Rolling Review – Houkago Saikoro Club (11)

Episode Synopsis:

A competition for unpublished games will soon be held, and Midori has been invited to participate.  She decides to join, but knows her game still needs work.  Over the following days, she improves the game, playtests it with her friends, and rediscovers what made her want to make a game in the first place.  By the end of the episode, her game appears ready.

Episode Review:

This episode was both a lot of fun and interesting to watch.  I appreciate that Midori’s game is onscreen, with a clear set of rules.  It really looks playable, and what’s even more impressive is seeing the improvements made to it, both since the time she initially debuted it some episodes ago and during the course of this episode.

There’s real innovation and change happening to this fictional board game, and the changes feel natural.  There are some good insights into the craftsmanship side of board games, which isn’t something I’d expected from the show going in. I’m impressed.  It’s also nice to see Midori really relying on her friends, and her happiness at seeing other people strategizing about how to win her game is heartwarming.

I’m excited to see how things go in the next episode, when the final boss makes his appearance.

Previous                                         Next