Anime Doesn't Need UI
The 2024 anime season seems to be off to a bit of a slow start. Other than continuing anime, not many new series have caught my eye. There was one though that seemed to be fairly heavily promoted, Solo Leveling.
I’ll be upfront here, this article is largely going to be me airing some personal grievances and pet peeves in anime over the years. While I could make a case this is a negative trend and has become a trope that negatively affects anime, it also just really annoys me.
Also, for those still in gaming 101, let me briefly explaining UI. UI stands for user interface, it encompasses things like menus, health bars, ammo count, and more. Basically anything that displays information to you, the user, or gives you a way to interact with the game.
It’s basically required for any game to function, and this concept extends to things like computers and phones. Any time you interact with technology, you typically do so through UI. Unfortunately, this concept has trickled into anime. An art form that really doesn’t need it.
So, after two fairly decent episodes of checking out Solo Leveling, episode three may have just lost me. As soon as I saw the title “It's Like a Game”, I knew things were going to start heading south.
Slight Spoilers for episode 3 of Solo Leveling!
After a dramatic encounter in the dungeon, our hero is rewarded by becoming a player. This is complete with UI screens only he can see, stats, stat points to allocate, and an inventory. Oh boy. I’m not sure if having the protagonist acknowledge how this is exactly like a game helps me get used to, or if it just further bothers me.
End Spoilers!
These kinds of overt video game systems in anime really tend to annoy me. Though, that’s not to say anime about actual video games have the same effect. It’s the inclusion of video game elements into stories that are not really about video games that I feel weakens the premise of those stories.
It affects my perception of both the world and the characters. If the world is like a video game, it’s hard to make me feel like the characters are “real people”. Games have had to do a lot of work to get you to care about virtual characters. So it feels like an odd choice for some anime to include these kinds of elements when it’s only creating more work for themselves.
Now, there are cases where video game elements can work, but often, that’s in cases where the anime itself is about people playing a video game.
Bofuri
This light hearted comedy anime explores a young girls’ first foray into online multiplayer gaming, or MMOs. Video games in anime typically adopt the VR headset approach, to give you the effect of watching someone who is basically “inside the game”
It’s fun, whacky tone shows the joy that can be found in experiencing online games. Our main character, being new to these types of games, takes a unique approach to playing, and dumps all her points into defense.
It follows her misadventures as she explores the game, makes friends, joins events, and eventually forms a guild. These are the types of stories that are only possible in a video game setting, so video game elements have to be included.
There’s even fun aside from the game developers being constantly dismayed at the way this one girl, so new to games, is constantly surpassing their expectations and exploiting holes in their game design.
This is my favorite example of an anime about video games, as it uses the premise of a show about games to its full extent. It doesn’t force high stakes that are undermined by the video game setting, and gives its characters room to breathe and play around.
The Rising Of The Shield Hero
On the other hand, take a show like The Rising Of The Shield Hero. This is a show not about video games, it should be a somewhat standard isekai fantasy anime. And yet! Shots in this show will have UI elements straight out of a game displaying the health and magic of characters in the show. The main character even has a skill tree to unlock.
Isekai anime tends to be a big culprit here. While it’s meant to be a fantasy world with magic and monsters, the people are real, or at least should be. Having this layer of “gaminess” thrown overtop of a fantasy world feels like the writers lacked confidence to embrace their chosen setting.
I think tone is a big factor here. Solo Leveling and The Rising Of The Shield Hero are both fairly serious anime with death and danger. Having UI elements pop up in the middle of a big dramatic battle usually works against that kind of tone. It makes it feel like I’m playing a game with friends, and if we lose, we’ll just have to respawn and try again.
I will admit some bias here, I watched two seasons of the show, and there were plenty of things that gave me the ick. The video game elements were just one that really didn’t feel needed. It didn’t serve the show in any meaningful way, and just created dissonance for me as the viewer.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime features magic, skills, and other video game aspects, even though once again we’re in a fantasy setting. Though this time around, I feel like the show knows what it’s doing, and doesn’t try to build arbitrary stakes.
Our hero is so strong he feels invincible, and the show knows that. The way he begins to power up is fun and silly, and he eventually begins to build his own nation of monsters. It explores its fantasy world well, and doesn’t overuse these game elements in a way that weakens the story.
The characters, while outlandishly cartoony, feel real and motivated in their own ways. The world is interesting enough, and feels like decent fantasy writing, though nothing too novel. It’s fun, lighthearted, and I think has intention behind the kind of story it tells.
Though, that is to say, I don't think these elements really enhance the story. If we were to remove these elements, I think the story would still be fun with sharp writing. It’s not really about any of these elements, they’re just here for flavor. As someone who gets plenty of that flavor from actual games I can directly interact with, I don’t need it in my anime.
KonoSuba
My last example, KonoSuba, is another isekai anime that follows the misadventures of a party as they slowly work to defeat the demon king. While using a fantasy setting, there are plenty of game elements present as with other examples.
Though in this case, this show is an outright comedy. Very little is taken seriously in this show, including those same game elements. This is a great example of when those elements can actually service the show, and opens up avenues for jokes and 4th wall breaks.
I never took the world or its characters seriously in the first place, so having a menu screen pop up in front of them can actually be rather humorous. They make jokes about picking useless skills, or not having enough stat points.
It’s charming, funny, and used with intention. This is the best example of when those kinds of elements could be used in a setting that really doesn’t need them.
Game Over
So often, these game elements feel shoehorned into a format that didn’t need them in the first place. This is a harsh criticism to level, but I often wonder if they just couldn’t think of anything original. Sometimes that’s the impression I’m left with as a viewer anyways.
Unless you’re using these elements to comment on them in some way, I’d rather just go play a game. It undercuts the tension some of these shows are trying to build, and requires more work on the part of the show to get me invested.
Video games can be great at building tension for a player, but that’s helped by interacting with them directly. Watching someone play a game can still generate that same effect, but that’s because you’re rooting for the real person playing the game, hoping they can pull it off.
Watching an anime character, who looks like they’re playing a game, (but not actually), just feels like one step too far. I hope this is one trend we can begin to leave behind as we go forward. Isekai anime already have a hard time distinguishing themselves in an already crowded genre. Throwing in game elements seemingly at random isn’t going to help them stand out.
I may give Solo Leveling a few more episodes to see if they can salvage this premise. Though if I’m just going to watch someone level up in anime, I’d rather go grind a few levels in more interesting games. Watching someone else’s numbers go up is far less interesting than watching my own numbers go up.
