Unlike many schools, attending Hyakkaou Private Academy prepares students for their time in the real world. Since many of the students are the children of the richest people in the world, the academy has its quirks that separate it from all the others. By day, it is a normal school, educating its pupils in history, languages, and the like. But at night, it turns into a gambling den, educating them in the art of dealing with money and manipulating people. Money is power; those who come out on top in the games stand at the top of the school.
Yumeko Jabami, a seemingly naive and beautiful transfer student, is ready to try her hand at Hyakkaou's special curriculum. Unlike the rest, she doesn't play to win, but for the thrill of the gamble, and her borderline insane way of gambling might just bring too many new cards to the table.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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AndoCommando
“Part of it went on gambling, and part of it went on women. The rest I spent foolishly.” – George Raft. To those of you who have watched Kakegurui I ask: Why did you watch this anime? Were you intrigued by the aesthetic look of the show? Or maybe what drew you to Kakegurui was the concept; gambling! The latter was what caught my eye, as past experiences with gambling anime have proven that they hold some of the most entertaining and exhilarating moments I have ever seen. These shows have given me goose bumps from sheer awe and admiration while watching psychological battles of witsand strategy between people willing to risk their very lives on even the simplest of games. Unfortunately, these kinds of anime are extremely rare to come by, as nearly all of them are practically unknown to most of the anime community and nearly impossible to watch any of them legally. So when I saw that Kakegurui was airing this season and also happened to be the most popular show of Summer 2017, I was pretty excited. I had heard good things about the manga and it was being produced by Studio MAPPA, a studio that I have high hopes for despite not being impressed with any of their previous works. All that was left for me to do was watch it, and this is where the hype for this show died for me. I was disappointed with Kakegurui from episode 1, because even after just one episode, it is obvious to see that Kakegurui is a terrible gambling anime.
Kakegurui takes place in Hyakkaou Private Academy, a prestigious school where the student are the most wealthy and privileged students in all of Japan. I use the term school lightly because there seems to be no actual classes or learning happening, instead the school is more like a gambling den, where every student partakes in gambling. They bet their fortunes against one another regularly, and those who become in debt are practically slaves to the holders of their wealth. The show focuses of Yumeko Jabami, a new student who gambles for the fun of it and is really good at it; too good, in fact. Her actions end up disrupting the student hierarchy of Hyakkaou Academy, causing the Student Council to come up with ways to stop her. Throughout the show, Yumeko befriends beta cuck bitch-boy Ryouta Suzui and fellow gambling gal Meari Saotome who help her as she gambles to her heart’s content. Ironically, Yumeko’s first gamble at the academy is against Meari, and it is here where the first major problem of the show lies.
The game Yumeko and Meari play is a card-game variation of rock-paper-scissors where the crowd of people watching them write the symbol of “rock”, “paper” or “scissors” on cards, where they are collected and put into a box for both players to draw three cards and play the game. Meari manipulates the majority of the class’ votes to her advantage, however Yumeko still wins decisively and reveals exactly how Meari cheated. Throughout the entire game, the audience is given no insight into what Yumeko is thinking or even a hint as to how she was able to figure out Meari’s scheme until it is given through exposition after she has already won. As such, viewers are forced to believe Yumeko was able to piece everything together without fault. Doing this is lazy of the writers as it solely relies on having to tell the audience what happened, rather than show it as it is happening. This problem is apparent in every gamble in the show and kills the opportunity for viewers to engage with the gambling games and the characters playing said games. The games themselves are also poorly constructed; some come off as unnecessarily complex, others are just too simple and easy to beat. Being marketed as a gambling anime makes the show look incredibly dumb and stupid, taking away the chance to get excited for how these games play out. And that leads to what I feel is the 2nd biggest issue with this anime: no thrills.
As you watch Kakagurui, you begin to notice a couple patterns with each gamble: High-stakes are never fully realised, every female character is bat-shit insane and “Yumeko wins LOL”. Seriously, even when Yumeko loses like in episode 3, she has no repercussions from losing. Because the audience is always watching from the perspective of either a mere onlooker or one of Yumeko’s opponents, she always comes across as too good for every situation she is placed in. Because of this she rids the show of any tension it could have had. And when you figure out that most of the time Yumeko gambles, she barely even uses a complete strategy, relying on pure luck to win at random times, which feels like a slap in the face to anyone expecting consistency and/or intelligence from this show. The fact that there are no actual punishments fulfilled from losing a high-stakes gamble also hinders the joy and excitement viewers get from watching. Now while there are consequences for being in an extreme amount of debt (e.g. house pet, Meari’s “Life Schedule”), you never actually see the show go through with these consequences and even then, the punishment for losing rarely ever matches the reward for winning. And in Yumeko’s case, the money she wins never really matters to her at all. She is the kind of sadomasochist that would throw countless amounts of money away to feel satisfied with how high the risk of losing a gamble is. Yet the show never goes through with these risks. So I’m left here after watching each gamble asking myself “What’s the point?”. A lot of fans of the show have been saying that Kakegurui is not a gambling anime, but a great thriller, and I just cannot agree with that statement at all. It is a mediocre thriller at best and that is only if you turn your brain off.
