NEW GAME!

OVERPOWERED99

img(https://orig00.deviantart.net/e08f/f/2018/251/a/6/new_game__score_banner_by_overpowered99-dcme0du.png) Bright and sparkling, pretty and appealing, the title of New Game! takes over the splash screen with wholesome invitations. It's time to press that start button. There's a whole packet of cuteness and entertainment here ready to be loaded onto the screen. When I stepped in to the very first level, I knew this anime would be right up my alley. Delight instantly overwhelmed the me who used to develop games as a hobby. So, with my eagerness to relive the enjoyable side of game development surfacing once more, a new stage begins on a fun greater than the amount of pixels on a HD display. Eagle Jump is the video game company in play here. While it works on a simple set of procedures and routines, it manages to accomplish a friendly atmosphere devoid of any drama or tension. Having quirky adults who emit out an unbelievable amount of endearment is quite refreshing. There's all these interactive characters who charmed their way up my likability list. A glimpse into their synergy goes to show the spectrum of entertainment is a wide one and each colorful enjoyment is one more bliss added to an already lovely cast. One day they work on the game, other days are filled to the brim with silliness. Then there's the occasional maturity putting in some heartwarming softness among all the vibrant stuff. Both on a workplace and a more personal environment. It really, mostly, and simply is just a successful attempt at being fun. That's it basically. The only thing that could've been shown slightly further is the game developing process itself but I can say the way they presented it is nice enough. But what's even nicer is the art because one look at it and the term eye candy perfectly describes it. Like I said before, it's bright and sparkling, pretty and appealing, and is overall a vivid aesthetic that can entertain with many joys. Each element in the frame is beautifully polished. By making great use of subtle gradients and vibrant colors, they've introduced a wholesome air around the characters. And remember. These characters are adults designed with youth in mind. So to capture the child-like energy radiating out of them, very emotive animation exhibits everything that is adorable. If by this point you still think Doga Kobo don't know how to please the audience, well no, they do know. Giving us those eye catchers and minor fan services is like a tasteful present. An extra something that adds more charm in a natural manner than to digress away. In addition, the voice acting is a delight as much as delight can be. It's not only just the words that invite a fun tone. The vocal has portrayed a sweetness between the coworkers when they talk about all sorts of entertaining things. Such sweetness that is amplified even further by the friendly jingles playing in the background. And when you put jolly things together with other jolly things, you'll definitely get a jolly vibe. How I love to bask in that. New Game! is a simple realization that friendliness and games can bring a lot of much-needed joy and that it's alright to indulge in it. Entertainment like this provides a medium where one can exactly seek such a thing. So by the time the first level, this first season, nears its end, I know I can shut down with elation and a lot of grins.

