First Impressions / No Game No Life

「死に手《サクリファイス》」 (Shini-te “Sakurifaisu”)
“Sacrifice”

This series is like a love song to humanity.

Clammy Can’t Believe It, Still

I’m really not sure what Clammy’s role in this story is going to be. I pride myself on being able to anticipate these things, but she’s not conforming to the pattern I expected. Actually, that’s not right – I still expect her to join back up with the rest of Imanity eventually, and I’m sure she’ll have some role in either defeating the Elves or bringing them to Imanity’s side (or one then the other). They’re sowing the seeds for the Elf arc early though, and I guess I’m not used to stories paying so much attention to foreshadowing. That’s something I could get used to.

There’s one thing I know absolutely, though – for Clammy to join back up with Imanity, she’s going to have to get over her misconception that Kuuhaku is being backed by another race. For now, that’s hard. Her pride demands that she not believe Imanity can go it alone, because then her act of giving up on Imanity, on her own people, would have been wrong, perhaps even unforgivable. Now she’s convinced herself that the Warbeasts backed Sora & Shiro. I look forward to seeing her reaction when they beat the Eastern Federation. Perhaps the Clammy/Elf arc is coming up next.

The Games of the Warbeasts

I enjoyed the game theory when they talk about how the Warbeasts expanded their territory. If you remember from our list back in episode two, the Warbeasts are #14, putting them a paltry two spaces higher than last place Imanity. That means it’s reasonable to surmise they’re not the magical powerhouses of the #7 Elves or the #6 Flugel. Yet their country is the third largest in the world. Then there’s the fact that they can supposedly read minds, but they make opponents wager their memories of their games if they lose.

This doesn’t add up, as Sora rightly notes. If you have such an unstoppable advantage, it’s better to show vulnerability in order to draw enemies in and then trounce them. It’s a classic bait tactic – make people think you’re weak, and they can beat you if they just try one more time…and then take them for everything they have. If they’re really so strong, why not dangle the bait and profit from their power? Something doesn’t add up.

Idiot King, Wise King/b>

I cringed when Sora despaired and really lit into the old king. Saying that Steph’s beloved grandfather was stupid, that he lost all that territory for nothing…I agree with Shiro, he went too far. Steph…

Then we were shown Steph’s key. I wish this had been hinted at earlier, just as I wish Jibril’s existence was hinted at earlier (though she was first glimpsed back in episode four, so that was actually okay), but I’ll give them a pass because where it led showed worked well here.

The Potential of Humanity

For hikikomori NEETs who openly despised their fellow human beings, its been a bit of a stretch to think that they suddenly cared about their fellow Imanity in Elkia, a stretch which I honestly barely thought of until now because I was having too much fun. Sora revealing that he doesn’t believe in humanity, and that most humans are stupid, lowly creatures – the same thing Jibril still thinks of all Imanity save her masters, though she’s been polite enough to keep that unspoken this episode, mostly – felt right. So why? Why does he want to help Elkia?

Because of Shiro. Not for Shiro – she’s not as weak as that – but because of the potential in humanity that Shiro represents to him. Sora believes that while most normal humans are worthless, people like Shiro can do great things. Humanity didn’t believe it could fly before it did. Humanity didn’t believe it could go to space until someone figured out how. We strap rockets to ourselves, eradicate entire diseases, and connect ourselves together with people on the other side of the planet through a web of electronics that talk in the blink of an eye! Maybe not all of us can do that, but there’s immense potential in humanity. Not in each of us, but in all of us.

That’s what Sora believes in, and the genius Shiro is the one who made him believe again. I wish we got to see more of Shiro being a genius personally, though the nature of these games (and the interpersonal battlefield they are) puts most of them more in Sora’s court. What’s for sure is that this entire series is like a love song to humanity. We’re weak, stupid, worthless, foolish, insane, flawed, and filled with the limitless potential to accomplish nearly anything we set our eyes on. That’s worth fighting for.

