No Game, No Life
Sora and Shiro are two hikikomori step-siblings who are known in the online gaming world as Blank, an undefeated group of gamers. One day, they are challenged to a game of chess by Tet, a god from another reality. The two are victorious and are offered to live in a world that centers around games. They accept, believing it to be a joke, and are summoned to a reality known as Disboard. There, a spell known as the Ten Pledges prevents the citizens of Disboard from inflicting harm on one another, forcing them to resolve their differences by gambling with games whose rules and rewards are magically enforced. In-game, rule enforcement only occurs when the method of cheating is acknowledged and outed by the opponent, allowing players to cheat through discreet methods. Sora and Shiro traverse to Elkia, the nation inhabited by humans, and befriend the duchess Stephanie Dola. Learning about Elkia's decline, the two participate in a tournament to determine the next ruler; after winning the crown, they earn the right to challenge the Disboard's other species as humanity's representative.LN 1.4 Their next goal is to conquer all sixteen species in order to challenge Tet to a game; as of the sixth volume, five of the sixteen are under their control.
=== Characters ===
Sora (空) and Shiro (白)
Sora is an eighteen-year-old male who excels at strategies and cold readings while his eleven-year-old stepsister, Shiro, excels at calculations and logic.LN 3.0 Together, the two form the undefeated gaming identity Blank (空白, Kūhaku, stylized as『　　』) due to their trademark of using only spaces as their in-game names. After their parents died, the two no longer had emotional ties to society, and eventually became agoraphobic and hikikomori.LN 1.0 When the two are separated from each other, they begin to suffer panic attacks.LN 1.1 After Sora and Shiro are summoned to Disboard, they decide to uphold their undefeated reputation as Blank by defeating Tet. Sora is voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka and Shiro by Ai Kayano. In Sentai Filmworks' English localization, Sora and Shiro are dubbed by Scott Gibbs and Caitlynn French respectively. A 2014 poll by Charapedia ranked Shiro and Sora as two of the most intelligent anime characters of all time.
Stephanie Dola (ステファニー・ドーラ, Sutefanī Dōra)
Stephanie is a teenage girl and granddaughter to the previous king of Elkia, the nation inhabited by humans. She has a lot of explicit knowledge but lacks the intuition to win games.LN 2.1 Her grandfather was infamously known for losing games and giving up Elkia's land. As a result, Stephanie strives to restore the honor of her grandfather and humanity. When Sora and Shiro are crowned, she becomes their assistant and deals with Elkia's economics and politics. They discover her grandfather kept hidden records on the other species which becomes an asset to their victories;LN 2.3 her experience with Sora and Shiro improves her skill to the point that she can win against normal humans.LN 4.1 She is voiced by Yōko Hikasa and English dubbed by Sara Ornelas.
Jibril (ジブリール, Jiburīru)
Jibril is a flügel, a powerful angelic race known for their ruthlessness.LN 2.1 Jibril is over 6000-years old and is the youngest and most powerful of her species.LN 5.2 She won Elkia's library from Stephanie's grandfather in order to store her books and use it as a home.LN 2.2 After losing to Sora and Shiro in a game of Shiritori, she becomes their slave, but is treated as an equal.LN 2.2 She often provides magic or transportation necessities for the protagonists. Later on, she begins publishing novels based on Sora and Shiro which makes them famous among the flügels.LN 5.1 She is voiced by Yukari Tamura and English dubbed by Amelia Fischer.
Warbeast
The warbeasts are kemonomimis with high physical abilities; their nation is known as the Eastern Federation. They are ruled by a nameless Miko, a logical woman who helped the Eastern Federation flourish for the past fifty years.LN 3.4 She possesses a rare ability called Blood Destruction which augments her physical abilities by taxing her body. She allies herself with Sora and Shiro who promises benefits for humanity and warbeasts.LN 3.4 She is voiced by Naomi Shindo and English dubbed by Suzelle Palacios.