CryingLad

# [~~~**Yet another SOL so that means, no spoilers. I suppose.**~~~]()
New Game! is fun and interesting look into the production of games. As a person who wants to work in the industry this was really a fun watch. [**PREMISE OF THE SHOW:**]() New Game! (as mentioned before) is a show about VIDEO GAME PRODUCTION, gamers rise up, we follow Aoba Suzukaze as she graduates from High School and joins Eagle Jump to become a Character Designer. She has her own reason for joining that studio, the reason being is that her favourite game was made there, Kou Yagami (Lead Character Designer) also works there. She is the inspiration for Aoba since she became Lead Character Designer early on. We can see Aoba completing series of tasks to help her train herself in the new workspace. At this time we see many new character, may it be co-workers of Aoba or the higher ups as well. More importantly (to me) we get to see UMIKO AHAGON, one of the programmer members. My reason for liking her scenes is because we always get to see her with a dead/depressed look on her face which is 10000% accurate to real life. Later on in the show the team takes up making a new game (hehehehhe) we are introduced to the stress and pain of meeting deadlines and all of the ins and outs of the game development process. Fun stuff. ~~~img420(http://66.media.tumblr.com/76c5a4474ebf4ea9699a229a426e22c8/tumblr_obnnc6SoOR1t33d6lo1_500.gif)~~~
[**CHARACTERS:**]() New Game! has many fun characters, you can find at least one that you'll relate to. __Aoba__ - The main character, she is filled with PASSION and DETERMINATION. She always tries to work hard and make sure she doesn't mess up, she is the ideal employee for any company. __Kou__ - Is the main inspiration for Aoba, she sleeps in the offices and works at 200% efficiency. She is an absolute beast when it comes to work. She is also quite laid-back, not that strict. __Hifumi__ - The pinnacle of the show, the cutest character the world has seen. She is quite shy and just wants to get along with people but can't really talk well in real life. For some reason its **ALWAYS** characters like this that just make my heart melt so much. __Umiko__ - The programmer, she is quite strict. Also very obsessed with military things she often participates in Airsoft activities and tries to make others join. Because she is the programmer that *must* mean she is quite dead/depressed looking when at work. 100% realistic. There are few more characters that I liked but not as much as these lads. With some my opinion changes in the S2 of the show. For example: __Nenechi__, at first I was not a huge fan of her, then sort of liked her few episodes later but in S2. Oh lawd. All you need to know for now is that she is the friend of Aoba from childhood who is in Uni. ~~~img420(https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/202/029/8ef.gif)~~~
[**ART/ANIMATION:**]() New Game! has...well the sort of animation you would expect from a SOL, smooth but not Nichijou level of animation budget. The art style is **very** bright which fits very well with all of the characters being all lively and stuff. Really makes the viewer relaxed. ~~~img420(https://78.media.tumblr.com/fc9b318f2faeb349851c8b5ee350e968/tumblr_pafii66gmw1qkz08qo1_540.gif)~~~
[**MUSIC:**]() This show has quite a soothing and fun OST. Feels really "Game-ish". Which... well...fits with the whole idea of the show. The OP is fun, not the best I've heard. S2 OP is better in every aspect but I wouldn't call this one that bad. ED is kind of forgetable for me. ~~~img420(https://rr.img.naver.jp/mig?src=http%3A%2F%2Fimgcc.naver.jp%2Fkaze%2Fmission_anm%2FUSER%2F20170513%2F75%2F7777045%2F5%2F600x338xfb4d7701c55db290e0785b8e.gif&twidth=300&theight=600&qlt=80&res_format=jpg&op=pt)~~~
[**OVERALL OPINION:**]() All in all, New Game! is a SOL that tries to show you the Game Industry, of course its not **VERY** realistic (Its a show, its meant to be a way of escaping reality, not go back to it). But compared to other shows that try to show people working somewhere this one does manage to be a bit more connected to reality.

Vollerei

“There’s nothing wrong with being frustrated by defeat, but when you have fun making something, it really shows in the final product. That’s the power of positivity at work.” – Kou Yagami After watching a purely entertaining and innocent anime like K-On!, I had always been on the lookout for something similar. New Game! not only features a cast of characters that are easily lovable, but incorporates a great amount of humor into it. It’s storyline is both basic and unique at the same time: A young adult starting her first job at her dream company. The unique part is her co-workers, who may not seems as mature as you’d think! I personally really enjoyed the main protagonist, and fell in love with her cute charm and personality as much as her co-workers did. Twintails for the win!!! Without further ado, here’s my review of New Game! Art and Animation: 9.3/10 - This form of art style is amongst my favorite to watch personally. The vivid colors, adorable character designs, and comedic shots all appeal to me in a SoL/comedy. It all held out and was consistent down to the very end, with very little errors that took away from the viewing experience. You won’t have much to worry about in this department, as it more than delivers when it comes to high quality animation. Storyline and Character Progression: 8.3/10 - Not really much when it comes to an actual storyline, as the main “event” is in following the day-to-day life of our main protagonist. Don’t expect anything special like a deep storyline or crazy plot, since this anime isn’t really meant to be taken seriously. The same goes for character progression. While there is a bit of character progression, it’s not anything too crazy or spectacular. The characters themselves are great in diversity and personality, as you’re sure to have a favorite amongst them! (Hifumi’s my favorite <3) There were only a couple characters who I didn’t really care for, and the only reason being that they were just a little too annoying or inconsistent. Just enjoy this anime for the plenty of light humor that it gives, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Soundtrack and Audio: 8.6/10 - Nothing too crazy here really. The OP sounds good and is memorable enough to enjoy it every episode, but aside from that there isn’t much of a soundtrack throughout the anime. A more extensive soundtrack would’ve definitely been welcomed, but it’s overall pretty decent anyways. As far as the rest of the audio is concerned, I didn’t have any complaints. The voice actions had really fit their characters, and sounded as natural as could be. Unless you can’t stand a couple childish voice actors, then you won’t really have a problem here either. New Game! has easily become one of my favorite SoL/comedies just because of how much enjoyment I got out of it. From the beautiful art style to the abundance of hilarious moments, I’ll be able to enjoy this one for years to come. Fans of anime similar to K-On! will feel right at home, as this one features a bit more comedy. No real weak points or big complaints I could find aside a couple of personal preferences. It had high quality art/animation, was quite entertaining to say the least, and a cast of crazy characters earned this anime an 8.7/10. Hope you can get as many laughs from this anime as I did! Thanks so much for reading another of my reviews, and I’ll see y’all soon!!! ~~~Streaming Platform: Crunchyroll~~~

