New
Game, one of many slice of life anime that aired during the past few years, has
come and gone with two seasons of cute and fun characters. Its basic premise of
main character Aoba Suzukaze working at her first job and learning about the
adult and office life results in a narrative that anyone can understand and
quickly become invested in. What really stood out to me with this show, and consequently
resulted in me falling for it, is how well written its characters and their relationships
are. For this analysis I’d like to explore these characters and relationships,
why they hit me so hard, and why New Game is a great example of making a story
with a core main character who grows and affects those around them. You see, for
this analysis I will be focusing on the main character and her relationships
with the rest of the cast, arguing that a core theme of the show is how
inspiring Aoba Suzukaze is.
The following contains spoilers for all episodes of New Game! Seasons 1 and 2. I do not recommend reading this unless you have already watched the whole series or have no interest in ever watching it.
Being the main character of New
Game, Aoba fills an interesting role. Of all the central characters, she seems
to be the least flawed. Her only noticeable set backs and paths for character
growth come from her lack of experience and skill in her field of work
(drawing) and life in general. However, she’s able to pick up on these and put
in the effort and time required to grow at her drawing abilities, and over the
course of the two seasons we see both her art and experience with the world improve.
What’s notable about Aoba’s character arc though is that as she progresses,
grows up and learns more about what it means to be an adult, she’s faced with
tougher and tougher challenges, learning that the world isn’t as simple as she
thought it to be.
First, in episode 3, Aoba learns
that if she wants to be as great as her role model Ko Yagami, it requires a lot
of effort and constantly having your work rejected, which can sting, but she
grows past that. In that same episode, Aoba learns how to create 3D character
models, making her first one, only to learn that all models after that need to
be completed at a much quicker rate. The next one must be finished in approximately half the
rate of her first character, and she has little time to adjust to this. As the
release date of her first game approaches, she is required to work more and
more, eventually having to do overtime hours and even stay weekends.
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In episode 10 we see the toll
this takes on her. A job she once loved begins to feel monotonous and taxing. Here
we see the climax of these struggles when she gets into a fight with her best
friend Nene Sakura, a fight over the work that’s been draining her. She and her
friend are able to make amends by the episode’s end, but throughout all of
Season 1 we see Aoba learn that the job she craved so much isn’t as great as
she thought, and that the adult life can be difficult.
However, instead of things
getting easier, in Season 2 the challenge accelerates. In Season 2, the
challenges Aoba faces tax her far greater then those in 1. In episode 2 we see
her face her first conflict with Ko, resulting in her role model lashing out at
her, shattering her confidence in the process. In episode 6 we see her put all
her effort and time into what is clearly one of her best drawings…..only to see
how far behind she is from Yagami’s art, and again, we see her break down at
this realization. Aoba never cried or questioned what she was doing from the challenges
she faced in Season 1. Season 2 really sees her character tested to its limit.
But what makes Aoba so inspiring
and a great main character is that despite how much harder each challenge gets,
she always picks herself back up and keeps working. Even in the season 2 finale,
when she’s hit with the hardest blow and thrown into confusion and sadness, by
the end of the episode she’s able to work through her feelings and get back on
her feet, ending on a very satisfying note for her character. Of all the
characters, she was the one I found the most inspiring, and I believe this is
intentional.
For, while New Game is about Aoba
and her journey, in many ways the show is about how Aoba affects the world and
its inhabitants around her. The best example of this comes in the character of
Hifumi Takimoto. Hifumi begins the show very shy and secluded, clearly lacking
confidence in her own abilities. Yet as the show progresses we see her slowly
come out of her shell, slowly begin to trust herself, and slowly begin to take
on greater challenges. It all culminates in the end of her character arc in
Season 2 when she’s given the opportunity to progress to a more senior role in
the company, and rather then run from it, she works up the courage to accept
it. It’s not easy, and she struggles a lot with it, but she learns to work and
practice at difficulties in life rather than running away from them.
This whole process, learning not
to give up when you’re hit with setbacks or great challenges but to keep
pushing forward, this is the core of Aoba’s arc as stated above. It would seem
that seeing Aoba face her own challenges and get through them affected hifumi. This
is made clear when watching her interactions with Aoba throughout the series.
In episode 2 for example, we see Aoba praise Hifumi’s smile, and Hifumi starts
to wonder if Aoba might be right. Aoba’s politeness and kindness clearly
touches her, and she takes her words to heart.
