Why didn’t they call it New Game+?
Impression
I wasn’t originally going to cover the early release of New Game!!’s first episode, but the subbed release that came out today was a surprisingly good-quality rip, so I went ahead and watched it. As much as you may or may not love the series, I can now inform you that you should do so at your own risk. The video quality itself is fine, but the set of subs accompanying it are horrible, no pun intended. It can’t possibly have been proof-read, and I have a suspicion that it was translated by a native Japanese speaker who doesn’t have a good grasp of English, or at least has no competent editor. I don’t think they’re troll subs either, as most of the lines are either correct but in bad grammar, or are slightly off the mark due to their meaning being lost in translation. Almost like the script was just put through Google Translate. I could deal with it because at this point I’m using subs to fill in the gaps in my own understanding of Japanese (which I don’t claim to have any real proficiency in, it’s just that there’s a set of common vocab used in anime that you end up picking up sooner or later) but if the idea of sitting through an exercise in broken English doesn’t appeal to you, you might want to wait for next Tuesday to see more of Aoba.
If you love Aoba so much that you’ve decided to endure these subs, you’ll know that it was a great episode! It did a good job of easing you back into the setting and cast of characters, and there’s that added advantage of how the last season finished off with them finishing Fairies Story 3. In other words, we’re starting from a new slate this time. It’ll be interesting to see how things go from here with Eagle Jump’s new project, and whether it’ll involve the same sort of challenges and so on. You can draw some parallels with Shirobako in that sense, where the divide between seasons had Musashino go from producing an original anime to adapting an existing manga, with the latter bringing with it a different set of concerns and showcasing a different part of the process (e.g. the selection of voice actors). Aoba joined Eagle Jump when the production of Fairies Story 3 was already in full swing, but now that we’re back at the beginning stages of making a video game we’ll get to see things like the competition for lead character designer that Hazuki has decided to run.
I wonder whether there’s any chance that Aoba will actually win. The position seems like too big a set of shoes for someone with her experience to currently step into (the implication was that the competition is only ever happening because Hifumi wasn’t too keen on taking up the position when it was offered to her). It feels like she still has lots to learn, even a year on. Assuming Kou-chan isn’t participating as she’s now the art director, that leaves Aoba, Yun and Hifumi as the only contenders that we’re aware of (maybe this is how they’ll introduce some new characters) since I think Hajime is a motion designer. I’m not sure. If Hifumin isn’t interested, the obvious choice would be Yun, but then there was that whole conversation about how she isn’t sure whether Eagle Jump is the right company for her. Whether that will negatively impact her chances of promotion or advancement I’m not sure, but given that their section is being run by a lady with a cute girl fetish (i.e. literally me) Eagle Jump isn’t exactly the most normal of office environments to begin with. I really don’t want Yun to go, though. Her voice alone is a good 15% of the enjoyment I get out of this series. I want her to read me bedtime stories.
The evaluation interviews was a pretty nice segment. The first season was almost completely focused on Aoba, so it was a good change of pace to see that the other girls have worries and problems too, and that they have their own dreams and visions for the future. This applies more to Yun and Hajime than it does to Hifumi, since we’re already well-acquainted with how the latter wants to better herself. Is it bad that I kind of want her to continue being how she’s always been, purely because it’s cuter that way?
Also, I have to admit I’ve kind of missed Nenecchi. Just a little. I didn’t really realise it until her scene this episode, but I guess Nenecchi is super cute in small doses. It’s good that she’s maintaining her relevance through Ahagon (uhh, I mean Umiko), as this way she’s still somewhat involved with Eagle Jump, whereas in the first season her presence pre-debugging was limited to her phone calls with Aocchi, and I think that one time they went to watch a movie and got mistaken for a pair of kids. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised that Nenecchi has stayed in touch with Umiko. How else will their ship stay afloat?
As I’ve mentioned in the preview post, I wanted to participate this season for the sake of New Game!!, and that intention hasn’t changed. It’ll be good, I’m looking forward to it. It’s also just a coincidence that the two shows I’m blogging, this and Symphogear, both have copious amounts of cute girls and yuri subtext. J-just a coincidence!
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
Possibility of Blogging: Guaranteed
Since even the station that aired this early is going to end up airing it again next week when it was supposed to come out, and all the translations so far are terrible, I’m not even going to watch this until someone who knows what they’re doing translates it. I’ll read your post and comment then.
Fair call. As of now, it’s been replaced with a better set of subs, although they’re still not wonderful. Most likely just an edited version of the first set. We’re not that far off from next Tuesday now, so it’s probably best to just wait for CR (unless you love Aoba very, very much).
I think there was some talk of Doki picking New Game S2 up, so there’ll be that too if you’re looking for a further increase in quality of life!
Doki has released a translation, so I have at last seen the episode!
The character competition is actually a standard practice that Hazuki has been doing for the last several games. There wasn’t a big announcement for it in the manga, although, of course, the “one year after Aoba started + flower viewing event” chapter is actually from much further in the manga timeline, and production on the new game had been ongoing for several months before that point, so there wasn’t any occasion to MAKE such an announcement. Anyway. Anyone can participate in the contest, regardless of their level of skill, experience, or position. If a motion designer, programmer, or janitor wants to submit designs for the contest, they’re all up for consideration. That’s why this was a company-wide announcement. It’s not just Aoba and Kou and Hifumi available to participate.
Poor Yun is having a bit of a self-confidence issue. She’s seeing people around her who are working hard towards achieving their dreams in life, and she’s realizing that she has no idea what her dream in life even IS. She just sort of ended up working at Eagle Jump. She enjoys being there, sure, but after seeing Aoba and Kou and Hajime and so on she is wondering if she should really stay in a job that she just “sort of ended up at” when she could possibly be out there trying to discover her dream and be working towards that. She’ll figure things out about herself, I think, she just needs time.
Ah, at last you’re discovering the cuteness of Nenecchi! Her scenes with Umiko like this one tend to be favorites of the readers, at least in the places I see folks comment. It’s an unexpected yet adorable ship.
This episode covered material from at least four different chapters, and left us with some questions about timelines. Fairies Story 3 was released in the Fall, so what have these people been DOING for the last six months? In the manga, after some vacation time after the release of Fairies 3, they got these interviews done prior to the company trip, and then they got the design decisions made within a few weeks and got to work. By the time Aoba’s 1-year anniversary came around they’d been working on the new game for months.
Do you have any self-discipline I can borrow? Having to wait two weeks for another episode is suffering. For me it’s like New Game just went on break after one episode.
The timeline issue sounds odd. It’d give off the impression of a fresh start for the new game if it coincides with Aoba’s one-year anniversary, but it’s not something valuable enough to mess with the order of adaptation. Nor was it worth it for that joke where she thought she’d finally be a senpai, as fun as it was to see Rin gently break it to her that she wouldn’t.
Aha, so the competition is company-wide! So Hajime can participate! As can males! To the extent that there are any.
I’ll allow a small dose of Nenecchi once every two or three episodes. And only if they’re as cute as the parfait-feeding scene. Embarrased Ahagons are welcome too.