The Gambler King

“It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.” – Sun Tzu

One of the greatest strengths one can cultivate is self-awareness. Steph’s grandfather was said to be an idiot king, one who lost most of Imanity’s territory and drove it to the brink, but he certainly knew himself. He knew he was not skilled in games, and that he could not do much to aid Imanity on his own. Knowing that, he could have sat there, challenging no one and accepting no challenges throughout his reign, and leaving his successor with the same kingdom he inherited. He chose a different path.

“Know thy enemy”. Imagine what would have happened if Sora & Shiro couldn’t prepare for their game against Jibril? No matter their skill, I doubt they would have been able to come up with that plan on the fly. The Warbeasts wiping everyone’s memories had the potential to force them to do exactly that.

Except for the old king. He gave up “worthless” land – so not worthless at all, but worthless to Imanity at their current technology level – to learn the Warbeasts’ game, and the Warbeasts let him keep his memories for exactly the reason Sora was wondering about, to bait the old king into challenging them by showing vulnerability. They also underestimated last place Imanity, because they let the old king keep his memories, only making it so he couldn’t tell anyone for as long as he lived. But books last beyond death.

I love the idea that the old king was a gambler as well. What a silly gamble! He lost most of his country’s territory to uncover an enemy’s weaknesses, then he put it up to chance that the next king would be a human who could win without the backing of another country. What a vanishingly small chance he had of snatching victory from beyond the grave!

But sometimes, fool gambles come through. The old king’s perfect successors are here, and he’s given them the key to beating the Warbeasts at their own game. Sora & Shiro now know their enemy, and they damn well know themselves. Beware, Kemonomimi Empire! Kuuhaku is coming for you!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – The old idiot king was a gambler after all, & his gamble came through. This is a love song to humanity #nogenora 07

Random thoughts:

  • That shampoo is a little worrisome. I-I don’t think this is supposed to be that kind of anime, Jibril!
  • Steph may be Dola-chan, but it’s Jibril that has all of the neat gadgets magic.
  • Jibril is right – Steph was ordered to fall in love, not stay in love. The rest is aaaall her.
  • Flirty Feel-chan, teasing Feel-chan HNNNNG~!!
  • Op, op, op, op – Oppa Gendo Style!
  • Ani Shock! Related: Did you catch how Sora met Shiro for the first time eight years ago, when she was three? Ufufu… (Use spoiler tags if you want to guess/already know what that means.)
  • It’s a donut massacre! Shinobu is not pleased.
  • Stop enjoying yourself so much, Jibril. You’re scaring the kids. Also, me.
  • There’s a lesson here in the old king’s actions – it’s too easy to assume he was just an idiot. Look further and understand people’s actions, especially when someone has already proven themselves wise in at least some ways.
  • It’s interesting that Sora sees himself as normal. The greats rarely see themselves as great, or even if they do, it’s only by dint of great effort – in his case, keeping up with Shiro.

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: The fear of doing nothing; Personifying your muse; This doesn’t belong; and Your muse is a lie.

Full-length images: 03.

 

Preview

107 Comments

    1. Also as was seen in the flasback, Shiro admonished Sora for “smiling” all the time and essentially being “empty.”

      From this we can extrapolate that the reason why Sora became a NEET was the rejection of his abilities to easily read people and act in the way he was expected to. In his mind, Shiro saved him from this manipulative life and showed him that not everyone is easily flattered. It would certainly answer the questions as to why even though Sora is great at psych games and yet is such a Hikki.

      Netto
      Reply

      1. That’s a really good point! It’s not that Sora can’t deal with people, it’s that he can’t deal honestly with most of them. He could have gone through life faking it without ever making it, but now he’s at least honest and happy even if he was ostracized (or ostracized himself) prior to coming to Disboard.

        Stilts
        Reply

    2. The sibilings are learning little by little what it takes to truly rule a country, the previous King left them hope and they know what true sacrifice is, they know they can´t take their next opponents lightly because they beating the life of an entire race, it was true when they challenge Clammy but bow it feels real for them thanks to the previos King actions.

