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"Contender for anime of the season"
"No doubt the best series currently airing"
"Anime of the year"
"Best thing I've ever seen"
"11/10, it was okay" -ign

This is just a sample of the plethora of praise No Game No Life (NGNL) has garnered as of recent. Undoubtedly loved by many and raised up by fans to no end, calling NGNL hyped would be an understatement. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing, however, whether or not it can live up to the countless 10/10 reviews and its 8.87 rating making it the 16th highest rated anime on MAL is a whole different matter.

Enjoyment-9/10
I'm beginning with the enjoyment ... of this show because this is without a doubt the most alluring aspect of the show and probably the main cause of the ceaseless acclaim this series continues to earn. And it is for good reason; this show essentially has something for everyone. There are few things that NGNL fails to incorporate into itself and the resulting audience it can pertain to encompass many. With video game and anime references alike, accompanied by what seems like an infinite amount of anime tropes and cliches, it definitely entertains the general audience.

The show is entertaining almost all the time and for the most part does not bore bar the irrelevant scene every now and then (I'm looking at you random bath scenes). Really if anything, the enjoyment you can get out of this show is absurd and makes the show what it is more than the characters, plot, or the art. However what makes the show a lot less enjoyable is the abundance of ecchi material within it. You are constantly bombarded with fan-service each and every episode and while some say it does not detract from the show, it certainly does even if a little bit.

So if you like being entertained and want to watch something you really enjoy, this is it. There are very few other anime that can entertain as well as NGNL and if you want to just sit back and relax, turn off your brain for a while, and just have a good time this is all you'll need. No need to read the rest of my review if that's all you want in an anime.

Story-6/10
If you want to read a summary of the show, there is a synopsis section so go read that before all the reviewers put it out of a job.

That aside, the story is somewhat interesting. The world building and overall setting are absolutely well executed and come together very well to create a whole fantasy world that does not seem lacking but is rather quite well developed. The entire world that is presented with the many interactions and conflicts within it are extremely well done and although it is definitely unrealistic in a sense that it is fantasy after all, it is still extremely close to reality.

Onto the actual plot itself, there are very few, if any, plot holes throughout the story and because of this viewers will be able to feel that although it is just a fictional world, it really could exist. The pacing is almost perfect. It rarely feels rushed (there was only one episode) and so every event is given enough time to occur and watchers thus given enough time to comprehend and follow the story. However the plot does slow down at time to create intermissions between major plot events which intentionally relieves the tension and keeps that light-hearted touch yet at the same time relieves a lot of the tension within the serious parts of NGNL causing the plot to be a lot less serious and weaker.

Yet the weakest part of the plot and what makes it so weak is easily its predictability. Although the many puzzles and games make it seem complex or intelligent, it is at the core really just a simple plot that makes it very easily appreciated and enjoyable. The ways in which each problem is solved are at the very least creative and definitely fun to experience but are in no ways complex or mind-blowing. So if the methods to their winning is definitely unpredictable to some extent then what is so predictable? The outcomes. UnfortunatelyIn the end, the aftermath of each conflict is easily anticipated. The plot is essentially just a repeat of finding enemies, challenging them, winning, and becoming friend and this is what makes NGNL so much weaker in this regard. The one thing they utilize very well though is cliffhangers. The sheer amount of cliffhangers is absurd and most episodes to end off with one leaving you craving for the next.

Although many will claim that the story is a masterpiece, there is very little that is deeper within it. A good story contains underlying themes which the story then pushes to convey to the audience and incite change or at the very least discussion and conflicting ideas. Thankfully NGNL does contain an argument but unfortunately it is the execution of them which is off the mark. Whereas good writing would establish its themes early on and continually build upon the themes subtly through imagery and symbolism as the story progressed, NGNL ignores its themes and is void of them for the majority of itself only to suddenly remember that it had a message to present and then suddenly shoving the theme at you near the end in hopes that you would have caught on to them.

Definitely though, it really is difficult to take the plot seriously because of just how plain silly it is and that in itself is not a bad thing but with all the fans of the show raving on about how great and genius the story is, it will no doubt leave you disappointed.

Art-9/10
The animation style used by Madhouse in NGNL is unique or at the very least uncommon. It has a bright and vibrant colour palette that is very nice to look at and because of how separated the colours are from reality, it compliments the fantasy world they live in and only makes it more beautiful. The gags pulled in the show and references made to other media is also very well expressed and their ability to switch from style to style makes each reference so much more fluid and recognizable. The colours are a little bit tiring on the eyes however as a result of all the bright colours (think a bunch of neon signs).

Sound-6/10
The voice acting is good; memorable voices that express the personalities and emotions that express the characters well. The music is lacking however and unfortunately is unmemorable (I literally cannot remember if there was any to begin with). It's definitely not bad enough so that it subtracts from the show, but neither is it good enough that it makes it any better.

