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[Neonivek]

Neo, none of what you're saying would make any sense to someone who didn't watch the show. What you're saying seems incoherent and doesn't make any sense to me, who actually watched the show. You're just jumping around and none of it is contextually linked so you sound like you're incoherently babbling.

It doesn't make sense in context is the thing.

No seriously I didn't leave much out... I COULD describe that it was a game he was challenged to and that was one of the conditions... but would that make it make anymore sense given they just flat out make up the rules?

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Also DAMN IT FULL MOON WO SAGASHITE!!!

I finally understand the joke of "Mero Mero"...

[Karnewarrior]

Neo, none of what you're saying would make any sense to someone who didn't watch the show. What you're saying seems incoherent and doesn't make any sense to me, who actually watched the show. You're just jumping around and none of it is contextually linked so you sound like you're incoherently babbling.

It doesn't make sense in context is the thing.

No seriously I didn't leave much out... I COULD describe that it was a game he was challenged to and that was one of the conditions... but would that make it make anymore sense given they just flat out make up the rules?

----

Also DAMN IT FULL MOON WO SAGASHITE!!!

I finally understand the joke of "Mero Mero"...

The problem is it's infinitely easier to sound smart than to be smart. And you have to be smart to write a truly smart character.

What it sounds like is that Blank is a wizard more than a genius.

[Orange Wizard]

The obvious explanation is that NGNL's writer isn't very good. Good ideas but poorly executed.

[Reelya]

There are actually aren't that many good ideas in there. 99% of the premise is identical to the Mondaiji light novel series which was published a couple of years before the guy started NGNL: OP heroes are summoned to a magical world where all wars are resolved by playing games. They are summoned by a faction which is at death's door, so that they can win at the games and reverse the losing factions chances. After winning each game, they gain lands and resources which are used to improve the life quality of the residents. In the end they must face ever more powerful enemy races until fighting a final super-boss. That's Mondaiji summed up, and it's also exactly what NGNL is about.

The only difference is that in Mondaiji the games are like magical gladiator battles, and in NGNL the games are real-world games of any type. In NGNL everything is based on games, so there are 16 races and each race corresponds to a "race piece" which is a chess-piece. So you get magical Chess, magical Othello, magical Rock-Paper-Scissors, etc. So, for each major "battle" he just picks some real-world game, and them concocts some magical "twist" to the rules. That's the only part of the writing which involves any real creative thought, and critics point out that he can't even get that right most of the time.

Some NGNL fans have said the similarities are merely coincidences, as they are themes common to many literature, such as humans summoned to be heroes in a fantasy world. But the NGNL guy was also caught red-handed plagiarizing art from other popular light novel/manga series extensively for his cover illustrations. He was tracing the poses from other works to get his character poses down for the illustrations. Sure, he adds his own little flourishes, but they're still traces of the main structure of the drawing. The Japanese were able to pinpoint the source for cover-art of NGNL volumes 1-6. NGNL fans tried to claim the tracing allegations were "merely coincidences" too, and that you could make the same parallels with anyone's art by looking hard enough. But then Volume 7 came out after the allegations and the Japanese put it through extensive scrutiny and couldn't find any evidence of tracing for that one. Sort of proves the point, doesn't it? If it was "just coincidence" then you could do the same trick for the later volumes as the earlier ones, but you can't do that. The guy is a plagiarist.

[Orange Wizard]

Wow, what a guy. And here I was trying to be charitable.

[Neonivek]

Then Reelya there is Dog Days which ALSO has the exact same premise.

Which kind of has the distinction of being a confusing anime for me: In that it is both ridiculously trash but also so wishfulfilment that it is awesome at times (Basically ANYONE who visits that world will be awesome)

[Reelya]

I thought Dog Days was pretty fun, but it got pretty redundant after season 1, so if anyone watches it I suggest to only see the first season. There is some character development and overarching story to the first season that is missing from the later seasons, which has a filler feeling: all the main characters are basically in relationship stasis after season 1. They add new characters now and then but the relations amongst existing characters are basically static, and that doesn't make for a compelling overall story.

Mondaiji and Dog Days came out literally at the same time (april 2011), so one could not influence the other. They have similar common tropes, but the plot structure is not really similar, so we can use that as a rough baseline for 'similar by chance' series. in Dog Days the politics is symmetrical (rival kingdoms hold games to resolve disputes), whereas in mondaiji it's asymmetrical (a race on the verge of extinction must play games against successively large superpowers to regain lands).