Speaking of which, this show stretches one’s suspension of disbelief so much that you would think this has the quality of fanfiction-level writing. Not just with the gambling aspect of it, but the entire setting is fucking stupid. From the very start I was always curious why there were so many students at Hyakkaou Academy and why they would all gamble. But as I continued watching, the curiosity turned into frustration because it became apparent that there is no proper reason why so many students would stay there or continue to engage in gambling than to make Yumeko even more perfect than what she already is. Yumeko exposes a lot of the games played in gambles as cheat ways to get other in debt, yet that never changes the amount of gambling that takes place within the academy, and that is because most of the students in the background are ignorant buffoons. I would also like to know why only one adult to my memory has appeared in the entire 12 episodes. ONE! I cannot imagine such a prestigious academy to only have one adult working at the academy, but it makes sense with the amount of betting that takes place so regularly. And how in the world are guns and kidnapping allowed? And why does being in extreme debt eventually lead to a life sentence that dictates you to a wealthy future? So many questions that are never explained because this show is not about logic. It tries to look smart but just comes off as a dumb piece of shit. Calling this show psychological is pure lunacy; if anything, it is psycho-sexual because any real sense of logic got thrown out the fucking window!
Nearly every character in this show pissed me off. I have already stated how Yumeko is convoluted out her own ass and is like a vacuum sucking all the excitement away from the show, but she seems like God’s gift to this show when compared to every other character. Meari, who seemed like she had potential, starting off as a cocky bitch that is humbled by Yumeko before being humiliated by the student council. Sadly, she turned out to be a weaker clone of Yumeko by episode 4 and is only used as a way to explain other games Yumeko plays as the story goes on. Literal waste of potential. Ryouta is their other friend, but honestly he does nothing in this show. He just reacts to shit happening around him and nods in response and is a waste of space. Fuck him. The only other characters that matter are the one-note members of the student council that only matter for the one episode they are in before getting pushed to the side. Dishonourable mention to eyepatch-girl with the revolver fetish and a chronic masturbation habit, edgy bitch. And I would love to talk about the one guy whose sole purpose here is to sexually assault the protagonist, but I won't bother trying to match the show when it comes to edge. All you need to know is that these characters are terrible, both in their construction and as people, making the show even more of a pain while watching.
Regarding the production, from a company like Studio MAPPA I was really disappointed. The art style is not impressive, most of the female character designs are generic, backgrounds are fairly basic and visual effect are for the most part impressive. The most controversial feature of the animation has to be the facial expressions and I have mixed feelings about them. On one hand, they showcase how broken and mentally unstable these characters get at times, but these faces just do not fit the visual look of the show and come off as cringe-inducing to me. The fan-service used is also off-putting to me, seemingly thrown in at random intervals in each episode. Yumeko pretending to be a cat was a definite low point for my enjoyment and did more to prove to me that it cares more about sex appeal than anything of substance. The music used was fine to me, with the OP being perhaps the best part of the entire show, which is not a hard feat. The ED however, was nice to listen to once but afterwards was always skipped, as I don’t see how Yumeko walking for 90 seconds as her breasts bounce constantly is worth seeing more than once. The voice acting was fine until characters went into their crazy stage and felt artificial and forced, but I suppose that fits the show unintentionally.
In conclusion, Kakegurui was pretty awful, filled with formulaic, villain-of-the-week gambling matches that felt like a waste of time once it was all over. In the end it was only trying to entertaining on a superficial level; it was never attempting to have a real identity, besides being yuri fapbait. Now I have no problem with anyone who liked the show; you are free to like and enjoy whatever anime you want to, but if someone were to ask me if I enjoyed it? HELL NAW. Lemme put it this way: If you liked Mirai Nikki and Akame ga Kill, you’ll probably enjoy this. But if you are anything like myself and thought those two shows were terrible, Kakegurui ain’t gonna be worth your time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch something that is actually worth my time.
Zaber_san
For over the past few years in the anime industry, they brought as so many ''Game'' genre animes like SAO, Accel World, Log Horizon, Btooom! and other ''Game'' animes out there. But the thing is, most of them or should I say ''Almost'' of the anime with a ''Game'' genre are about going into a video game itself and it's getting boring tbh. Summer 2017 season is going to end along with one of its unique ''Game'' anime which is very different to other animes this season because not only it excels to the ''Game'' genre with being different to other animes out there butalso it excels on the psychological part of it. Welcome to Kakegurui. A 12-episodes anime that offers both the craziness of gambling and mechanism of it.
