Wednesday 7 May 2014

No Game No Life - Episode 5

Last week's episode of No Game No Life saw Blank's devilish duo making some grand claims to Tet as they enthusiastically looked all set to raise their game - so what exactly has happened since those proclamations?

Not a lot from Steph's point of view, as Sora and Shiro seem to have spent all of their time lazing around, reading, playing games and generally avoiding her while leaving her to do all of their dirty work as Imanity's rulers.  Fed up of chasing them around, and perhaps ill-advisedly, Steph challenges Sora to a game under the auspices of the winner being made into a better human being... or, as he counters, to make the bet if she wins to ensure that he's a fulfilled human being - no prizes for guessing what that means.


Much as Sora would love to lose this particular game, Blank's pride (or rather, Shiro's insistence) prevents him from throwing it - in fact, no matter how many games Steph throws at them, even those she considers to be pure game of chance with a 50:50 chance of her winning, she's defeated utterly.  It's a state of affairs that leaves her dressed as a dog and practically naked (don't ask), but more importantly it leaves her baffled, until Sora imparts some of the knowledge that makes himself and his sister such fearsome winners in the gaming arena.  In short, information trumps all, and the reason for their current inertia is a lack of information about their possible opponents in this world.  Rather conveniently however, a potential solution to this lack of information has just appeared quite literally above the skyline.

Even as an episode which really serves as a bridge between the previous story arc and the next, this week's No Game No Life's presentation remains an enjoyable one - it has some great one-liners and strong moments, and somehow manages to deliver even its most fan service-laden moments and ideas with an enthusiasm and knowing grin (not to mention a downright silliness) that makes it far more palatable.  If it can keep the games within its core concept fresh and interesting, there's still plenty of life left in this series as it moves towards its halfway point.

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