Sora and Shiro | Animated Observations

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It’s been a while since I last wrote about No Game No Life. The light novel has been a pleasure to read since page one of the first novel, but the series has only continued to impress as it has gone on. Volume five brings the story to a whole knew place, and brings a lot of excitement.

After beating the Eastern Union in a game the wear-beasts were almost guaranteed to win, Sora and Shiro are greeted by a Dhampir named Plum who asks for their help in waking up the queen of the Sirens, with whom the Dhampir’s have a symbiotic relationship. The queen has been asleep for over 800 years after casting a spell on herself, telling the other sirens that she wants to be woken up by her true love.

One of the main beats in No Game No Life that has made it such an enjoyable read is the relationship between Sora and Shiro. The series often times goes out of its way to show that, despite the antics and funny jokes, “ “ bond is most certainly an unbreakable one, and no more clearly is that on display than in book five.

One of the best demonstrations of their bond is during the game of tag with the Flugel on Avant Heim. The game involves Sora and Shiro relying on Plum’s magic to create wings so they can fly, but they decide to each take one wing, having Plum disguised as a scarf around their necks. To a normal person, and especially to plum, it seemed ridiculous to expect two people to be able to sync up so well that they could fly while each controlling one wing. But, sure enough, they did, and within the first ten minutes of the game they were out-maneuvering, with the help of the game’s magic of course, the Flugel.

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Volume five also has a lot in the way of good storytelling. It was interesting to read about the relationship that the Dhampirs and Sirens have. Due to the ten covenants, the sirens cannot just attack any person they see in order to reproduce. Similarly, the Dhampirs cannot simply drink the blood of anyone they want. This left Dhampirs and Sirens with really only one answer: to use each other.

This bit of lore is not only interesting, but is implemented well into the core of the game they have to play. The Dhampirs need to reproduce soon, but since the queen is asleep they can’t. Meanwhile, since the queen is asleep, the Sirens have not had a leader for 800 years. This increased urgency raises the stakes of the game and makes the twist all the more enjoyable.

Volume five has all of what makes No Game No Life an amazing series, and a lot more. It also does a good amount to move the plot forward, seeing as how Sora and Shiro now have control of five race pieces. It is indeed a pivotal point in the series, but one that is nonetheless incredibly fun.

Have you guys read No Game No Life? If so, what do you think of it? Let me know in the comments. If you would like to support Animated Observations or are just feeling generous, consider donating on Ko-Fi:

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

If you have read my previous reviews before, then you will know that No Game No Life is not only one of the most well-produced anime, but also that its original source material is of high quality. In fact, it’s fair to say that the No Game No life anime is a near perfect translation of the first three light novels, with the last four episodes being a particularly entertaining spectacle.

All of this is to say that the third volume of No Game No Life was a well-written conclusion to the tension that was slowly building between Elkia and the Eastern-Union. In this volume, Sora and Shiro have the herculean task of taking on the “kingdom of cute-animal girls” with only the knowledge they acquired from the writings of the previous king, Stephanie’s grandfather. During the last volume, the crew found out that all of the king’s games that to Sora, at first, seemed like hopeless attempts to win back land and that he was foolish for even trying. However, after looking at the specific areas that the king bet, and finding his information on the Eastern-Union’s game, Sora realized that the king’s hopeless endeavors were actually strategic planning for the next ruler of Elkia.

Armed with the previous king’s knowledge and Sora and Shiro’s ironclad confidence, the unbeatable duo blank challenge and defeat Izuna, the Eastern-Union’s representative in Elkia, in a four-on-one match with the fate of Immanity on the line for Blank, for all of the Eastern-Union’s continental territory and whatever lay upon it. This bet under the covenant just also happened to anything that lay on top of said continental territory, including Eastern Union citizens.

While No Game No Life’s story is one of its better elements, it would be nothing without its hilariously overpowered and loveable main duo. Sora and Shiro remain the show’s main attraction, and while they are not always the most relatable of characters, still exude the quality of good characters. Sora remains the eccentric pervert whose love of his little sister exceeds even his concern for himself, and Shiro is as always the calm and cool eleven-year-old who brings his brother’s deluded fantasies down to earth. The two always work well together as characters, and this volume was no exception.

During the battle with Eastern-Union, it became unclear as to whether or not Sora and Shiro, along with Jibril and Steph, could actually beat Izuna, with her heightened senses and superior physical ability. But, just as Sora had done with Shiro in his battle against Chlammy, Shiro put all of her faith in her brother to trust her in order to grab a come from behind win from Izuna.

I did find it unfortunate, though, that we didn’t learn any more of Shiro and Sora’s past, only things that had already been implied like that the two could barely stand to be outside back in Japan. It feels like a real missed opportunity from a writing perspective to leave out more details about their past, especially considering its importance to who they are as characters.

Either way, Volume three continued and improved on the No Game No Life series. It’s a wonderful addition to the story and only makes me look forward to the next volume. Considering the next volume has story that was not in the anime, I am even more eager to start it. If you haven’t read No Game No Life, do it, because it is absolutely worth your time.

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