Curiosities about "No Game No Life"

No Game No Life (NGNL) is a Japanese light novel created by the Brazilian writer Yuu Kamiya (Thiago Furukawa Lucas). The story follows two genius siblings who are hopelessly addicted to games and end up in a world where every conflict is resolved by playing.

The series was a major hit, earning an anime adaptation, a manga, and even a film. In this article we will take a look at some interesting trivia, easter eggs, and secrets about No Game No Life. As the text is full of curiosities, it may contain spoilers.

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Curiosities about the work

The author mentioned in volume 2 that what became the second chapter of the first volume was originally meant to be the second chapter of the second volume. He did not realize that Japanese light novels were usually much shorter, and was reprimanded for trying to publish a 900-page book. He has also said that part of the early volumes of NGNL were written in Brazil.

On the covers of the light novels, only Shiro in volume 1 and Tet in volume 6 hold a black chess piece. In every other released volume, the piece is white. The author was once accused of plagiarizing a fan art for the cover of volume 8, simply because of a similar pose.

Volume 6 of the light novel tells the story of Riku, a name that means "land" — which contrasts with the name Sora, meaning "sky". The protagonist Riku asks Ex Machina her name, and she answers Schawarzer, meaning "black" in German — which contrasts with Shiro, meaning "white". This volume was actually supposed to be volume zero of the series.

The voice actor of Sora also voiced Sorata Kanda, and the voice actress of Shiro voiced Mashiro Shiina — both characters from the anime Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. Coincidence? Maybe not.

• The voice actress of Shiro also sings the gorgeous ending theme "Oracion".
• The voice actor of Sora is Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, famous for voicing Kirito in Sword Art Online.
• Did you know that the author of No Game No Life published a short hentai doujin?
• Mashiro Hiiragi, the artist behind the manga adaptation, is Yu Kamiya's wife.
• The special edition of the No Game No Life Blu-ray came with a bonus: Shiro's panties.

Curiosities about the world

There are reports that an Imanity was the one who proposed the ten rules during the Great War, and the same Imanity was responsible for the death of Artosh. Judging by Azriel's age, the war probably lasted around 20,000 years. Volume 8 of the light novel states that 54,355,146 hours have passed since the end of the war — the equivalent of 6,200 years.

The world of No Game No Life is set outside Japan, which implies several translations and pronunciations missing the "L", "V" and other letters that do not exist in the Japanese language. That is why "Stephanie Dola" is pronounced "Stephanie Dora" in the anime.

• The library shown in No Game No Life is inspired by the Library of Congress in Washington.
• The link that Tet sends Sora at the beginning of the anime leads to a real online trivia game.

The names Sora (空, "empty") and Shiro (白, "white") are already mysterious. The author once said their last name is "nai", which can be read as "there is none". To make things even more mysterious, the two refer to themselves as Kuuhaku (空白) — a word that literally combines their names and means "blank" or "empty".

• The name Tet is the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and can also be a nod to the tetragrammaton.
• Jibril's ultimate ability is called "Heaven's Strike", powerful enough to destroy entire countries — but every time she uses it, her body regresses to that of a child.
• No Game No Life makes references to many other games and anime, including Persona 4, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Steins;Gate, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Akiba's Trip, Thermae Romae, and Fate/stay night.

What does "Aschente" mean in No Game No Life?

Whenever a game begins in No Game No Life, the participants must declare "Meiyaku ni chikatte Asshente" (盟約に誓って アッシェン) — where meiyaku means "pact" or "oath" and chikatte means "I swear". But what does "Asshente" actually mean?

It is a word that Riku coined to remember the friends who died during the Great War. It seems to be an invented term possibly inspired by the English word "ascend" — the idea of rising, reaching the highest point, touching the sky.

It is worth noting that the ten rules created by Tet were inspired by the six rules established by Riku Dola and Shuvi Dola before the end of the Great War. The original word used at the time was "Aschento", not "Aschente".

The 16 races of No Game No Life

The 16 races are known as Exceed, or Ikushīdo (十六種族) in Japanese, which literally means "16 races". They are divided into two groups: the first six are considered superior and called seimei (生命), meaning "life"; the remaining ten are called seibutsu (生物), meaning "creatures".

Many of the race names are clever wordplays: "God" is simply called "God", not "Kami" in Japanese; "Seirens" is a play on "sirens"; "Dhampirs" nods to vampires; "Dragonia" evokes dragons; and "Flügel" means "wings" in German.

Position	Name	Equivalent	Japanese	Race Emblem
1	Old Deus	God	神霊種オールドデウス	Pawn
2	Phantasma	Ghosts	幻想種ファンタズマ	Pawn
3	Elementals	Elements	精霊種エレメンタル	Pawn
4	Dragonia	Dragons	龍精種ドラゴニア	Pawn
5	Gigant	Giants	巨人種ギガント	Pawn
6	Flügel	Angels	天翼種フリューゲル	Queen
7	Elf	Elves	森精種エルフ	Tower
8	Dwarf	Dwarves	地精種ドワーフ	Bishop
9	Fairy	Fairies	妖精種フェアリー	Pawn
10	Ex Machina	Androids	機凱種エクスマキナ	Bishop
11	Demonia	Demons	妖魔種デモニア	Pawn
12	Dhampir	Vampires	吸血種ダンピール	Knight
13	Lunamana	??	月詠種ルナマナ	Tower
14	Warbeast	Beasts	獣人種ワービースト	Pawn
15	Seiren	Mermaids	海棲種セーレーン	Knight
16	Imanity	Humans	人類種イマニティ	King

I hope you enjoyed this dive into No Game No Life! Do you know any other curiosity about the series? Drop it in the comments, and share the article with friends. If you want to keep exploring, here are a few more pieces worth a look:

• What is a Light Novel?
• Video games in Japan
• Do you know what a Hikikomori is?