Good Night World

Summary: "AI rules the world" in Ep 1 is fine as setting, but not in climax without development. Reading the synopsis, it looked like a heart-warming story of a broken family reunited via online game. However there is no such healing at all. It was good until Ep 5, especially due to the difference of art style between real life and game, but went somewhere else after the twist in Ep 6. Good character design (not only their looks, but also their traumen and accompanied behaviors) and animation, but it seriously lacks coherence in the story. It shares many subjects with SAO, but failed to justifyitself like SAO did. (For example, brain damage from headgear is accepted by everyone, and this show also borrows it. But there is not enough explanation here how AI can damage people in real world even though they are not playing that game.) The worst is that it is full of violent and unpleasant killing with detailed portrait of dead body. Not recommended to those who are looking for happy story, or well developed storytelling. Only for gore fans. I can't rate this below average due to the quality of the animation, but to talk about the story only, it's 2/10.

Really liked this anime, it puts the use of AI in an interesting perspective and avoids cliches. Wasn't expecting anything to be honest, but I was fully surprised, it started well (fun, easy to watch) and only got more interesting as the story developed (especially with the event of episode 6 it became even more interesting) The character design and animation in general are very beautiful and well done. I highly recommend it, especially if you are interested in the subject of artificial intelligence and game programming. I hope there are more seasons to come, because I watched this one in just one day.

To say that this anime is a mixed bag for me would be an understatement. On the one hand, it’s well-animated and has a pretty interesting visual design to its world and characters. They come off as distinct, both in the game world and the real world of the anime. On the other, it’s built on a pretty absurd narrative where four people from the real world who live in an extremely dysfunctional family also just so happen to form a family within the game world full of other players without knowledge of who the others are. It doesn’t help that it remains unclear to the veryend how they formed their in-game family, especially given the lead characters’ rejection of other bonds within the game. Yes, there's a small hint of how they might have gotten here, but it only invites more questions than it answers. On the one hand, it tells the story of a young man whose life is consumed by the games he plays and really gets into his headspace, giving you a deep understanding of why he chose to invest himself in the game PLANET and further deepening his character as the series goes on. On the other hand, virtually every other character gets an exposition-heavy backstory. Exposition seems to function as the main way to explain what happened in the past and, in many cases, what’s going on in the present. There’s a lot more tell than show in this series, which may explain why the characters are invested, but does little to invest watchers of this anime. And some of those characters that are central to plot developments feel like they get no backstory at all, in particular Hana Kamuro and Shigatera. On the one hand, there’s a really solid plot twist about halfway through this series and another about three quarters of the way through that kept me guessing about where things would go. It also includes some legitimately solid nightmare fuel. On the other hand, so much of the narrative and worldbuilding seems constructed around that heavy-handed exposition. We spend much of the series not understanding basic character motivations, which limits our ability to empathize or understand them meaningfully. Even when it comes to just establishing how the gameplay works, the series gives us little exposited statements from time to time, and largely just leaves the rest to our imagination. It yields some good fight scenes, but a fleshed out game this is not. So, yeah, it’s a mixed bag. It really doesn’t help that the ending is a bit of a clusterfuck, in terms of last minute revelations, emotional heel turns, and a reset for the ages. Perhaps that can all be explained by a moment just before we roll to credits, but if that’s where the narrative was going, then that just raises more questions. It’s strange how toothless the series feels in the end, seeming to undermine itself before credits roll. There are a lot of good ideas buried in here, but I feel like it's less than the sum of its parts, losing out on opportunities to make the most of its varied elements.

Most people would drop this anime within the first 3-4 eps thinking that this is just another generic online game / isekai anime. Well, Don't. Just keep watching it. The story will take an unexpected turn after ep 6-7. And just when you think you've seen it all, the story will take another sharp turn and whirl into rollercoaster ride straight to hell. I'd put this as the 2nd best anime this season, right behind Frieren. 9.5/10 Watch it if you enjoy: ReZero, Summertime Rendering, From the New World (Shinsekai Yori), Steins Gate Dont watch it if you: got weak stomach or in mood for laid backanime