_After School Dice Club_
You can watch this on Funimation or Hulu.
We open on a soliloquy: Miki, our heroine, says she never really knew how to play with the other kids. She didn't really know what was "fun". She's basically been waiting for someone to show her.
The opener is pretty standard. Various shots of the main characters.
Miki must have a case of social anxiety or claustrophobia or something, because she turns down an invitation to karaoke because there will be too many people there.
But when her classmate Aya almost runs her over on her bike by accident, well you can't avoid making friends.
(We're in Kyoto.) Aya has just moved here recently, and press-gangs Miki into showing her around.
Miki is worried that they'll get lost, but Aya corrects her: you can't get lost if you're not going anywhere in particular.
They have a fun afternoon sightseeing.
On their way home, they spot their class rep, Ono. What could she be doing in this part of the city?
They tail her.
She's working at her part time job at a store that specializes in German board games.
The manager convinces them to try one.
Marrakech https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29223/marrakech
The manage isn't going to go easy on them, even though it's their first time. He plays every game for real.
Miki is freaking out, so Ono joins her team to explain the strategy. They win with a bold strategy and a lucky roll.
Now, the school rules say they're not allowed to be out this late. Ono will overlook it this time, but in the future, they'd better stick to weekends and holidays.
Miki comes away happy that she has someone to find fun with.
Shouta Tanoue, Aya's seat-neighbor in class is in love with her, but hasn't managed to get a chance to tell her yet. When he tries to catch her after class he gets roped into a game of Cockroach Poker. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11971/cockroach-poker
Miki figures out what's going on immediately.
But Aya is bad at bluffing and at reading people. She's certain that Tanoue has his heart set on Ono due to their status as childhood frenemies.
Love is not likely to bloom here.
Miki has a history of being bullied. When Aya's sisters's friend joins them for a game of Incan Gold, that history comes out.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15512/diamant
Can you learn to be brave by pressing your luck? Does the support of your friends give you courage?
The Vice-chair of the student council wants Ono to help her organize for the upcoming festival. Can't she just quit her job?
No way. This job is the first step towards Ono's dream of becoming a published game author.
But the vice-chair thinks games aren't important at all. She'll convince Ono one way or the other!
Well then how about a little wager. We'll play a game of 6 Nimmt, and the loser has to obey the winner in this.
(Ono wins, of course.)
It is, of course, mandatory to have a beach episode. And no one takes board games to the beach. But at the hotel the girls find a rare Goita set, and get a chance to play this local game.
Ono has been working on her game for a while, but is it really ready? After an encounter with a professional, she pushes to finish it and gets the other girls to help her playtest.
It still needs a lot of work. But it's exactly feedback from others that helps a designer succeed.
Maki (Aya's sister's friend from episode 3) take Miki on a road trip and they discuss her personal growth.
The vice-chair of the student council turns down the suggestion for a board game cafe, but the chair comes by to see what it's all about.
They play a game of The Island (Which is clearly Survive: Escape From Atlantis) to show him what gaming is all about.
He has so much fun he overrides the vice-chair and approves their event.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2653/survive-escape-atlantis
Emilia is transferring to their school, so she helps them run their own Game Cafe at the school festival. When the chair and vice-chair of the student council come by to see what's what, Miki teaches them to play Dobble. (Known as Spot-It in English.)
Emilia visits the game shop, and the girls play a round of Elfenland.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10/elfenland
Emilia wants to be a game designer too, but Ono is too embarrassed to discuss it with her. But an attempt to apply modern rules design to classic children's games brings the topic up.
Aya has a falling out with her father when he takes a gig that prevents them from spending time together.
In Blokus, it's strategically important to let other people in to your territory; But can that help you to let people into your heart?
At the Christmas party, the extended cast play Ladies & Gentlemen. But are they playing a game, or truly trying to win their partner's heart?
Tanoue and Aya lose the game, but maybe win the reality. Yoshioka and Miki do okay in game, but can't convert.
Ono has an opportunity to enter her game into a competition. She prepares v2. It's a lot better than v1 but something is still missing.
She digs deep into her history to find the original desire that led her to make this game in the first place. She's galvanized to produce v3.
The school year ends, and the girls are looking forward to what comes next. They know they won't be in the same class, because their school divides classes by major.
Ono didn't win the competition, but she did get an invite to visit the hosting company in America.
Emilia has finished her game, and is planing to show it to a game editor in Germany. Aya has a dozen plans.
Miki just wishes everything could stay the same. She has something she values right here, and doesn't want to lose it. But change is inevitable.
One day during spring break, when she can't find anyone, she picks up a copy of Toddles-Bobbles, just for kicks.
With no one to play with, she just kind of fiddles with it, alone, worried that she's losing what she loves.
But suddenly, everyone is there! (She got seen.) And hey, they've always got time for a game.
Afterwards, they decide that if they can't be in the same class, they should form a gaming club, the titular After School Dice Club, so they can play together in the future.
And that's the end.
What's my takeaway?
It's all right. I gotta say it's pretty thin; Most of the cast have personalities right out of TV Tropes, and the main girls only have one interesting feature between them that they have to share.
They do manage to squeak out a little bit of drama before the end, but it's only a little bit.
The nature of the show is that every problem must be addressed by a board game, and that doesn't really work very well. That structure often stands in the way of telling a good story.
It's fine, but even for someone like me who loves tabletop games, it's not really compelling.
You're not missing anything if you skip it.
I wonder if this was produced by a Board Game Importer's Association or something.
In a way, this is the antithesis of _K-On_. K-On was theoretically about forming a band, but it was mostly about enjoying our lovable goofballs. This was actually about board games, to the extent that the cast was bland. It's probably better to watch game reviews on YouTube.
The girls go to check out a Game Cafe that has opened nearby. There they meet Emilia, who has moved to Japan from Germany, and they play a game of Keltis with her.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34585/keltis