No Game No Life: Zero

In ancient Disboard, Riku is an angry, young warrior intent on saving humanity from the warring Exceed, the 16 sentient species, fighting to establish the One True God among the Old Deus. In a lawless land, humanity's lack of magic and weak bodies have made them easy targets for the other Exceed, leaving the humans on the brink of extinction.

One day, however, hope returns to humanity when Riku finds a powerful female Ex-Machina, whom he names Schwi, in an abandoned elf city. Exiled from her Cluster because of her research into human emotions, Schwi is convinced that humanity has only survived due to the power of these feelings and is determined to understand the human heart. Forming an unlikely partnership in the midst of the overwhelming chaos, Riku and Schwi must now find the answers to their individual shortcomings in each other, and discover for themselves what it truly means to be human as they fight for their lives together against all odds. Each with a powerful new ally in tow, it is now up to them to prevent the extinction of the human race and establish peace throughout Disboard.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Dola, Schwi Main

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Dola, Riku Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Dola, Couronne Main

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Sora Supporting

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Shiro Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Jibril Supporting

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

Dola, Stephanie Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Tet Supporting

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Hatsuse, Izuna Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Azriel Supporting

Horie, Yui Japanese

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Tanaka, Shou Producer

Yoshida, Yuuki Producer

Nanbara, Mitsuhiro Producer

Reviews

Jul 20, 2017

Inorichi

Recommended

I flew to Japan to see this movie and I have to say it was worth it. Artistically speaking, definitely among the top. However, the story felt a bit rushed. A set of movies or even a seasonal tv anime may have worked better and you`ll understand why if you see it.
-2020 Revision

Story: 8
Great story but it definitely feels rushed even with 2 hours. Tet recalls the story of 6000 years ago before he becomes the one true god and it pretty much explains who everyone is and the survival of imanity, however, they just go over way too many things and loses the entire ... "no game no life" part of NGNL. To elaborate, they have to cover the great war, romance between two characters, and focus on several characters in just 2 hours, which isn't enough imo. What really pushed this movie from a 7 to an 8 was the fact that it was a recollection done by Tet, who makes an appearance at the beginning and at the very end, which may explain the amount of content covered. Still interesting and very enjoyable though.

Art: 10
To me NGNL will always be way up there in art, the colors and the unique designs and fantasy setting all work together to create a vivid and interesting experience and NGNL Zero does it even better. The setting is much darker than the original, but it was still an incredible experience to see in theaters to say the least.

Sound: 9
Sounds were great and built up was on screen nicely. The ost playing as Tet concludes his recollection really made an impact, however, none of the OST's in the core part of the movie stood out as some of the more iconic themes did in the anime.

Character: 7
This was another problem for me with the anime, as all the characters were great, except Shuvi, which is somewhat of a problem as she's our heroine / Shiro replacement. Her entire premise as an ex-machina, and robot yet human felt out of place and just continues to feel out of place while she develops. As for the others, a majority of the characters resemble the cast of the original NGNL anime (since they're technically their ancestors), and to top it off, the movie has a much nicer looking, less annoying Steph.

Enjoyment 8/10
I point out a lot of the issues I had with the movie and the truth is it was great. I`m probably going to go see it again before I`m out of Japan but it`s something you have to see if you even somewhat enjoyed ngnl.

Btw if you saw it in theaters(Japan) you can buy goods and you even get a free little manga-like mini-pamphlet for free. Pretty nice!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 17, 2017

ImRingo

Mixed Feelings

***EDIT!!! I've now seen the film twice. In my second viewing I was able to pretty much assure what I put down in this review originally was pretty close to my feelings towards the film. However there is a change to the “characters” category. My new thoughts will be listed under the original paragraph.***

I'm going to put spoilers at the end/bottom of the review. They will have a number associated with them that I will use throughout the review so that you will not be spoiled but can at least see what I am referencing at the end/bottom if you wish to learn more about ... my points.

Let me start this review by pointing out my standing with the series. I have not read any of the LN volumes but I am a huge fan of the tv series (at this point in time only one season). The tv series in my opinion is one of the greatest assemblies of elements I've seen brought together for a complete season of anime. Looks, sounds, feels, and flows so greatly that I try to recommend it whenever possible as long as the potential viewer is ok with the fanservice.

So now we get to the film; I'm super conflicted on it. As a fan of the tv series, I'm glad we get to see more about the history of this world. At the same time however, the end product of the film feels...haphazard.