Story: 8/10
Kakegurui brought as a simple story where a student (Jabami Yumeko) just wants to gamble even further, exceeding the expectations of a normal human being like her subordinate Suzui Ryouta.
Gambling for her is like soft drinks which has a very good feeling to the body. Not only she's crazy but also she's competitive that from the beginning of the anime (Episode 1 - 3) she has taken an interest to gamble every member of the school's Student Council. The story focuses about competition and power through gambling. If one is a failure, he/she is automatically dropped on this anime's atmosphere. If one is successful, he/she will be consider as an elite on this school. Kakegurui is unique itself from its setup of the school. Normally, school animes are about high school life, romance and other stuffs, but here, competition is a must.
That's what makes Kakegurui a worth-to-watch anime this season because of its characters focusing on one goal. To be the best. But of course Yumeko is an exception. She just loves gambling.
Art: 9/10
What makes this anime famous this season is the art of the anime. Mostly, it's about the facial expression of each characters whenever they are thinking, devastated, or confident on winning. Some actually see it as a disturbing one but on my opinion, it reflects the character's attitude and thats the reason it's excellent.
Though it's not only the facial expression. The normal sketches of the anime is already good you know. Though sometimes you think that the normal face is lacking something but when the expression changes drastically, you are quite shocked.
Sound: 9/10
Do you ever get the feeling that something is going to happen when the sound changes? Or something feel ''uneasy'', well there are parts on Kakegurui that will offer you some a little bit of suspense. Just a little because if it goes high, well this will be a horror anime. Speaking of sound, the opening is excellent with the jazz and music on it. Then followed up by a change of music with the ending.
Character: 8/10
To be honest, from episode 1 - 12, we have seen all the character's traits and development because of the good plot that Kakegurui brought as, though some are lacking history while others are rich of it. As for the MC she's an exception though we can see her development pretty quickly along with some other characters as well.
Enjoyment: 8/10
My enjoyment for this anime is pretty simple. To see how the character's react, think and make decisions on every game and the anime did it on a splendid well. With gambling as the main core, they derived their strategies and make it simple for the audience to understand like us. I don't know any rules about any gambling games but I understand it a little because of this anime.
Overall.. I rate this anime as 8.5/10 or 8/10 for the fact that it focuses on its genre more, character development and the craziness it offers to us this Summer 2017 season.
Stark700
I’m not a fan of using buzzwords but it’s hard to ignore the edginess when watching Kakegurui. Based on the manga of the same name, this adaptation translates to a gambling story. I can’t help but think of a wicked thriller when watching this show. It basically takes the idea of gambling and transform it into madness with its characters, setting, and ideas. However, does it live up its hype and worth watching? The answer is quite the opposite. Getting into this show for some people will likely not be easy. It’s not a recommendable show for anyone unless you really fancy a psychological thriller thatdeals with a crazy cast of characters. The show itself takes place at Hyakkaou Academy. It’s a peculiar school that prepares students for proficiency related to strategizing, mental strength, and of course gambling. To survive, you have to outsmart your opponents and become part of the hierarchy. In other words, it’s survival of the fittest.
The first episode definitely will get you into the mood as we meet Yumeko Jabami, the main protagonist and new transfer student. While Jabami may seem like an ordinary girl at first glance, it’s easy to notice how far she is from normal once she gets herself involved in gambling games. The show chronicles her school days as she takes on opponents with high risk. I mean, it’s gambling. There’s always risk but what’s peculiar about Jabami is that she gambles for the thrill of it rather than for fame or money. In addition, the show makes it clear that Jabami is intelligent as she quickly learns the inside and outside of the school’s gambling games. In fact, there are episodes where Jabami beats her opponents at their own game. However, I can’t firmly say that Jabami’s personality is one that people can appreciate. She is highly unpredictable and truly enjoys the thrill of gambling. From every episode, she has orgasmic reactions when she thinks about gambling. To a certain extent, the show truly wants us to accept Jabami for who she is but I find it difficult to do so. The reason she gambles is irrational and I can hardly find her relatable to anyone. Not to mention, this show doesn’t do an adequate job of getting viewers to understand her better. Her morality regarding gambling is absurd and really lacks reason. She just wants to gamble and treats it as the most exciting thing in the world. I also have to confess that Jabami’s character change from an elegant beauty to a psychotic freak to be difficult to watch at times. In retrospect, Jabami has a lot of flaws in her character and this show doesn’t do a decent job at repairing them.
