is ok. We have different things that characters go through on their way to the games completion. We get some glimpses about how certain things work with game development. But it is no the main focus of the series, the process of creating the game really is just a backdrop for the adventures of the characters. And these are fun stories that are being told here. From the battle of thermostat to the pitfalls that can happen when friends come to work with you- fun topics are explored in this series. Anyone who has worked in a professional setting can relate to many of stories told here even though they are told with some unlikely real world plot points and characters. Are there some exaggerated scenarios? Sure but it doesn’t meant that they aren’t fun. One minor issue that I had though is that why these stories are fun, there are some episodes where they just kept things too simple. Workplaces can be a complicated environment and many of the nuances are kind of glossed over here. It is a comedy for the most part so that can be expected but I guess I wanted a little more in regards to that.
The characters of the series fall into a few standard tropes but by no means feel recycled or bland. The reason why this works is that they tweaked the character types extremely well so that they fit into the setting of the story. All of the characters are extremely easy to get behind. Aoba is naive and kind, Hifumi’s shyness is charming, Hajime’s geek passions are hilarious, and Yun possesses a fun and scheming personality. These characters compliment each other rather well. You get to see the relationships develop rather quickly and the characters have a great dynamic with each other. I especially liked the friendship between Ko and Rin. This was explored in some detail and was arguably the most interesting character arc. Overall you have a nice group of characters- guaranteed there is someone you will like from this group. My one minor complaint is really a byproduct of the series length itself. They do discuss these characters in some detail, but some are discussed more than others.
The animation for the series looks very nice and is not overly stylistic. I really enjoyed the character designs, the designs did a great job in giving each of the characters distinct personalities. The opening and closing themes (Sakura Skip and Now Loading by fourfolium) are both quite catchy and upbeat. I really looked forward to both opening and closing sequences because of these tunes. For the series soundtrack, there was nice music, but this series won’t go on anyone’s list for memorable or mind blowing soundtracks and that’s ok. The music was there to complete the scene and not dominate it. The music wasn’t needed to set any sort of emotional tone and because of that it doesn’t need to dominate the scenes. They do such a great job with the other aspects of it that it doesn’t matter. You get some background music which sounds like it would come out of a game which is cool.The music is just cool, relaxed, and subtle- just what a series like this needs. Overall, this series does get top marks in the visual and sound departments.
New Game is a series which will provide you with simple and fun entertainment. The characters are charming, the stories are hilarious, and the series will simply make you feel better after watching it. While it doesn’t provide us with anything new or shocking or an in depth look into the game industry, the series does a great job in it’s execution of a fun slice of life story.. Because of this, I give New Game a ranking of Platinum.
Review Summary
Ranking: Platinum
Pros: -Great cast of characters and good character arcs
– Plenty of hilarious comedic moments
– Series is a lot of fun to watch
Cons: -Plot could be considered to be a bit simple
– Game doesn’t focus too much of the game making process
-Wanted to see more of this group of characters.
Update 10/4/2017: I have updated my ranking to Platinum on this series. With the dub release for this series, I had the opportunity to watch the series a second time. The dub just excellent. The characters were all perfectly cast and the voice work fit the characters perfectly. Upon viewing this series again and picking up on some of the nuances that I missed the first time, I came to the conclusion that my opinion of the show was higher then I reflected in my review. I have therefore updated my ranking on this review from Gold to Platinum and place this series among one of my favorites of all time.
So concludes my review of New Game! Have any thoughts on the series? Please comment below. If you enjoy my content please leave a like, follow me on Facebook (Railgunfan75’s Geek Blog) and Twitter (@Railgunfan75). Also I am currently working on updating my previous reviews to include a Review Summary section like the one you see above. This is to just provide a brief summary for those of you who don’t want to or don’t have time to read my massive essays. So until next time, this is Railgunfan75 signing off! See ya!
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