Character-4/10
People seem to believe that the characters in this show are somehow amazing and unique yet how is that possible when each and every character in the show are built upon popular anime tropes. You have everything in this show from NEETs to tsunderes, to animal girls, demons/angels, and even elves. The characters are likable, that's for sure. After all, with such a wide variety of overdone characters, how could you not like one of them. But what makes the characters the weakest is not their lack of originality. Rather it is the lack of proper development for most of the characters. Perhaps this is a result of the show only being 12 episodes long, but any form of development within the main characters is completely absent. They can probably be described best as super computers with personalities. Although they have traits that take them outside of the regular character molds, any type of change in personality or even ability is absent throughout the series. They start as geniuses and end as geniuses and that's all they are. You learn little about their past and see no changes in their character whatsoever.

Then you have the supporting characters. Fortunately these characters have development over the course of the show but it isn't enough. As each conflict begins with finding an enemy and then beating and befriending them, every supporting character that joins the main cast as the show progresses actually changes but as soon as they do, the plot moves onto the next order of business and their development is put aside for these new "villains" to appear. Hence the only characters with advancement in the entirety of the show are those few supporting characters present from the very beginning. Regrettably even those characters are set aside continuously and then made to serve as either eye-candy or comedic relief for episodes on end.

Overall the characters are for the most part flat and two-dimensional. Who they are can be taken at face value because the characters of NGNL undoubtedly have only one layer to them. They never stray from what they establish themselves as when they are introduced, never showing any signs of actually being complex characters but rather show how simple and one-sided they all are. As beautiful as those one sides are and as entertaining as they can be they are in the end still one sided and become repetitive before long.

Overall-6.5/10
Does NGNL live up to the hype? Definitely not. Certainly the enjoyment of the show there and it has a wide audience with simple plots and characters that aid in how easily people can appreciate it, but the enjoyment of the show seems to have caused a bias in which those weak characters and predictable plot are all but ignored in favour of its entertainment value. All in all it is a good show overall; definitely above your average fantasy show but not as much as people make it out to be. It is far from the masterpiece people like to think it is. I'll admit, the mood of the show and its overall fun feeling makes it very easy to forget about its flaws but in the end those flaws are still there and should not be overlooked. The plot is far from serious and is nowhere close to being as complex or stunning as people make it out to be and although the characters may be lovable and are all fun to watch, they are at the same time flat and unfinished, leading you to become bored of them at times. If you're looking to be entertained and have fun watching a show, this is it, but don't go in expecting anything deep or intelectual.

TL;DR: BEST SHOW OF 2014! WHAT A MASTERPIECE THAT WILL NEVER BE SURPASSED IN ALL OF ANIMUS!!! BEST THING SINCE SAO, BOKU NO PICO, AND SCHOOL DAYS!!!11!!one!!!1!! 6.5/10.

In case you couldn't tell from the title of the manga, Akame ga Kiru (or Kill) is about killing and contains so called "dark" content.

"Dark" content has always been desired and as a result also quite prevalent in manga. People enjoy feeling "mature" and "grown-up" in whatever they do; reading manga is no exception.

"Only kids read sissy shounens; blood and gore is for the real mature people," is what I've seen probably hundreds of times on the internet. So when people experience "dark" manga, they usually feel like they've grown up. "No more of that silly kids stuff I used to read, ... I'm a big boy now" is what I imagine many people feel when they read things like Berserk, Monster, and Akame ga Kiru. These days, with the increasing popularity for series like the Fate, Madoka, and Psycho-Pass (thanks Urobutcher), death has become an idea that many authors seem to enjoy playing with as a result of its apparent popularity. While it is not necessarily a bad thing (there are series that do use it well), it is probably Akame ga Kiru's biggest flaw.

Seeing as Akame ga Kiru currently sits at an 8.59 rating as of this review, I have to say that the series is quite overrated, probably because people seem to believe that it is really deeper than it actually is and it gives them the sense that they have matured and graduated from the "casual" material when really this is not as distanced as people feel it is.

Story- 5/10
So the story follows a pretty generic beginning; guy from village sets out with his friends to save the village from the corrupt government, and then it gets pretty brutal. I'll be honest, I was surprised when it happened. The story suddenly takes a dark turn from what seems like a normal fantasy setting and you suddenly realize just what a scary place the world they live in is. It was very promising, however, where it goes from there is the problem.

Absolutely nothing changes.