Another example of this comes in
Episode 10, in which we see Hifumi getting closer with Aoba and learning
something about her that she doesn’t like, that being that Aoba will
occasionally tease her close friends. At the end of the episode, Hifumi gives
Aoba a gift and messages her, wishing that she will continue to be kind and not
tease her friends. This is significant, as I can’t help but feel that the old
Hifumi, if she encountered a problematic trait in someone she likes, would then
close the person off and stop talking with them. But here Hifumi takes action,
and in her own passive way tries to help Aoba and encourage her to be more like
the kind of friend Hifumi wants. Hifumi is being assertive and getting involved
rather than running away.
In season 2 we see that Hifumi is
trying to smile more and open up. What I like about Hifumi’s development is
that it’s not that opening up and smiling suddenly become easy for her, it’s
still just as hard as it was in Season 1. But what’s changed is that Hifumi is
less afraid of the challenge it will pose and willing to take it on, and this
results in her gradual change throughout the series. Aoba’s work ethic has been
taken to heart, and this partly comes from Aoba’s encouraging and friendly words
towards her. But even more helpful then that I believe, is Hifumi taking an
interest in Aoba and wanting to be friends with her, because through this desire
to form a bond she is motivated to come out of her shell and be more active.
Hifumi’s development in Season 2
also sheds light on how Aoba is able to stay so strong and keep working despite
all the struggles she encounters. We see in Episode 3 of Season 2 that Hifumi,
when able to confront people and speak up more, is able to notice Aoba
struggling, and then take the necessary actions to help her, letting her know
she’s not alone. Again, the help Hifumi provides to Aoba comes in her own
passive way, and it’s not perfect advice, but what’s important is that Hifumi
is trying, trying to be a better friend, trying to help, and taking action in
Aoba’s life when she sees it is necessary. In the end, Hifumi pushing on and
opening up helps Aoba, as it clearly shows in the episode. We see this again in
Episode 4 when Hifumi and Yun provide Aoba with moral support she needs to face
her new challenges, showing that they are able to help Aoba just as much as she
helps them. Speaking of…
Yun’s character doesn’t see a
whole lot of development throughout the series, instead much of her time
focuses on learning her backstory and intricacies, similar to Hajime. However,
Yun does become a good friend for Aoba to confide in as the series progresses,
and she does get some development. For example, in episode 3 when she learns
Aoba is just as unathletic as her, it motivates her to try running to work,
something she would not have done before.
The most significant episode for
the two of them however comes in Episode 2 of Season 2, when Yun admits to Aoba
that seeing her and Hajime work so hard and actually get their work accepted
for the new game touched and motivated her to work harder herself, taking on
challenges even if they seem impossible. Aoba then confides in her about her
conflict with Ko, and it serves as a nice moment in which we see that Yun is
able to help Aoba just by providing her someone to listen to. I do not believe
Aoba could overcome all of the challenges she faces if not for her co workers
being there and creating a welcoming environment for her.
Speaking
of her co workers, another character worth observing in relation to Aoba is
Umiko. Before Aoba and Umiko get to know each other, we don’t see her very
much, and when we do she comes off as strict and not friendly. However, Aoba’s
charm and optimism move Umiko such that she opens up to her a little and they
bond.
What’s significant about this
development however is that through these interactions, we see Ko join in, and
in doing so form her own bond with Umiko. In the OVA episode of Season 1 we see
this bond continue to grow when Ko and Umiko drink together, and they have a
few more scenes together in Season 2. While it’s possible they’ve always
been on good terms, I think having Aoba there and talking with Umiko when she
visits in Episode 7 allowed Umiko to open up more and encourage her to be friendly,
and her relationship with Ko resulted from that.
But
the other more popular relationship Umiko forms is that with Nene, and again,
Aoba’s role is important. Because having Aoba there meant that Umiko was able
to gain a better understanding of Nene, with her suspicions of her quickly
disappearing. I think it’s significant that in episode 9 Umiko learns more
about Aoba and Nene’s relationship, with her admitting that she doesn’t have
anyone she goes way back with like them. Perhaps as a result, Umiko wanted to
form a good relationship with Nene and learn what that’s like. Seeing and
learning about their bond encourages Umiko to open up more and form her own
bonds, even giving Nene friendship advice when she needs it.
Speaking of, let’s talk about Nene,
Aoba’s best friend. She enters the show as well, Aoba’s friend. She will speak
with her occasionally and talk about her day, but we don’t learn much about
Nene for a while. Instead her character simply involves cheering Aoba on from
the sides. As the show progresses however, Nene decides to work part time at
Eagle Jump in Season 1, and a part of her interest comes from seeing first hand
how hard Aoba is working at her new job, growing to admire it in the process.
