NGNL is about a nerd paradise where gamers RULE. That's because everything in World Disboard is won through games.
Back on earth, gamers are atwitter over a player they've dubbed "Blank". Blank has taken over the top few spots in all the hot games, they complain in wonder. This gamer has never filled in any user name, thus the title.
First, lets meet our protags: Sora - 18, & younger sis, Shiro - 11. As the show opens, these urban troglodytes are in their cave. Multiple monitors, set to night-time dim, provide weak resistance against the enveloping shadows. Viewers can almost smell stale Calbee Chips & Doritos: These kids don't get out enough.
We'll learn that this duo is Blank, and they act as 1 person. Together they are unbeatable. While they are both strong, each has strengths that compliment the other perfectly. If Sora doesn't have the record, Shiro does. They've just wrapped up another impressive record when we first gaze on these masters. Sora wants to play again, but Shiro says she has to get some rest and eat something - or she'll never grow. As if he didn't hear her, Sora just complains: 'It's difficult it is to play 4 accounts at once; he'll have to use his foot'. Shiro, who always speaks with emotionless economy, replies uninterestedly: "You can do it." That encapsulates their life: Always together, they game. Period.
This is when they receive an odd challenge to an online chess match. Soon it becomes obvious that their competition knows h/h way around a gameboard. It was, perhaps, their toughest match. They do pull out a victory, though. You see, Sora never loses, we're told, & Shiro never loses at chess. Never. The moment the match is decided in their favor, they are offered the chance to visit their opponent's world. Thinking it's all in fun, they agree. No time to celebrate, to their disoriented amazement, the surroundings change around them. They've really been transported to another world! They had defeated Tet, the god of play. He says his world, Disboard, is the place for them! It looks like Tet may want a rematch, too.
Everything in Disboard is decided by games, Tet hurriedly explains. Any contender can take the crown via a successful game challenge. A country can lay down a contest for lands or holdings. Disboard is bound by Tet's spell of the 10 pledges. Invasions, violence, or merely harming others is prohibited in Disboard. Disputes are settled by games as naturally and immutably as rain falls from the sky: It's absolutely foundational in dis world.
Games!? YOWZA! Geeks in Paradise! "I'm game!" They each exclaim. When their feet meet the ground, they walk toward civilization and find a bustling inn. Before entering, they take a seat at the 1st table on the porch and briskly make a withdrawal from the ATM (poker player) they find, via a successful round. Quick cash in hand, they enter the inn to start scope & assess recon. One interaction leads to another, and soon they've met the princess.
The princess is in the throes of shock and horror. She was challenged for the crown and lost. A new leader is about to be coronated. Sora looks at Shiro, and muses out loud that he thinks, perhaps, he wants to be king: If Princess Stephanie can't beat the challenger, he'll do it for her.
We learn, before long, that Sora's endgame is to defeat Tet and become THE GOD of Disboard. He will have to conquer Disboard first, including every country and faction, of which there are many. Each culture has its skills and gaming secrets painstakingly hidden away. Each presents its distinct challenges. We'll have to read the Manga to find out about that, though, because NGNL is only 1 season of 12 Eps that comprise a full story loop that could be considered "Part 1" of their journey.
That's how the pieces are set on dis board for the balance of the show to play out.
NGNL is silly at times in typical anime fashion, such as the pervy junior highish jokes for the Panty Peepin Boobie Brothers. I know, some of you are thinking: "Aight! Count me in!" It's menz-a-menz for me - not my poison. NGNL, doesn't overdo it. It mostly centerpieces snappy logic and lofty stratagems as it's main dish. Everything comes together for 12 fun episodes.
They do pick on Princess Stephanie alot. She's written as a bimbo, and she's mostly condescended to by the hi IQ sibs. From what can be gleaned about the rest of the story, her character has a steady growth arc in the subsequent chapters. She'll never rise to S+S's level, but she develops solid skills. They may belittle her in these 12 episodes, but they aren't using her, and they won't abandon her. Sure, slapping Sora seems like it would be gratifying at times, but, hey! It's just a running joke in a 'cartoon' - a pretty good 'toon' at that. Anyone who blows their top b/c an anime features a bimbo: 1. Will appear more cartoonish then Sora, and 2. Probably shouldn't bother watching anime at all. It's critical to keep a sense or humor, or the joke's on you.
Sora and Shiro's relationship is unique. They are step-sibs. We get who Sora is rather quickly, but Shiro's character is rolled out gradually. She actually has the higher IQ of the duo. The two bonded almost immediately, upon becoming step-sibs when she was 3. By the start of the show they operate as two halves of a whole. Their trust is absolute. They barely need to communicate; One already knows what the other's thinking. They cannot stand to be separated. They even share a bed. While that might seem odd to Westerners, it's traditionally not uncommon for Asian families to sleep in one room, often due to space constraints. Their relationship is innocent, and quite cute. Their refusal to separate is clearly due to the fact that they've spent their lives holed up together in a bedroom full of monitors. The dynamic between the duo is one of the best things about the show. Shiro is an awesome character. This miniature old soul is stoic and she seems more mature than Sora. Maybe that's because he's crackin the jokes.
The animation is a refreshingly bright palette, much the colors of candy. Shiro and a librarian, both who've lived an indoor life, are colored as ghostlike in pale lavender, like fish in the waters of deep caves. It's the details that show the 💘.
Cognitive intimacy is what propels them safely through some tense situations. Their coordination is more refined then a team of high-end grifters. Their interlocking logical acuity makes the show. The last contest, against the Kingdom of the Warbeasts, is a bonifide thrill. ("I have to get to all those hot animal women!" says Sora. "Hopefully your won't always be a virgin," agrees Shiro).
QUOTE
People who are content are just an urban legend anyway.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬7 🤔7 🎭 7 🌞6 🎨7⚡8🎵 6😅6 🔚9
Age 14+
🐍
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