      In the other hand they are not the only ones growing here, Steph found the proof she wished for to clear the name of her grandpa and the lovely Jibril learn a new lesson as well, she though Sora and Shiro were the only superior Imanity, the only ones worthy of being called their Masters, but Sora´s words and the legacy of the previous King shwed her that there many humans that live up to that potential that sora loves so much, that beatiful spark of insanity that makes the human race move foward towards the sky, Jibril is finaly gaining respect for Imanity as a whole race.

      P.S.: Am I crazy for thinking that Jibril looked so cute and lovely cover in blood, with a huge grim smile on her face? XD

      P.S2: so what happened to the second key to the porn stash? jus saying. XD

      haseo0408
      Reply

  6. what a roller-coaster .. that Gendo pose.. echi and S Jibril! poor Steph … that scene when Sora explains how he doesnt believe in Humanity … really liked this episode.

    PS: is it bad im REALLY enjoying Jibril’s personality ? … the expression on that screenshot totally reminds me of a dere Yuno Gasai (and im pretty sure that wss intentional!)

    PS2: Clammy choose wrong… the right answer was obviously #3!

    inanis
    Reply

    1. I’m surprised many mentioned the Doraemon and Gendo reference, but no one else besides you mentioned Nausicaa, and even got you downvoted?

      Last time with Laputa, I was surprised many people here or elsewhere didn’t catch the reference XD

      Let’s see how many other Ghibli references they can fit.

      Kamui04
      Reply

    2. To tag those references in this episode neatly would be:
      Doraemon
      Steph’s pose upon being called Dola

      Mirai Nikki
      Jibril’s pose definitely references Yuno…She’s the most famous yandere in anime so far, (Kotonoha from School Days being another) and the one that started that particular pose that generated memes derivatives.

      Nausicaa
      hidden room with a table surrounded by plants & irrigation, with a conversation about a big discovery

      Neon Genesis Evangelion
      Gendo pose

      Zetsubou Sensei
      Despair pose

      Did I miss any other references?

      Techim
      Reply

  8. Yep it was a great setup episode. Interesting that they decided to go with the epilogue title for next episode instead of next chapter title.

    “It’s interesting that Sora sees himself as normal. The greats rarely see themselves as great, or even if they do, it’s only by dint of great effort – in his case, keeping up with Shiro.”

    There was a bit of Jibril introspection that was left out, which is of course obvious since you can never include every line of every conversation in anime adaptations.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Xacual
    Reply

    1. Interesting little thought experiment – I wonder which was was better, in the LN or in the anime? In the LN they explicitly note what happened, making sure the reader caught it, but I may prefer how the anime went about it. Yes some people will miss it, but for those of us who caught it – or who read a bloviating jackass like me afterwards, haha – I feel like it has more effect. Less is more and all that.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. As long as Sora’s concerned, we’re given enough to draw similar conclusions. What’s interesting about that excerpt is Jibril’s thoughts – at this point it’s not easy to tell what passes through her mind at certain times, and how exactly does she see the siblings.

        Conrad
        Reply

  11. What Sora said was unexpectedly mature. So far, the show wasn’t exactly dodging, but at the same time didn’t appear willing to face certain matters. To be honest, I was dreading we’ll get an unhealthy dose of otaku pandering once siblings’ background comes into the spotlight. All the more of a pleasant surprise this episode turned out to be.

    And it’s amazing how well the transition from LN’s to anime is handled. With the clever choice of visuals, they can pause on a single image for a couple of seconds, and, well, it’s like at least half a page.

    Conrad
    Reply

      1. Good to see that Madhouse still has some talented staff, their other recent shows made me abandon all hope about Trigun:Brotherhood or Claymore:Sisterhood. Now if only they were to keep this team as is for other projects, and were more particular with their choice of sources to adapt…

        Conrad
        Reply

      2. It’s good that the LN writer himself is involved in helping write the scripts for the anime, he actually said before the anime started airing that if people thought the anime was bad to put all the blame on him instead of on Madhouse.