In Season 2 we see Nene step out
of Aoba’s shadow, forming her own path by pursuing programming. Later on we
learn that she was lost with what to do with herself during this period. But
seeing Aoba pursue her chosen career so hard motivated her to do the same, and
she would eventually find one in programming. We see the results of her hard
work in Season 2 with both the creation of her own game, and getting hired
fully at Eagle Jump. Aoba gave Nene a path to chase, and inspired her to keep
searching for her own dream.
However, if there is one
character who was inspired by Aoba the most, it would definitely be Ko Yagami.
It’s subtle, I didn’t realize the gravity of their relationship and its effect
on her until I’d first finished the series. It was only after rewatching it
that I began to connect the pieces together as to what happened between the two
of them. Let’s start by going over their journey and relationship throughout
the show’s two seasons.
Starting at the beginning, as
Season 1 progresses Ko and Aoba grow closer. We see Ko push Aoba to be better,
seeing potential within her, but we also see her struggle to express how
pleased she is with Aoba when she succeeds. However, Aoba doesn’t mind, as
being able to work with her role model is more then enough for her to keep
pushing forward. And while Aoba holds an idolized image of Ko, as the season
progresses we slowly learn how wrong that is and how well, human she is. She
used to be very unfriendly, and she’s only so good at drawing because she
spends multiple nights in the office working on it, which has clearly had some
effects on her. Yet as Aoba learns more about who Ko really is, her admiration
for her persists, maybe even growing.
But the first significant moment
we get between the two comes at the end of Season 1, when it is revealed that
Ko once attempted to be an art director. However, she was not good at handling
employees below her, and this caused some of her subordinates to quit from
stress. This had clearly broken Ko in some manner, as when she is offered the
position again she refuses, not wanting to try again, clearly damaged by the
incident. And yet she does end up trying again. Why?
Aoba, she motivates Ko to try
again, letting her know that she doesn’t have to handle the position on her
own, but that she’ll work with her. Ko is so moved by Aoba’s gesture that she
decides to accept, and the two embark on a new path together.
The next big moment for them
comes in episode 2 of Season 2. When submissions for the next game are taken,
Ko’s submissions, to the surprise of everyone, are rejected, while one of
Aoba’s drawings is accepted. While this is mainly because Aoba was the only one
of them to do a drawing that wasn’t simply inspired from the previous game, I
suspect this cut Ko deep. Aoba has been progressing very fast, I made the point
above that Aoba has been able to overcome every challenge she faces. With how
strong her drive to grow and improve is, she continues to push forward at a
fast pace, perhaps even faster than Ko.
The point I’m trying to make here
is that: Aoba is catching up to Ko, with episode 2 hinting at her getting
within reach. On the other hand, the episode also shows that Aoba’s drive to
grow and improve comes mainly from her admiration of and relationship with Ko, and
when she loses it her confidence and drive vanish. Thankfully Ko understands
this, and by the end of the episode the two make up and are assigned to work
together on the new game.
Still, I suspect after this Ko
was conflicted on what to do with herself, having her art be rejected. Seeing
Aoba grow and come so far so quickly had her pondering if she could improve, even
if she should. She was no doubt asking herself, why did she lose, and what did
Aoba have that she did not? As she trained Aoba and took her under her wing
even more, the next big moment would resolve this conflict within herself, and
that would come in Episode 6 of Season 2.
Given that the season finale
reveals this was an important time for Ko, I’d like to examine this episode
with more scrutiny. Starting off, the first dramatic moment in the episode
features Aoba being refused the position of drawing the key visuals for the new
game. This scene shows how much Aoba means to Ko, because she is the most objected to
Aoba not being featured as the main artist on their new game, since Aoba is contributing the most to the game's art.
The next scene shows the two of
them conversing regarding this change in the key visuals. Ko expresses regret
that she got Aoba into this situation, but Aoba cuts her off, telling her that
she can handle a few bitter experiences and that this is the path she chose, a
moment which shocks and touches Ko.
This isn’t the only moment in
which Aoba surprises Ko. During the emotional climax Ko no doubt wasn’t
expecting Aoba to react so strongly to her drawing, and then to pick herself
back up so quickly and get back to her work. Finally, at the very end of the
episode we see Aoba admit she is content with her drawing losing, but that she
will try her best again at the next chance, and Ko again is surprised.
