God's Game We Play Anime Review: Divine Competitions with Mortal Stake

God's Game We Play

I was immediately intrigued by the light novel God's Game We Play. It could be a new isekai, and something about the cover caught my attention. Unfortunately, I procrastinated about reading it, and a manga and an anime came out. Of course, if it's not good, the denizens on MAL and every other site give it poor ratings, and it's effortless to blow it off. Fortunately, I tried it, and this is what I found.

"Gods' Games We Play" (Kami wa Game ni Ueteiru) is a 13-episode TV anime series that aired from April 1, 2024, to June 24, 2024, during the Spring 2024 season. Produced by LIDENFILMS, the series features themes of high-stakes games, strategy, and urban fantasy. It is based on Kei Sazane's light novel series, which has the same name and targets a PG-13 audience. Pony Canyon, AT-X, Ultra Super Pictures, Sammy, Bilibili, Crunchyroll, Kadokawa, and Bit Grooove Promotion jointly produced the series. Tatsuya Shiraishi (directorial debut), NTL (series composition and script), Yoshihiro Watanabe (character design), Gin (Busted Rose), and LIDENFILMS (studio) contribute to the production.

The anime is adapted from Kei Sazane's light novel, illustrated by Toiro Tomose. The novels began serialization in September 2020 on Kadokawa's Kakuyomu platform, and they were later published under Media Factory's MF Bunko J imprint starting January 25, 2021. As of November 2024, nine volumes have been released. Yen Press has been releasing the series in English since November 22, 2022, with translations praised for maintaining the wit and complexity of the original Japanese text. A manga adaptation illustrated by Kapiko Toriumi began serialization in Monthly Comic Alive on August 27, 2021. Five tankōbon volumes have been released so far.

Kami wa Game ni Ueteiru is set in a world where the gods have become bored and seek to play games with the mortals on Earth. Though the anime doesn’t clearly state so, the gods have come with no negative motive outside of playing games. To goad us mortals into compliance, the gods use the titular bait, synonymous with Disney and Napoleon Dynamite, to entice us to join them. That’s enough to make us play the game. So when a slumbering goddess awakens after her 3000-year slumber, she seeks the most outstanding rookie of the gaming world to take on these weary deities, and these rulers of various worlds may get the challenge they desire.

So what do a former goddess and a rookie have in common? The similarities are significant. They have been away for a while. As stated above, we are introduced to Leoleshea (Leshea), our ice-encased red-haired goddess, who, upon being freed from her nap, immediately requests the best player of this era, which brings us to Fay, who has been off the scene for around 6 months. Fay has been searching for a similar redhead— a young lady who used to play games with him when he was younger, which influenced his love of games. Sounds like a possible romance anime, right? It is built on the struggle of playing games. I’ll pop that balloon upfront and let you know that that doesn’t happen, at least not in the anime.

Fay is tasked with watching over Leoleshea, as a god or former god, depending on who is referring to her. She still carries a lot of power as she is the avatar of flame in the form of a dragon and is hot-tempered. But you knew that already when I specifically mentioned she has red hair. Despite this supposed fiery nature, the two bond, albeit through a game of “Self-Intro-Memory,” in the first episode. It doesn’t hurt that Fay was among the few rookies in the past few centuries to win three gods' games. This achievement is truly exceptional. It also doesn't hurt that she lost her godhood because she wanted to play with the humans and couldn’t return to Elements, the abode of the gods. To return, she must win the gods' game.

So most anime that involve games have some type of high stakes, be it the often compared No Game No Life or less than stellar guilty pleasure anime like King's Game: The Animation, Battle Game in 5 Seconds, and even Alice in Borderland. All have stakes and worldbuilding that either captivate the viewer or leave them perplexed. Gods' Games We Play is no different and may require viewers to go with it as elements of the story are not clearly explained. Set on a futuristic Earth, the players of these games are known as Apostles, though it's unclear whose message they carry. They are represented by various branches, which are best described as similar to the branches in the anime World Trigger. That gives you an idea.

These players have magical abilities known as Arise. The Arise varies from Apostle to Apostle, with Fay, for example, mentioning during episode two's opening moments that his Arise is that he can’t die. I initially missed this part and assumed it was the usual; I figured out everything, making most protagonists overpowered. In this case, we would have two overpowered juggernauts, which is probably why they downgraded them to focus on the supporting characters. Pearl Diamond and Nel Reckless complete our foursome, as a successful board game demands a minimum of four players.