Beyond Jabami, the majority of the cast isn’t far off from their psychotic characteristics. Mary Saotome, the first gambling opponent of Jabami at the school shows her own crazy antics. The majority of the student council has various characters ranging from the mysterious president Kirari Momobami, the violent head of Beautification Committee Midari Ikishima, the calculating Kaede Manyuda, part-time idol Yumemi Yumemite, nail loving Itsuki Sumeragi, and among others. The show tries to make them appealing by injecting their personalities in the most devious way possible. What we get as a result are weak background stories, generic characteristics, and abominable morals. To me, these characters are pretty much all the same and serve as an obstacle to Jabami. The show has Jabami fighting against some of the key members of the student council but the result usually ends up being extremely predictable. To be quite honest, the anime itself is nothing short but predictable from the start. Even though Jabami isn’t invulnerable to losing, it doesn’t make us feel anything about her situation when she does. Jabami herself doesn’t even seem to care and in many ways, the show tries to express offbeat ideas that come out as uninspiring.
Character relationships in this anime is also very questionable. The most normal character at the school would probably be Ryouta Suzui, one of Jabami’s very few allies. He has a very lack-luster personality and I honestly feel like this show would be much better if he didn’t exist. His relationship with Jabami is easily forgettable as the two are very polar opposites. Others also make him look like a fool and to be quite honest, it’s pretty much what he is. That being said, the show makes it clear that the society has many fools. Thanks to the hierarchy that the student council president has made, there are those that are labeled as “house pets”. Essentially, house pets are those that sink into large debts and are mistreated by the public. Why? It’s the simplicity of social status. Unfortunately, we never really get a full understanding on why this system exists as the show focuses way too much on Jabami’s gambling adventures than anything else. It’s one of the major weakness of the show as everything seems to be about Jabami. The show is like a loop with the same formula. Jabami faces off against an opponent, plays against them at their own game, and gets the orgasmic thrills of it. It becomes tedious fast and lacks substance because of Jabami’s morals. I also don’t really find the games themselves to be thrilling as most are predictable. The games puts emphasis on psychology rather than strategy so don’t expect this show to be smart in any way. I mean, a good majority of the gamblers cheat, manipulate, and do anything to win. Then, there’s Jabami who just wants to enjoy the ecstasy of gambling. On the plus side, adaptation standards remain mostly faithful as the show captures the expressive faces of the characters. Each chapter is adapted carefully with panel by panel storytelling. However, it’s still an incomplete adaptation because manga itself is ongoing. A 1-cour adaptation like this really leaves open a lot of questions and doesn’t tie any loose ends in the end. There’s also original content added in for this adaptation.
Adapted by Studio MAPPA, the producers apparently went all out to bring out the sheer entertainment value as much as possible. First, there’s the character expressions that really borderlines inhuman insanity. The art shift is pretty noticeable for almost every gambler in this anime. One minute, they look normal but as soon as gambling business picks up, they go full facial with highly stylized features. Jabami is the guiltiest of this with her psychotic eyes, intense blushing, and body language. The show decorates itself with fan service although this sometimes looks like a satire. Also, it seems this show can’t sometimes hold back on the violence so don’t be surprised if you see blood, vomiting, etc. It’s a crazy world after all.
By technical elements, Kakegurui’s soundtrack, music, and voice acting is impressive. The theme songs are very stylistic with piano chords, eerie beats, and haunting lyrics. Both theme songs also have a clever tempo that matches the momentum of its creativity. Plus, it’s also hard to ignore the show’s OST during any gambling match when it’s at its highest point. Finally, I have to admit that a good amount of character personality comes from the voices. This could likely be Saori Hayami’s best role to date as Jabami. She had a lot of different voice acting roles in the past before but to me, her character in this show stood out the most. If there’s anything to take away from this anime, it’s to remember the talents of the voices.
In the end, Kakegurui turned out to be a cheap cash grab that serves as a giant advertisement of the manga. It’s hard to forgive this show when the storytelling is so blend and the characters are brutally depressing to watch. The anime tried far too hard to sell whatever it intended to and ended up delivering a nakedly dumb adaptation. Some of the visual elements, music, and voice acting saved this show from total catastrophe. However, it still makes this show look like a crude joke.
RiverRode
Gambling is a fairly common topic in manga, though it is seldom adapted into an anime. There is good reason for this: there is little in the way of action that would benefit from adaptation, and exposition really drags on when it needs to be voiced rather than just read. And alongside these conceptual problems, there's the moral repugnancy that Kakegurui revels in, which should serve to further alienate any potential audience. But despite all of this, Kakegurui has somehow won against a stacked deck, and in this review, I'll take a look at how this oddball became a mainstream success. This anime covers the first27 chapters of the manga, and then adds on an anime exclusive ending. These chapters essentially serve as an introduction to the world of Kakegurui, establishing the characters and the rules that the world follows. It’s really just setup for the much more interesting second arc, though considering the events of the new ending, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a second season.
