No Game No Life

Plot

Sora and Shiro are two hikikomori step-siblings who are known in the online gaming world as Blank, an undefeated group of gamers. One day, they are challenged to a game of chess by Tet, a god from another reality. The two are victorious and are offered to live in a world that centers around games. They accept, believing it to be a joke, and are summoned to a reality known as Disboard. There, a spell known as the Ten Pledges prevents the citizens of Disboard from inflicting harm on one another, forcing them to resolve their differences by gambling with games whose rules and rewards are magically enforced. In-game, rule enforcement only occurs when the method of cheating is acknowledged and outed by the opponent, allowing players to cheat through discreet methods. Sora and Shiro traverse to Elkia, the nation inhabited by humans, and befriend the duchess Stephanie Dola. Learning about Elkia's decline, the two participate in a tournament to determine the next ruler; after winning the crown, they earn the right to challenge the Disboard's other species as humanity's representative.^{LN 1.4} Their next goal is to conquer all sixteen species in order to challenge Tet to a game; as of the sixth volume, five of the sixteen are under their control.

Characters

Sora is an eighteen-year-old male who excels at strategies and cold readings while his eleven-year-old stepsister, Shiro, excels at calculations and logic.^{LN 3.0} Together, the two form the undefeated gaming identity Blank (空白, Kūhaku, stylized as『　　』) due to their trademark of using only spaces as their in-game names. After their parents died, the two no longer had emotional ties to society, and eventually became agoraphobic and hikikomori.^{LN 1.0} When the two are separated from each other, they begin to suffer panic attacks.^{LN 1.1} After Sora and Shiro are summoned to Disboard, they decide to uphold their undefeated reputation as Blank by defeating Tet. Sora is voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and Shiro by Ai Kayano. In Sentai Filmworks' English localization, Sora and Shiro are dubbed by Scott Gibbs and Caitlynn French respectively. A 2014 poll by Charapedia ranked Shiro and Sora as two of the most intelligent anime characters of all time.

Stephanie is a teenage girl and granddaughter to the previous king of Elkia, the nation inhabited by humans. She has a lot of explicit knowledge but lacks the intuition to win games.^{LN 2.1} Her grandfather was infamously known for losing games and giving up Elkia's land. As a result, Stephanie strives to restore the honor of her grandfather and humanity. When Sora and Shiro are crowned, she becomes their assistant and deals with Elkia's economics and politics. They discover her grandfather kept hidden records on the other species which becomes an asset to their victories;^{LN 2.3} her experience with Sora and Shiro improves her skill to the point that she can win against normal humans.^{LN 4.1} She is voiced by Yōko Hikasa and English dubbed by Sara Ornelas.

Jibril is a flügel, a powerful angelic race known for their ruthlessness.^{LN 2.1} Jibril is over 6000-years old and is the youngest and most powerful of her species.^{LN 5.2} She won Elkia's library from Stephanie's grandfather in order to store her books and use it as a home.^{LN 2.2} After losing to Sora and Shiro in a game of Shiritori, she becomes their slave, but is treated as an equal.^{LN 2.2} She often provides magic or transportation necessities for the protagonists. Later on, she begins publishing novels based on Sora and Shiro which makes them famous among the flügels.^{LN 5.1} She is voiced by Yukari Tamura and English dubbed by Amelia Fischer.

The warbeasts are kemonomimis with high physical abilities; their nation is known as the Eastern Federation. They are ruled by a nameless Miko, a logical woman who helped the Eastern Federation flourish for the past fifty years.^{LN 3.4} She possesses a rare ability called Blood Destruction which augments her physical abilities by taxing her body. She allies herself with Sora and Shiro who promises benefits for humanity and warbeasts.^{LN 3.4} She is voiced by Naomi Shindo and English dubbed by Suzelle Palacios.

Meanwhile, the warbeast embassy in Elkia is represented by Izuna Hatsuse (初瀬 いづな, Hatsuse Izuna), an eight-year-old child and ambassador of the warbeast.^{LN 2.4} She has a childlike demeanor and uses the copula desu, but also possesses high intellect and Blood Destruction.^{LN 3.3} Following the alliance between humans and warbeasts, she is a constant companion to Sora and Shiro whom she adores and trusts. She is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro and English dubbed by Kira Vincent-Davis. Alongside her is her grandfather, Ino Hatsuse (初瀬 いの, Hatsuse Ino).^{LN 2.4} He believes Sora has selfish ulterior motives and dislikes him. After the alliance between humans and warbeasts, he works alongside Stephanie to formalize the union.^{LN 4.1} He is voiced by Mugihito and English dubbed by John Swasey.

Kurami Zell (クラミー・ツェル, Kuramī Tseru) is an eighteen-year-old girl and considered the slave of the elf Fil Nilvalen (フィール・ニルヴァレン, Fīru Niruvaren). Though Kurami's family were the Nilvalen family's slaves for generations, her relationship with Fil is similar to daughter and mother.^{LN 3.2} Meanwhile, Fil is considered a failure of a magician but is secretly highly skilled.^{LN 5.0} She is willing to betray Elven Garde, the nation inhabited by elves, for Kurami's sake; the two conspire to have Fil obtain a political position of power in order to abolish slavery.^{LN 3.2} Sora manages to convince Kurami to be his ally by sharing his memories with her.^{LN 3.1} Kurami is voiced by Yuka Iguchi and Fil by Mamiko Noto; they are English dubbed by Kara Greenberg and Christina Stroup respectively.