Meanwhile, the warbeast embassy in Elkia is represented by Izuna Hatsuse (初瀬 いづな, Hatsuse Izuna), an eight-year-old child and ambassador of the warbeast.LN 2.4 She has a childlike demeanor and uses the copula desu, but also possesses high intellect and Blood Destruction.LN 3.3 Following the alliance between humans and warbeasts, she is a constant companion to Sora and Shiro whom she adores and trusts. She is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro and English dubbed by Kira Vincent-Davis. Alongside her is her grandfather, Ino Hatsuse (初瀬 いの, Hatsuse Ino).LN 2.4 He believes Sora has selfish ulterior motives and dislikes him. After the alliance between humans and warbeasts, he works alongside Stephanie to formalize the union.LN 4.1 He is voiced by Mugihito and English dubbed by John Swasey.
Kurami Zell and Fil Nilvalen
Kurami Zell (クラミー・ツェル, Kuramī Tseru) is an eighteen-year-old girl and considered the slave of the elf Fil Nilvalen (フィール・ニルヴァレン, Fīru Niruvaren). Though Kurami's family were the Nilvalen family's slaves for generations, her relationship with Fil is similar to daughter and mother.LN 3.2 Meanwhile, Fil is considered a failure of a magician but is secretly highly skilled.LN 5.0 She is willing to betray Elven Garde, the nation inhabited by elves, for Kurami's sake; the two conspire to have Fil obtain a political position of power in order to abolish slavery.LN 3.2 Sora manages to convince Kurami to be his ally by sharing his memories with her.LN 3.1 Kurami is voiced by Yuka Iguchi and Fil by Mamiko Noto; they are English dubbed by Kara Greenberg and Christina Stroup respectively.
Dhampirs and sirens
Dhampirs are a species with similar characteristics to vampires: they drink body fluids from other species for nourishment; excel at transformation, illusion, and dream magic; and are weak to sunlight. Their weakness to sunlight can be spread through bites which deters the other species from sharing blood with them.LN 4.0 Meanwhile, sirens are an all female species with the body of a mermaid. They require the life of a male from another species in order to reproduce; their magic allows them to seduce anyone of their choosing. Both species live in a nation called Oceando. Centuries ago, the dhampirs and sirens used the Ten Pledges to create a mutualistic relationship between the two; the dhampirs were allowed to feed on the sirens and in return, a male dhampir is to mate with the siren's empress who can reproduce without killing. Eight hundred years prior, the empress went into hibernation and the mating rituals killed all but a single male dhampir.LN 4.1
Plum (プラム, Puramu) is the last male dhampir and as a result, disguises himself as a female;LN 5.4 his magic skills are considered above average within his species.LN 5.2 After consuming Sora and Shiro's sweat, he becomes fond of their taste. He makes a deal with the sirens to lure Sora and Shiro in an attempt to have one of the two races enslave humanity. Sora and Shiro deduce his deception but decide to save both races regardless.LN 5.4 Since then, Sora and Shiro have Plum accompany them on their adventures.
The empress of the sirens, Leila Lorelei (ライラ・ローレライ, Raira Rōrerai), used the Ten Pledges to put herself to sleep without revealing the requirements to wake her up. While she slept, Amira (アミラ) takes her place in leading the sirens.LN 4.2 Realizing the empress is a masochist who desires a la douleur exquise, Sora's immunity to the sirens' seduction magic allows him to awaken her.LN 5.4 Subsequently, the empress used Sora's hair to create a siren daughter.LN 5.5
Other characters
Tet (テト, Teto) is an old deus, a magical entity born from wishes and prayers. During the era when the sixteen species were at war with each other, a human named Riku Dola and his Ex Machina wife, Shuvi Dola, imagined the existence of a god of games; this resulted in Tet's birth. Due to Riku's efforts, Tet comes into possession of an object known as the Star Grail, allowing him to become the god of Disboard. Using its power, Tet cast the Ten Pledges on the world, ending the war and making the world center around games.LN 6.5 He is voiced by Rie Kugimiya and English dubbed by Shannon Emerick.
Azrael (アズリール, Azurīru) is the first flügel and their leader following the death of Artosh, the old deus who created them. Since then, Azrael has become despondent towards life and tries to give meaning to the flügel's existence to prevent their suicide.LN 5.2 She is able to converse with the flügel's homeland, a sentient floating island called Avant Heim which is part of a species called the phantasma.LN 5.1 Following her loss against Sora and Shiro, her powers are reduced to the levels of a human which gives her a new perspective on life.LN 5.3
fantasy