Darwin's Game | Review | Pinnedupink.com

Darwin's Game

The year 2020 presented everyone with so many new Anime titles that featured countless genres and themes. Some caught the attention of the Anime fandom, while others laid dormant behind their shadows. With most of the community stuck in their homes at quarantine, they had ample time to check out every series that seemed promising to them. There were always hits and misses. What were the determining factors for the ones that grasped the spotlight and the ones that remained backstage?

“Darwin's Game” is an 11 episode TV series that aired from the 4th of January until the 21st of March, in Winter 2020. It was produced by Aniplex, AT-X, Tokyo MX, Akita Shoten, BS11, Kanetsu Investment, CA-Cygames Anime Fund, Hochi Shimbun, and ADK licensed by Aniplex of America and brought to life by Studio Nexus.

The primary staff behind it included Tokumoto Yoshinobu as Director, Nakanishi Kazuya on Character Design, Ayano Mashiro on Theme Song Performance, ASCA on Theme Song Performance, and Theme Song Lyrics, and Suehiro Kenichiro on Music. It featured the genres of Action, Mystery, and Sci-Fi with the central theme of Super Power, aimed at the Shounen demographic. It received an R - 17+ for its violence, and profanity is best suited for mature audiences.

Darwin’s Game is based on the source Manga of the same title, which has been in publication since the 12th of December 2012 until the present day. It is the original work of Author and Artist FLIPFLOPs and was serialized in Bessatsu Shounen Champion. A Summary was released in the form of a single Special episode titled “Darwin's Game: Log Line” (“Darwin's Game Episode 4.5” or “Darwin's Game Recap”) on the 1st of February 2020. This was a Recap of the first four episodes of the anime series.

The story revolves around protagonist Kaname Sudou, a High school student who receives a peculiar invitation from one of his classmates to play a mobile game he had never heard of before, titled “Darwin's Game.” Fate takes a drastic turn because as soon as he opens the game application, a green snake abruptly pops out from his phone screen and bites his neck, leaving him unconscious in the aftermath. He soon finds himself waking up in the School infirmary without any signs of the snake bite whatsoever.

The school then tells him to take the rest of the day off. Albeit entirely bewildered by the events that had occurred, he chooses to dismiss the orthordox experience as a mere hallucination and gets on board the train to head home. Things would have remained fine if he stopped there, but unfortunately, his curiosity manages to get the better of him, and he makes the life-changing decision to open the game application once more.

The application appears utterly normal at first, just like any other average battle game, thus leading Kaname to breathe a sigh of relief. He goes a step further and decides to start his very first match, as all seemed fine so far. Of course, the pleasant surprise was extremely short-lived, as his in-game opponent abruptly and unexpectedly appears right in front of him and even attempts to hunt him down with a knife. He desperately makes a run for his life, soon realising that Darwin's Game is definitely not an ordinary mobile game, but rather, it's a brutal and deadly fight for survival.

Darwin’s Game is a series that will keep viewers entertained despite its many flaws. Kaname sees this killer game as utter craziness in the name of someone else's enjoyment, but in contrast, other characters in the series thrive on the thrills of this addictive game. This story is anything but subtle as it showcases its protagonist thrown into the deep end from the onset.

The first part focuses on setting up the world of Darwin’s Game, the second part features a big Battle Royale, and the third part portrays the aftermath of said battle royale. The Battle Royale is the bulk of the show, and while this part does feel dragged out, it was pretty enjoyable. It manages to keep viewers on their toes with suspense, all while introducing new elements and factors that keep the event more enjoyable. At the heavy expense of some much-needed world-building, this entertaining stretch of battles continues consistently.

While world building wasn’t thrown under the bus, as some exciting elements to the world are indeed conveyed to the audience, it just wasn’t enough. The best example of an unexplained and jarring phenomenon was how Corpses left orthordox holes on surfaces.

Yet, the people outside the game never noticed. Factors like this really ought to have been explored more but are left downright ignored. As stated before, despite these flaws, the story is pretty decent and, without a doubt, entertaining.

Kaname is a character that shows rapid character development, he simply evolves from being a worried wimp to a cocky badass within a short period. This growth just doesn't feel natural and feels as if it changes for the convenience of the plot, just to progress it. However, his cocky nature and moral code do make the show more entertaining, so it is passable.

But the series would have definitely been better if he matured more naturally, making his transition more reasonable. The remaining characters aren’t that noteworthy. They have overall uninteresting personalities whose significance to the plot are ignored, acting solely as support for Kaname.

The heroine, Shuka, devolved into a generic love interest fast, and her character arc is simply too short. Rein is a generic technological geek. Sui had potential with her double personality disorder but went underdeveloped. Ryuuji is just too bland and uninteresting with a stereotypic dark past. Despite having backstories to their actions, they are all just difficult to relate too, and simply come off as coldblooded murderers.

The Art and Animation of Darwin’s Game are pretty good. The Animation, in particular, looks great in the early episodes, and the action sequences are a treat for the eyes. As for the remainder of the series, the animation remains pretty decent, and the aesthetics look good with regard to how each character dies once they lose a duel and whenever the camera angles in on their phones.

The character designs, however, are pretty bland, with no unique features to make them stand out. The only exception to this is Shuka, with her grandiose red dress, long blonde hair, braided ponytails, and chains of death, which overall represent a rose with thorns. The Animation is solid throughout and does not disappoint.

The Sounds and Music of Darwin’s Game are great too. In fact, the more one listens to this soundtrack, the better it gets. Depending on the situation, the OSTs can be fast, frantic, fun, calming or foreboding, and they all match and emphasize the scenes well. The expert use of techno, violins and electric guitars keeps each moment interesting, and gets more noticeable and memorable along the way.

It does an astounding job of keeping the action fun to watch and is a noteworthy highlight of the show. The Opening theme is "CHAIN" by ASCA and while the visuals are questionable, the song itself is epic. The Ending music is "Alive" by Mashiro Ayano, and once again, the visuals are weak, but the music itself is decent.

Darwin’s Game can be a hit or miss depending on your preferences. It definitely isn't a must-watch, but there is no denying that it’ll not bore you, and keep you engaged until the end. If anything, it can be summed up as an entertaining Shounen series with great Action and Music. This is not a lousy Anime, though, just lackluster.

The most blatant flaws are the poor world-building, bad pacing, and non-relatable characters. It isn’t a show that will be praised and remembered over time despite how entertaining it was. As for a recommendation, it’s worth a shot if you're a fan of the genres and what it does right. If not, it's best avoided.