Story: 2/10

The main issue I have with the film is its pacing. Due to point (1) and (2), the first two thirds of the film drags while the final third feels super rushed. For a film that is supposed to be about “the devastating war-like history of Disboard before games ruled all”, I was severely disappointed that so much time was dedicated towards points (1) and (2). This leads us further into the main issue of the film:

Did this film really need to exist? Prequel films/series can be an interesting tool to expand on the world and characters of an established series. In the case of this series however, I honestly feel like the film has lessened the experience of the series as a whole. When watching the tv series (and not reading the LN), you have this vague understanding of how the world worked before everything was ruled by games. Things are brought up about the past events but you are never given the full story. This works really well with keeping you interested in both the world and the other factions/races. To see how these other factions/races have adapted to the new rules in the world was what made the tv series so interesting and enjoyable to watch.

With that out of the way, I can actually talk about why I feel that the film has lessened the overall No Game No Life series for me. The film takes 2 hours to essentially show point (3). Yeah there are some cool battle scenes along the way (which almost all of reside in the final act of the film) but their meaning at the time is essentially thrown away with how the film ended. Even the sort of build up leading to the events of the last part of the film (4) seem meaningless due to the way the film ends.

Long story short, due to the way the final act of the film was paced and structured, it makes the rest of the film seem like a real waste of time.

Visual Elements: 10/10

It's getting really hard to fathom what constitutes for a 10/10 perfect score in terms of visuals. There have been so many films that have come out in the past 5 or so years that just keep upping the bar on how gorgeous an animated film can look like. With No Game No Life Zero, it just looks so absolutely astounding every frame of the film. It retains the artstyle and coloring scheme of the tv series with the exception being when the film is taking place in the barren parts of the world. These areas also look great and their more dull and lifeless appearance works well to contrast the living areas for the humans (which looks more like what we are used to in the tv series).

I really am blown away with how great the characters and coloring is in this film. All the character models are gorgeous and the No Game No Life color scheme just looks so beautiful and fitting in every scene. The animation is also silky smooth. Whether it is a fight/action scene or a dialogue one, the animation is on-point.

Sound: 9.7/10

I've brought this up in other review but it's important for this section (especially since it is a film); you have 2 different types of scores (musical soundtrack):

One that stays hidden, in the background. It helps keep the audience in check with what is going on visually while not taking over control.

The other which absolutely takes control and dictates emotions almost more than the visuals. This method can backfire as it can come off as cheesy, overbearing, and/or too forceful but when done right can yield much better results than method 1.

No Game No Life Zero pretty much stays within the realm of method 2. The score is there 100% of the time trying to convey what is presently going on in the film. The orchestral parts are very fitting and very beautiful/powerful. I never felt like the music was out of place (other than possibly during the point (2) scenes).

The sound design of the battles and the other miscellaneous things were very, very good. They didn't rely on loud, distorted noises to show extreme moments (cough cough Fate/Apocrypha cough cough). Instead, it seems like they really took the time to flesh out the sound effects for each attack and each moment.

Finally, the voice actors were absolutely on point. With the bulk amount of screentime going towards Schwi and Riku, their performances were spot-on.

Characters: Original Score: 7.5/10; Revised Score: 4/10

This is where the faults in the story section really bother me; there were a lot of really cool character interactions and moments in the film that are just ruined by the points I have already brought up. The atmosphere that surrounds Schwi, Riku, and Couronne is just so much fun to watch. Also while extremely short, the moments between Riku and a certain race's leader as well as Schwi moments with a certain recurring character from the tv series were really well done. It is just unfortunate then that they feel meaningless once you reach the end of the film.

***Second viewing opinions***
So after seeing this film for a second time (in theaters both times), I have to say that the characters are still endearing and have lots of really great moments with each other. However, due to the pacing and overwhelming focus on the two main characters (thus taking the spotlight away from the other elements of the film) I have to reduce my original 7.5/10 score for the characters. I think that while the interactions were great, they were actually more meaningless than I originally thought. If the film was split into two; one for just MCs character development and one for what was essentially the rushed last third of the film, it would be a different story. However what we see is what we got. I'm reducing the score down to a 4/10.

Overall: Original Score: 7.4/10; Revised Score: 6.4/10

In a lot of ways, this film gave me similar feelings that I had once I had watched Finding Dory. While an enjoyable experience, the end result begs the question, “...was that film necessary?” I just worry that, like in my case, you will end up feeling like the film was unnecessary and sort of lessens the cool “air of mystery” feeling that the tv series has. I love the tv series and at some point want to read the LN but this film just felt like a real waste of time. My recommendation, watch the tv series first so that you get that “air of mystery” feeling. Then, if you want more, go watch the film with low expectations.

Enjoyment: 6/10

Thanks for reading my review! If you liked my writing style, would like to see some other reviews, or just want to talk, please stop by my page!