Just as soon as this manga leaves the realm of shounen, it dips right back into it. You come right back to the generic "hero joins a rebel group and tries to save the world" type of thing. The only difference being a massive amount of killing in the series but even this turns out to be a problem. Every arc starts with an evil underling army group doing bad things to the people and then the great heroes of justice come in and stop the baddies, saving the day. And while the large amounts of death in this series are definitely a step away from shounen, it becomes so repetitive and boring that each death no longer holds any value and is only there for the gimmicky shock factor. And then the series can't even do that right. The series becomes so damn predictable. In each fight that occurs, you know exactly who will die because of the massive amounts of cliched death-flags that they raise just chapters before the fights begin. I was pretty disappointed as going into it after the first few chapters, the gore that had made it surprising and hooked me in the first place turned into just meaningless gore with very little actual content.

And then we have the romance. The latter half of the "romantic" sub-plot just ruins the mood of the show. Really it seems like it is just filler. For a few chapters you'll have this action packed fight with tons of blood shed and killing then suddenly it'll become a slice of life. The randomness of this kills the tension of the show and while it starts off as comedic relief and tension building (which I actually rather enjoyed), it develops into what the authors seem to intend as either a serious romantic plot or just set-up for another "tragic" death.

Art- 9/10
The art may be the series only outstanding feature. The art is well drawn and the fights are well directed. Each fight catches your eye and directs it with the movement of the battle. The art reflects the dark, grim tone the story attempts to create and almost makes up for how badly the rest of the story is written. The death scenes are also well depicted, not hiding any types of gore from the reader and are quite brutally drawn. Characters are all very well drawn, detailed, and all in all it really is very good.

Characters- 3/10
In contrast, the characters in AgK are probably the weirdest and perhaps most horribly done aspect of the manga. By far the most interesting characters are the ones that the story makes out to be the antagonists. The protagonists and members of the protagonist group are mostly flat, holding little to no development, relying on "tragic" back stories to make them seem real. These backstories give little closure and you're really never given any time to sympathize with the characters before they die.

As you go further and further in, it seems like the author just became confused as to who the protagonists were as the manga seems to concentrate more and more upon the villains. Really it becomes about the government groups rather than the flat and boring mc's as you see less of them and more of the antagonists. Wave in particular seems to be a better protagonist than our what we are given. All of our main characters seem to be better supporting characters than they are main characters and I'm really not sure why some of them even exist other than to die a few chapters later in an attempt to make us sympathize for them. As the story progresses, the main protagonist group becomes more of a side-story set aside for relieving tension within the story.

With so much of the manga being wasted on developing characters immediately before they die, the protagonists with their plot armour are given little to no development as a result. With all the time and attention placed upon the dead characters and spread so thin throughout the rest of the living characters, those left alive are uninteresting and one-dimensional.

Furthermore, ALL the characters can be placed into good, bad, and undecided. Well that't not too bad right? Except for the fact that every single evil villain is plain out bad, every hero plain good and for some reason it is only the supporting characters who experience any form of inner conflict rather than our so called "heroes". Every villain is completely sure of their evil deeds and have no problems continuing them; every hero is completely sure of their good deeds and although the story attempts to make it seem like the protagonists are having a tough time accepting the fact that they're killing others, killing them is not a hard decision to make when they are so one-sided with absolutely no redeeming qualities. There is no inner strife or conflict within the protagonists or the totally evil villains and this makes them completely flat and uninteresting. With that, the villains are also impossible to sympathize with (unless you are some type of crazy psychotic killer-rapist hybrid) and the heroes are completely boring to watch when all they ever do is carry out their justice much like your typical shounen character.

Enjoyment-8/10
Despite the low light in which I see this manga, I actually still found it quite enjoyable as far as its action and fighting. This is definitely one of those series you just have to turn off your brain for (similar to Kill la Kill or TTGL). It is very easy to find entertaining and as long as you can handle the overdone gore in the series, you will probably find it fun to read as well. It's just one of those things that although are simple and flawed, are still fun and enjoyable.

Overall- 6/10
I can definitely see why so many people enjoy the series. The art paired with the mood is definitely a good combo, but if you're searching for a psychological series with deep themes or plot, this is not the right manga. There is absolutely no intellectual thinking that goes on when reading this manga. The countless and meaningless deaths paired with the repetitive plot and flat main characters just ruins the entire thing. It's definitely worth checking out and is interesting to say the least, but the constant attempts to make it seem more mature with all the gore really just makes the gore plain boring gore. Its feeble tries to wow you with the deaths gets boring and the underlying "rebelling against a corrupt government" trope has been done better.

It is meant to entertain and does that well, but the story is weak and holds little value, the characters are uninteresting and even pointless, and most of its value comes from the shock that it brings at first but ultimately grows boring as it continues to try and surprise you with the same things. It contains mature content but at the same time does not provoke any thinking and can be mindlessly enjoyed because of the continuous action.