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Year: 2020
Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Episodes: 11
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
How many games do you have on your phone? Also, what type of games do you like to play on your phone? Is it sports games like the NBA or some kind of NFL game? How about one of those matching games like Candy Crush? How about the shooter games? Those are freaking fun. Do you remember the popularity of Flappy Bird, or how about Angry Birds? Oh, how can I forget about the fighting games like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter? What would you think if you downloaded a new game and then found out that you were part of it? People will battle you right in the open. Would you still play? Darwin’s Game is an anime where a simple app game turns into an all-out survival game.
Overview
One day, high school sophomore Kaname Sudō receives an invitation from a friend to play an app game called Darwin’s Game. Kaname is skeptical of the game because he has never heard of it and doesn’t know the rules. As soon as he accepts and opens up the application, a freakin green snake suddenly pops out from the phone screen and bites him on the neck, which leaves him unconscious.
Waking up in the infirmary without anything on his neck, Kaname thinks it is whatever and takes the rest of the day off and boards a train home. When he opens up the app again, he inadvertently accepts a battle game. His excitement is short-lived when he finds out that the battle is to the death, and anyone who plays the game is given a Sigil, an ability that varies from player to player. Now a member of the game that is designed around murder and conquest, Kaname decides that the best way to survive is to align himself with powerful allies and kill the one who made the game.
Review:
I have mixed feelings about this anime. I really can’t put my finger on it. Let’s talk about the story. It is a combination of all those other anime series that deal with video games like Overlord, SOA, and a few others. The one difference between those is the violence in this anime. This anime is not the extremely violent, but people do die. I say that it adds to the overall feel and appeal to the anime. The concept of not people being transported to a different world but gaining powers from a video game app is fascinating and very modern. I think that makes the anime worth watching.
As for the actual story, it seems to start off with the main character not knowing anything and just trying to survive. After a tournament where many people get eliminated, the anime switches it up and shows the main character as a complete badass. I liked how the main character was like; I’m going off and having my group whip ass and take down the person who created the game. Homeboy becomes ruthless.
Now the animation of this anime was okay. It wasn’t overly impressive or out of this world. It did its job with some of the action scenes and battle scenes. I really like that the anime didn’t use this CGI for battle scenes. The animators throw in this strange-looking CGI if something really wants to be shown. This anime stayed away from it.
As for the characters, only really two of them should be talked about. First is Kaname Sudō. Kaname is meh at first and then comes on strong. His Sigil is called “The Fire God’s Hammer,” which allows him to recreate weapons and other simple objects he has touched before. When I say homeboy becomes ruthless, he is only ruthless towards the people that majorly deserve it. He is one of the smartest players in the whole game.
The second character is Shuka Karino. Shuka is a freakin badass, and I love her for it. Her Sigil is called the “Princess of Thorn,” which allows her to control wire-like objects, which she utilizes to wield spiked chains. I thought her character went down when she lost and fell in love with Kaname, but she proved me wrong as she killed people without a second thought. When she fought that one leader, she tore off his legs and laughed about it. Straight Gangsta!
Darwin’s Game is one of those anime series with a lot left in the tank if given a second season. The story gets off quickly with a man with a teddy bear head killing someone. The story is interesting, and certain characters are fun to watch. Give this anime a try while watching all the other video game-type anime series.