Hideki

img400(https://files.catbox.moe/sg8x01.png)
One of the things that swept the game development community in 2016 is the anime entitled _New Game!_. There were a lot of voices then praising the accurate representation of game development; there’s also another camp criticising the lack of the other departments’ side of things. Whilst I’m in the latter, I understand that the main character is an artist and there isn’t any reason for an artist to interact with the rest of the departments in a medium-sized company such as the one depicted in the anime. I am a game developer with focus on game design and programming. This review is written after my second viewing. There is no plot to spoil so please feel free to read ahead. ---- _New Game!_ introduces viewers to the world of game development through the lens of Suzukaze Aoba, an aspiring game artist with zero prior experience _(Japanese education system FTW)_. Aoba finds herself working under the person she looks up to the most, lead character designer Yagami Kou, and learns 3D modelling under her guidance. Throughout the season, we see Aoba’s growth not only in her modelling skills, but also her adjustment to her workplace. Apart from the 3D modelling team (Aoba, Takimoto Hifumi, Iijima Yun), we also see characters performing other roles of game dev in the anime, namely creative director Hazuki Shizuku; art director Tooyama Rin; 3D animator Shinoda Hajime; programmer Ahagon Umiko; and part-time QA tester Sakura Nene, who is also Aoba’s childhood friend. Despite all the cute-girls-doing-cute-things tropes, _New Game!_ makes it a point to keep the modelling process accurate, from conception to designing to modelling to animation. The tips that Kou gives to Aoba in modelling her first character is what modellers actually use to make the character model stand out from the other character models. The anime introduces the culture of ‘crunch time’, which means employees have to stay late, and in extreme cases, stay in the office for a few days, to finish up the work before the deadlines. We have a saying in the game dev world that goes like, “If a deadline is drawing near and everything seems normal, something is terribly wrong.” Conflicts between artists and programmers often arise as shown by Umiko’s first interaction with Aoba about errors on her models, but this is often avoided by having a proper workflow that everyone agrees upon. The anime also spends effort to depict things that happen in regular office situations not unique to game development, such as air con wars and “__WHO STOLE MY PUDDING!?__”
Recognising all the references to real life, such as ‘Autodesk Saya’ above, gave me chuckles even on my second watch. The anime also gives a brief look into ‘Tokyo Game 展’, where the characters view the announcement of their title on-site. There are minor inaccuracies which I would like to point out – the crowds are massive even on business days, and the remark that expresses surprise on seeing a cosplay on business days is inaccurate as well. Some developers/publishers with the money hire cosplayers to do raunchy cosplays from their games, sometimes with protruding (likely fake) nipples to attract press and attention. There is controversy regarding the above, some even saying that ‘Tokyo Game 展’ has lost its relevance in the video game industry, since it’s all about who can hire a hot booth girl nowadays, and budget indies like me who are unable to do so lose out on the publicity. Nevertheless, it is still indisputable that ‘Tokyo Game 展’ is the biggest highlight of the Japanese game industry. My biggest gripe with this season of _New Game!_ is that the anime ignores the ‘show, don’t tell’ principle in literature, and instead utilises exposition for Aoba’s growth in her skills and spending most of the time showing exaggerated CGDCT tropes. There was also a chance to introduce the various departments via a tour of the company when Aoba first joined Eagle Jump but was not done, which would bring the criticism mentioned in my introductory paragraph lower than it was. As a programmer myself, I think I would appreciate this season more if there was screen time dedicated to Umiko’s work as a programmer, such as how Aoba’s error-filled models gave her major problems during implementation, and the consequences of Nene accidentally pulling the plug on Umiko’s computer. ---- Ignoring the nitpicks and my bias against it as a programmer, _New Game!_ was an entertaining watch, and I recommend it to viewers who are interested in game development or are game developers themselves. The second season addresses the problems I mentioned above and explores game development for real, but that’s another review for another entry in the database.

