Everyone has a thing that they are ashamed of loving. Everyone has that thing that they go home and do or read or write that they just don't want anyone else to know about.
That guilty pleasure.
For me, that guilty pleasure is a manga and Anime series called "New Game!".
Actually to be more honest it's any manga/anime about games development, though I've only ever seen two, "New Game!" and "Girls Beyond the Wasteland".
But today I'll be talking about New Game!
As a member of the games industry for over ten years now it's really interesting and kind of flattering to see shows about my industry, even if they get a lot of it weird or wrong - though it's very possible that what they are emulating (the Japanese Games Industry) is massively different to the UK or even US industries and that's why I think it's wrong.
New Game in particular is a cutesy look at the games industry primarily from the perspective of artist Aoba Suzukaze, a new hire for the games studio eagle jump fresh out of highschool. It has a fun and quirky cast of characters who's roles vary from coders to designers, artists to producers and briefly a QA department before they decided to outsource (bad mistake in my experience).
It follows Aoba as she grows in her role as an artist, then character designer and through her career, facing the challenges of working in the industry and trying to fulfil her dreams. It's a slice of life series that feels fun and relaxing to watch, not only that it makes me inspired. More than once I've watched this show or opened a new manga and found myself really wanting to build a game before remembering I can't code or art.
But anyway, New Game. They have a weird girls only thing going and promo artwork occasionally emphasises sexuality in a way that is totally incongruous with the tone of the story, and the characters are all kind of stereotype, but beyond that its just good harmless, pretty fun and honestly the all girls thing could be a major plus when you consider how few representations women have in the games industry. Making something like this that's light and 'girly' is a fantastic way to introduce young women to the industry and maybe get more women and more perspectives in. Can be nothing but a good thing.
Bug get rid of the weird occasional bathing shots. that doesnt seem necessary... unless my friends were right and there is a quota of nakedness that needs to be in any manga? who knows.
So yeah, thats New Game, a fun little slice of life anime/manga that I love and would never tell anyone about.
Cheers!
- James
Some Good Tube
No comments:
Post a Comment