Joker Game

I actually almost skipped this title for a few reasons. One it aired on Tuesday, a day where only two titles were airing, two I got it mixed up with another title airing this season with the word "joker" in it. Now when I first started Joker Game I honestly didn't expect much from it. It wasn't until later episodes that it really started to take off and I started to enjoy it immensely.' Story 8.5/10 Really interesting plot and story going on for each episode. In my opinion I think that the greatest thing about the story is that it remains, no matter what the episodeor plot is about, dramatic. Like, I found it very difficult to turn away from Joker Game. Whenever I tried to do something else while I was watching it, something interesting would happen and I'd be like "Oh man! what's going to happen next." So to me I'd say that drama is the shows main focal point. One other thing that I admire was how even though the story wasn't based on real events, the episodes and narrative played out like a old re-enactment of history videos you'd see on discovery channel or national geographic. The story added so much realism despite it being completely fictional and that is something that stood out to me quite a lot! Often times the dialogue seemed overly dramatic however this doesn't change my overall feelings for the story. The plot for each episode always kept things interesting & exciting because of the mystery element added to it. Honestly, I couldn't find too much that I didn't like in the story department other than the ending, which I cannot spoil because rules. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed watching the story of joker game unfold. Visually, I was impressed with the background settings in Joker game. the details to certain objects and vehicles like the trains, cars, and other items looked alright. It was as if the team working on the shows animations for 1950's style settings did a good job with accurately researching objects, devices and settings from the 1950's. Although I'm sure most of their research focused more on main stream objects like guns, best trains available, best cars for that time period, that sort of thing. Character designs were pretty good however, I didn't like how plain a majority of the males looked. I'm glad that the females stood out more than the males but I still think the character designers could have done a better job with the appearances of the characters. Let me start off with my favorite thing in the soundtrack department, the voice actors, seiyuu's etc.. they did a great job with speaking English! Words were pronounced fluently (to a certain extent) and properly spoken in their sentences. It really shows the devotion and extent that actors are willing to go to star in a role. Having that experiences really helps with getting more roles and I love to hear Japanese.. well foreigners in general speaking outside of their native language. Moving on, the soundtrack in Joker game was actually pretty nice. My favorite thing about the background music is that if a dramatic event was occurring, the music will help intensify that specific scene. My favorite song in the entire series though is the ending song by "Double" by MAGIC OF LiFE." Before I get into characters, let me say that I really liked how diverse the characters involved in the show were. There were Caucasians, Africans, Asians, etc none of them portrayed too negatively nor stereotypical. Nationalities such as Germans, weren't exploited as negatively as they are in any other "Historical" anime genres. I like that there was a sense of respectfulness to other cultures in certain parts of the story. Characters wouldn't use offensive words to refer to each other. So that was dealt with very maturely. I think character growth is the most important factor of the series. It's crucial for the spies to grow and develop their skills otherwise they'll just end up dead as you'll see in the show. I think what I enjoyed most about the series is that no matter what episode I was watching, I felt like the enjoyment I had watching were so good that I couldn't help but share what I thought was going to happen next with my mates. I think anticipating what's going to happen next episode is perhaps what makes this series so exiting to watch. The mysterious element along with drama just kept me coming back for more! Overall I would recommend Joker Game if you want to watch something generally interesting, easy to watch and understand.

