We’re not playing around here! Well, actually we are. This is Darwin’s Game.

High schooler Kaname accidentally signs up for an on-line game, which involves actual battles to the death in the real world. Each player gets his own special power, or sigil as it is called in the game. It’s not long until Kaname finds himself challenged by other players eager to use his death to move up in the game.

One of these challengers is Shuka, a pretty blonde who has the power to control wires and chains. Totally lethal, Shuka is known as the Undefeated Queen. And then she loses to Kaname, but instead of killing her, Kaname gets her to join him as a much needed ally. Of course, later on Shuka expresses her love for him.

Most of the series involves a treasure hunt involving selected participants. Find three rings, and you win money and are allowed live. Hang the rules. Just kill anyone you can. Kaname and Shuka use the opportunity to recruit a mismatched group of individuals who will later united as the Sunset Ravens clan.

Kaname’s goal is to end Darwin’s Game and get revenge on the Gamemaster, all without killing anyone. But can he fulfill his no-kill promise?

As expected, there is plenty of blood and guts, not to mention profanity. The action scenes are well done, though the rest of the animation is good, but not particularly standout quality. What the anime does best is to show the effect the game is having on Kaname, so this is also partly a psychological anime.

But we have a good story with some great characters. Stay tuned after the credits roll as many episodes have important post-credit scenes. The are no plans for season two yet, but there is hope. Darwin’s Game is worth checking out.