Dhampirs are a species with similar characteristics to vampires: they drink body fluids from other species for nourishment; excel at transformation, illusion, and dream magic; and are weak to sunlight. Their weakness to sunlight can be spread through bites which deters the other species from sharing blood with them.^{LN 4.0} Meanwhile, sirens are an all female species with the body of a mermaid. They require the life of a male from another species in order to reproduce; their magic allows them to seduce anyone of their choosing. Both species live in a nation called Oceando. Centuries ago, the dhampirs and sirens used the Ten Pledges to create a mutualistic relationship between the two; the dhampirs were allowed to feed on the sirens and in return, a male dhampir is to mate with the siren's empress who can reproduce without killing. Eight hundred years prior, the empress went into hibernation and the mating rituals killed all but a single male dhampir.^{LN 4.1}

Plum (プラム, Puramu) is the last male dhampir and as a result, disguises himself as a female;^{LN 5.4} his magic skills are considered above average within his species.^{LN 5.2} After consuming Sora and Shiro's sweat, he becomes fond of their taste. He makes a deal with the sirens to lure Sora and Shiro in an attempt to have one of the two races enslave humanity. Sora and Shiro deduce his deception but decide to save both races regardless.^{LN 5.4} Since then, Sora and Shiro have Plum accompany them on their adventures.

The empress of the sirens, Leila Lorelei (ライラ・ローレライ, Raira Rōrerai), used the Ten Pledges to put herself to sleep without revealing the requirements to wake her up. While she slept, Amira (アミラ) takes her place in leading the sirens.^{LN 4.2} Realizing the empress is a masochist who desires a la douleur exquise, Sora's immunity to the sirens' seduction magic allows him to awaken her.^{LN 5.4} Subsequently, the empress used Sora's hair to create a siren daughter.^{LN 5.5}

Publication and conception

No Game No Life is a light novel series written and illustrated by Yū Kamiya. It is published under the MF Bunko J imprint; nine volumes were published by Media Factory between April 25, 2012 and August 25, 2016. In August 2014, Yen Press announced No Game No Life will be one of its titles published under its newly launched imprint, Yen On, in 2015. Non-English localization include Brazil, Taiwan and Russia; distribution in China was banned due to the government viewing the series as a threat to communism.

No Game No Life was conceived during the serialization of A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives.^{LN 1.A} Kamiya's original idea was a fantasy setting with battles; since he disliked drawing battles, he replaced it with games. He had intended to turn the idea into a manga series, but an unspecified illness made him unfit to handle the workload. While hospitalized for treatment, the author imagined how his idea would work as a light novel, and settled for that medium instead.^{LN 1.A} Kamiya began writing the first volume and was advised to break it into three parts due to its length.^{LN 2.A} In the middle of writing the second volume, Kamiya moved to his home country, Brazil, for further treatment for his ailment; in order to meet the volume's deadline, his wife drew some of the illustrations in the novel.^{LN 2.A}

After the third volume, a new editor was assigned to the series.^{LN 3.A} Kamiya noted the third volume contained a lot of plot progression, and was going to balance it out in the fourth volume with more lighthearted and carefree events.^{LN 3.A}. Volumes four and five were written as a single volume; since volume four lacked a climatic ending, Kamiya had to restructure the story.^{LN 4.A} This, along with communication problems with his new editor, and other problems in Kamiya's life caused a month delay in volume four's release.^{LN 4.A} After completing volume five, Kamiya was asked to submit volume six's manuscript before 2014 for the anime adaptation, and to complete the volume before the anime's premiere.^{LN 5.A, 6.A}

Manga adaptation

After reviewing the drawings made by Yuu Kamiya's wife, Mashiro Hiiragi, in second light novel volume, his editor suggested the two collaborate on a manga adaptation of No Game No Life for Monthly Comic Alive.^{LN 2.A} Due to Kamiya's work on the third light novel volume, the manga serialization was delayed by a volume; the volume it was supposed to premiere in contained an apology page illustrated by Hiiragi.^{LN 3.A} The series premiered in the March 2013 volume of Monthly Comic Alive and since then, is published irregularly in the magazine. Media Factory collected the individual chapters for the tankōbon release; there is currently a single volume which was released on November 22, 2013. In March 2014, Seven Seas Entertainment announced its licensing of the manga series and released the first tankōbon volume in October 2014; the title is stylized as No Game, No Life. The series has also been localized in Brazil, Taiwan and Russia.

A side series, titled No Game No Life Desu!, by Yuizaki Kazuya, began serialization in the July 2015 issue of Monthly Comic Alive on May 27, 2015. It focuses on Izuna Hatsuse and her daily life. Yen Press announced their license to the manga on October 28, 2016.

