I just rewatched No Game No Life: Zero, even though it’s only been about a month from when I first watched it. Part of me just thought it’d be fun to watch again, and that maybe I’d get some inspiration / motivation from watching it a second time.
Not really sure where I wanted to go with this post though!
If you haven’t seen NGNL: Zero, you should definitely check it out. It’s the best anime movie I’ve ever seen (I haven’t seen too many though..) and while it’s a “prequel” to No Game No Life, I think it’d still make for a good standalone movie. That said, it definitely makes sense to watch No Game No Life beforehand – or maybe it’d be neat to watch NGNL: Zero first? The movie does spoil a little bit of NGNL though.
Speaking of which, there will be NGNL: Zero spoilers in this post.
Well, here are a few new things that I’ve noticed or realized from the rewatch:
The Ex-Machina Are Germanic
While they start out with random alpha-numeric designations, like “u7sD823yjk“, after developing emotional intelligence, or whatever it is you’d like to call “the human heart”, the ex-machina choose Germanic names for themselves.
I believe Schwi originally chose Schwarzer?, until Riku shortened it to Schwi. And then the other ex-machina we meet that approaches Riku calls himself Einzieg. Einzieg also calls Riku “Spieler”, which (thanks to Google) means gambler in German.
I guess this just means that the ex-machina have that German efficiency.
Seems fair enough. If I had to buy an ex-machina, I would buy German made.
Maybe this is reading too deep into it, but there is a point to be made about the idea of Germans lacking emotions from the movie, which I thought was pretty funny. This is pretty standard in anime from what I’ve seen, with Germans usually being the militaristic / punctual / proper characters – they are also more likely to wear imperial style military outfits (which I love). I guess making them literal robots is just a step beyond their normal portrayal!
I Preferred Schwi’s Original Personality
This is something I realized with this rewatch. I liked when Schwi was a bit more obnoxious and robotic with her speech – making open queries and statements. Her voice seemed a little more clear and straightforward too. I understand why she adopted the quiet / shy personality / voice, because it better matches Shiro from NGNL, but I liked her original personality and voice better. I also wasn’t a huge fan of Shiro in NGNL, so there’s that too.
I also liked her “little sister” personality… it’s a shame that Riku didn’t take a liking to it…
Favourite Moment
I’m probably not alone on this one.
There are many moments in the movie that are amazing.
For example, Riku infected with the black ash while playing chess / manipulating the Elves by providing information. Definitely one of the best scenes of the movie – I wish there were more scenes like this with Riku demonstrating his excellent ability to deceive / manipulate others. Actually, this probably is the best scene – but not the best moment.
The best moment has to be “Heavens’ Strike”.
The eyes of the flugel and serious tone in which she speaks those words, followed by a very brief period of silence before the entire battlefield becomes engulfed in light and some epic choral music begins. Just an amazing moment in the movie, probably the most climactic one too.
I also like Riku’s narration after the giant ball of fiery eneregy is revealed to us, after the light dissipates. “This signals the end of this world”. Very cool.
So yeah, I rewatched NGNL: Zero, and that’s what I had to say about it this time around.
I can definitely see myself watching it for a third time, but probably not until next year at the earliest.
Until next time.
Thanks for reading!
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