        Xacual
        Reply

      3. @Xacual

        That’s impressive, and ballsy. Even if he knows the source material better than anyone else, that doesn’t always mean the transition into anime is going to be a smooth one. There are undoubtedly tricks to that which the inexperienced probably wouldn’t know. More kudos to him all around.

        Stilts
        Reply

      4. I see, shows where the original author is involved usually turn out better. If you know what should be left and what can be omitted, it’s easier to get the pacing right, and characters/setting don’t suffer too much.
        That said, this show has some excellent directing, which the original author should have little to no impact on. With LN’s adaptations it’s not uncommon to feel that the show wants to pause the video and go into the narration (tell, not show, if you reverse that Stilts’ favorite). Here, the visuals support the story flow instead of feeling like a liability.

        Conrad
        Reply

    1. Ahaha, I think he had an idea. He would be a pretty sorry grandfather if he didn’t realize his granddaughter was like him, for good and for ill. In a gambling tournament, she was bound to lose.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. The awesome thing is, Stilts, that the king wasn’t just a gambler. He was a crazy genius.

        In the LN, he noted that he could have made Elkia a huge nation (“I could perhaps have been remembered as an extraordinary king”). However, he decided to repeatedly lose instead. That way, he could figure out the weaknesses of the other races, and Imanity could make a huge comeback and gain even more that way.

        For that reason, he purposely lost eight times against the Warbeasts, so they would place tech to mine the resources Imanity couldn’t. He even lost Elkia’s center of knowledge (the library) to Jibril on purpose, knowing that she’d gather even more books. He pretty much outsourced everything to other races for further development.

        He purposely shamed and humbled himself in order to pave the way for Kuuhaku to take on/over the world.

        ReverseTales
        Reply

      2. @ReverseTales
        Then, rather than a gambler and a crazy genius, he’s a genius and a crazy gambler. That strategy sounds like something Sora would appreciate, but its success hinges on who the successor is, and the king didn’t have a single candidate during his lifetime. With three million people, there was a (slim) chance that one would eventually show up, but, in the end, it literally took someone from another world to fill those shoes. Genius level foolishness.

        Conrad
        Reply

  15. Too good them references :3 This episode didn’t have the action like last episode, but it stepped back to kind of flesh out the world and character and sets us up for the eventual conquering of the land of kemonomimi, and this really gets me pumped for next episode, just what kind of weakness does the kemonomi- ahem warbeast have that forces them to erase people’s memories so they won’t find their weakness?

    Also, service service everywhere! and I’m loving every second of it! 🙂 It’s ok Jibril, your not the only one whose existence is completely 18+ 😛 We’re all here with you, and really d’aww to Feel-chan saying or do you want me XD

    TrapMaster
    Reply

  17. This show has an excellent concept, excellent characters, excellent plot development… Is it just me or the only thing preventing it from being perfect is the excessive amount of panty shots?

    I am not taking issue with innuendo per se (e.g., the obvious meaning behind Sora wanting to be a “fulfilled” person, or Jibril’s attempts to find excuses to grope Sora and Shiro) as long as it means something in-universe. But panty shots are really just there for viewers from a certain demographic.

    But, anyway, rant aside, this was a very good episode. The highlight, at least for me, is Steph’s pride in her grandfather, and the contrast between the reactions to herself being made fun of (pouting, whining, yelling, but still in a comedic way) and to insults against her grandfather (being totally, completely, utterly emotionally broken). The final moment, when Sora says: “This is his trust in humanity. (…) He was really your grandfather.” brought a nice conclusion to a tension that had been building up since two episodes ago, when the siblings began relentlessly pwning their “pet dog for the day”.

    pyon
    Reply

    1. >] “But panty shots are really just there for viewers from a certain demographic.”

      No arguing that, but at the very least they’re not being very pronounced or in-your-face about it. So far they’ve had a pretty natural feel about them, which at least makes them tolerable, IMHO.

