New Game!!

The “ニューゲーム”four-panel manga by Tokunou Shoutarou already spawned a first anime adaptation that aired last year, this workplace slice-of-life comedy is back for a second season with “New Game!!”.

A year has passed since Aoba joined game developer Eagle Jump, the company has just released their latest game, Aoba has gotten more familiar with her quirky colleagues and working society. What new silly shenanigans will the girls be up to next?

The first episode of this second season made fans feel right at home, it had all the typical elements that make “New Game!!” such an enjoyable anime and features some scenes that paralleled with the opening episode of the first season.

While overall its characters are fairly default, the comedy is classic and the series offers little besides excellent workplace comedy and a typical but refreshingly idyllic slice-of-life world of cute girls having fun doing everyday things, “New Game!!” is nonetheless a solid show that offers viewers exactly what it promises, cute and fun entertainment.

In contrast to the manga, the anime did not show male characters at Eagle Jump, not in its supporting cast nor in the background mob characters, which was pointed out by viewers when the first season aired. Was pleasantly surprised when the opening episode of the second season featured Aoba openly questioning this absence of male coworkers, leading not only to some classic humour at Rin’s expense, but it was a nice tongue-in-cheek statement.

Sure, you could lament that the shoujo-ai is little besides fanservice and suggestive bait to reel in more viewers, but for this type of anime, that approach of suggestion, superficial and innocent fun without committing to any specific direction does work.

Do appreciate how “New Game!!” is one of those series that properly realises what it’s about and what it’s trying to achieve, which is simply to show viewers cute girls doing fun things as they go about their daily lives in an idealised workplace. This makes the anime much more entertaining thanks to it being grounded in its own reality of being mindless, innocent and fluffy fun with plenty of shoujo-ai.

Can’t wait for the next episode!
You can watch “New Game!!” on Crunchyroll.