In gambling, there are always two games going on. There’s the game that the characters are playing on the table, but there’s also all of the mind games and cheating that are going on surrounding it. Pretty much all of the games played in Kakegurui are original, though simple and straightforward enough that the audience can quickly understand them. On the other hand, some of the tricks employed are poorly explained, which can be frustrating. But despite the occasional misstep, the gambles generally succeed in remaining tense throughout.
In general, the cast of Kakegurui are terrible. And by that, I don’t mean that they’re terrible characters, but that they’re terrible people. They’re manipulative and sadistic, and with few redeeming traits. But while their actions are regularly cartoonishly evil, there is actually a bit of humanity behind them. For example, there’s a scene in episode eight where one of the villains talks about her ambitions of becoming an actress, and while it in no way justifies any of her behavior, it begins to make her understandable. This pays off when once-villains return as allies, which happens twice in the territory covered by the anime, and a lot more in the next arc. These are easily my favorite games in the series, because Yumeko isn’t actually a very interesting gambler. She can fix dice rolls and memorize things to an insane degree; she’s too good for there ever to be any worry of her losing, and she lacks motivations that the viewer can get behind. Luckily, the show seems to understand this, and often adopts the perspective of her opponents, which keeps tensions high.
But while I may not particularly like Yumeko, her portrayal by Hayami Saori is easily the highlight of the series. She seamlessly transitions between ladylike calm, playful teasing, and manic edge, and I could not imagine any other seiyu being as perfect a fit for the character. Besides that, the rest of the cast also delivers nicely, but Yumeko is a step above. In regards to the music, it does an excellent job of setting the mood, both through its fantastic opening and the almost constant jazzy background music, and the only place it really stumbles is in the ending theme, which falls behind the standard set by the rest of the soundtrack.
There’s been a lot of praise given to this anime for its faithfulness in recreating the wild facial expressions from the manga, and I’m not sure that I agree. These faces worked great as single frames, but when they need to be put into motion, they lose the sharpness that made them so iconic. In addition, by focusing so much on faces, other details can suffer. In particular, hands are regularly animated with 3dcg, which is really off-putting once you begin to notice it. But credit where it's due, the opening theme, directed by Yamamoto Sayo, is a real spectacle. Kakegurui is always visually ambitious, and when it works, it can be fantastic, but more often than not, it’s more than Studio MAPPA can handle.
In the end, Kakegurui has its faults, but it has also demonstrated that it’s possible to make a gambling adaptation work. I would love to see more gambling shows in the future, and hopefully Kakegurui's success will pave the road for that to happen.
LIQfilms
As the players take their seats, excitement fills the air. Cards, gathered up in one quick swoop, become the weapons of this match, as each fighter tries to gather their wits under the intense stress and tension at play. Pulse quickens, the heart accelerates, at the sight of their weapons, as each fighter stares at their enemy in silent anticipation, awaiting any indication into the contents of their hand. As time passes the air grows all the more incredibly heavy and thick, sweat adorning both of these brave warriors, as, suddenly, the signal to throw down their cards to determine the victor is called. Whowill receive Lady Luck's blessing this time?
Gambling! High octane stakes and tension! Narratives surrounding the use of gambling are supposed to be exciting, tense, give us a sense of utmost euphoria, and, most of all, be entertaining as hell! Kaiji is a series that excels in this department, and, while I haven't seen every episode of the show yet, the first eight episodes that I have seen have been everything I look for in a gambling-centric narrative. The stakes are high, being that each game involves the consequence of death if someone were to lose, it's easy to care for our main character after the huge debt that has been left to him and each game is insanely interesting since it becomes a huge psychological battle with players trying to deceive and outwit each with other, with the great animation and soundtrack enhancing each element. Watching the show is essentially like having one giant adrenaline rush, which makes you want to keep watching episode after episode, which is a sign of well-crafted and written thriller around the use gambling. However, Kakegurui (or, if you prefer, Bukkakegurui, which is what I'll be referring to the show as for the rest of the review) is one of the most downright boring shows I've ever had the displeasure of watching, despite having similar ideas and premise to that of Kaiji. But, why is that? Why does Kaiji succeed where Bukkakegurui does not? Well, let's find out! Let's grab a chair, bet some insane amount of money, and remember to have about twenty orgasms as we play, since gambling, for some reason, gets us completely wet!
