Darwin's Game

We’re only 3 months into the new decade and already, there’s an anime about survival games. For context, Darwin’s Game is a shounen manga adaptation directed by Yoshinobu Tokumoto. I remember reading about this manga some years ago and tried to be less critical about it. But years later, I find myself looking back at the series and knowing that it has no redeemable traits. Of course, that’s the manga I’m talking about. The anime isn’t any miles better either. First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Looking at the episode count, you’re probably asking yourself how on Earth this show could cover themanga in just 11 episodes? The simple answer is impossible because the manga contains well over ongoing 80+ chapters. Even with an hour special, Darwin’s Game falters on its strange pacing. We’ll get to that later but for storytelling purposes, Darwin’s Game does try to connect itself with the genres it has to work with. Specially, the first hour special throws main protagonist Kaname Sudo into a survival game from his phone. In the digital age today, everyone has a phone so the author wanted the audience to be familiarized with the elements. That’s fine and dandy until you realize how that phone throws Kaname into a labyrinth of his worst nightmares. Now as a contestant of a dangerous survival game, Kaname must not only battle but survive with each episode raising its stakes. For its very purpose, Darwin’s Game takes on the survival game genre perhaps influenced by similar franchise such as Battle Royale or Mirai Nikki. I don’t blame the author for having upcoming with such an unoriginal idea but for good sakes, this type of recycled plot is anything but unique. However, I may have misspoke on the actual reason why this show is called “Darwin’s Game”. Based on the Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, it would seem the author has decided to apply some of the same principles into the storytelling and characters. For that reason, this anime is more about surviving than discovering the truth of the Darwin’s Game. Getting back into the main story, Kaname is initially clueless about his position until he realizes that lives are at stake including his own. The first episode bounds him into a chaotic fight that puts him into near death positions. If that wasn’t enough, he also learns that in order to survive, he must rely on special abilities while competing against others. The objective of the game is to kill others to collect their points and in return, they can cash into those points for money. In the beginning, Kaname’s lack of allies puts him into a compromising position as he is alone with no one to trust. It isn’t until he defeats other competitors and begins to build his own clan of allies. Among the first of these allies is a girl named Shuka Karino. Coming from a rich family and dressed in a lavish way, Shuka becomes his most trusted friend and perhaps a romantic interest. Their relationship is built on reliance at first but later flourishes into trust. The anime doesn’t explore much of their romantic side, however. If you’re looking for that, don’t bother because Darwin’s Game at its core is about survival. The Darwin’s Theory of Evolution deems those who are worthy to be competitors in this game and Shuka is one of them. And as the story progresses, we are introduced to other formidable players such as the 13 year old prodigy Rein Kashiwagi, Ruji Masesaka, and even Sui, a character with a dual personality. These characters all possesses special abilities in the form of “Sigils”. In fact, Sigils play an imperative role in the overall Darwin’s Game world for each one has a different ability. For instance, Kaname’s Sigil allows him to recreate items and use them in battle. Shuka has the ability to use wires as weapons and thanks to her agility, she can utilize these wires as a killing tool. Rein’s “Laplace” sigil allows her to analyze vectors and use that information to her advantage. The idea the creators wanted to enforce into these character abilities is that each of them has potential to change the outcome of the game. But the bottom line is that despite having all these creative ideas, the main characters suffers from general characterization. It’s very difficult to get invested into any one of them besides Kaname. The show pushes him as the main guy who is protected by plot armor and his allies. Kaname himself is designed as a generic teenager that you can find in just about any similar gimmicky shows. His relationship with the main cast is untimely written and lacks commitment. I can honestly say that there’s no character pair in this show that has emotional appeal. It’s also hard to root for anyone in this show because by the end of the day, we all know who’s going to be alive. Despite not facing production issues, Darwin’s Game animation quality lacks any distinctive qualities and relies far too much into its action elements. Character designs looks uninspiring with almost every character having the same face. Main protagonist Kaname adapts a high school student look that can easily turn heads away. On the other hand, I do applaud the character designs for the female cast such as Shuka. That dark scarlet dress she has on is something most viewers will have a hard time taking eyes off of. And if you’re looking for some fan service, you’ll be pleased to know that the anime loves to occasionally have the characters ends up in erotic-like positions or camera angles. Beyond that, Darwin’s Game visual appeal is mediocre at best and insufferable at worst. Honestly, I think I’ve given up on the whole idea about survival games being translated into anime form. Too many times, this type of show aims at a niche audience and reuses the same ideas over and over. Plus, it seems this adaptation’s goal was to advertise the manga because there’s much more content out there in storytelling. However, take my advice and don’t throw your money at this franchise. It’s not worth it and this decade is just getting started.

