Every year new books come out regarding the anime, video game and nerd culture life. I just happened to stumble across a novel that encompasses each of these elements into one story. The novel’s story is about the world greatest video game designer who dies and has no one to inherit his fortune. As a result, he has created a contest to determine whom he can pass it on to. The story picks up from there as the main character is competing in the virtual world and trying to survive in the real world and win the prize. This is a must read book for all anime, video game, and nerd culture fans as it touches on all those subjects. It is a fun and easy read and you will not want to put it down.
The novel has a few anime references. It does not randomly insert anime references but rather builds them into the story of the main character. The first reference is utilized from the anime Ultraman. Ultraman is a character who, is an ordinary guy but gains the power to be a super hero. By gaining power he can transform and fights an evil monster. In the novel, Ultraman’s appearance is in the form of a rare item that the main character receives. This item allows the player to transform into Ultraman for 3 minutes each day and play as him. The ability to be Ultraman is important to the end of the story, which I will not spoil here. The second anime reference is, one of my favorite topics in anime genre: mecha. During the novel, when characters clear a certain level, they can choose a gigantic robot. The two-mecha units that stand out are the original Gundam that Amuro Ray piloted and the 5 robots that form Voltron. The novel introduces Gundam and Voltron in the middle of the book. These mecha units are utilized and carry an important role at the end of the book along with other mecha units. There are other anime references through out the book but these two are the most prevalent.
The novel’s story is one giant reference on video games. All the events happen because of an Easter egg is placed inside the video game! The Easter egg is an addition to a video game, allowing the player to access additional play, cut scene or ability that does not overall affect the game play. The Easter egg in this game is the reason why everybody is playing the video game. Beside the book being a reference to Easter eggs in games, there are other video game references. Some of these references are Joust, Street Fighter II and Pacman. These games are all classified as retro video games. Joust is a game in which 2 players are on birds and are dueling one another while other Non-playable characters attack them, the first to lose is the one who’s hit point reaches zero first. The game of Joust is used in the novel to defeat the first boss that the main character faces and leads to the main character’s story. Street Fighter II is referenced in the novel as a method for the main character and his best friend to settle arguments. The final retro video game that is mentioned in the novel is Pacman. The main character in attempting to open the second gate and thinks it will happen by playing Pacman, so he sits down and plays all 256 levels. After playing all levels he receives a quarter that appears to have no abilities and cannot be removed from his inventory. This item won by playing Pacman is one of the most rare items in the virtual world and is crucial to the end of the novel, which again I will not spoil here.
The final reference the novel provides is from nerd culture. The first example of this is through the first gate, where the main character has to act the leading role from the movie War Games. The player has to recite the correct lines from the movie War Games along with the correct context and tone. The second major reference is the movie The Dark Crystals. This movie is important to the story as it brings out the romantic side of video game designers. The two guys who created the greatest video game, the one the characters are playing, had a disagreement about a girl who adopted the nickname Kira from The Dark Crystals. The movie brings out the romantic side of the nerds through a proxy, which is later built upon in the story. These are only 2 of the nerd cultures referenced and there are many more through out this read.
Ready Player One is the perfect read for a comic book, anime, video game or sci-fi lover as it encompasses all of those genres and much more. Any fan of the list I mentioned above who does not read this book is missing out on a great, fun and amazingly, enjoyable read.
