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Joker Game is a light mystery/thriller filler series. The series does not shine in any areas in general but it is not particularly lacking in any areas for its genre. The series is mainly episodic and, explore and depicts the various missions that some of the professional spies are put through. Some missions are especially dangerous, some slightly more emotional than others while some are your typical action packed James Bond-style movies.

Story: 7/10 – nothing exceptional but not forceful
Joker Game is a short 12-episode episodic series. With this premise, the writers worked with what they had and the result is a well-paced story that does ... not feel forced as character developments and world building are left out on purpose. Instead, it is straight to the point and focuses on specific areas such as the activities of the spies, mini plot twists and mystery. All in all, the story is satisfying, feels natural and makes me wanting for more (in a good way).

Art, Sound and Character: 6/10 – nothing exceptional
The art and sound is industry-standard, nothing shiny in particular but pleasant to the eyes and ears. There is a single flaw though – some of the characters looks way too similar though it is not really a problem as there is no character development for most of the characters. As for the characters, there is almost NO distinction between the characters except for the Head of the agency, Yuuki whom I love as there’s a shroud of mystery surrounding him. We do not know of his exact backstory (1 episode was presumably dedicated for it though it is just heavily-hinted and nothing is concrete). He is your typical master and super respectable kind of character peppered with multiple sprinkles of mysterious. Yuuki is also the reason I bumped the ‘Character’ ratings from a 5 to 6.

Enjoyment: 9/10 – natural and well-paced
As I mentioned earlier, the series feels natural and well-paced. The writers understood what the series needed; the series excelled in what it set out to do (mystery, thriller and the spies’ missions are interesting enough) while not forcing the audience through poorly written character developments or world building which many series adopts. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed the 12-episode series and felt that it was worth my time at the very least.

Overall: 7/10 – an above average series
For most part, this is not a series that was on the top of my to-watch list every week during its release (probably the lower middle of the spectrum) but there’s nothing to be ashamed about. In essence, the series is very enjoyable filler series that I can switch off my brain (which I already barely use) and relax. The scoring comes mainly from the fact that the series does not try to pretend to be something that it is not and I greatly appreciate that as it is not common to find in today’s list of releases anymore. As such, do note that the series is more of a humble 7 than a shiny 7 that does exceptionally well in certain areas.

Recommendation:
If you are looking for something heavy, story-intensive, rich in character development and world building, you have come to the wrong anime. This is more of a kick back and relax episodic filler series that does not involve any fan service, pantsu-flashing cutesy girls but manly, cool and intellectual James Bond-like spies. If you are itching for some light mystery that requires no commitment (hello, Detective Conan :3), you have come to the right place. I am pretty sure this series will be able to scratch that itch of yours!

TL; DR:
1. Light, episodic, mystery and thriller series that features professional spies
2. Nothing shiny or exceptional but does well in specific areas
3. Natural and well-paced series
4. No forceful character developments and world building cramped into 12 episodes
5. A humble series that knows what it is doing

This is one of the anime which I had high hopes for after watching the trailer prior to the start of the season. The trailer portrayed the series as a realistic survival-mystery series (no super power or nothing supernatural) where a group of people strive to survive in an unfamiliar environment, which is something I greatly enjoy in a series. Spoiler alert, I am utterly disappointed with the series

Story: 3/10 – cliché and extremely disappointing
Before diving into the flaws, the premise of the story is actually pretty unique (as compared to the rest of the series for the past few seasons) and is seemingly promising ... at first glance. This series could have done so much better in many ways given its premise.
Throughout the 12 episode run, it felt as though the series accomplished close to nothing. Cliché characters coupled with overwhelmingly cliché and unnecessary conversations and, superficial and cheesy “problems” and “resolutions”. Many times, it felt as though the writers were mainly focusing on the characters and seriously neglected the progression and delivery of the story. Viewers were presented with too many underdeveloped backstories of the supporting characters, so much so that it failed to create any form of emotional connections with any of the characters, supporting or main alike. Additionally, too much time were spent on unnecessary conversations that accomplished nothing. At times, the overwhelming amount of conversation made it feel as though the story was going in circles. For example, whenever there is a group discussion, supporting characters tend to make small and forceful comments which feels as though the writers were trying their very best to falsely provide a unique identity via certain characteristics of their speech. All in all, the story development is poor and there is a poor flow of story progression.