If there’s one anime that I enjoyed the hell out of despite its major flaws, it’s Future Diary. Despite its over-the-top, plot hole ridden story, its weak protagonist and its hit or miss cast, it was a show that never got boring and was entertaining from start to finish. It’s a testament to how a show can be entertaining despite its flaws. It’s funny because I found myself in the same situation while watching this show. A show that had some very similar vibes to Future Diary and was a show that kept me entertained despite its flaws. Sit back, relax and either pay £2.99or watch this 30 second ad on Arknights to continue reading this review as I present to you the anime review for Darwin’s game. Lets begin shall we? Story: 5.5/10 Our story begins with a random guy getting murdered by a man in a panda mascot costume. Then the actual story sees our protagonist Kaname Sudou get a message from his friend about a new mobile app called Darwin’s Game. Not knowing anything about the app, he clicks on it and finds out that the app is a real life or death game where only the strongest and smartest will survive. With no way of getting out of the game, he has to adapt, make new allies and simply survive this twisted nightmare. So what we have here is a real life gacha mobile game where the rich get richer and there is no way to escape the addiction. It kind of is a metaphor of how the entire mobile market is portrayed by the public. A soulless pay-to-win game where the only one enjoying it are the ones benefiting from it, the ones who take amusement of people’s addiction to the game and the ones who are dedicated to the game simply for fun. When you think about it, it actually makes somewhat a bit of sense because you got Kaname who sees this game as nothing but bulls**t for the sake of someone else's enjoyment, whereas a character like Banda-kun (the guy in the mascot costume) thrives on the thrill and addictive itch of the game. That’s not to say that the show as a whole is subtle. Quite the opposite. This show throws Kaname into the deep end as soon as he clicks the app. Now the story can be split into three parts. The first part is setting up the world of Darwin’s game, the second is one big battle royale and the third is the aftermath of the battle royale. The battle royale is where the bulk of this show’s episodes take place and while it did feel dragged out, it was rather enjoyable that managed to keep me on my toes as new elements and factors introduced make the royale more interesting. It did continue throughout the show to make it entertaining but at the cost of some much needed world building. That’s not to say there wasn’t any world building as we did get some interesting elements to the world of Darwin’s game, but it felt like it was not enough. Corpses leave weird holes on surfaces and yet the people outside Darwin’s game never look into it. Or how the creator of Darwin’s game managed to evacuate an entire city for the battle royale. It these things I think that if it was explored upon. It would help give this, “You are merely pawns for my amusement,” kind of vibe to the world that would have made it more interesting. Characters: 3/10 I indifferent about Kaname not because of his personality, but how rapidly his character grows and evolves from scared twerp to cocky son of a b**ch in no time. It does help remove some of the tedium when it comes these kind of characters but his growth doesn’t feel organic and, more or less, changes for plot convenience sake so we can get from point A to point B. But his cocky nature and moral code does lead to the show’s more entertaining moments so there is some good that has come out of it but I would have preferred that we were naturally lead to his cocky attitude to make his transition more reasonable, but that is just my opinion though. But Kaname is the only character I sort of like because I really couldn’t care less for the cast around him. They all have rather uninteresting personalities and are merely there to support Kaname despite their significance to the show. Shuka devolves into a generic love interest very quickly as her character arc is solved rapidly. Rein is a charmless tech whizz. Sui is boring and underdeveloped despite having a double personality disorder and Ryuuji is so bland and uninteresting as the edgy, lonesome character with a dark past, that I am starting to doze off while finishing this sentence. Now the biggest problem I have is that I can’t sympathise with them because although they they have backstories that give you why they are going along with Darwin’s Game, they don’t come across as troubled people merely adapting to the whims of the game (even though they try) and trying to survive, but just unsympathetic killers. Something that the show doesn’t have trouble with mind you when characterising the main villains of the show, the Eighths clan, but affects the rest of the main cast outside of Kaname. Can they contribute to the entertainment value of the show, yes but ONLY in the right circumstances. Animation: 7/10 The animation for this series is around good side of the scale. There are some moments in this series where the animation (particularly in the first few episodes) definitely look good and the action can be fun to watch. Other times though it looks just looks fine, although the aesthetics of this series do look good with how characters die when they lose a duel or when the camera angles in on the phones. That being said, character designs are more on the bland side as they don’t