      Ryan Ashfyre
      Reply

    2. To me, panty shots work best in one of three ways: 1) Over-the-top fanservice, 2) revealing character, or 3) because in reality they would actually happen then anyway. For No Game No Life, they have thus far always fallen in #2 or #3 (#1 being a High School DxD kind of thing).

      For instance, I can only remember two times where Shiro’s panties are seen, and they were both when she was in midair – in episode one when they were falling, and here when they were flying. She’s wearing a skirt, and she’s in midair…it makes sense that her panties would be seen from a certain angle, and there were reasons for the “camera” to be at that angle other than showing her panties. Yes it’s a bit of pandering, but it’s heavily justified by circumstances, so it works for me.

      Besides, in those instances I’ve always gone “Huh, her panties.” Its never been set up for titillation really, at least not situation-wise.

      As for Steph, every time her panties are seen it’s to reinforce her butt monkey trope! status. She’s the only one it happened to when Jibril cast her teleport spell, last episode with the Marilyn Monroe bit, etc. It’s all for comedy and before these are the kind of unfortunate things that happen to Steph, so once again, it works for me.

      In other shows or stories, I would concede you the point. I loved Love Hina and Negima, but all the panty shots were clearly just because Akamatsu Ken liked adding in that little spice of fanservice. Fine, but this is different. This is incidental or revealing character, and that’s a level up.

      Five paragraphs about panties. I should probably stop.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Steph is also a character who has spent the least amount of time wearing any underwear so far. May be they just making sure we know she does wear it every now and then.

        Conrad
        Reply

      3. > Five paragraphs about panties. I should probably stop.

        Pity. I actually expected five paragraphs discussing Steph’s personality, motivations and priorities. (Only half-joking.) But, nevermind. 😛

        In all seriousness, I find Steph a very interesting character because of her unusual combination of being quite smart yet extremely naïve. Plus she is extremely adorable when she shows her frustration at things not going her way. Too bad her grandfather is not there anymore to spoil her. 🙁

        pyon
        Reply

    3. aito sensei doesnt write paragraphs about pantsu instead he lives with all of the glory that is pantsu. nyaha! and if he get sick of em, then he goes “oppai!” hahah

      n30nl16ht
      Reply

  18. Sora believes in Shiro, perhaps to a fault, and the potential that she represents, however Sora does not believe in himself. One need only look at what he’s like being separated from his beloved, oh-my-gosh-she’s-so-adorable-I-just-can’t-stand-it imouto for even a moment.

    Regardless, it’s within his borderline naive optimism and faith in humanity that I find Sora to be the most endearing and worth watching. It’s not often that I come across a character whose potential for despair is so palpable that I can practically taste it.

    Also, Gendo. LOL!

    Ryan Ashfyre
    Reply

    1. Lol, I think she was teasing her. It seems to me that Feel is quite fond of Clammy, but I don’t get any yuri vibes from her. There are many kinds of love, my hopeful friend.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. It’s ok my friend, that’s where our imagination and fanfiction comes to the rescue! But now that you guys got the idea of Clammy x Feel, I can’t stop shipping them! What’s going on!

        TrapMaster
        Reply

  20. Our Steph is now a Dola! Even with a transition episode this show never gets boring, don’t think I stopped giggling once for the first half.

    Really only need two words to sum this week up: brotherly shock

    Pancakes
    Reply

  23. I feel so bad for Steph and the role she’s been relegated to.

    That said, even though he’s a good for nothing NEET, Sora manages to say all the right things at all the right times.

    I’d like to have a Steph x Sora ending but I think Shiro is just too OP. q_q

    Takaii
    Reply

      1. Well if she’s not going to contribute much in helping Blank winning the game. I was hoping for some more romance development if only she can get over her “BANG BANG BANG HEAD It’s all because of the pledge’s fault.” mindset.

        viss
        Reply

    2. even though steph has been relegated to a comedic state as of late, i really hope she gets her turn. she’s kinda like lucy from fairy tail.