Joker Game. Seeing that title already has my interest when examining the words of it on the surface. Joker implies that there will be tricksters in the series while game has a broad meaning of contesting between individuals. Yet, this show isn’t about a game. It’s about spies during a tense period of time when the world is at war. If you’re a fan of crime thriller, detective stories, and political conflicts in society, then this show will be a wild ride for you. Starting off, the series is based on the novel of the same name. Prior to the anime adaptation, it had already receiveda live-action film. The premise is similar and the setting takes place during the heightened stages of World War II. What does that mean? It basically shows that Joker Game is no stranger when it comes to political schemes and propaganda. The series has a good degree of realism as it portrays characters with their own ideals, goals, and purpose in the show. Furthermore, we get a concrete idea about what’s at stake during this time period. In retrospect, Joker Game does a fairly well job at getting the audience to understand the show by showing and telling. In essence, Joker Game’s story structure follows more of an episodic stage. In other words, the show focuses on a different spy each episode as we learn individually about their story. It also explores their personalities quite well as the episodes focuses exclusively on them on a personal level. What’s common about each episode also shows how they view the conflict going on during this period of time, which is fairly interesting if you envision yourself as these characters. Later on though, the show does focuses on a more developed story that stays consistent with the overall premise. Another point to bring up is that the show also explores the side from the enemy point of view. In this case, Japan’s enemies. It brings another interesting perspective to show the ideologies of various nations beyond just Japan. Characterization takes on a more personal approach for most of the characters. They get their spotlight and often play around with the audience about their real intentions. The theme of double agents come to play often in the show as no one can really be trusted. In the spy world, it’s easy to formulate that Joker Game is like a game of itself. The characters needs to play their cards right to win. This can be true especially for the D-Agency against rival spy organizations such as the Wind Agency and Secret Service of Great Britain. And while the series doesn’t have a true protagonist, it’s clear that Yuuki (the founder of the D-Agency) plays a prominent role to piece together events for the story. It’s also interesting to learn more about his background too and the origins of the very organization he created. To enjoy watching Joker Game, the key is perhaps to finding an attachment to the characters. Each of them has their own talents, weaknesses, personality, and characteristic that make them an ideal spy. For instance, Amari is the type that can talk his way into almost anything. On the other hand, Fukimoto is the more silent type who uses his knowledge to get things done. Jitsui, who seems innocent on the outside is dangerous man from the inside. Kaminaga is also a man worth noting for his desire to accomplish anything at hand. Then, there’s Miyoshi with his sarcastic personality and difficult to read from any point of time. There’s more but you get the general idea. The idea is that D-Agency is not to be underestimated given what their core members are capable of. Their roles in the series varies but all of them meets the expectations of what spies should be. For the audience, I think that can be quite appreciable. Production I.G helms the animation of the show and in essence, they do a good job at constructing the historical settings. The series’ eerie atmosphere also gives a mysterious vibe supplemented by well-coordinated choreography. However, one irk about the show is perhaps all the main characters looks very similar. While this may or may not be intentional, it can be rather confusing. Regardless, Production I.G. adapts high quality when it comes to visuals and shows once again their talent. To me, the soundtrack of Joker Game is poetic. It’s poetic in the sense that the music focuses beyond just what it is. In other words, the OST is composed for a purpose to craft suspense especially with the soft paced piano tunes and eerie feel. OP and ED theme songs are also artistic with various symbolisms and catchy lyrics. Finally, voice mannerism is quite noticeable in the show. Each character may look similar but the voices can be distinctive different on many occasions. Because the series’ characters are mostly spies, they often talk in ways that is hard to read what their intent actually is. Is Joker Game a good show? Is it worth picking up? That’s actually easy to say if you’re a fan of crime fiction, political thriller, and spy espionage. It’s aimed more towards a mature audience as each episode has a meaning. The story is very serious and rarely ever jokes with what it presents. That being said, characters can be a hit or miss for some fans especially for their roles. For everything it does, it’s still quite a spy adventure of rare breed.