have features that make them stand out with the exception of Shuka with her red dress and very long, braided ponytails which definitely made her stand out the most to represent a rose and her...um...stabby chains of death (nailed it) act as the thorns. Overall, solid animation. Sound: 7.5/10 The more I listened to this soundtrack, the more I liked it. It can be frantic, fun, calming and foreboding as it seems there is a soundtrack to match the situation. The use of techno, violins and electric guitars (not all used within the same ost) are well done to keep the scene interesting and was getting more noticeable as the episodes rode on. It helped keep the action of this series fun to watch and is definitely a highlight of the show. Same goes with the opening, although I am referring to the song "CHAIN" by ASCA because the animation shown here is questionable. Like why does Kaname run into a shower of bullets when it kind of goes against his character and doesn’t somehow get shot once? Because it’s cool? The opening kind of wants to portray its cast of characters as badassess but it comes across pretty weak. Whereas the ending it just okay. I like the song, "Alive" by Mashiro Ayano but the visuals are basically still images of our characters. Nothing really special about this ending. Conclusion: I don’t really know what to make of Darwin’s game. I don’t find this series to be a must watch, especially this season as there are better anime this season to watch. But my feelings towards this show are the same feelings towards Future Diary where the show never bored me and kept me engaged from start to finish. If you feel the same about Future Diary, then I can see you enjoying Darwin’s game as it is an entertaining shounen series with some great action and music. But if didn’t enjoy Future Diary, THEN BOY THIS AIN’T THE SHOW FOR YOU MATE. The world building, janky pacing and characters will frustrate the heck out of you. It’s a show that will appeal to some but not to others and although I did enjoy it, this ain’t a show I would look back later this year as a show that is definitely one of the best. By no means is this a bad show, but it ain’t a great one either. My Personal enjoyment: 7.5/10 Overall Score: 6.1/10 Recommendation: Consider it

I just needed to write a review for this amazing anime! This anime really blew me away and I have to share my thoughts on this tras- I mean this Masterpiece! First off, Darwin's Game (also known as D-game) is an amazing battle royale experience for every single player! Your entire family can play! I mean, nobody knows how everybody just gets cleared out of buildings and streets. People do end up realizing, but how long does it take the public to realize something fishy is going on? Apparently, nobody knows how the game works at all. There are rules being added left and right,buildings are destroyed, countless people are being slaughtered, and everything is fucking destroyed! Kaname is shot at many times, but nobody cares. Kaname is getting chased by a man in a panda suit with a knife and nobody gives a shit. Panda dude kills an officer and nobody cares. The panda dude gets run over while he's invisible. The guy just drives off and doesn't even ask if Kaname is okay or not? Not even questioning what he has hit over. That seems realistic! This anime is far from reality. Nobody. Fucking. Cares. Whatsoever. Well, YOU SHOULDN'T CARE YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH! My dumb ass just came here for fucking entertainment. Common sense and logic? Nobody gives a shit about any of that! Throw that thing out of the window! Scratch what I said a moment ago. There are no flaws within the game! I have nothing to say about the story except that it's better than Ghost in the Shell's story. The art looks repuls- I mean fantastic! The animation isn't ugly nigga, it's perfect. No flaws. The soundtrack is horrible and it sounds like somebody is playing the NFL theme: ear rape version in my ears for an entire day. But I get a throbbing cock every time I hear the opening. Shuka is that one clingy, crazy, yandere bitch. Much like Yuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki. She also falls in love with Kaname at the end of the first episode. I'm not even surprised. Nobody gives a fuck about the rest of the cast. Moving on. I enjoyed this show a lot. I laughed every single episode. In all seriousness though, this show fucking sucks. I did derive a little bit of enjoyment due to fact that everything was nonsensical and retarded. It would've been better if the game itself was delved into and explored more. I honestly do not see how people gloss over the fact that this anime has glaring flaws that should be obvious. The soundtrack is generic and boring and the character aren't good nor memorable. The animation is ugly as hell. Sometimes it looks decent and most of the time it's horrible. Yesterday, I stubbed my big toe against the front door and cracked the nail. I felt the pain as I saw the blood from under my nail rise up and slowly, the blood gushed out. There was one day when I was playing Dark Souls 3. I've defeated the Abyss Watchers on my third try. After that, I went into the catacombs and it was a misfortune to go through. I've lost many of my souls to that cursed level. Plans were ruined, deaths were inevitable, the rage was perpetual, and my penis was also flaccid. Those experiences alone were more thought provoking and entertaining than Darwin's Game ever will be. Schlock of the season. 3/10

