New Game!! Anime Review Episode 5: Character Design and Development

Around Akiba proudly presents our weekly New Game!! anime review 

Game Development, Character Development

The last few episodes of New Game!! have had a strong focus on character progression. The fifth episode is no exception and allows the audience to see how various staff members at Eagle Jump approach to conflict and solve challenging problems.

Hifumi has continued to work on her social anxiety. Although she has to prepare herself mentally before speaking to any of the other staff members, she’s eventually able to communicate with them and help them address any problems that they’re having.

Both Aoba and Yun have issues which would affect the development timeline, but what’s particularly interesting is the way in which they handle these challenges. Yun tells Hifumi that her work will be finished on schedule, even though she knows that it won’t, which allows her to avoid being reprimanded in the short term. Aoba, on the other hand, admits that her work will be somewhat delayed, but exaggerates how long finishing it will take. Hifumi, however, having done this job herself, knows some of the best ways to improve workflow. She helps Yun make small adjustments to her workspace, including setting up custom keyboard shortcuts, which should allow her to save a lot of time in the future.

Once again, Aoba is struggling to find inspiration for one of her characters. Ultimately, she creates an attractive and intriguing design my learning more about the character in putting herself into its shoes. This is a technique often used by writers, but as game characters express themselves visually, it transfers nicely into character design as well. Aoba is starting to think outside of the box, and now more than ever; it’s apparent how much she has grown since season one.

What about plot development?

Hajime also runs into some difficulty. After trying and failing to come up with some interesting game mechanics, she accepts that everybody needs help from time to time. Aoba and Yun Help her come up with some new ideas which would both fit into the scope of the game and improve the experience for the player. 

The show has addressed the issue of inspiration before, but it’s one of the things that people in creative industries struggle with the most. Even though Kō can quickly create high-quality designs, it’s far from effortless, and mostly a result of her extensive experience. It would be interesting to see her creative process in more detail, especially since she has been little more than a minor character this season. That said, so far, New Game!! has already focused quite strongly on character progression and could benefit from some plot advancement in the episodes to come.