History Literature / JokerGame

* AnachronicOrder: The anime takes place in the years 1939-1941, and the episodes are not in chronological order.

It is autumn, 1937. UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan has modernized and is now a colonial power in its own right. A black ops agency called [[NoSuchAgency the D Agency]] has been established by Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki of the [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army]]. His objective is to recruit and train secret agents who do not have any relations to the military, meaning that the agency takes its recruits from the civilian populace. Its task: [[SpyFiction to conduct covert operations throughout Japan and overseas against domestic and foreign enemies alike.]]

* HistoricalFiction: The D Agency is formed in 1937, shortly before the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar begins in earnest. The series itself takes place in the 1940s during the war.

-->-- ''Sakuma given an explanation on [[TitleDrop the Joker Game]]''

** In 1940, Japan has decided to team up with Germany to partially from the Axis Powers.

-->-- '''Sakuma given an explanation on [[TitleDrop the Joker Game]]''

** "Miscalcuation" has Hatano surviving his episode in France, but Alain is the only occupation fighter operating in Marseille at the moment since Jean is forced to leave with Maria, despite the latter being outed as a mole for the Germans.

* ImperialJapan: The main cast worked for them.

* LaResistance: The titular Resistance are the focus of "Miscalculation", with Hatano finding himself caught up in one of its cells in Marseilles.
* SharpDressedMan: All of the spies were fabulous suits.

** "Miscalcuation" shows accurate Wehrmacht weapons/equipments/gear, including how they create double agents to weed out the resistance from within.

* SpyFiction; Very stale beer since it's grounded and realistic without the high-tech gadgets and glamorous lifestyle. Likewise, it's set during World War II.

** "Joker Game, Part 2" reveals that Lt. Col. Yuuki's disabled hand was on his left hand, not the right side as previously thought by the public. Sakuma surmises that it was done on purpose in order to avoid Col. Mutou's presence when he spied on him.
** "Miscalcuation" shows accurate Wehrmacht weapons/equipments/gear, including how they create double agents to weed out the resistance from within.

* LaResistance: The titular Resistance are the focus of "Miscalculation", with Hatano finding himself caught up in one of its cells in Paris.

** "Joker Game, Part 2" reveals that Lt. Col. Yuuki's disabled hand was on his left hand, not the right side as previously thought by the public. Sakuma surmises that it was done on purpose in order to avoid Col. Mutou's presence when he spied on him.

* LaResistance: The titular Resistance are the focus of "Miscalculation", with Hatano finding himself caught up in one of its cells in Marseilles.

* LaResistance: The titular Resistance are the focus of Episode 3, with Hatano finding himself caught up in one of its cells in Marseilles.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Japanese society's utter devotion to the Emperor along with following the Imperial Japanese Army's doctrines is exactly what the Shouwa era was like back then.

* ForegoneConclusion: Sakuma doubts about the possibility of Japan losing the war. Well, viewers already know that Japan ''did'' lose and was forced to surrender after they got nuked twice.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Japanese society's utter devotion to the Emperor along with following the Imperial Japan Army doctrine is exactly what the Japanese society in the Showa era were back then. Of course, society and its status quo had changed after the second World War.

* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: It's very obvious that the portraits were Emperor Hirohito. But his face wasn't shown because [[UnacceptableTargets it's a taboo to have him and his family portrayed in Japanese media]] unless it's for historical, educative and informative purposes.
* HistoricalFiction: The series is set in 1937, a year before the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar is about to begin.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Anime/NightRaid1931'' which is a historical spy fiction set in the Showa Era prior to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII minus the PsychicPowers.
* SpyFiction; Very stale beer since it's grounded and realistic without the high-tech gadgets and glamorous lifestyle. Likewise, it's set in TheThirties before World War II.
* ThisIsAWorkOfFiction: Used at the start of "Joker Game, Part 1". Given that the series starts before the [=SSJW=], it is taken seriously similarly to the disclaimers shown in ''Anime/NightRaid1931''.

** "Joker Game, Part 2" reveals that Lt. Col. Yuki's disabled hand was on his left hand, not the right side as previously thought by the public. Sakuma surmises that it was done on purpose in order to avoid Col. Muto's presence when he spied on him.

** "Joker Game, Part 1" has the D Agency not finding any potential evidence to convict Gordon of espionage. Worst of all, Miyoshi tells him that his superior, Sakuma will kill himself in public if he can't find any. At the end, Sakuma's now forced to go through with it since he's an honorable man.

* HeWhoMustNotBeenSeen: It's very obvious that the portraits were Emperor Hirohito. But his face wasn't shown because [[UnacceptableTargets it's a taboo to have him and his family portrayed in Japanese media]] unless it's for historical, educative and informative purposes.

* HistoricalFiction: The series is set in 1937, a year before the Second Sino-Japanese War is about to begin.

A WorkInProgress.

* SpyFiction; Very stale beer since it's grounded and realistic without the high-tech gadgets and glamorous lifestyle.
* ThisIsAWorkOfFiction: Used at the start of "Joker Game, Part 1". Given that the series starts before the [=SSJW=], it is taken seriously similarly to the disclaimers shown in Anime/NightRaid1931.

