I came accross this anime called Good Night World, it’s an anime about an MMO in VR. I’m a sucker for these type of shows and this psychological drama blending the real world with the digital one has some great stuff while some things I’d like to nitpick. Overall it tells a full story adapting the full manga in only 12 episodes. It had a lot of potential and while it doesn’t go the path I wanted it to, it still provides a solid story.
You have a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer RPG game where people spend a lot of their time in. You also have people living their crappy real life. This is where we meet the family, first the shut in gaming addict but the whole family is playing and they’re a toxic family. This gives us some interesting character relatioships and even feels somewhat realistic… well in a way i mean it’s not something normal especially as more secrets are revealed late ron. I enjoyed it for what it was a vr mmorpg family gets together, takes some weird turns, first relationship shut in, then action, then shut in drama, then both dramas, then save the world drama and ending.
I mean it’s a lot. Unsure of what they were going for, I think some aspects could’ve definitily expanded on, i think just the shut-in dysfunctional family was enough that it didn’t need the action VR drama but it does help change things up I guess. The A.I. taking over plot is a bit cliche after all, still neat mix. The whole family playing and not knowing they’re a guild as The Akabane Family makes a great set up for a show. Black Bird is not the most interesting villain but I guess it moves the plot.
There whole manga is only 5 volumes and while it goes deeper the anime does take care of the whole story. The manga does go deeper into the layers of the Virtual World. There is also a prequel manga called Good Night World End. This one is only 3 volumes and features a different cast and a more grim outcome. In fact this one deals more with the escapism and how it bleeds into relationships in real life. It would be cool to have seen this adapted as well.
Overall Good Night World offers a great Virtual Reality story. Going into virtual worlds will always be one of my favorite plots and while this anime goes a bit in directions I wouldn’t have wanted, it still provided a solid story overall. It’s a heartfelt story that even if the villain ends up being a bit cliche, it doesn’t take away from the journey. I don’t want to underplay the whole mistery of the A.I. going rogue and AIs not knowing they are programs and not real, it’s interesting. Far more than just blackbird now going to the real world.