I don't usually like this genre but why am I so hooked?
That's a question to myself when I was in the middle of binge-watching this new anime called Good Night World.
I was about to sleep but couldn't so I started opening Netflix at 3 AM hoping I would get sleepy from watching anime. I couldn't decide what to watch so I checked on the Top 10 TV shows in Japan and found a new anime that was just released last week. I started watching it, not expecting anything except to get sleepy.
I got sleepy at around 6 or 7 AM that day.
I was so immersed in watching the anime. It's not the typical genre I usually watch. Sure, it's shonen but a game anime - and a VR at that. I can't remember the last time I watched a game anime, particularly a VR one, since Sword Art Online which is so popular even today.
The title is intriguing. Good Night World is like the opposite of Hello World, and if you're a programmer like me, that's what you usually print or echo or display (however you wanna call it) when you start working on a program. As I continued watching the anime, this came to light.
Story
I mentioned this anime is a game anime. Players were using VR to log in and play the online game called Planet. In the game, there is a group of game addicts, as everyone would call them - the Akabane Family. It's headed by Shiro, a strong man who in real life is one of the creators of the game. Shiro is powerful and so is our main lead, Ichi. Ichi is Taichirou Arima's game name. The other members of the family are AAAAA, who couldn't come up with a username at the time of registration, and May, a kind-hearted woman who acts like a healer and a home buddy in the family.
In reality, Taichirou Arima is a shut in (hikikomori in Japanese), meaning he's just in his room the whole time and doesn't want to go out and/or socialize, even skipping school. The only time he leaves his room is when he's hungry, so he would look for food in the kitchen, sometimes finding nothing. He's been this way since the death of his younger sister, and he blamed his father for being the cause of it. He hates everything in his family and even hates himself. He loves his mom though, who's barely even home and is practically living in a net cafe. Planet, the game, is like his oasis, his escape from his harsh reality.
Opposite from reality, Ichi loves his Akabane family so much. He looks up to Shiro, being the father figure in the family that he longs for in real life. He loves his younger brother, AAAAA, despite being a weak member. He loves May for being a caring woman in the family.
The twist is that in real life, Ichi's Akabane family is also his family members. AAAAA is his diligent brother, who he thought was always looking down at him whenever they passed each other. Shiro is his father, the one he hates the most. And May is his mother. Akabane Family in Planet is the broken family, Arima, in real life.
In this anime, they will be fighting against monsters and AI. Whoever defeats the Black Bird, the final boss who hasn't appeared in many years, will win a huge amount of money, not in game but in real life.
Thoughts
A warning that this anime isn't for kids. It's so violent, even in words. It's dark, yes. Gore, no, thank goodness. I think it's just a normal kind of dark anime. After all, there's also a homey vibe to it since it's centered around a family.
Ichi, the main character, keeps saying swear words, in his mind and he's been vocal about it. There's a scene where my screen was just full of swear words. 😂 I think I'm an expert on swear words already, which is not good. Oh no, I don't like to take in negativity in my life. So please be careful in watching this anime.
The animation is great, no doubt. The story isn't confusing in my opinion. After each episode, you'd keep wanting for more. It's an interesting anime, probably the reason why it's in the Top 10 TV Shows on Netflix Japan.
But this anime isn't for everyone.
It's not dragging. AI is involved in the story, and to tell you honestly, I'm so invested in AI now. This perspective of AI is probably what I couldn't accept..?
There are scenes about romance which I don't like. It feels like it's something you don't need to be able to continue with the story.
12 episodes felt fast for me but I'm also unsure if 24 episodes or having another season would be appropriate for this anime. At the end of the first episode alone, the Akabane Family's real lives are revealed. Do you think it would be exciting to reveal it right away? Probably it would cause excitement to some, but revealing it in the later parts of the story won't be too bad either, at least in my opinion.
Actually, I don't know why I have mixed feelings about this anime. I could recommend it to some, but not to everyone. I like it but I also don't at the same time. Probably because I have this love-and-hate relationship with the main character.
Anyhow, if you're looking for a laidback anime or an anime that will make you sleepy, don't watch this and be like me. 😂
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken from the official website unless stated otherwise.
