10 Best Anime about Game

Anime and video games are two elements of popular culture that are familiar and beloved to many. They frequently collaborate to produce amazing narratives that captivate audiences.

Anime centered around games offers us a peek into a gaming universe brimming with adventures, obstacles, and thrilling tales that can keep us engaged and swept up in the action.

From the numerous game-themed anime that have come out, here are some of the top and most thrilling ones about games. They've succeeded in grabbing the attention of anime fans worldwide. Let's discover the world of gaming through the eyes of anime!

1. Sword Art Online

One of the most popular game-themed anime is Sword Art Online or often abbreviated as SAO. SAO is the name of an online game where players have to fully immerse themselves to enjoy it. Interestingly, the game lets every player experience real-world sensations like pain and pleasure.

To enter and play SAO, players have to wear a special helmet called NerveGear. The unique experience offered by SAO attracts a large number of players who are eager to explore this world.

However, a shocking event happens on the first day of the game's launch. Kayaba Akihiko, the game's creator, reveals that players can't log out of the game by any means.

Every player gets trapped in the world of SAO, with their real-world bodies left completely immobilized or in a coma. Worse still, if a player's character dies in the game, their real-life body also dies.

The only way to escape Sword Art Online is by finishing the game, which is filled with challenging and lethal monsters.

One day, a hero named Kirito, along with some other players manages to complete the game, rescuing themselves from this horrifying situation.

2. Overlord

The story begins with the creation of a game named YGGDRASIL. YGGDRASIL is a Dive Massively Multiplayer Online RPG (DMMO-RPG) game that has been active for two years. However, eventually, the decision is made to shut the game down, leading all the players to log out.

However, there is one who chooses to stay logged in until the very last moment the game is set to close. This player is known by his character name, Momonga. Expecting to be logged out automatically when the game ends, Momonga finds himself still in the game.

Finding this strange, Momonga decides to investigate. To his surprise, all the Non-Player Characters (NPCs) in the YGGDRASIL world seem to have come to life, behaving like real humans. Additionally, the items and goods in the YGGDRASIL game world have changed significantly from what he knew them to be.

What could be happening? Is this still the game world? Or has Momonga been trapped in an alternate reality in a different universe?

3. Log Horizon

Log Horizon starts with an unanticipated event where around 30,000 people in Japan mysteriously get trapped in a game world called Elder Tale. One of these people is Shiroe, the main character, who finds himself caught in this perplexing situation.

Shiroe decides to go on a journey to understand why they're trapped in Elder Tale. His best friend, Naotsugu, accompanies him on this adventure. Initially, their goal was just to collect information, but over time, Shiroe comes to realize they might not be able to escape from Elder Tale.

Accepting his circumstances, Shiroe decides to adapt, and this involves creating a group within the game. Unknowingly, he becomes the leader of what is now known as the Log Horizon guild.

However, surviving in this new world is not easy. Shiroe and the Log Horizon members will have to confront various guilds, engage in diplomacy, devise strategies, and build a civilization.

The question remains, will all the Elder Tale players eventually come to terms with their situation, accepting that they might not be able to return to the real world?

4. My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

In contrast to Log Horizon, My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 leans towards romantic storytelling. The plot of this anime is centered around a game named Forest of Savior, often abbreviated as FOS.

The story follows the main character, Akane, who is heartbroken after her boyfriend breaks up with her. The reason for the breakup is quite absurd - her ex-boyfriend has found a new love interest in the FOS game.

Feeling upset and hurt, Akane decides to return all the items her ex-boyfriend had given her. Once she's returned everything, she plays FOS and joins a new guild.

In her new guild, Akane meets a player named Yamada. They find themselves getting along well and grow closer. However, Yamada is rather clueless and lacks experience in romance. The question remains, will Akane and Yamada be able to form a romantic relationship?

5. BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.

If you're looking for a game-themed anime with a good dose of humor, BOFURI could be the perfect pick. Like most gaming anime, BOFURI also features a storyline where players can immerse themselves in a virtual game world and experience everything as if it were real, including pain.

One day, a girl named Kaede Honjou is invited to play the VRMMO game, New World Online, by her friend, Risa. However, Risa is unable to log in at the time due to her focus on exams, leaving Kaede to enter the game alone.

Upon logging in, Kaede names her character Maple and allocates all her initial points to defense. The reasoning is simple; Kaede doesn't want to experience any pain, so Maple's defense needs to be strong. This decision leaves her other abilities at zero, resulting in her moving incredibly slowly, being unable to perform magic, and completely lacking attack power.

To defeat the monsters in the game, Maple relies only on her teeth, literally eating the monsters. Other players, observing Maple's odd behavior, assume she's a newbie or a weak beginner player.

