The following contains spoilers for SHIBOYUGI: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table Episode 1, currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Death games as entertainment have been a concept for thousands of years. Gladiators fighting to the death in the coliseums of Rome. Mesoamerican ballgame players become ritual sacrifices upon losing the game. Death as entertainment is nothing new, but recent Netflix Original series like Alice in Borderland and Squid Game have definitely brought the death game back into focus. Having enjoyed both of these series, I was intrigued to see Yushi Ukai’s seinen light novels, Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food On the Table, getting an anime adaptation.
Each new anime season, I find myself picking through what Crunchyroll has on offer. I already know Winter 2026 will be bringing me that which I most desire with Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 and Hell’s Paradise Season 2. Shiboyugi also landed high on my list as something to check out. With the first episode airing today, January 7, 2026, it was time to see whether I’ll be keeping Shiboyugi on my watch list for the duration.
For a Brutal Death Game, This Anime Moves Surprisingly Slow
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Shiboyugi Episode 1, “All You Need Is —-” debuts at 47 minutes and 39 seconds, making it one of the longer premiers this season. But longer doesn’t necessarily mean better. For a near fifty-minute episode, I went into Shiboyugi expecting things to move quickly. Death games tend to be fast paced, especially once the games get started. Then they build into the horror, drama, psychological trauma, and tragedy.
The fact that it took the main character, Yuki, almost five minutes to get out of bed and join the game, was a little jarring. When the girls waiting for the game to begin get introduced, it feels like it takes more time than it needs to. This is especially considering at least half of them will be dead before all is said and done. We aren’t really getting to know them on any level that will stick with us once the game is over, so why give them so much time?
As the slow pace continues, we as viewers have time to appreciate the animation. The colors are light, which adds an extra bit of creepiness to the horrific premise. The characters are typically seinen, especially Yuki. Yuki is as apathetic as she is pragmatic, taking the lead because she’s done this all before. Nearly two and half dozen times, to be precise.
Each Death In Shiboyugi Episode 1 Ramps Up the Anxiety
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It takes an incredibly long time (for an anime episode focused on death,) for the first death. More than 17 minutes in, and the first girl gets cut down by a trap before they even make it out of the room they’ve been searching. It’s pretty brutal, and even though you know it’s coming, it still catches you a bit by surprise.
Following that, the deaths become more gruesome, but there’s no blood. After all, people are watching these games for entertainment. That means participants are given drugs that staunch the blood and keep it from spilling. It also allows for reattachment of any severed limbs, which definitely becomes a thing. It’s disconcerting because you know they’re out there dying. Even as they sever their own legs to shed weigh, it all looks so clean. They’re like bloodless, one-legged mannequins making their way to the end of the game. So bizarre
To top it all off, Yuki’s experience gives her an edge the other players don’t have. It also makes her a brutal pragmatist who isn’t afraid to murder a fellow player. Even if she was just offering words of comfort a moment before, she’ll bring death swiftly if she has to. If it means her own survival, she’ll kill the closest person to her. And she won’t think about it, not in the moment, anyway. She’ll save for the three minutes she sets aside for the fallen after a game ends.
Shiboyugi’s Animation Style Is Weird, But Is It Supposed to Be?
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There are a lot of moments in Shiboyugi’s first episode where the characters are faceless. At first, I didn’t think much of it. Later, however, I started to wonder if it was symbolic of how meaningless life had become. They exist in a world where putting food on the table means throwing your life away. They are disposable, simply bodies, and nothing more.
When combined with the fact that somewhere beyond the game, people are watching. We, as viewers, are watching this as a means of entertainment. Girls desperate to pay off debts, to earn extra money, throwing their lives away for nothing more than a chance. It gives me chills when I think about it. The things we’ll do for entertainment, for money, to survive?
I don’t know enough yet about Yuki as a character to determine whether or not she needs to do this to survive. That is enough to bring me back for a second episode. I want to see how deep this all goes, because the internet has made us all voyeurs over the last thirty years. Sometimes I get chills when I think about how easy it would be for the world to slip into death game mode. The title of this anime alone sort of says it all…
Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food On the Table Ep. 1 On a Scale of 1 to 10
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As I noted a little bit already, I am not sure yet how I feel about this anime overall. I’m intrigued, but I’m also a little put off by the really slow pacing. The animation isn’t terrible, but I’m confused about whether it’s supposed to be the way it is for a reason. Or am I just reading into things because I always look for something deeper. It’s just who I am.
I’m giving Shiboyugi Episode 1 six out of 10 stars. The pacing is its biggest issue so far, and I’m really hoping it improves in Episode 2. I’d recommend it right now to fans of death games and seinen manga and anime that carry a heavy emotional weight. Shiboyugi is currently airing new episodes on Crunchyroll Wednesdays at 10 a.m. EST during the Winter Anime 2026 season.