I think it’s important that in
all these scenes, what surprises Ko is Aoba’s ability to pick herself up and
not be deterred by difficult obstacles. Despite not being able to draw the key
visuals, she picks herself back up. Despite seeing how far behind she is of
Ko’s drawing abilities, she picks herself back up. And finally, despite losing
the competition to Ko, she immediately picks herself back up, ready to try again
whenever the next chance approaches. It is the fire inside Aoba, her drive to be the best she can
be and not be stopped by any obstacles, this is what touches Ko, and
I think is what really changes her. Seeing Aoba’s fire burn arguably at its
brightest shows Ko her future, confirming for her what she must do. This
episode I think confirms for Ko what makes Aoba special, and it inspires her so
much so that she’s driven to do something incredibly drastic, something we
don’t fully learn of until…..the end of the series, in Episode 12 of Season 2.
At the end of Season 2 we learn
that Ko has decided to leave. She is going to work for a game company in France
and is leaving Eagle Jump. In the most dramatic way possible, the show saves
learning the real reason why she chose this path for the very end, the final
scene between Ko and Aoba. In it we learn that Aoba inspired her to grow and
try to improve her artistic skills, but I think what really shows the
significance of this is the bombshell that comes after the fact. In a short
scene with Hazuki, we learn that Ko was about to quit the company.
With all this in mind, I’d like
to do a thought experiment. I’d like to ask, what would have happened to Ko had
she not met Aoba?
If we look at Ko’s journey from
what we know of her, we see a picture that has a lot in common with Aoba. She
worked at Eagle Jump right out of high school, and she quickly stood out for
her good art skills and dedication to her work. Yet she also struggled to make
peers, with many of her co workers turning on her for how bad she made them
look, something not true of Aoba. Still, she progressed through the company,
driven to get better, and like Aoba she began to move up in her role. Then she
experimented with being an art director, hoping to soar to even greater
heights. Yet…that ended up going terribly, with subordinates quitting due to
her supervision, something that clearly took a toll on Ko. While Aoba was able to
overcome all the difficult challenges she faced, even those that rocked her to
her core, Ko….was not able to. She refused to be art director again, and seemed
to be content just being at a high role but no longer progressing.
I think the greatest proof for
this theory is in Episode 2 of Season 2. For despite
the company working on a game that is completely separate from Fairies Story,
Ko still draws in that style. This tells me that she’s content to just keep
making games like Fairies Story, never moving up or moving far out of her
comfort zone. Ko was lost, simply sticking to what was familiar in the mean
time.
With all this in mind, it’s worth
asking why Ko failed to face these challenges while Aoba was able to push on
ahead, and I think the answer is somewhat obvious. While a part of it was the
positive work environment and wonderful friends Aoba met, something we know Ko
lacked when she joined the company, a larger reason would be her
love and admiration of Ko. Having Ko always there for her to help and
remind her why she draws is what kept Aoba going. Ko on the other hand, as
confirmed in Season 11 of Episode 2, had no role model like that.
I suspect that Ko’s drive was
much more internal, while Aoba’s drive to grow and improve is more external and
dependent on those around her. This means Ko could keep pushing herself easier,
but it would also make tackling challenges harder, given she has no one to rely
on. She had no one to really drive her forward and remind her why she draws. As
revealed in the last episode, she was on the verge of quitting the company,
perhaps content to just be a freelancer who never improves her skills and
always draws in the style of Fairies Story…but all that changed when she met
Aoba.
I also suspect that there’s
another reason for Ko leaving, and that it’s not simply to improve her skills.
As I theorized, episode 2 of Season 2 showed how close Aoba is getting to
reaching Ko’s artistic skill. With this in mind I have another hypothetical
question I’d like to ask, what would happen if Aoba were to reach or even surpass
Ko? Ko may have had a similar experience when she first joined Eagle Jump, and
it might have been what led her to lose motivation to continue working on her
art, and consider leaving the company. I think Ko knows this, she more then
anyone knows what it’s like to lose the drive to keep working and improving
your skills, and because of this, she wants to improve her skills not for
herself, but for Aoba. She understands that she is what keeps Aoba going and
improving so much, and she wants to see that continue. She wants to continue to
be a role model that Aoba can aspire to be, and continue to be someone that she
can be proud of. And this I think, this is the main reason why Ko decided to
leave at the very end of the series. She wants Aoba to chase her, because she
knows that’s what’s best for her. After all, Aoba and her inspiring character
turned out to be the best thing that happened for Ko.
In conclusion, New Game is a
fantastic anime about the struggles of life, but also about the importance of
friendships and having someone to rely on and inspire you. With each character I
wrote of and more that I’ve missed, we see that Aoba has been able to both
learn from the various characters she’s had the pleasure of interacting with,
and been able to help them to learn and grow themselves. It is the wonderful
effect she has had on everyone throughout the series that makes her such an
enduring and likable character from the very beginning, and I think is core to
what makes New Game such a special and well written tale. It is the triumph of
Aoba.
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