By comparison, NGNL is WAY more similar to Mondaiji. So what's the premise of NGNL? It's basically Mondaiji but it's not psychic powers or athleticism that makes you special, it's being a massive gamer nerd from Earth that gets you power and women.

[Neonivek]

I thought Dog Days was pretty fun, but it got pretty redundant after season 1, so if anyone watches it I suggest to only see the first season. There is some character development and overarching story to the first season that is missing from the later seasons, which has a filler feeling.

I say first season and after the first war of the second season.

[Reelya]

I forgot about season 2, but didn't think anything really important happens there. The first arc of season 3 was good too, demon invasion going on etc. But the rest of season 3 turns back into filler. So they have one good action arc per season, but there's just not enough character development going on at the same time. They ramp up the clothing explosions however.

BTW: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-05-30/no-game-no-life-anime-staff-apologizes-for-using-art-without-authorization/.74993

No Game No Life anime staff apologize for ripping off a Pixiv artist's design. This is the same project where the guy was caught tracing. TWO separate plagiarism scandals on the same anime project? I've never heard of this happening on another project. What's more likely: the same guy is responsible for both problems, or someone unrelated also stole art for the same project?

BTW here's one of the many samples of tracing:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Left is the original, middle is NGNL's version, right is the two images combined as red channel + blue channel. You can see a single color wherever the lines are perfectly positioned, such as the legs. It's often legs and arms that are identically placed in the Kamiya Yuu artworks, then he pencils face and clothes on top afterwards. What you can notice when looking at the left image, is that it's makes anatomical sense. But for the NGNL image the character's left arm just isn't there at all. What's even up with that? She just doesn't have a left arm in this image, no explanation given. And rather than the hand on the face as it is on the left image, he just hides the hand behind some hair so he doesn't have to draw it at all, and her right arm looks weirdly lumpy and disfigured. It's not even even a good trace: it's a hack job!

[Neonivek]

The second arc brings up his girlfriend's inadequacy issues which get resolved pretty early on by her finding out she actually has value.

After which... you honestly could skip the rest.

[Zangi]

BTW here's one of the many samples of tracing:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I just want to pop in and say ...  so the legs are traced, but I can't see the problem above that.

[Flying Dice]

The curve of the ass definitely is as well, and as Reelya said, the mysteriously missing arms are a big tell. It just shows most clearly on the legs because there's less hair/clothing to obscure it.

[Zangi]

I'd also like to add that the one on the left is a stick compared to the right, so I just can't see the problem.  But yea, I guess I noone is ever gonna use my expert testimony on spotting the similarities anyways.

[Reelya]

Well it's not just a "stick" because they've superimposed both images together and shown that the proportions are identical, the pose is identical, but the copy is missing critical "limbs" that hold the pose in that shape. The story is that he likely has no classical arts training and isn't skilled in life drawing, so he does traces of other manga artist's work to get the pose down, and then sketches his own stuff over the top of that.

Sure, that's not illegal, but it's hella unprofessional, and you're basically giving a HUGE "fuck you" to the other artists. Also not, this guy wasn't born in Japan, he's Brazilian but adopted a Japanese pen-name, and is one of the most notable non-Japanese born light novel / manga creators, so he's highly visible and basically dumped a huge turd over all the Japanese artists by stealing their work.

[i2amroy]

And as said, the left arm holds the pose in that shape on the left, but there's no arm at all in the other one, and that's just bizarre that you'd draw your own character in a very specific pose and just forget to draw all their limbs.

There actually is a left arm on the right ones, though it's difficult to see due to the "SAMPLE" being right on top of it and being mostly covered up by things like the big bow. Specifically her left arm is bent at a slightly greater than 90 degree angle and crosses across her chest behind her breasts from our point of view. You can see half of her upper arm sticking out from behind the bow, then her elbow is mostly hidden beneath the bow's streamer and the top of the "P", at which point it moves up and to the left, clipping through the top right corner of the "M" and with the hand hidden behind the bow streamer.

To match the pose in real life bend forwards at the waist as far as you can while looking forwards, then take your right hand and place it on the back of your head with the right elbow pointed mostly forwards, then place your left wrist against your chest slightly under your right armpit and raise your left elbow out away from your chest. It's a very stereotypical "bad posture for sex appeal" type of pose, but it is a totally valid one physically (albeit somewhat uncomfortable).