Although it's evident that the Apostles are the athletes of this era, they receive the same treatment as celebrities. Fans watch worldwide, and I'm sure, like any excellent game, there's some sports betting, memorabilia, and sports groupies, but more on that later. The goal of the Gods game is to win 10 games, at which point you receive what is known as a Celebration or one wish that the Gods grant. Players have three chances to lose. If you fail three times, you are out and can no longer compete in the gods' game. Players compete because they want this wish, hence the Disney reference earlier. If you’ve ever played co-op, you know how toxic or supportive players can be. Such behavior is not necessarily a problem for me, particularly in the context of fighting anime or video games. However, the issue emerges when we shift our focus to the supporting cast, where we encounter Pearl, a member of a driven team who has fallen short of expectations and is now considering retirement due to her team's defeat, and Nel, who is resolute in his quest to return to the game. Nel retired after a 3-3 record, having been a part of a team that appeared to lack the competitive spirit. Despite this fighting spirit, she acts more like Pearl.

The World's Game Tour allows Pearl to shine alongside Fay. They are pitted against Dax and Kelritch Shee from the team Tempest Cruiser. One of the series' high points, Episode 6 (Mind Arena), contrasts the intimacy between players, with Kelritch referring to Dax as her business partner. I mentioned groupies earlier, and Dax has his horde who pay to film and watch him eat lunch. Now he is portrayed as slightly pompous, but trust me, between his talk of destiny and being down bad for Fay, he isn’t that bad. He is used to winning and takes it on the chin, though Fay has to get used to his celebrity status.

Many ideas were brought out, and this is just within the first six episodes: how players play, whether they play for fun or take the games too seriously, and simply play to win. They could have explored these points and their reasons for playing, but they were ignored. Their wishes also remain a mystery to us. At specific points in the story, Fay occasionally recalls his childhood and the young lady who used to play with him. Still, these flashbacks gradually disappear as the story shifts its focus to Pearl and Nel, rather than our two main protagonists. That is, until we get to the latter episodes.

While Fay is there, he doesn't contribute much because he's already stellar at what he does: being a gaming optimist and improving other players. Despite his occasional outbursts, he consistently maintains his composure. He is a winner, even as convoluted as the various gaming rules can be. His constant victories make him a one-dimensional character. The same can be said for most of the supporting characters, who move the characters and the story along. By moving the characters, I mean whichever character needs support. That’s not a negative, as I like what they tried to do with Pearl, giving her the courage to play and the time spent with Nel to get her out of her funk as a washed-up athlete. The Labyrinth of No Return arc brings her into her own. However, I believe her growth would have been better spent during the Bookmaker episode (Ep. 9). It becomes more apparent to the viewer, especially when they begin to shoehorn a lot of fanservice and exposition into the last several episodes, as the idea machine ran out of gas. They needed to pad the 23-minute runtime.

This brings us to art and animation. There is no reason to focus on the animation. No, it's not stellar, and viewers have expressed their disdain. The bluish purple hue of the characters has drawn comparisons to No Game, No Life, but that's likely the only similarity. Liden Studios is no Madhouse. The animation is lackluster due to the stiffness of the movement and the overuse of static framing. The animation studio, Zero G, is known for this style, as seen in works like High-Rise Invasion and Let This Grieving Soul Retire!. The latter was also a 2024 release. Please let me know which one you prefer. If the animation had been more fluid, it would have significantly improved the overall quality of the anime. The art style is not noteworthy, and the character designs are not Yoshihiro Watanabe’s best. Refer to The Testament of Sister New Devil (2015–2018), 1998’s Silent Mobius, or Heaven's Lost Property for better examples of his designs.

The producers opted for caution, thereby constraining Liden's options, as Liden Films has enjoyed success from the Tokyo Revengers series. Many of the same issues evident in the anime have received mixed reviews for the light novel, with few boundaries pushed. I recommend "Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World" to readers and viewers new to Kei Sazane’s works. So what can I say? God's Games We Play has the trappings of all those enjoyable things that made gaming, whether it was board games, top puzzles, or video games, fun, but unfortunately, it played it safe and brought nothing new to the table.

Still, I'd love to see a second season to see if they improve in the book and anime. It possesses the potential for improvement, with numerous unexplored stories that could give the characters greater depth. Time will tell if it gets a season two, as you know, not every anime does, but we'll see. So with that being said, do I recommend this series to those who do not have the time and aren't the type to watch any anime I think this is a pass since it doesn't start to get captivating until episode 6, and that's a lot of time to invest in a series you may not like. However, for ardent anime fans, specifically those who left reviews for Ex-Arm, I encourage you to try it, share your thoughts, and let me know what you think.