Playing with Fairies!

New Game! Introduction and Story

New Game! Follows the story of Suzukaze Aoba, who has a desire to work and soon finds herself at a job that would change her life. Being a huge fan of the Fairy Stories series on the PZ3, Aoba was determined to live out her dream to work for Eaglejump, the company behind the series. To her amazement she lands the dream position and finds herself working on the very same game she fell in love with throughout her university days. To Aoba this position means everything, but as she’ll soon discover, working in the game industry is going to take a lot more than just a love for the game to succeed.

What We Liked About New Game!

New Game! is a slice of life series that focuses on the livelihood of a young girl who’s striving to live out her dreams of becoming a game designer. Like many anime that pertain to slice of life, it places a lot of emphasis on the greater aspects of life such as forming relationships, dealing with uncertain circumstances, and coping with it all to become a better person through adversities. What’s more wonderful about New Game! is that it’s a video game anime which can speak to a wide array of people, despite the series being labeled under the seinen genre. Furthermore, it looks into the life of an aspiring young individual who has a strong passion to live a dream, and promises to work hard along the way to ensure she stays happy in the workplace.

If you’re a fan of video games with slice of life characteristics thrown into the mix, then New Game! is most certainly a must watch for you. There’s so much variety throughout the show that you’ll be constantly enamored by all of the colorful personalities that come together under one gaming office roof, and bring it all together for one entertaining series.

Discussion Time: Should You Watch New Game! ?

As mentioned earlier, New Game! focuses on the life of Aoba, who desired to work on the Fairy Stories series because of her love for the game and the designer behind it all. Every episode starting from the first really captures the passion and energy that Aoba has, and you can certainly place yourself in her shoes as her excitement rises the minute she receives the position. Slice of life anime always have plenty of emotionally riveting parts that just make you either want to shout with joy, or tear up over the incredible bond each character has developed over time. New Game! provides that very same feeling but multiplied because every character is so loveable, approachable, relatable, and pure in their own way. Each encounter that Aoba has with each of her colleagues is full of humor because she’s just truly being herself along with everyone else. New Game! teaches the viewer how important it is to value friendship, and most importantly to create long lasting relationships that serve a purpose with a lasting impression.

There’s so much to say about New Game! that it may take up more than this entire page to just express it, but for the sake of you all we’ll keep it brief and direct. This show is definitely one of the better slice of life anime that has come out in the recent years, with the addition of ReLife which we thought was phenomenal as well. Aoba initially walks into the office a nervous wreck but still full of energy, ready to take on any task in front of her. In the first episode you see how quickly she’s able to adapt and is ready to get to know every member of the team. This strong sense of awareness is what helps the team grow to become very strong, almost like a sisterhood of sorts. Rin and Kou have this sort of romantic relationship that you clearly can tell right off the bat, but perhaps it’s more of a deeper bond because the two have worked on the series from the very beginning, which was stated in the very last episode.

As each episode progresses we’re introduced to more and more colorful characters like the very upbeat and cheerful Hajime. Her passion for all things figurines and toys is so cute, and when Aoba’s close friend Nene is hired as a part time game tester, the two are like two little children playing happily together. It’s almost as if they were separated by birth because they share so much in common that you just laugh at every interaction they have. Speaking of Nene, she’s a little younger than Aoba and a little more carefree. Things get so funny when Nene and weapons specialist Umiko are in the same room together, because Umiko is so strict and gungho about everything that Nene is always frightened by her, which leads her to tripping over just about everything. Of course it’s not intentional on Nene’s end, but we know exactly how she feels because she’s just so full of energy that it gets the best of her at times. Yun is surprisingly quite level headed and just enjoys having a great time with friends, especially when she’s able to set everything up. She loves to prepare outings such as going to the onsen and just building better bonds with her colleagues.

Unfortunately Yun is quite self conscious and tries hard to maintain her weight, despite having an obsession for sweets. It’s funny when the whole team goes out to buy donuts as a celebration for their hard work, and Yun comes back with double the bags. Shizuku and her cat make many appearances as well and she’s more of the coordinator that creates a solid foundation for everyone to walk on. Her kind, goofy, and laid back attitude resonate with you so much because of how effortless it all is. She never tries too hard but gets everything she needs finished. Lets dive into some great reasons why tuning into the show will be worth every penny.