SrRogue

Anime para se distrair e dar algumas risadas, é como eu o resumiria. A animação é bastante consistente ao longo do anime, contando com algumas cenas fluidas durante conversas e ações das personagens. Menos em cenas onde a câmera se distancia dos rostos das personagens, não sei o nome que dão a esta perspectiva de câmera, fora nestes momentos, a animação faz bem o seu papel e entrega uma vez ou outra uma breve cena com alguma cena fluida. Dei por falta da trilha sonora, a única coisa que tem bastante presença é unicamente a música da opening, que não é lá algo muito marcante... mas é contagiante, e não fica chata no decorrer do anime, salvo isto, não de tem uma presença de uma trilha sonora boa, nem ao menos um pouco marcante. Claro, estamos falando de um anime de "garotas fofas fazendo coisas fofas" (malditos consumidores deste tipo de anime) não vai ser colocado uma trilha marcante ou grandiosa em um anime como esse, não que em animes para se ter tal trilha sonora eles acertem, mas enfim, poderiam ter colocado uma trilha sonora nos momentos de comédias para deixar as coisas mais cômicas e nos fazer dar boas risadas usando da música, creio que aqui faltou alguém para ter olhado para a trilha sonora do anime com um pouco mais de carinhoso e ter feito isto que eu disse, ou pelo menos ter feito a trilha sonora um pouco mais presente na animação. A história também não tem grande foco ou ênfase, com isto quero dizer que não temos um desenvolvimento de personagens ou uma história que nos deixa intrigados querendo ver mais da história. Não aqui, a história é rasa, são apenas um grupo de garotas fazendo seu trabalho e onde acompanhamos o seu dia a dia, como The Office (Mas o anime é bom, diferente de The Office! KKKKKKKK!!!!!!!), a história fica mais interessante apenas quando nos é dito que no passado a personagem Yagami Kou, diretora de designer do jogo em que as personagens trabalham, teve dificuldades para socializar com suas colegas e se adaptar ao ambiente em qual trabalhava, e também, mas de forma bem boba, uma "briga" entre a personagem principal Suzukaze Aoba e sua melhor amiga Sakura Nenechi, fora estes dois acontecimentos durante o enredo, não temos algo que nos desperte muito interesse. Agora as personagens, a principal Susukaze Aoba é a mais divertida e que você se apega ou pode vir a se apegar de forma mais rápida, claro, apesar disso, descreveria ela um pouco como "rasa" mesmo conhecendo que ela tem um sonho de ser alguém que trabalhe na indústria de jogos e é bastante esforçada, e distraída e simpática com os demais, ela não tem muito desenvolvimento, ela é divertida e ponto, só. As suas companheiras Iijime Yun, Sonoda Hajime, e Takimoto Hifumi também são divertidas e a interação delas é também descontraída, e em minha análise é aqui onde está o ponto mais forte da obra, a interação entre elas e o seu dia na empresa, colocando todo seu esforço no jogo Feries Series 3 (O trailer do jogo me chamou a atenção, eu jogaria) divertindo-se com as atrapalhadas e momentos de leve comedia no desenvolvimento do jogo, assistindo a forma de como Aoba vai se adaptando a aquela empresa. Suas superiores Yagami Kou, Tooyama Rin, Ahagon Umiko e Shizuku Hazuki são como as demais, apenas simpáticas e sem muito desenvolvimento, dentre elas Yagami Kou que na obra, tem o cargo de Diretora de Designers é a que mais tem um certo aprofundamento, como já comentei anteriormente, a mais "humana", porquê nos é mostrando em alguns episódios mas sem continuidade o seu passado, que também já comentei anteriormente, mas aqui aprofundo um pouco