No Game No Life - Episode 8

With the discovery of the breakthrough that they needed to advance their game plan, it's time for Sora and Shiro to begin Imanity's campaign against the Warbeasts of the Eastern Federation.

Of course, one does not simply walk into Warbeast territory - one waves at them from afar before popping over for a lovely chat.  Of course, these mind-reading, animal-eared folk know exactly what the group that arrives are after, and so no time is wasted before we're introduced to this land's ambassador - the rather adorably diminutive Izuna Hatsuse.

From here, the game really begins, as what seems like an insulting bet (Izuna's panties for Steph's, if you must know) is really the start of a monologue that sees Sora strip away layer after layer of the mystique surrounding this rival race - they aren't mind readers, they're simply capable of telling whether someone is lying and using that as part of a "cold reading" technique, and the reason they wipe the memories of their opponents is to protect the nature of their game is because their technological advancement gives them the upper hand of being the only nation with video games available to them.  Of course, cheating in a video game is easy, but Blank laugh in the face of such attempts, leading to Sora upping his bet to include the entirety of Imanity in a wager against all of the Warbeast's land. Surely this isn't a good time for the leading man to simply vanish into thin air?

I'm not sure anything can top the crazy game of Shiritori against Jibril, and as a result this week's episode feels a little convoluted in its explanations and revelations - however, there were still some nice moments sprinkled in to Sora's long-winded explanation that made up for some of its panty-obsessed silliness (which does at least feel in-character rather than entirely forced, I supposed).  With Sora's disappearance and its effect on Shiro, there could be some interesting fare ahead though, so now this latest game is afoot we'll be treated to some more of what No Game No Life does best with any luck.