1. Aoba’s Hard Work and Dedication

In Episode 6, the scene starts off with Aoba gulping nervously, as she watches over Yagami’s back to see just how the professional does it. You see Yun curiously turning her head to see what all the fuss is about, and the camera pans back to Aoba as she tries to take notes as much as she can. This goes back to the whole part about Aoba being so diligent in her ways, ensuring that her work ethic is on par with Yagami at all times. It also shows us just how much Yagami means to Aoba, as she was the whole reason why she applied initially.

After being assigned more designs from Yagami, she returns to her desk gleaming with joy because she finally feels like she belongs on the team. That inspiration to keep going is what really struck us as one of the greater highlights of the show, because it demonstrates the importance of never giving up despite the many challenges you’re confronted with. The two begin to show signs of love and respect for each other, and it’s cute to see Aoba in a kuma sleeping bag when the two stay the night in the office.

2. Overcoming the Inner Demons

Hifumi has always been shy ever since she started on the team, and she’s desperately been trying to overcome that social anxiety. In every episode, Hifumi is constantly observing not only those around her, but herself. There are moments where she’ll try to talk about her passion for cosplay or her cute pet hedgehog, but she’ll only briefly mention it before blushing and returning to her desk. That all eventually changes however, because once Aoba and Hifumi began getting to know each other better, her heart started to open a lot more and she began to express more of what she enjoys. Of course it wasn’t easy for her, but when she and the girls go to the onsen and Tokyo Game Expo (they changed the name in the show of course) you immediately see her break the curse and show off her true character. Thanks to Aoba’s observation and empathy, the two immediately became attached to each other and Hifumi’s confidence grew exponentially to become her greatest version.

3. The Release Day

Anyone who has worked in the game industry knows how grueling the hours can be, stressing the work can feel, and overwhelming when it comes to due dates. All of that gets thrown out of the window however when everything is finally wrapped up and ready to sell to the adoring and eager fans. Despite this being the last episode, we felt it gave off the best feeling simply because it brought everyone together in their natural appearance, as they all waited for Fairy Stories 3 to launch. They all rushed in line to grab their own limited edition copies, despite getting free copies of their own. It truly demonstrated just how much hard work and dedication each of these women put into the game, and how far they’ve come as a team.

Their love and respect for each other was what made it all possible, and despite the differences in personalities it all mixed together to create a spectacular game that not only touched the hearts of the fans, but ours as well. Nothing feels better than seeing your work being admired by many.

1. No action in this game

Anyone who has worked in the game industry knows how grueling the hours can be, stressing the work can feel, and overwhelming when it comes to due dates. All of that gets thrown out of the window however when everything is finally wrapped up and ready to sell to the adoring and eager fans. Despite this being the last episode, we felt it gave off the best feeling simply because it brought everyone together in their natural appearance, as they all waited for Fairy Stories 3 to launch. They all rushed in line to grab their own limited edition copies, despite getting free copies of their own. It truly demonstrated just how much hard work and dedication each of these women put into the game, and how far they’ve come as a team.

Their love and respect for each other was what made it all possible, and despite the differences in personalities it all mixed together to create a spectacular game that not only touched the hearts of the fans, but ours as well. Nothing feels better than seeing your work being admired by many.

Honey’s Closing Statement

New Game! Really felt like an adventure on screen, as you watched each character grow over time and build strong bonds with everyone to create a wonderful title. Every experience gained was a boost of confidence, and you cheer for your favorite character as they level up after clearing their own personal obstacles. With a New Game! RPG title releasing next year in Japan, it seems like the adventure is just beginning in this spectacular show full of laughter, emotion, and great memories. We hope you found this review enlightening and refreshing, so be sure to let us know how you felt in the comments down below, and also share our articles to keep everyone buzzing!

As always, if you want to know about all the latest buzz straight from the bee’s nest in Japan, be sure to keep it locked here at Honey’s Anime.

Editor/Writer

Author: Rob "NualphaJPN" B.

A passionate fan of gaming, writing, journalism, anime, and philosophy. I've lived in Japan for many years and consider this place to be my permanent home. I love to travel around Japan and learn about the history and culture! Leave a comment if you enjoy my articles and watch me play on twitch.tv/honeysgaming ! Take care!

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