Art and Sound: 5/10 – average and nothing impressive
Animation and sound effects wise, there is nothing to praise or complain about. Personally enjoyed the opening and ending track.

Character: 3/10 – generic anime tropes, poorly developed and too many
Characters in the series feels blend and generic Many, if not all of the characters as though they were created by new writers who are constantly referring to their ‘How to Create Anime Characters for Dummies’ handbook. Of all the characters, the main character in particular annoyed me the most. So, let me start with the main character, Mitsumune.
Personally, I am largely annoyed by the wimpy main character whom showers everyone with kindness and is pretty much oblivious to everything else. The character archetype was clear as day from the get-go. Still, I gave him another chance in hope of some character development which might potentially turn him into some badness (yes Kaneki, yes you). Unfortunately, nothing much happened. Yes, he might have sort of overcome his past which in the first place did not connect much with me. Don’t get me wrong, I AM capable of feeling empathy but just not with him. In retrospective, I do sympathise with Mitsumune and what he has to go through. However, the execution of his backstory was poorly done which resulted in the failure of any emotional connection between the viewer and the character himself.
As for the supporting characters, 2 words to describe – too many. There were simply too many supporting characters for a 12-episode series. As a result, the writers probably struggled when they tried to give enough air time, focus and unique characteristics to distinguish every character. The final product of this futile struggle was multiple forceful and unnecessary comments throughout the series. As much as they could, the writers tried and failed to create distinctions between many of the supporting characters. Imagine this, the writers tried to create some sort of balance between the 20-odd supporting characters in a 12-episode anime while giving enough show time to 2 main characters and 2 other ‘main’ characters. Nope, I’m sorry but this is quite an impossible feat. Due to the sheer numbers of characters and very limited air time, this then result in poorly developed characters where their backstories are touch-and-go and are forcefully showcased.

Enjoyment: 3/10 – (almost) every episode left me disappointed
As mentioned earlier in the article, I had high hopes for the series. The first 3 to 5 episodes managed to keep me interested as the characters journeyed and explored Nanaki Village despite some red flags such as the excessive conversations and blend characters. From there on, it became a nightmare for me as I came to realisation that this anime isn’t what I had expected it to be. At times, I ended up alt tab-ing between the anime and other stuffs as I was honestly too uninterested with the story while still carrying some hope for the series. At some point of time, I see no glimpse of hope and prayed for the series to end so that I do not have to waste any more time. Ironically, I became interested for a whole other reason. I was curious to see how the series would end and how the writers would ‘resolve’ certain ‘problems’. If not for this and the first few episodes, I probably would have given ‘1/10’ for ‘Enjoyment’.

Overall: 3/10 – promising series and huge disappointment
Based on the initial trailer, the anime seems to tick all the right boxes for me. Survival? Check! Mystery? Check! Dark and realistic? Check to an extend! Survival as a group? Super check that! Sadly, the series differed greatly from what I have imagined, hoped and prayed for it to be. Survival? Check but the execution was so damn bad. Mystery? Check but mostly uninteresting once they reach Nanaki Village and it suffered a similar fate as the ‘Survival’ element. Dark and realistic? That’s a big ‘nope’. Survival as a group? Super disappointed; poorly designed and developed supporting characters and it felt more like survival of the main character eventually as the supporting characters fades into darkness.
In my opinion, I feel that the writers were trying to do too much in too little time span. The series could have delivered a lot better if they were to cut down the number of supporting characters and spend more time developing each character. Pay more attention to the main characters and pick better ‘problems’ or backstories for the characters. And please, the ‘resolution’ and ending was so cliché and cheesy that I can’t even anymore. In short, a great premise that got utterly destroyed by the writing.

Recommendation:
If you have just gotten into anime, this series may still be passable for you as you might have not been exposed to too much of the generic anime trope characters. Even so, there are so much more quality animes available (with well-executed generic anime trope characters) that is much more deserving of your time and devotion.
For veterans, this is not worth your time. Maybe if you have nothing left to watch. But still, no.

TL; DR:
1. Promising premise but failed to live up to expectations
2. Too many characters which resulted in poor development
3. Too much talking as writers tried to give distinctive traits to each character
4. Cheesy and cliché plot and conversations
5. Completing the series became a drag
6. Do not waste your time