Jokah Gaemu is some sort of historic thriller drama that’s all about deception, just like how it deceived everyone into thinking this anime would actually be interesting. A series about a secret agency of spies set around World War II made this a lot more ambitious than the easy-going series that led its season, but alas, concept isn’t everything. The biggest problem for me was that Joker Game isn’t engaging at all. There’s no reason to get invested into anything. Who are these people? What are they doing? What’s the point? ...Why should I care? The episodes are structured very poorly, where we only have avague idea of what’s going on in the beginning, and for nearly twenty minutes you watch someone you don’t know anything about do stuff for… some reason, and then the last few minutes before the credits are spent going over everything: what was actually happening, what the spy’s strategy was, and what context it has for the present and the future. It feels like taking a physics test in English class. How was I supposed to know this shit? The other biggest problem is that the show is episodic. There are two two-part episodes, but each new story is just a new spy in a new situation with no reasons that no one cares about. Which is a shame, because the first two episodes seemed to have some idea of what to do with the series; it was about some dude from the army coming in to watch the Dickhead Agency or whatever and work with them. Something like that. And even though this guy is a fucking idiot, his contrasting beliefs with the spies and their leader had something going on here, I figured this would be about all these guys together. Nope. After this small arc, the army character is nowhere to be found while the spies split up around the world to live boring lives and somehow contribute to… something. Ironically, the last episode had a theme and conclusion similar to the first arc, so it makes me wonder what the hell this was actually supposed to be about. In the end, I know nothing about any of the characters or the story, if there even was one to begin with. Maybe that was the point all along, to give me identical-looking puzzle pieces and telling me to figure it out for myself. Except the end result doesn’t look very good and the pieces aren’t interesting anyway. If you don’t care much for characters and just want to get some espionage, go for it, I guess. Me, personally, I like giving a shit. I like getting a linear story and getting the details easily. Joker Game isn’t like that. So, uh, the characters. They all look the same. That’s racist. Actually, most of them are distinguishable, but look very much like real people. OH NO! CURSE YOU, PRODUCTION I.G.! Anyway, the problem for me wasn’t telling them apart, it was just telling who any of them even were. As in, their names. It’s a little awkward to think of the central character in an episode as “that one spy guy.” Other than that, they have no personalities. Yeah, I get that that’s the point. That doesn’t mean I enjoyed it, or that I think it was even necessary. I would’ve preferred this being a little bit more about the spies and not just about what they do. Truth be told, I might not have lifted a finger on this if I didn’t see Production I.G.’s name embracing it. While there was only so much they could do, the characters look very polished, and the setting seems good enough for depicting the 30’s and 40’s. But the lack of visual cues in what’s going on is a little annoying, as I go back to how things would happen and THEN get explained. For instance, the first episode contains a short montage of the crew playing poker with the army guy, only for them to reveal they were tricking him. How do they explain the trick? By using shots that weren't included in the montage at all. It only sounds smart because they hid all the answers. Like the animation, there’s only so much that could’ve been done with the sound. It’s not particularly bad, just uninteresting. It’s very subdued with a lot of sombre piano tunes and maybe a jazz track here and there. The OP is another story, being a rather lively alt-rock song defined more by its brass instrumentation than its use of wah-wahs. I like wah-wahs, but it’s hindered a bit by its length, I’d say. The full song is much better, would recommend. And from what I know, it seems to be the band’s debut work, so, good on them. The ED is a lot more of a standard rock song. No wah-wahs, unfortunately. It’s a decent song, though I don’t think it fits the show very well. That’s all. I’m gonna go take a nap, because this just kinda puts me to sleep. Story - 3/10 Art - 7/10 Sound - 5/10 Characters - 2/10 Enjoyment - 3/10 Spying - maybetheseratingsarealietoo/10 Overall - 3/10 Favorite character - Yuuki because he gets more than 10 minutes of screentime Recommendation level - Low

Historical fiction is something that's always intrigued me. Any medium going against the status quo and delivering a gripping concept is enough to interest me. In the case of joker game I can assuredly say that I was looking forward to uncovering the secrets that lied beneath its plot and anxious for another historical fiction in general. After the initial two episodes I was hooked, and I had laid out an outline by foresight that I couldn't have been more wrong on. Unlike some anime in the recent past that derailed after strong starts, Joker Game simply changed course, and I was more disappointed thanmad at how it ended up. Joker Game's inception and development into an anime was very atypical. Unlike directly been adapted from a manga, the series originally launched as a set of mystery novels written by Koji Yanagi. Then it was adapted into a live-action film in 2015, and finally into a manga earlier this year concurrent with the release of the anime in April. Certainly not the traditional method of how an anime gets adapted but I.G must have seen enough promise in the books to create something entertaining. I have a love/hate relationship with episodic anime. If it's filler, I generally dislike it. If it contributes to the story, I appreciate it. If it does a little bit of both like in the classic Cowboy Bebop... well I won't even go into how much I appreciate that series. The episodic approach that Joker Game took was not my favorite. Maybe it was my preconceived notion's talking, But something about it just felt off for me. Before I delve into the negatives, let me first start by pointing out some of the positives within Joker Game. First off, I absolutely love spy thrillers and murder mysteries. When I was a kid I constantly meandered through the cable television channels late on Saturday nights, usually finding myself stopping