Bukkakegurui's narrative is set inside a prestigious academy which is a tad bit different than conventional schools. While, during the day the school adopts the typical lessons that any student from any school undergoes, at night the school becomes a gambling den, where those who are seeking power and money go to gamble. The series sees our protagonist, Yumeko, an obsessive and insane gambler who experiences an orgasm every time she plays, gamble her way through the student council until the climatic game with the student council president at the very end of the series. In terms of narrative structure, the series is incredibly linear and straightforward, and adopts a "monster of the week formula", whereby Yumeko will play off against a new member of the student council of increasing difficulty before coming to the big finale. This structure of storytelling is not inherently bad, and since the focus of the show, and the appeal is based around the games itself, I don't mind the narrative being rather simple. However, there is one problem I have with this formulaic structure, and that is, that Yumeko never grows or learns throughout the duration of the series or in her matches. She never acquires any new tactics or skills during the games that could be applied in later scenarios, and she wins more so because the script tells her to win rather than putting any actual effort into her character winning through clever manipulation, strategy, or anything else that would be remotely interesting. For the sake of argument, let's compare Bukkakegurui to the 1995 series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, which also adopted a "monster of the week" formula for much of its duration. The reason why Evangelion succeeds is because during every Angel encounter and fight in the series, we are learning as an audience, both about the nature of the world, and of the characters, in their mental state and emotions. Shinji, Rei and Askua grow, not only in their physical abilities against the Angels, but also as people as well, as they begin to grow to like themselves as the series progresses, and work together as a team. By doing so, it grounds the characters in a more realistic way, and makes them feel far more like actual people, which Yumeko fails at completely, as she is more akin to an over powered Mary Sue who wins just because. While her personality suggests that she gambles so much for the thrill and excitement it brings, which is a fine motivation for her character, it also makes her feel rather boring and one dimensional as we never learn anything about her beyond what is presented at surface level. While there is a mini flashback that suggests that Yumeko is gambling in order to raise money for her sister's operation, or something along those lines, we're never given any more information regarding that aspect, and this idea should have been introduced at the very start of the show, to give Yumeko's matches some actual emotional weight and narrative stakes, but they didn't do that so each match feels incredibly inconsequential. Speaking of narrative stakes, let's dive into that next!
In Bukkakegurui, the school is divided into sub sections dependent on how much money you have, with those losing money and being in debt at the bottom, being treated as house pets, while those with money get to rule at the top. If, at some point, you get into enough debt while at the school, the student council will write you out a life plan which determines every element in your life in the future, all planned out for you, from who you will marry, how many children you will bear, among other things. So, there are elements that are at stake here, such as your entire life being ruined forever by this life plan or crippling debt, but the stakes presented in the matches don't work because the characters are all completely one dimensional and it's hard to care for anyone at all. Who cares if Yumeko becomes a house pet or gets a life plan written up for her, when she'll pay back her debts anyway through her gambling? Who cares that someone like Meari ends up with a life plan when she has been nothing but a horrible bitch throughout the show and gets what she deserves? WHO CARES? It's one thing to have narrative stakes, but another thing to have characters who we care about having those stakes inflicted upon them.
In order to better convey what I mean, imagine a scenario in which I have two rocks. The first rock, rock A, represents the characters presented in Bukkakegurui; they're all horribly one dimensional, lack personality and are hard to care for in the slightest. We don't learn anything about them as actual people, despite the fact that they're all hungry for power or vast amounts of wealth, nor do we feel any connection to them on any personal level since there is no time devoted for fleshing them out. The other rock, Rock B, represents a character that we have had time to care for. They're here not, because they find thrill for gambling, but because they have no other choice. Perhaps they have a large debt to pay off, or have to gamble for money for an operation to save a love one or something, but what's important is that we learn about this character in order to feel some kind of connection, and the fact that they're an underdog will make the audience root for them more, and will make the games more exciting as the character will have to come up with new strategies constantly, driving more investment in the narrative. The audience should experience the world through this character's eyes, so not only do we become more attached to them as an actual person but also so that we can see how they grow and think. Now, with both rocks categorised, let's say I bring in a sledgehammer, thus introducing the concept of death and smash them both. Now, which rock do you care for? Obviously the rock with more of a personality, back-story, and have had time to care for. And this is why I find no excitement whilst watching the show and why I don't care about anything that is happening.
Now, people may argue against me by suggesting I am taking the anime too seriously and should just shut my brain off and enjoy the series as a rule of cool, dumb show, since there are plenty of pretty silly elements, and the games in the anime are the reason why I should be watching it since that is the main appeal of the show. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad stance to take, and I want to clarify now that I don't begrudge anyone who has actually managed to derive entertainment from this show, but I can't see the show in this light since I found most of the elements to pretty boring, especially all the games, which, for a show that is focused completely around this idea, is a pretty bad sign on the quality of the work!
