First Impression: Gods’ Games We Play

The gods are bored—very bored. So to alleviate the tedium, they have decided to challenge humanity to games. The system is pretty simple: the gods give some humans powers called Arises. These humans, known as apostles, can use their Arises in the games, which take place in “Elements,” a dimension in which the gods live. The more a human wins, the more of their Arise they can use in the real world, which comes in handy in exploring this realm’s savage lands. Lose three times, however, and you lose your abilities entirely. But win ten times, and you participate in a “celebration.” Fay Theo Philius, the greatest rookie apostle of this generation, is aiming for victory—and he may just be helped along by Leoleshea, a former god discovered in a glacier and who is dying to play these games against the gods herself.

Sci-fantasy meets gaming genre in Gods’ Games We Play, the anime adaptation of the light novel series. And so far, so good! I’ve read the first two volumes of the LNs, and like those, the strengths of this episode lie in the earnestness and infectious energy of its protagonists. Fay is singularly focused on winning games, but isn’t some emotionless player (see Ayanokouji); he has a warmth to him that makes him easy to root for. Likewise, Leshea is obsessed with playing games, the type of player that finds enjoyment even in their rules and structure. Presented as a powerful, godlike entity (Fay seems to think she remains as powerful as any god, despite her “ex” status), she actually proves to be very human, one full of ambition and joy. And I also couldn’t help but feel a little Lum Invader in Leshea when seeing her float down from the sky and finding an interest in this human before her.

That comparison to Urusei Yatsura, a series otherwise very different in tone and story, extends to the fanservice. I’m not opposed to series featuring fanservice, but I am when it feels out of place and a diversion from the story. There’s just a bit here in this opening episode, but one negative from the two volumes of the light novel is that the ecchi scenes there do exactly what I oppose—they take away from what’s otherwise a really fun time. The other negative from the LN also reveals itself a bit here in episode one where, as a viewer, I’m not really sure if the characters and game elements are smart or if we’re just told that they’re smart and supposed to play along. With the novels, I’ve sometimes felt the former to be true and sometimes the latter; this is something to keep an eye on as the series progresses and which may ultimately affect one’s enjoyment of it.

A final negative is the animation. Though not quite as bad as the sneak peak made it seem (there’s a shift that happens when the players enter a game which makes the world a little blurry and highlighted, and which may work in this series when only done in the game moments, but which would get old real quick if it’s the typical animation), there are plenty of moments where the animation isn’t great (see below), with mouth flaps not quite hitting their marks right, and inactive animation disguised by CGI movement. All that won’t matter too much, though, if the series can make the games as fun as they are in the LNs—and judging by the mini-game that takes up the second half of episode one, that could very well happen. I hope it does, and I look forward to the rest of the show with the cautious optimism that it will.

Gods’ Games We Play can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

Twwk
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3 thoughts on “First Impression: Gods’ Games We Play”

  3. First episode was fine, I don’t think I noticed anything really off about the animation, and the sexy part was not as bad comparatively to other series. But at the moment there just doesn’t seem to be much meat on the story bone just yet. The concept of the story and the larger world is interesting, as a big board gamer the gaming aspect interests me, but I have a feeling that board games will give way to the Hunger Games next episode. Hopefully it can set itself apart and not just be a generic arena battle anime.

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