Sincerely,
Awesome Drummer

Spoilers key:

(1) The whole first half of the film drags on with the focus of Schwi and Riku. I get that they are the main driving force for humanity but the pacing felt really slow compared to the clusterfuck that was the ending third of the film. Also:

(2) the marriage between Schwi and Riku seems so unnecessary. We already understand (due to the amount of character development you showed us in the first half of the film) that there is a strong bond between Schwi and Riku. You do not have to hammer this thought on with more screen time dedicated to this element. It really felt like someone was beating my head with the hammer of emotion way longer than what was necessary (more-so than the SAO film's kissing scene that didn't need to happen).

(3) The whole film is to get one scene of Tet rising to power. You see hints of him in a couple of scenes but he doesn't appear until Riku calls out to Tet to make things better. A whole film did not need to exist to show this one scene. In a way, this ending makes the whole film feel meaningless and, in a way, lessens the whole “air of mystery” the tv series has when alluding to the events during the film's time-period.

(4) Because of point (3), the build up revolving around Riku convincing the other factions to leave the continent (which by the way was also rushed) is meaningless and has a very low overall impact due to other mechanics in the film.

(5) The whole thing with Schwi and Riku carving their names on Couronne's stone is meaningless (have not read the LN; it might have meaning later on). Essentially its purpose in the film is for a small scene at the end of the film where (back in present time) Izuna takes Steph's stone to see if the names are really there. That's it.

(6) Did Schwi and Riku really have to look like Shiro and Sora? I get that they are supposed to be reincarnated forms of Schwi and Riku but man the fact that three of the main characters in this film look almost exactly like three main characters in the tv series (the other being Couronne looking like Steph) is just not doing it for me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 13, 2017

Aidan

Not Recommended

[Spoiler Warning]

No Game No Life (TV) is, to me, a flashier version of the detested Sword Art Online as both anime share many similar strengths and faults. These similarities include poor pacing, overpowered characters and an outstanding soundtrack. However, unlike Sword Art Online which, aside from the gradual deterioration of its concepts, has relatively consistent quality, No Game No Life throws many of its strengths out in No Game No Life: Zero, the prequel to the TV series.

One of the most noticeable changes is the shift from a vivid palette to a duller one which helped enforce the movies more serious and dismal tone. ... Unfortunately, despite the visual adjustments, the writers could not get this tone across as the utilized poorly placed jokes to lighten the mood. These jokes, though humorous, ruined almost all of the more serious, melancholic moments this movie had to offer, altering the atmosphere and creating a lighter tone. These tone setting (and ruining) jokes made the visual modifications futile as the only offered to deduct from No Game No Life: Zero’s quality.

The creators of No Game No Life: Zero, despite changing the palette, fail to improve the overall caliber of its animation, keeping its quality relatively the same as the TV shows. This lack of color, however, expresses the negative aspects of the movies animation as it flaunts the numerous errors that passed us by in the first season. These poorly animated scenes, though prevalent in the TV series as well, were less prominent as the series used vivid colors and unique backgrounds to divert our attention from their errors. However, without the palette No Game No Life is so well known for, this facade is easily seen through.

Battles in No Game No Life: Zero are the exception when it comes to the animation quality as it revives many of the shows vivid colors and combines them with fluid animation. Many of these astounding fight scenes were, unfortunately, ruined by the CGI that accompanied them. Though I don't believe this CGI is necessarily bad when compared to many other anime, I do feel CGI itself has a long ways to go before it can consistently and excellently be implemented into anime without ruining its overall quality. This poor CGI animation was only made more evident because of its brighter pigmentation, creating a stark difference between it and the somber background of the show.

Aside from their shabby attire, the characters themselves are quite aesthetically pleasing, using many of No Game No Life's original character designs as templates for No Game No Life: Zero, retaining at least some of the artistic choices the series is so well known for. The characters themselves, however, are riddled with a multitude of flaws.

One of the more noticeable flaws these characters exhibit is their lack of rational thought. Throughout the movie, almost every character, both main and side, make irrational choices that only serve to push the plot forward. Riku, for example, uses his anger at the world (and how unfair it is) and presumed thirst for vengeance as the driving forces behind his will to survive. However, despite knowing Schwi was the one who destroyed his town and forced his neighbors underground, he is willing to take her in and care for her. This hatred and fear for AI among the humans is also demonstrated when Riku forces Schwi to conceal her identity from the rest of his group for her own safety.

Similarly, Schwi, hoping to learn about the human “heart” leaves her swarm, cutting off all connection to them to be with Riku.Why an AI, which is known to only make rational decisions, left in the first place and why she was allowed to, however, is never explained. What is explained, upon Riku and Schwi’s first encounter, is that Schwi is under the misconception that to understand the human heart she needs to have sex. This misunderstanding prompts her to consistently request Riku’s body. Surprisingly, it is later revealed that Schwi is incapable of having sex, making her reasoning for leaving the safety of the swarm in a chaotic world pointless (and therefore irrational). Why Schwi left her swarm to understand the heart despite physically being unable to (because of her misconception) is also beyond me and the rationale behind it is never explained within the anime.

