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Joker Game is an anime about Japanese spies during a fictionalized 1937, 2 years before the beginning of World War II. It began airing in April 2016 and finished in June of the same year, with a total of 12 Episodes. It was based off the novel series by Koji Yanagi of the same name. It was released on 2 disks on Blu-ray, each disk with it's own shot OVA. It was licensed in america By Funimation, and is available on Crunchyroll.
Now with all the boring stuff out of the way it's time to actually talk about the show itself. Joker Game is not your typical anime, with a long over-arching plot. It is instead a more serialized show, with more self-contained episodes and no real over-arching plot. That doesn't mean the episodes don't tie together, though. There is one character that makes his way into almost every episode, and the characters all share connections to each other.
The plot is focused on 8 Japanese super spies from D-Agency. They are to be spread all over the world to collect information on other countries to send back to Japan. No specific plan in the mind, the information is to be stored till it is of use.
In general this show is much more story driven than action based. It doesn't have lots of fighting or explosions, but more dialogue and character development. Each episode has a different main character; sometimes one of the 8 spies, and sometimes another ally or enemy. This show does a brilliant job of having deep, round, multi-faceted characters even though we only see most of them for one episode. The way it handles it's characters endears you to them, and makes their stories interesting, even if they are the enemy.
The way they set up the mysteries and stories can be somewhat lacking at times, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's not the kind of mystery you can solve ahead of time, by looking for clues the show gives you. It will present the answer to you and then how you how it got said answer. The mysteries though, are very well thought through and conceived, and never made me go "What?" or "No!" They all were done so that they made sense, and weren't forced.
It's really hard to describe Joker Game, without major spoilers. If you don't want it spoiled I suggest you go watch it yourself. It is surprisingly good, and I highly recommend it. Even if you don't like spy or action anime, this one is great.
(SPOILERS!)
The art style is very crisp and clean. It's much more realistic, with sharp lines, harsh eyes, and duller tones. The atmosphere the setting set is excellent. The dim lighting just gives off a feeling of suspense and mystery, without being too dark or oppressive.
My biggest complaint with Joker Game, is that there isn't enough of it. 12 episode barely lasted me long enough with this show. It was so good, and I loved it so much, that i really hope it gets a second season. Overall I have very few complaints with this show, and a whole lot of praises. I would highly encourage you to watch it yourself.
Final Score: 9/10
Now with all the boring stuff out of the way it's time to actually talk about the show itself. Joker Game is not your typical anime, with a long over-arching plot. It is instead a more serialized show, with more self-contained episodes and no real over-arching plot. That doesn't mean the episodes don't tie together, though. There is one character that makes his way into almost every episode, and the characters all share connections to each other.
The plot is focused on 8 Japanese super spies from D-Agency. They are to be spread all over the world to collect information on other countries to send back to Japan. No specific plan in the mind, the information is to be stored till it is of use.
In general this show is much more story driven than action based. It doesn't have lots of fighting or explosions, but more dialogue and character development. Each episode has a different main character; sometimes one of the 8 spies, and sometimes another ally or enemy. This show does a brilliant job of having deep, round, multi-faceted characters even though we only see most of them for one episode. The way it handles it's characters endears you to them, and makes their stories interesting, even if they are the enemy.
The way they set up the mysteries and stories can be somewhat lacking at times, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's not the kind of mystery you can solve ahead of time, by looking for clues the show gives you. It will present the answer to you and then how you how it got said answer. The mysteries though, are very well thought through and conceived, and never made me go "What?" or "No!" They all were done so that they made sense, and weren't forced.
It's really hard to describe Joker Game, without major spoilers. If you don't want it spoiled I suggest you go watch it yourself. It is surprisingly good, and I highly recommend it. Even if you don't like spy or action anime, this one is great.
(SPOILERS!)
What other anime are you going to watch where some episodes follow and focus on one of the villains. Maybe a few, but none that do it like Joker Game. Where else are you going to find an episode that begins with the hero dying and the villain trying to find out the information he left behind. In another episode we follow an enemy spy trying to get info on the heroes, and in another we follow a member from a rival agency vying for top position.
The art style is very crisp and clean. It's much more realistic, with sharp lines, harsh eyes, and duller tones. The atmosphere the setting set is excellent. The dim lighting just gives off a feeling of suspense and mystery, without being too dark or oppressive.
My biggest complaint with Joker Game, is that there isn't enough of it. 12 episode barely lasted me long enough with this show. It was so good, and I loved it so much, that i really hope it gets a second season. Overall I have very few complaints with this show, and a whole lot of praises. I would highly encourage you to watch it yourself.
Final Score: 9/10