GNOSIA – Episode 1

What’s it about? Gnosia are the enemy of humanity, pretending to be fellow humans while they seek to eradicate all in the universe until only Gnos exists. Even a spaceship drifting through space isn’t safe, and when Yuri awakens from stasis, they soon find that they’re playing the most deadly game against an enemy who looks like them, but plays dirty in the name of their astral god…

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If there’s any franchise I’m deeply invested in, it’s GNOSIA. A game of werewolf set in the dark, cold reaches of space, GNOSIA kept me glued to my Nintendo Switch and remains one of my top five of all time. I’ve reviewed it, I’ve loved it, and years later, I routinely pick it up and play through it all over again, experiencing slightly different timeline trajectories as I try to unravel the enemy known as Gnos and the gnosia.

So of course, when the anime debut came around, I eagerly was like, “ME! ME! PLEASE ME!” because this series is something I’m really excited to deeply analyze as an experienced player shifting 

So come with me to a galaxy far away, to a ship full of people and a mystery surrounding one girl and the truth of the enemy standing in her way…

Episode 1 begins with that time honored trope: amnesia, only this time, it’s a sign that something has gone incredibly wrong for protagonist Yuri. Awoken by Setsu, a non-binary individual aboard a ship heading to another station, Yuri is thrust into a game of werewolf where the cost is everyone’s life if they can’t sniff out the enemy—the Gnosia on board.

You see, a Gnosia is a member of Gnos, an arm of an intergalactic, alien entity that infects humans in its plight to overwhelm and consume. But telling who’s a gnosia or who’s a scapegoat sacrificed in a gnosia’s quest for survival isn’t as easy as pointing a finger. Yuri and the rest of the crew must engage in a meeting-meets-debate style conversation to suss out who aboard the ship is here to harm, and who is an innocent spacefaring traveller trapped on the worst transport ship around…

One major difference between GNOSIA the game and GNOSIA the anime adaptation is its protagonist. In the game, the protagonist presents as either male, female, or non-binary, nestling neatly into a world that is full of NPCs that are across that same gender spectrum. Here, the protagonist is a feminine in design, but uses they/them and is addressed as such throughout the premiere but is distinctly named, taking away the feeling that you, the player, are in the game trying to solve the mystery of the time loop you’re stuck in. 

Even the glimpse we get of Yuri’s body depicts androgyny, making them more of an agender individual who is decidedly feminine and happens to be voiced by a female voice actor. Trust that I’m working on a two part article right now that will examine the game while the anime is in its tender beginnings and then compare and contrast it at the end of the season because I think this is an amazing choice and keeps with the exploration of gender that underpins GNOSIA as an experience.

Speaking of characters, there’s a vivid cast ranging from shy and reserved Gina to my personal favorite—the vivid, vivacious mean girl of the group, SQ. Everyone is here for a reason, and initially, everyone is innocent—that is, until you remember Gnos and the gnosia. Now, any of those super cool characters that we’re instantly charmed by can be enemies against humanity, no matter how much we, the viewer, may want them to be anything but.

It’s this element that is at the core of GNOSIA, and that, I, even as a devout fan, found excellently executed in this premiere. Even though we barely know the five characters introduced in this premiere, I found myself enchanted all over again. And even though I already knew who the Gnosia was because of previous experience, I still found my heart racing at the reveal and the promise of seeing the enemy go into cold sleep so maybe, Yuri can find their way back to their memories and through the tangled web of the gnosia and the wicked game they play.

There’s so many elements I haven’t talked about in this review because it’s just rich with content. I haven’t even touched on the music, which is one of my favorite elements of GNOSIA the game and which gets pulled in right at the end to dramatic effect. I haven’t even mentioned the animation and how good everything looks. It’s a really stellar translation of the video game’s lush art style, down to the vivid colors. I feel like a kid in a candy store: I’ve barely gotten a taste and already, I’m craving episode 2. I’m even itching to pull up the game on my Switch Lite to play during my lunch times and in bed. This premiere really reignited that love in me, and I hope it does the same for viewers who are brand new to the story GNOSIA desires to tell.

I’m gonna be real: you need to have GNOSIA on your watchlist this season. It’s a show that I think everyone will benefit from watching, not solely because I’m a fan but because I think it’s such a fascinating story and I think everyone should see how to adapt a visual novel without losing its flavor. I also think that it’s important to see an inherently queer story play out, especially in a time where globally, queer identities and existences are under threat.

Verdict? Watch this, buy the game, play it while you watch or go to the source at the end of GNOSIA’s run. Regardless, you need to be locked in to this series today, readers. Let it consume you just like it did me.