mais isto: Anteriormente Yagami, era como Aoba, tinha dificuldades em socializar e era esforçada também, mas devido a essa sua falta de comunicação as suas colegas a viam mais como uma severa pessoa do que como uma colega, e no Faries Story 2 - __aqui peço perdão, já não lembro se é Feries Series ou Feries Story, mas na dúvida, vou alternar entre os nome para me referir ao jogo, um destes dois deve estar certo__ - onde ela foi designada como Diretora de Arte, e devido a este seu problema de comunicação uma novata chegou a desistir, e devido a isso Yagami ficou deprimida e deixou o posto, e isto é maior aprofundamento que vemos nesta primeira temporada. E também temos a amiga (única) de Aoba, Sakura Nenechi uma universitária que mais parece alguém do primário, a esta irei comentar a seguir. Agora, breves comentários sobra as personagens secundárias: Sakura Nenechi: Nada, não sei o que dizer, é apenas mais uma, gosta de Mahou shoujo, e só faz o papel de Loli aqui (Japoneses Fetichistas!). Takimoto Hifumi: Também tem dificuldade para interagir no ambiente de trabalho, mesmo sendo a mais velha dentre o grupo de colegas de Aoba, gosta de fazer cosplay e saem muito bem feitos, parece fria, mas se importa com os outros, só não demonstra, tem um porco espinho de estimação, me escapou o nome dele agora, mas ela parece gostar bastante dele, tem uma afeição mais forte a Aboa em comparação entre suas colegas e superiores. Yun Iijime: Preocupada demais com o peso, daqui a pouco está mais magra e rasa que seu desenvolvimento, não tem muito sobre ela, apenas que é filha mais velha entre os 3 filhos de seus pais, e parece gostar de hallowen, tem caveiras e lápides em sua mesa de trabalho, Loli Gótica. Gosta de Mahou-Shoujo, seria fã de Madoka Mágica em nosso mundo. Sonoda Hajime: Tomboy do tipo mais atraente, os fetichistas em Tomboy iam amar ver uma dessas na vida real. Gosta de Seinen, Mahou-Shoujo e espadas, pratica esportes, veste roupas que a expõe muito. Quem em iria vestir aquelas roupas sem nenhum tipo de pudor sendo tão atraente? Parece as garotas da minha cidade, guarde-se mulher. Ahagon Umiko: temperamento colérico, perde a cabeça muito fácil, gosta de Airsoft, muito mesmo. Sério. Hazuki Shizuku: Literalmente uma potencial Shotacon. Aparece e some. Tal como dinheiro público nas mãos de politico. Tooyama Rin: Melhor amiga da Yagami, diretora de arte no jogo Faries Story 3, se importa muito com sua amiga. Propósito: servir de fã service aos fetichistas que gostam de Yuri. E finalmente o melhor de todos, o gato de Shizuku, Mozoku: só come e dorme. Yagami Kou: dorme de cacilnha no trabalho. Chama a mãe de Mama, gosta muito de sua amiga Rin. Sobre a produção do anime, tenho alguns comentários: Como se tratava de desenvolver jogos, penso que poderiam ter nos dado referências de jogos famosos, Zelda, Mario, Persona, e algumas piadas sobre desenvolver jogos, como tinha certo foco em jogos, poderiam ter nos brindado com referências a franquias de jogos famosos, outras empresas, e piadas sobre os mesmos, algo com mais aprofundamento e carinho. Sobre fã service eu gostaria que não tivesse, as vezes, foco mostrando algumas partes mais expostas das personagens, e alguns takes que dão certo foco a seios e outras partes das garotas, ou expor as barrigas delas né diretor... e algumas vezes notei que usavam certos ângulos diferentes nas câmeras, como no episódio 10 quando Rin fica doente e Yagami vai para a casa dela cuidar da mesma, e usaram, pelo que me pareceu o ângulo de câmeras que se usa em Novels (jogo), me pareceu uma cena de fã service.