No Game No Life: Zero’s cast also lacks a backstory of any kind. What Schwi did in the swarm, how Riku survived the destruction of civilization despite being a human child and how he becomes the leader of his group of dwellers (among many others) are never addressed and are only there for plot convenience. Without Riku having survived we couldn’t have had this story, without seeing Schwi’s actions in her swarm we can grow to like her (as she presumably made some inhumane choices which is why Riku is wary of revealing her identity to his fellow humans) and without Riku being his clan’s leader, he could never have ordered his allies to die for his sake and therefore would never have fallen into as depressed a state as he did (if he had still managed to survive) therefore giving him little to no motivation.

Regardless as to whether you want to know the backstories of the characters or not, their futures are just as poorly written. Aside from the cute and entertaining interactions between Schwi and Riku, there isn’t much depth to their relationship. In the anime, you see the dynamic duo meet and their first interactions and then there’s a one year time slip that leads to an anti-climactic confession.

At this point you’re probably extremely confused and are asking yourself, “What time skip?” I myself didn’t actually notice it but, researching the anime on several different sources, I discovered there is a major one hidden within the anime as the movie itself spans roughly a year and a half. What exactly happened over this year, however, is left up to speculation.

This major time skip, however, affects the shows pacing dramatically as it rushes major events with little to no actual build up. Because this movie also tries to cover such an enormous amount of events in so little time, the buildup and excitement meant to be felt in a lot of these scenes is lost and the anime itself feels rushed as it jump from one major plot point to another.

To make up for the lack of emotion presented in and around (chronologically) these major scenes, No Game No Life: Zero implements multiple “shock factors” to move the audience. A prime example of this is with Ivan, a deceased human whom we see sacrifice himself (at Riku’s command) so that others might survive on an outing during the first 5 minutes of the movie. Apart from knowing his loyalty to Riku and his clan, the only thing we really know about Ivan is that he has a (presumably young) daughter. After this scene ends (where Riku and another young man escape the crashed Dwarven ship), the anime cuts to a makeshift classroom where a young girl proudly proclaims that she can write her own name and can’t wait to show her father. Aside from this and a name, nothing else is known about poor little Nonna.

The movie then transitions to Riku’s return where Nonna rushes out to greet her father. The father who didn’t come home. The movie then tries to play this off as Riku’s breaking point (ruining it with a bad joke mind you), making us feel pity for both him and Nonna; characters we know next to nothing about.

Emotionless scenes similar to that one are abundant in No Game No Life: Zero as they express where certain characters relationships are in the movie. However, because of the time skips, these relationships aren’t fully expanded upon or developed and we’re left with poorly written shock factors and our own assumptions to fill in the multitude of blanks.

To make up for its poorly written “emotional” scenes, No Game No Life: Zero implements a heart wrenchingly beautiful soundtrack. Though the songs themselves aren’t as catchy or memorable as the TV series, they’re much better at eliciting the desired emotions from the audience. Unfortunately, No Game No Life: Zero, despite boasting a beautiful soundtrack, misuses its OST which, more often than not, takes more from a scene than it gives to it. Music in most anime (including No Game No Life: Zero) is meant to add to the scene and the dialogue but, in No Game No Life: Zero, the music competes with the actual dialogue for the limelight. This competition takes a lot away from the scene and I found myself becoming much more emotional because of the unbearably loud music than the actual dialogue or story it was supposed to be aiding in the delivery of.

Overall, despite being satisfied with the concepts No Game No Life: Zero had, I found the experience ruined by a multitude of factors ranging from poor writing to poor volume control. These negative aspects took so much from the actual experience of the movie that I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it, especially as it became more evident that my burning questions wouldn’t be answered.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	this movie is boring starsun - Sep 28, 2021	43 replies	by Haunt88 »» Nov 11, 3:38 AM
	Poll: Schwi + Riku > Sora + Shiro NotaMasterpiev - May 12, 2023	11 replies	by Haunt88 »» Nov 11, 3:35 AM
	Poll: No Game No Life: Zero Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Kisaragi - Jul 15, 2017	362 replies	by fierypxnther »» Nov 4, 11:22 AM
	Poll: Preferred the movie to the series Cestlavie_ - Jan 27, 2022	11 replies	by removed-user »» Aug 3, 2022 3:43 AM
	watch order? Raulfin - May 26, 2022	18 replies	by solomino »» May 28, 2022 2:13 PM