Each game in Bukkakegurui is boring, lifeless and we don't learn anything during the match about either participant involved, other than, sometimes, very short back stories consisting of only thirty seconds or so. Most of the games are essentially just Yumeko winning by either complete luck, or figuring out how her opponent is cheating in some way and the way she determines this and discovers how they are doing so feels so contrived and stupid that I want to slam my face into a wall. Now, luck is a HUGE aspect of gambling, so therefore her wins through luck are not necessarily that bad (even though it really pushes it in plenty of places) but there's no attempt at creating anything interesting. Aside from the games being incredibly simple anyway, there is no psychological battles taking part, none of the characters are attempting to outwit one another and there is hardly anything present that made Kaiji's games interesting. You never really get that cathartic feeling when you witness an intense match go on for ages when a character outsmarts another in some creative way as you say to yourself, "Ah! How clever!" The few times they do try and throw a curveball into the games or when Yumeko tries to outwit her opponent it feel so weak and dry since the in-the-moment logic is incredibly shallow and the way the story tries to awkwardly implement in these elements is so insulting to the intelligence of the audience as the show thinks that by throwing some random curveball at the final moment is a plot-twist or a smart way to deceive the audience since they didn't see it coming, because it appeared out of thin air. The only time the anime ever comes close to being somewhat entertaining during a match is in episodes six and seven where Yumeko gambles against someone who, believe it or not, is even more insane than she is, by the name of Midari Ikishima, a girl who finds pleasure in harming herself through the use of gambling. During her match with Yumeko, they both decide to play Russian roulette, which raises the narrative stakes and tension since it introduces the consequence of death into the game, although it is hard to care for anything that is going on, because, as I've said, the characters are dry and boring, and also because it's pretty obvious that nobody will actually die during the match anyway, but still the scene comes the closest out of any to actually entertain me, and, even then, the scene is still incredibly weak.
The characters, as I've previously mentioned, are all incredibly hard to care for, and are pretty much all absolutely insane! Most of the characters take the utmost pleasure in laughing hysterically at their enemies, smiling and looking down upon them during a game if it is going in their favour, which makes everyone feel like an unlikeable, one dimensional asshole. The show often utilises cheap victimisation in a pathetic attempt to manipulate us into feeling sorry for these cardboard cut-outs, and nowhere is this more evident than in episode nine, where, a student council member who also happens to be an idol with a huge following, has her secret revealed to all of them, in which, recorded on a tape, she proclaims that she finds all of her fans to be absolutely disgusting and she hates the fact that she has to even shake their hands since it makes her puke. Despite that already sounding incredibly horrible anyway, she as a person is a complete and utter twat, with no redeemable qualities, hiding behind the facade of being a wonderful idol. During the episode, when the secret is revealed, she breaks down crying, as she comes to the realization that her dream is now ruined. I expect that the creators of the show wanted the audience to sympathise with her, but how can we when she is such a horrible twat who got everything she deserved? And, if that's not already bad enough, the audience gets a direct kick to the nuts straight after when all of her fans forgive her! That's right! If you're a horrible person with no likeable traits who gets what they deserve, all is forgiven if you simply have a dream you want to uphold!
I could go on more and more about each one of the other characters, but at that point I'd be beating a dead horse since they all suffer from the exact same problems I've talked about before. Perhaps the only character who doesn't fit into this mould is one of our main protagonists, who offers so little to the narrative that you could omit him from the plot entirely and it wouldn't make a single difference! Now THAT'S a good main character! I suppose his main purpose is to act as the voice of reason and rationality in the story since he is the only sane character, and the one the audience can relate to the most, but if that's what they were attempting to do with his character, then they failed horribly since I honestly forget this guy is even here half the time. They try and make it out that he and Yumeko have this deep friendship, since she helped him recover from his debt in the beginning of the series, but their relationship feels superficial, as if the only reason they're even friends in the first place is just because the script dictates as such. His main purpose in the show is to deliver random expository dialogue and that's pretty much it.
If there's one thing that Bukkakegurui gets right, then that's in the animation and art department. The show is very visually appealing, with pretty attractive and striking character designs, that blend well with the rather unique school uniform designs too. Not only that, but the show has plenty of super detailed close-up shots of character's faces to convey, not only the insanity of each one, but to also represent the sexual euphoria each character attains whilst in the games, and Bukkakegurui does a good job in that area. It's clear that the animators put a lot of work into making the show as visually interesting as they possibly could, but it's not without its inconsistencies however. CGI is sometimes used during close-up shots of the player's hands when dealing with cards, and it not only looks terrible, but is so jarring as well. Luckily CGI isn't used all too much aside from this one instance for some odd reason, so I can let it slide for the most part. The music is overall fine, and pretty forgettable, mostly consisting of free-from jazz that is way too suave and sophisticated for a show at this level of trashiness. The opening and ending tracks however are both damn great! The opening especially I love, with its use of stylish visuals and fantastic music, which almost tricks you into thinking that the actual show will carry the same energy and charisma. The voice actors as well all do a pretty stellar job in their respective roles, perfectly capturing the voice of someone who is insane!