      And if its not too much trouble i “hope” Sora manages to say sorry to steph in the future following that awful rant he voiced out, im not saying he’s not entitled to it but making a girl cry by insulting someone she loves just doesn’t feel right.

      and besides from hu-Imnatiy’s potential to do great things, what sets us apart from the rest is also our potential to do down-to-earth things and show compassion and kindness to others even if they aren’t people.

      as always NGNL makes for some entertaining watch every week.

      n30nl16ht
      Reply

      1. Sora already apologized, through actions as much as words. He went on his rant, but then he assumed the best of her grandfather and later spoke glowingly of what a great man he was for the things he did, and how he really was her grandfather (thereby linking the two, and saying she’s that great as well). That’s far and above what most people would do. I wouldn’t expect them to revisit it, there’s too much else to do.

        Stilts
        Reply

    1. As I’ve said previous, the proper pronunciation is unclear, so like with Clammy vs Kurami I went based on A) what it sounded like the characters were saying to me & B) what I preferred. With Clammy I heard a few characters clearly call her that even though that name is ridiculous, whereas for this one it leaned towards my preference, because Warbeasts sounds soooo much cooler, nyahaha!

      Stilts
      Reply

    2. I think it’s warbeast because I hear in anime that the japanese pronounce War as “WAAA”, they pronounce Werewolf as “WEYAWORF” and in this anime I hear them say “WAABIST” which is I think closer to Warbeast than Werebeast.

      Azul
      Reply

    1. “Sora and Shiro, and by extension, Blank itself, were named for deception and rejection, the two ways in which the siblings learned to deal with the world.” – Excerpt from the article

      And it goes to say, Sora and Shiro can’t live without the other… Just like how you can’t really deceive if you don’t know how to reject the truth (or reality for that matter). Just my thoughts though.

      Zerix
      Reply

  27. About the scene where they met… The only things I noticed were that:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Ahh, this is such a good anime.

    Zerix
    Reply

  31. Jibril’s face as they opened the secret door…she really wanted to see those porn books. Sora was right when he said her entire existence was 18+, but I won’t fault her for it.

    michaelman90
    Reply

  32. Jibril man so uch love , no jibril no life , she is just pure ecstasy of agony. the angle of death , instead of drinking tea , praying and do good deed , they collected heads as trophy

    PeTdo
    Reply

  33. I appreciated that Steph overhearing Sora talking with Jibril in the library, thus restoring her faith in him, was not accidental but actually a result of a decision made with that intention (by Jibril in this case, that made Steph come back).

    People accidentally and conveniently hearing/discovering things is an overused plot device that is a very poor writing choice, so I’m glad this show is not going that way. I’m really enjoying this, mainly for the plot and the good characters … mainly. there are also boobs and ehm whatever,i like me sexy girls sowhat i go now bye

    Voyager
    Reply

    1. A good point! Once again this story goes for the deliberate and the foreshadowed rather than bullshit happenstance coincidences. A story can get away with those once in a blue moon, but too many abuse it. Thankful No Game No Life is not one of those.

      Stilts
      Reply

  36. this anime is a treasure full of gems… this is definitely a top competitor for the anime of the season

    PS thanks sora you make me proud of myself being an ordinary human.

    The Last Idiot
    Reply

  38. My feels are uncontrollable for this episode. 7 episodes in and this series is getting stronger week after week. ANI-SHOCK!

    Can’t wait for the gang to go into the Warbeast’s territory. Sora’s reaction alone will probably entertain me to no ends.

    aeria
    Reply

  40. I wonder how they will get around the animal people mind power. Being ranked 14 and still manage to trounce the elves and a flugel goes to show that even if you are weak you can still bitch slap the strong.

    So in a way they share the same potential as humanity. I am thinking that the higher the mortality and longevity might determine a race rank and not necessarily their ability.

    For example we have Immortal old Deus who are ranked one, Dragons we know live long, Elves are always good for a few thousand years, Angels are long lived , even a floating island. However Warbeast sounds like being Animal + People making them probably shorter on the life span in comparison to the other races thus putting them closer to humanity.

