Shortly after graduating from college, I had somehow managed to weasel my way into a game-testing position with a major company in the industry. It was really exciting to get involved in the process of making video games, even if my role was pretty minor. To this day I think it was probably one of the best jobs I've ever had, despite some major shortcomings. Just getting to be able to work with people who cared so much about games and were passionate about making something was really inspiring and fun to be around.

New Game! therefore became something of a nostalgia trip for me, even though I hadn't seen the show itself before. Watching the characters bumble about the office reminded me of my own time doing the same with my colleagues while we got ready for the release of our title. Granted, most of us were not cute girls but instead greasy dudes with way too much to say about FromSoft games, but it had a similar vibe.

The highlight of the show to me is probably it's accurate portrayal of the kind of people you see within game development spaces; people who clearly have passion for their work but are also kind of disorganized and really stuck on their hyperfixations. There were people like Hajime who had a million toys on their desk from disparate franchises; there were people like Umiko who put on a professional front that you could coax them into dropping by bringing up their favourite gun, there were people like Hifumi who were incredibly anti-social in person but were always friendly and willing to help out over Teams.

This isn't to say the anime is fully realistic; I'd argue it's more of a fantasy than slice of life in the sense that the premise of someone just leaving high school and being given a role in a game company that is not "glorified barista/intern" is highly unlikely. Still, _New Game! _knows that character dynamics are what makes a slice of life show shine, and it does them very well. There's a surprising amount of characters for the initial twelve episode run, but you get a good idea of what each one is about and how they fit into the development team.

My favorite character was Yagami. She didn't remind me of anyone in particular from my game testing days, but she felt almost like a representation of the atmosphere we were working in. We were working with professionals who worked tirelessly for the sake of creating games; but said professionals only seem that way based on their finished products. When you got into the project proper you realize how disheveled and busted everything is up and until the game's release. There's this one scene where Nene finds a crash on the day of the development deadline and I would have called that unrealistic and sloppy had that exact thing had not also occurred to my team as well. In this regard, the show and Yagami's character in particular kind of bring to light how the process of making artistic endeavors is often quite messy but when it is finally finished the level of care and polish really shines through. I also just like her design, she's cute! While I felt like sleeping in the office in her underwear was a good character detail that underlines her distaste for professionalism in exchange for art, I will admit that I felt the fanservice surrounding it, and the rest of the show was unnecessary and eye-roll worthy.

Another thing that's a bit small but I rather appreciated was the focus in the narrative around the game's development. In a previous review for _YuYushiki,_I mentioned how I wished the show had spent more time delving into the central premise instead of mostly being about girls goofing around. In New Game, it's still very much about the goofing about, but said goofery ties into the current progress of the game and feels like it fits thematically much better. I think it would have been easy to just have the characters to whatever, but instead they had Aoba's conflicts center around trying to learn how to design characters and being part of a unique office environment, and I enjoyed that. I haven't seen the second season yet, so I'm curious to see if they expand upon these ideas further.

Most of what I took from New Game was a renewed sense of appreciation and nostalgia for the people who make video games, the people behind the curtain who make fantasy into reality and a reconnection to a previous experience in my life. I always feel bad when writing these reviews because I feel like I miss out on giving some deep thematic or philosophical diatribe about the shows ideas, like these could be a lot smarter than they are. In cases like this, however, what I have most gained is a warm feeling from the past and a hope that I can get back into the gaming sphere again one day. It's not the fancy kind of thought you can shove into a ten hour video essay, but I think it is just as valid an experience regardless.

The last few episodes of the anime brought me back to when our project was being released, and how fun it was to see people's reaction to the work that we had put in (even if as game testers our contributions were relatively minor). For the first time in my life I felt like I had done a job that really meant something, and that sharing of art is really special.

I liked New Game! quite a bit. It has some issues, but if you're the kind of person included in the huge overlap of anime fans and gamers, this is a pleasant watch!

Now it's time for SPOT. THOSE. PARENTS!

This edition is very short. The only characters I could confirm have a parent are Aoba and Yagami, both of whom are in Episode 10.

Aoba's mother is has lines but is not seen in Episode 10, and Yagami has a mother who apparently calls her frequently and has a phone conversation with her, but is never heard nor seen.

The lack of parents in this show is likely due to the fact that most characters are past "living with parents" age. There will likely be more parents next review.