*** At the same time, Miyoshi and the other D Agency spies were shown to be dressed in accurate [[SecretPolice Kempeitai]] uniforms in a black op operation to weed out a suspected spy operating in Tokyo.
*** Col. Muto drinking a piece of raw egg was the standard practice at the time to build up muscles. It stopped in the 1980s due to reports of people being affected by salmonella.

* InterserviceRivalry: Between the rank and file of the D Agency and the rest of the [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Imperial Japanese Army]], particularly the General Staff Office.

''Joker Game'' is a novel series written by Koji Yanagi, published in three volumes from June 23, 2011 to June 21, 2013. It is published by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan as of 2016. The novels have started an anime, manga and live-action adaptation. The titles consist of ''Joker Game'', ''Double Joker'', ''Paradise Lost'', and ''Last Waltz.''

The anime adaptation was done by Creator/ProductionIG with music done by Kenji Kawai and the show directed by Kazuya Nomura and written by Taku Kishimoto with two [=OVA=] episodes included in the show's [=DVD=] and Blu-Ray in late 2016 under the Spring2016Anime lineup. The show is scheduled to show 13 episodes. The manga is serialized on February 5, 2016 by Mag Garden, which debuted in Comic Garden, written by Subaru Nito.

The live-action adaptation was directed by Yu Irie, which debuted on Japanese theaters on January 31, 2015.

The series takes place in 1937 in Japan, a period where the country has modernized and is now a colonial power in its own right. A black ops agency called [[NoSuchAgency the D Agency]] has been established by Lieutenant Colonel Yuki of the Imperial Japanese Army. His objective is to recruit and train secret agents who do not have any relations to the military, meaning that the agency takes it recruits from the civilian populace. Its task is to conduct covert operations throughout Japan and overseas against domestic and foreign enemies alike.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When John Gordon yells that his residence was previously searched [[spoiler:means that the D Agency knows that the GSO wants to set the agency up]].

** "Joker Game, Part 1" shows a newspaper boy telling the public that IJA troops have landed in Qingdao. The landings would eventually be one of the precursors of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

* AudienceSurrogate: A downplayed example with Lieutenant Sakuma. He is new to the D Agency, being an Imperial Japanese Army liaison with no spy experience and meant to serve in a supervisory role. [[CombatPragmatist The]] [[PunchClockVillain worldview]] of the D Agency operatives is completely alien to him and he learns about the D Agency's inner workings at the same pace the audience does. On the other hand, Sakuma's own beliefs about Japanese militarism are just as alien to many modern audiences.
* DirtyCoward: Sakuma does not hesitate to make it clear that this is how he views the D Agency and basically, the entire spying profession.
* GratuitousEnglish: John Gordon alternates between speaking English and Japanese, as he is supposed to be a foreign business executive who has been living in Tokyo for the past 3 years.
* HonorBeforeReason: The D Agency operatives think this way of Sakuma's nationalistic rhetoric and readiness to commit suicide if it furthers the cause.

* PatrioticFervor: Lt. Sakuma is ready to give his life for his country, as expected of an IJA officer.
* PragmaticVillainy: The D Agency may engage in morally gray actions, but killing is something to be avoided. As Lt. Col. Yuuki puts it, a dead body causes a stir that gets authorities involved.
* RenaissanceMan: The D Agency operatives are expected to be this.

* ThouShaltNotKill: The D Agency's policy when it comes to missions: "Don't kill, don't die."
* TitleDrop: Many times. The agency uses a special card game called ''Joker Game'' in order to feed info to their fellow agents and weed out potential traitors/enemy agents/nuisances that they need to get rid of.
* TheInfiltration: What D Agency is tasked to do in Japan and abroad once they have trained agents in their ranks.

* TrainingFromHell: The D Agency training program includes everything from foreign languages, pharmacology, physical fitness to safecracking and even [[TheCasanova being able to smoothly seduce women.]]

* InterserviceRivalry: Between the rank and file of the D Agency and the rest of the Imperial Japanese Army, particularly the General Staff Office.

** "Joker Game, Part 1" shows a newspaper boy telling the public that [=IJA=] troops have landed in Qingdao. The landings would eventually be one of the precursors of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
*** At the same time, Miyoshi and the other D Agency spies were shown to be dressed in accurate Kempeitai uniforms in a black op operation to weed out a suspected spy operating in Tokyo.

-->''This program is a work of fiction. The characters, organizations, locations, laws, names, etc. being portrayed are unrelated to actual events.''

''Joker Game'' is a novel series written by Koji Yanagi, published in three volumes from June 23, 2011 to June 21, 2013. It is published by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan as of 2016. The novels have started an anime, manga and live-action adaptation. The titles consist of ''Joker Game'', ''Double Joker'' and ''Paradise Lost''.

The anime adaptation was done by Production [=IG=] with music done by Kenji Kawai and the show directed by Kazuya Nomura and written by Taku Kishimoto with two [=OVA=] episodes included in the show's [=DVD=] and Blu-Ray in late 2016 under the Spring2016Anime lineup. The show is scheduled to show 13 episodes. The manga is serialized on February 5, 2016 by Mag Garden, which debuted in Comic Garden, written by Subaru Nito.