    With that being the case I speculate that the warbeast are like zergs as they probably give birth in litters and not like normal people allowing them to become the third strongest country despite apparently waring with one another.

    If anything it might be physically an even fight as both side have numbers and I would guess the Warbeast have animal cunning while humanity have adaptability and ingenuity.

    So them having an extra ability like mind reading gives them an edge though I am surprise they did not read the king intention to circumvent the oath or maybe they knew and didn’t care. After all the theme seem to be underestimate humanity.

    It was nice over all and them soap from Jibril, she so crazy.

    Duzz
    Reply

    1. I’d say, the power of species is determined by their inherent ability, their population size, and their techniques. Techniques in the broadest sense, from language to education to science to technology and so on. Techniques are what separates sentient races from animals, and they act as a multiplier to the “resources” of the abilities and numbers a race possesses. What’s more, it’s a system with positive feedback, where an introduction of a new techniques might enable an increase in population size and open way for the development of further techniques. It’s easy to see why an advantage in techniques can provide a boost that easily makes up for a deficiency in the inherent ability.
      The potential of the species is where they can possibly reach by steadily improving their techniques. On one hand, you can say it’s infinite, on the other hand, making a step forward has its requirements, and the farther you go, the higher the bar is set. There should be a recognized need in advancement so that people start thinking about the ways to achieve it, there should be an individual to produce an idea/concept, and this concept should receive recognition and support in order to be implemented. Pretty much what Sora was talking about.
      Thing is, other races have higher theoretical potential compared to Imanity. The more unique inherent traits you possess, the greater is the number of techniques you can develop. It also gives you more options in how to advance, so making a step forward should be easier. No one else would be able to copy techniques based on unique traits as well. Only one thing – you can’t copy them from someone else either, you have to develop them yourself. Which brings the matters of motivation and cooperation front and center. It just so happens, that the stronger the race is individually, the more content and self-centered its representatives are. Supreme theoretical potential that never gets realized practically. In a way, balance in all things.

      Conrad
      Reply

  42. Another solid and beautiful episode. NGNL is the shining example of what makes Anime so good: Great comedy, thought provoking story, and even a little drama to boot. In fact, it’s getting hard to find words to express how good this series is.

    What I still find interesting is the irony being the fact that Sora and Shiro are “misfits” (i.e. NEETs) of society, yet they represent the potential of humanity/imanity world. This rang especially true when Sora talked about his outlook on humankind and even himself.

    Aoihoshikage
    Reply

  45. I have more and more respect for the old king… he willingly took the mantle of fool, worked hard to get info on enemies, and knowing full well he cant use this knowledge himself arranged a way for a really good palyer (selected according to his will by tournament)to show up, and to use the info gathered…

    ewok40k
    Reply

  46. Something that was missed and not talked about, what was Jibril doing right after Sora said “… I need to start by believing in the old King…” ?

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Boo
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  49. For hikikomori NEETs who openly despised their fellow human beings, its been a bit of a stretch to think that they suddenly cared about their fellow Imanity in Elkia, a stretch which I honestly barely thought of until now because I was having too much fun. Sora revealing that he doesn’t believe in humanity, and that most humans are stupid, lowly creatures – the same thing Jibril still thinks of all Imanity save her masters, though she’s been polite enough to keep that unspoken this episode, mostly – felt right. So why? Why does he want to help Elkia?

    I don’t think its surprising. This makes sense as they are people who are depressed and feel the world is worthless or have given up on the world. A lot of people feel, in this world even, (talk to a lot of the net dwellers in the U.S.) that most Americans have become stupid and don’t vote properly or hate their stupid politicians that can’t understand basics of how the internet works. This would be a people who know that the potential of Humanity (or American Humanity) is great, but they’ve lost their way. Made perfect sense to me as I watched because I shared some of that viewpoint.

    ergZay
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  50. I don’t know if this was posted yet or not but Jibril’s existence was already foreshadowed since episode 1. When Tet just brought them to Disboard, they were falling and during rule 4 you see Jibril.

    LastCrosss
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