Anime adaptation

On July 27, 2013, Monthly Comic Alive announced the anime adaptation for No Game No Life was green lit. It is directed by Atsuko Ishizuka and animated by Madhouse. The series premiered on April 9, 2014 on AT-X; it was later broadcast on five other broadcast stations and several streaming networks. The final episode premiered on June 25, 2014. Media Factory released the series in six DVD and Blu‑ray volumes between June 25 and November 26, 2014. The opening theme for the series was "This Game" by Konomi Suzuki and the ending theme is "Oracion" by Shiro's voice actress, Ai Kayano.

Crunchyroll simulcasted No Game No Life and made it accessible to several regions. In North America, Anime Network broadcast the series on their cable network and made it available on their website, while Sentai Filmworks is set to release the series for home media in July 2015. In the United Kingdom, MVM Entertainment licensed the series for distribution and in Australasia, Hanabee Entertainment licensed the series for its video on demand website. In France, the series was also simulcasted on Anime Digital Network and is broadcast on Viacom International Media Networks' J-one channel. In China, the series is made available on PPTV.

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and Ai Kayano, the voice actors for Sora and Shiro respectively, hosted an internet radio show on Hibiki Radio called No Radio No Life. It was broadcast weekly between April 8 and July 29, 2014 and switched to a biweekly schedule since then. Twenty-six segments are planned and three CDs were released between July 2014 and February 2015. A special cross over featuring No Radio No Life and the radio series from Bladedance of Elementalers and Lord Marksman and Vanadis was broadcast by Hibiki Radio on January 1, 2015 and released on DVD on May 13.

An anime movie adaptation of the sixth light novel was announced on July 17, 2016 at the MF Bunko J Summer School Festival 2016 event. The film, titled No Game No Life: Zero (ノーゲーム・ノーライフ ゼロ, Nōgēmu Nōraifu Zero), is scheduled to premiere on July 15, 2017, with the staff and cast from the anime series returning to reprise their roles in the film.

Reception

It was reported in April 2014, that 1.1 million copies of the light novel were in circulation. That same year, No Game No Life was the top ten selling light novel series with several of its books appearing in the top thirty selling volumes list. Starting in its 2014 pool, the yearly magazine Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, listed the light novel and the protagonists of No Game No Life beginning in its polls; in addition, the series ranked fourth in Sugoi Japan 2015 polls. Seven Seas Entertainment's localization of the manga was able to reach The New York Times Manga Best Sellers and ICv2's charts. The anime series saw similar success and its home media made appearances on Oricon's weekly selling charts. In April 2014, No Game No Life was one of the top recorded anime series on Sony's Torne; a poll by AT-X ranked the series as one of 2014's top anime series.

Anime News Network had four editors review the first episode of the anime: Carl Kimlinger expressed doubts about the premise of the show, but liked the over-saturated visuals and the concept of the protagonists cheating against cheaters; Rebecca Silverman called the characters unlikeable and criticized the expositions for lacking in action, but noted her issues may be resolved in further episodes; and Theron Martin described the plot as wish-fulfilment, noted Sora has too much character for a hikikomori, called Sora's relationship with Shiro creepy, and concluded the series may turn out well if Sora is not an indomitable character. The fourth reviewer, Hope Chapman, expressed absolute disdain towards the series. She expressed hatred towards Sora's character, noting the misunderstood nerd turned respected genius aspect is lazy wish-fulfillment and how he thrives in a world for "misanthropic Shut-ins". Chapman likened the over-saturated colors to vomit, called the character designs hideous, and concluded her review with "nothing has made me roll my eyes, gag, or feel more irrationally angry this season than this insulting self-insert pandering trash heap".

Anime News Network's Carl Kimlinger published a positive review for the complete anime series. He wrote that the premise presented many flaws but were balanced out by other aspects: Sora and Shiro's "over-powered hero" archetype is balanced out by their flawed lifestyles, motives, and their "visible delight in crushing their enemies"; Stephanie Dola's mistreatment with gags and Sora and Shiro's growing respect towards her; and the harem aspect with Sora's apathy and interesting female characters. Regardless, Kimlinger praised the plot's "big games", calling them the reason to watch the series and described them as "steeped in trickery and strategy"; he added that despite knowing the protagonists would win, the fun is seeing how they do it. Kimlinger wrote the over-saturation art style will be an acquired taste for most viewers and praised how the animation really shines during the "big games", calling it an impressive display of fluidity and timing. Kotaku's Richard Eisenbeis was also positive towards the series, praising the protagonists' dynamic, echoed Kimlinger's sentiments about the games, liked the animation, but noted his dislike for fan service featuring Shiro. He also ranked the series as one of the top five anime series of 2014, and recommended it for viewers who like smart characters and gamer humor. Similarly, TAY Kotaku also praised the dynamics, references to other anime and video games, and the art style; the reviewer had mixed feelings towards the harem aspect and sexual humor, and agreed with Kotaku's dislike for the fan service featuring Shiro. IGN echoed previous opinions, praising the character dynamics, and also questioned the amount of unnecessary fanservice.