However, during a game event requiring players to battle each other, with the last one standing declared the winner, a surprise occurs. Maple manages to be one of the last surviving players and even becomes the champion of the event. After this, Maple becomes a well-known name among the New World Online players.

6. No Game No Life

The combination of Isekai and gaming is indeed a popular theme in the world of anime. No Game No Life, for example, features an Isekai narrative set against a challenging gaming background.

The story follows two siblings, Sora and Shiro. They're exceptionally skilled at various online games, gaining much popularity due to their gaming talent. However, to them, this popularity is insignificant as they view the world merely as a game.

After conquering numerous games, they receive an email challenging them to a supposedly difficult chess game. Surprisingly, they succeed in winning the game.

Because of this, Sora and Shiro are transported to another world called Disboard. They are asked to compete in all the games of the gods in this new realm. The stakes are high - if they lose, they would lose their lives. However, if they succeed, they earn the right to become new gods in Disboard.

7. Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

This anime stands out as it's set in the genre of otome games. For those unaware, otome games are dating simulation games that often feature attractive characters. As such, they're quite popular among many players.

The plot centers on two high school students, Kobayashi and Endou. Both are avid players of otome games, and strangely, possess the ability to hear and converse with all the characters in the game. This unique ability earns them a divine status among the game characters.

In their role as gods, Kobayashi and Endou undertake a mission to assist a character named Lieselotte Riefenstahl. She's portrayed as a tsundere girl, someone who struggles to express her emotions. Unfortunately, Lieselotte is seen as a villain in this game.

To correct the misunderstanding about Lieselotte's character, Kobayashi and Endou whisper to her fiancée Prince Siegwald, indicating that Lieselotte is a kind woman who has a unique way of showing her feelings.

Thanks to the god's whispers, Prince Siegwald starts to understand his fiancée better. However, helping these two get together isn't easy. Kobayashi and Endou must closely monitor the progress of their relationship, diverging from the original storyline when necessary. The question remains, will they be successful in their mission?

8. Chihayafuru

This anime, Chihayafuru, diverges from the modern gaming concept. It focuses on a group of high school students who play a traditional Japanese card game called Karuta. The three main characters, Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata, are childhood friends who often played Karuta together.

However, their close bond is tested when they transition from elementary school. They attend different schools, and Arata even moves back to his hometown in Fukui. Despite the distance, Chihaya continues to play Karuta, a passion she maintains through high school.

In high school, Chihaya is well-known for her beauty. Leveraging her popularity, she becomes determined to form a Karuta club with her classmates. However, she quickly learns that getting high school students interested in a traditional game isn't easy.

Unexpectedly, Taichi transfers to the same high school as Chihaya. From that point on, the two of them begin building a Karuta club together. Then, how about Arata?

9. High Score Girl

This anime is set in 1991 when arcade games are very popular. Many people flocked to the game zone just to play arcade games, one of them was Yaguchi Haruo.

Haruo is a young boy who excels at playing arcade games, particularly Street Fighter 2. His impressive gaming skills earn him respect in the arcade gaming community.

One day, Haruo got a challenge from Akira to play Street Fighter 2. Without hesitation, Haruo accepts the challenge. However, to his dismay, Haruo loses the match. This defeat gave rise to a new closeness between Haruo and Akira.

However, after many shared gaming sessions, bad news emerged. Akira reveals that her personal driver is leaving, which would limit her outings.

Without her personal driver, Akira's freedom to go where she wants is restricted, since her parents have forbidden her from visiting arcades and spending time with Haruo. Their chances of meeting are now limited to school, without any time for arcade games. How will Haruo cope with this new challenge?

10. Kakegurui

This anime introduces a more extreme and distinct kind of game than others – gambling. Moreover, this gambling game takes place within the unlikely environment of a school, Hyakkao Academy.

Hyakkaou Academy is far from an ordinary school. This academy prepares its students to tackle real-world challenges from a young age, using an unconventional teaching method. The students attending this school are no ordinary pupils; they come from the world's wealthiest families.

However, what sets Hyakkaou Academy apart from other schools is its unique tradition. When night falls, the school transforms into a gambling house, where students are taught to gamble and deceive others. This is Hyakkou Academy's approach to training their students to be strong individuals who can survive in a competitive world.

One day, a new student named Yumeko enrolls at Hyakkou. Unlike her peers, Yumeko indulges in gambling purely for the joy of it, not to win.

Initially underestimated, Yumeko consistently emerges victorious in every gambling game she partakes in. Consequently, the top students at Hyakkou, including the student council president, begin to perceive her as a threat.

This is a summary of some of the best and most exciting anime about games that have captured the attention of anime lovers around the world. Each has a unique plot, characters, and background, showing how diverse and interesting the world of games can be packaged in an anime story format.

Hopefully, this review can be a useful reference for those of you who are looking for game-themed anime to watch. Happy watching!