No Game, No Life: Zero (ノーゲーム・ノーライフ ゼロ, Nōgēmu Nōraifu Zero) is a 2017 theatrical anime film directed by Atsuko Ishizuka, animated by studio Madhouse and published by Kadokawa Pictures. Based on the light novel series No Game, No Life written by Yuu Kamiya, the film adapts the sixth light novel volume of the story which takes place before the events of the series. The film was theatrically released in Japanese theaters in July 2017.
Note: This post has been updated in February 2023 to reflect the current blog layout and some minor tweaks to the original write-up.
Brief Unboxing Redux Note:
I first received and unboxed No Game, No Life: Zero back in September 2018 and was one of the last sets that I unboxed over on my Normanic Vault blog via Blogger. This post here is a remaster, but mostly a remake (or redux no pun intended) & revisit with better photos, updated information and any added extras. Enjoy!
Background:
“6,000 years before Sora and Shiro rocked the world of Disboard, black rain falls from the sky and multiple species fight a desperate battle for survival. Constantly caught in the crossfire between the more powerful magical races, Humanity is on the edge of extinction, always on the retreat. But amidst the chaos and destruction, one young man, Riku, has a vision of a better future. And the first step towards achieving that goal comes in a dead city, where he encounters Schwi, an exiled female android who seeks to know one thing: what it is to have a human heart.”
Plot Synopsis via Sentai Filmworks, August 2018.
No Game, No Life is a pretty popular isekai series and the anime has been well-loved by many. While the light novel is still on-going there hasn’t been much going on for the anime side of things, as it took a long while until Madhouse and Kadokawa finally offered a film adaptation that covers more of the source material.
I didn’t watch No Game, No Life‘s main series until I picked up the Blu-ray release and enjoyed what the series had to offer. And considering how popular the IP was for Sentai I decided to pre-order the film. The film is actually a prequel to the series and has a different set of protagonists who are pretty much the same people that we follow in the main series but with different names and appearances. I did think the film was a good time as a whole.
In terms of licensing, No Game, No Life: Zero was picked up by Sentai Filmworks for the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Ireland. The UK & Ireland rights were sub-licensed to MVM Entertainment along the way. In a surprise move, the film was given a limited edition treatment to match the main series which had long since sold out.
Limited Edition Contents:
No Game, No Life: Zero is Sentai Filmworks’ first film to receive their special premium limited edition treatment, and packaging-wise is pretty faithful to those who bought the main series a few years prior.
The limited edition release for No Game, No Life: Zero is presented in a rigid box containing a DVD case featuring a sticker and the film on Blu-ray on DVD formats. Also included is an 80-page booklet that features character and concept artwork, illustrations and a short story.
The premium limited edition was priced at SRP $49.98 and sold out early upon its release. I pre-ordered the set through Deep Discount, which had some delays in shipping so it arrived at one location whilst I was in another.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with clean artwork and DVD packaging
- Info sheet for specification
- 80-page Booklet
- Sticker
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Sentai Filmworks
Released: 28th August 2018
The limited edition release for No Game, No Life: Zero contains the film on a single Blu-ray and single DVD disc, with the encode and authoring produced by Sentai Filmworks. The audio options available include Japanese with English and Spanish subtitles, the Sentai Studios English dub and Sentai Studios Latin American Spanish dub.
The yellow subtitles are locked during playback, and the disc regions are geo restricted to United States for Blu-ray players (if you own a UK/European PlayStation or Xbox console, you can play it without issue) and region restricted to Region 1 for DVD players.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese, Spanish |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | A |
| Geo Locked Region | United States |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese, Spanish |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 2.0 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | 1 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 1 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Japanese Promos
- Behind the Scenes with Sentai Filmworks Staff & Cast
- Sentai Filmworks Trailers
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
- Japanese Promos
- Behind the Scenes with Sentai Filmworks Staff & Cast
- Sentai Filmworks Trailers
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
No Game, No Life: Zero was licensed and released on home video by Sentai Filmworks and in the UK via MVM Entertainment. This release came out a few years ago and is no longer available to own, but the standard edition is available to own on Blu-ray. You can stream the film on HIDIVE if you live in the UK, Ireland, US & Canada regions.
The Normanic Vault 
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