God’s Newest Game

The battle royal is a concept that has essentially become a classic. Everyone has seen or at least knows what a battle royal is. As such it’s a bit of a hard thing to make anything that involves the concept. Writers are tasked with making whatever they create unique from other ones. That’s why oftentimes the people involved in the battle are given powers. And in the anime KamiErabi, these powers will be what helps these players create their ideal world.

Gorou Ono is your everyday highschooler with a bit of bad luck. He has desires like any other teenage boy does which leads to him making a perverted request on an app that appears on his phone. After this request is fulfilled however, he finds himself wrapped up in a crazy battle royal game. The prize: the role of God. Now with the demon imp Lall and the new powers he’s been given he must figure out a way to survive this royal to the very end. And with no idea who could be an enemy, he’s going to need to be on his toes or else face an untimely death.

KamiErabi isn’t the first to do the “fight for the place of God '' story. A recent example is the anime Platinum End that unfortunately failed to live up to its full potential. However, what’s interesting about the show is the fact that they’ve based each character's powers around their personality. In Gorou’s case he has the power to warp reality to the extent of him receiving backlash equivalent to what he changed, mirroring how he’s willing to do anything to help others at the extent of his own life. It’s this personality of his that draws in allies and puts a target on his back with enemies. Though in the end you have to wonder, what exactly is an enemy in this game?

While some people might be a bit put off by the artstyle, I feel that it helps with telling the story that they’re trying to give us. Their use of 3D animation helps with expressing characters’ feelings and is a great way to show off the various powers that each character has. And it all culminates in a finale that even now I’m struggling to process. So with a second season on its way I suggest catching up on this anime as soon as possible.

 

 

 

Logan Floyd-Mcgee | Writer
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