Joker Game is a show about eight ostentatious fucks that enjoy cosplay so much they’ve made it their professional hobby.
Well, I’m just having some good natured fun. For a first episode, this shows a lot of promise. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Taking place in the 1930’s just before World War II (an uncommon setting for anime, even if it may not be for movies), Japan has prepared the training of several spies. These spies are not soldiers but men of above average intelligence from nearby universities. The end goal is for these young men to assimilate in the far reaches of the world and provide intel from their positions for the good of their home country – a very Japanese sentiment.
The men utilize their free time by playing card games with the card game being a front – the real game is who can essentially get the other “non-combatants” to sell out another’s intel for their own use. May seem like cheating, but such negotiation is often involved in war itself (and also something that might get me in trouble when I play risk with others).
Quite rare for an anime to not only star an all-male cast in such a mature setting, but to nary crack a single joke in order to keep a tense atmosphere of a country on the brink of war. That takes not only guts but integrity.
The weeaboo who’s house they raid is loud and annoying, but well prepared. Eh, I don’t care how, but I hope someone kills him in the next episode. Hey, I don’t ask for much!
I’d assume the meat and potatoes of this show is going to focus on a few themes:
1) The rules of the game (What is fair, what is not fair)
2) How do we, as humans, make use of what we have?
3) Typical anime “Your beliefs are wrong!”
That’s still pretty remarkable considering the first point is relatively unexplored. I await the inevitable endless slew of “your life is a game” metaphors that I’m sure this show will have in store for us. We’ll see.