Darwin's Game is just a mediocre action/ super-power disguised as a survival game anime, it doesn't really belong to the genre, nothing about it feels like a game, only people trying to kill each other with no rules except a convenient one where players can surrender so the protagonist doesn't have to kill in order to win. I like the survival game genre because it has tension, with creative rules that result in interesting situations (one example is Life is Money, a manga about a survival game that has the players kill each other by yelling and cursing, the setting is hilarious but creative), unfortunately Darwin'sGame has neither of those, it feels like the writers are afraid of adding any rules because it'd make writing the show more difficult, they did add a few mechanics like getting points and using them to buy weapons, and gave the characters super powers, but nothing is explained with a set of rules, everything is kept vague so the writers can do whatever they want. Just like most modern anime Darwin's Game has to follow certain cliches for no reason, the protagonist is an ordinary highschool boy just because, it's just mentioned for no relevant reason (you could make him an office worker and literally nothing would change), and the trigger for the supernatural elements of the show is a mysterious gaming app that's installed on his smart phone (which I've seen happen many times in other shows), also the heroine falls in love with the protagonist for no reason, and of course the protagonist's parents are non-existent. The only reason they add these cliches is because they apparently make the show relatable for the target audience, I guess everything teenagers in Japan like is gonna turn into a cliche' at some point. These problems make the setting mediocre, but what about the production value? The art style is ugly and the face expressions are exaggerated, it's hard to tell if it's intentional, but even if it was it doesn't make it cool or interesting, just uncomfortable to watch. The animation quality is also lacking, it's average at best, the character poses and movements are weird and have mistakes that I expect from a show from the 90s, not the new decade. The soundtracks are forgettable, I don't remember any of them, and the voice acting is the same as most other shows, it's not bad but there isn't a single character with a unique performance, you could check the lists of each VA from this show and find other characters that sound exactly the same and belong to the same stereotype. Speaking of characters, just like any other anime, we have a bland protagonist and a heroine that stands out in comparison both in personality and design, you gotta make the protagonist relatable and give him a waifu, right? That's more important than having actually interesting characters, who needs those anyway when you have stereotypes? A few episodes in you'll start to notice that Kaname (the protagonist) wants to protect his friends and doesn't want to kill anyone, even his enemies, why? For no reason, the guy was supposed to be a blank slate for relatability's sake, but now he has one of the least relatable traits ever, and has literally no background or clear motive that makes sense of it. Wanna know the funniest part? His power revolves around mass producing weapons, he fights by spamming machine guns and grenades, and it's not like the writer did this to make things more complicated, no, he goes all out but somehow he manages to win without killing anyone, he even had a one on one friendly fight against a guy who only uses his own fists, and Kaname used machine guns and grenades like there's no tomorrow! That's not the only irritating thing about Kaname though, everyone around him acts as if he's some great leader, but literally neither of his allies had any reason to join him, they start as enemies and suddenly change their mind and follow him, and it's not because he has charisma or the ability to persuade others with words, no, he wins a fight with nonsensical plot armor and somehow everyone's impressed. Now let's talk about the fights, to give you more reason why I'm not being harsh on this show. You know the feeling when you watch someone who sucks at videogames playing a difficult game? Watching this show can be as painful sometimes, the characters act in ways that lack any common sense. In episode 1 after Kaname has the app installed, he's targeted by another player, now imagine yourself in his opponent's place, your prey is sitting right in front of you, he's unaware that he's taking part in a killing game, his guard is lowered, there's no one around, you have a knife on you, and you have the power to turn invisible, what would you do? Of course you wouldn't be stupid enough to pull out the knife in front of your target, point it at him, and walk slowly towards him, giving him enough time to realize the situation and run away, right? Sadly I can't say the same for the first antagonist of this show. And how did Kaname win the fight? A car came out of nowhere and crashed into his opponent! It was so bizarre I thought at first that maybe Kaname's power is to summon cars and crash them into people! The writers unapologetically had the first antagonist die in a car accident in the middle of the fight! In conclusion Darwin's Game is not worth your time, maybe unless you are one of those people who can "turn off their brain", but even then I can think of at least 100 other shows that are worth watching over this one.

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