on an old spy film from the 50s or 60s. I guess I loved being able to solve the case with them or get caught up in the suspense of it all. The spy elements of Joker Game were clearly the anime's backbone. Unfortunately this is the same element acting as it's Achilles' heel. I know that most of us would say it's near impossible to establish a new setting, characters and a mini plot start to finish in about 20 minutes. The delivery just doesn't cut it in that short of a time window. Granted, some of Joker Game's episodic iterations were dual episode, I just had a hard time finding it that enjoyable. Some of the spy elements were engaging and suspenseful, and I'd find myself saying "wow, that's a really good idea!" But unfortunately the moments were too scarce and unpredictable. I appreciate the idea they were going for here, but in an anime it didn't translate as well. Sometimes in these reviews I feel like I'm beating a dead horse but this is another show that would've benefited from a longer air time of about 26 episodes. From what I can tell, the historical information threaded into Joker Game is quite accurate. I'm no history buff but I do know enough about World War II to detect whether most things are factual or not, and for the most part it was spot on. I actually even learned a few things about the time period from watching it. I also enjoyed how they would incorporate flashbacks into episodes defragmenting the agency's origination and derivation. It gave a sort of under the microscope presentation. I imagine real spy agencies like this one existed back in post WWII, which made Joker Game's premise that much more engaging. The scenes involving the recruited members of D-Agency getting initiated were intense and regimented, reminding me a bit of my time in the military. The flashbacks containing each episode's protagonist also warranted some attachment to their cause, and give them justice in their actions. The dialogue spoken between characters trying to out wit each other was complex and intricate, which seems to be all too rare these days. However, due to the short nature of these episodes I often found the whodunit approach almost irrelevant, since the writers didn't really give me a chance to figure out who the spy was before slapping it in my face. Episode four was pure cringe worthy with its plot convenience. I think that was also the point I realized the show wasn't going to fulfill my expectations. Perhaps my biggest issue with Joker Game is the characters. In the first two episodes you are introduced to multiple spies, most of which play a role later on in the series. However, they all look so similar in character design that I never really knew or could discern one from the other. I don't know if this was purposeful or not but it made some of the episodes extremely confusing, most specifically the episode with the reporter. I swear I had to rewatch that episode ending twice before I really knew what had transpired. I wouldn't count this as a cry to be spoonfed information, but more as laziness in writing, since I'm normally quick to decipher what's going on. Some might try to scoff at me and say that Joker Game is not about the characters themselves, but the missions that unfold with in each episode, and I get that. But that doesn't mean it couldn't of been executed better, because if there were certain things omitted or more detailed, the pre-existing storylines would entirely suffice. Anyone who knows my anime tastes knows that I love historical fiction and would've killed for Joker Game to be that next great genre definer. Unfortunately its issues defined it more than its positives. Besides the cloned character models, the art style in Joker Game was a healthy mix of CG and hand drawn animation. I was initially worried during the opening with the use of CG, and I got scary flashbacks of shows like Knights of Sidonia flooding my brain. Luckily for my retina's sake this style of animation was only prominent in the opening and nowhere else. While not bad, with a proper budget Joker Game could've been a lot prettier to look at. Some of the backgrounds were recycled or bland and it reminded me more of an early to late 2000's anime at times. The soundtrack was very fitting for the time period conveyed, and fit well within the show's opening. It was very James Bond-esque with its jazzy up-tempo beat. Although I like the ending theme, it didn't really fit the show's personality that well. While many of the voice actors in Joker Game have some pretty flashy resumes, nobody really stood out to me in the series. And of course I got the odd cringe when the American soldiers spoke English throughout the series. Not as bad as some anime out there but it definitely did catch me offguard. I still remember the broken English line from the second episode when one of the agency members says, "behind the Imperial portrait!" I'm not going to lie I laughed out loud a little bit on that one. At the end of the day, scoring anime on a quantifiable scale is all relative. I have become more critical as I watch more anime and have even gone as far as to lower previous scores for shows I've seen after seeing better iterations in the same genre. That being said, Joker Game is not life-changing but just about any anime fan could find enjoyment in it. Although the target audience may be history fans, the suspense, premise and witty dialogue could render it entertaining for even the most casual viewer. If you're worried about binge watching, this is the anime for you. Its episodic approach allows you to start and stop when you please, and makes it a great idea to watch in order to unwind after a long day at work. I would even attach it to a list of animes for people that don't normally watch anime. I'm anxious to see what the recently announced OVA contains in order to extend the franchise when it debuts. As always, thanks for reading and be sure to check out the rest of my spring 2016 anime reviews!