In conclusion, Bukkakegurui was a massive disappointment, and I think that's what makes the show ultimately more aggravating for me. While I dislike using the word to describe anything, I feel it is pretty appropriate when talking about this one, and that word is cringey! The show reeks of desperation, and tries way too hard to be edgy, and ends up just being embarrassing instead since many of the scenarios presented in the show, such as a scene in which Yumeko acts like a cat on all fours, feel as if they were written by a twelve-year-old. It fails as an intense thriller, it fails as a character study, it fails as a gambling show, but most importantly it fails at the most basic level to achieve any emotional connection with the audience. Bukkakegurui is a show more interested in over blown theatrics than it is in characters and the actual games itself, and the reason why this show is so bad. I can't even recommend this to be people on the grounds that it is "so bad that it's good". Just watch Kaiji instead...
Bukkakegurui is a word trademarked by the great NFMaster! All credit goes to that sexy bastard!
Raggadish
It where two reasons that I started to watch Kakegurui (Compulsive Gambler) this season. The first where that I´m planning to read the manga, and was curious about it. And the second and more important one, is that Kakegurui is produced by studio MAPPA. Which happens to be one of my favourite studios after seen what magic they created with the “Shingeki no Bahamut”-series. Their animation quality is nothing but as close to flawless as you can get, and they do have a brilliant way of bringing forth the specific design of the show they produce – they surely know how to place the effectsfor maximum output. And that applies to what they have done with Kakegurui as well. Stunning work indeed.
But as we all know, that great animation quality is just a factor to the whole experience of an anime. Other factors such as how the story appeal to us, how it´s narrated, it´s pacing, and how coherent it is, are also very important to us viewers. For not to speak of the characters. They have to intrigue us, make us feel with them, and feel like real life like persons to capture our interests. But you aren´t reading this review for a philosophical discussion of what makes up a great anime, you are reading this because you want to know if Kakegurui is a show for you, and/or maybe to see what opinion I have on it. So, let´s get to the point.
Do you like stunning art and animation? Do you find gambling interesting? Do you find an exclusive high school setting with an almighty student council interesting? Do you find slightly insane gamble addicts, that gets off on high stakes games as entertaining characters? Do you find it exciting to watch people outsmart each other in various games, by the means of reading their opponent? Do you find an almost female only cast appealing? And yes, it´s sexual innuendos between many of those said female characters, if you were wondering.
If your answer is yes on most of those questions, you will probably love Kakegurui. Because that´s what´s it´s all about. Nothing more, nothing less – it´s very straight forward. But it´s done in a very fluent and fashionable way, Kakegurui oozes of class and quality. Everything from the characters body language, facial expression, to the conversations they have, fills out what otherwise is pretty flat story perfectly. Grinding teeth’s, sweat that trickles down the forehead, insane glowing eyes, and the thought process the gambler has is all details that are nicely highlighted.
As mentioned before, the animation quality is excellent, studio MAPPPA have really out done themselves again, in their way of capture the core of the story and characters, and brilliantly bring them to life in their unique style. The psycho faces, cards or dices that are thrown in glee on the table, or the excited eyes of a gambler, they captured it all. The colours are strong and vivid, with a fancy for sinful red.
The pacing of the story is very even, not to slow, and not to rushing. And even if Kakegurui has an episodic feeling to it, and that each episode is build up in the same pattern, it feels coherent, and not reparative or to predictable. Because just when you think you figured the whole show out, it does a double take and does something that you weren´t prepared for. But at the same time, it still follows the same episode pattern. Easily put, in each episode the new student Yumeko Jambai, faces new opponents in different games, and works her way towards the top by very conventional means. Our protagonist isn´t gambling for power, money or glory, just for the pure rush of the game. That characteristic makes her a very hard opponent to both read and predict, which she uses to climbs up the schools gambling latter.
The voice actors are really doing a great job to portray their characters, so props to the cast. They all feel very well matched, except the vice president, but I guess that´s intentional. And when speaking of sounds, the sound effects are the little extra spice in the Kakegurui stew. The sound of grinding teeth´s, a pulse speeding up, or a sweat drop finding its path down someone’s face to splash on the gamble table, it´s all very effectual and pronounced. It´s gives the scene life and feeling, and combined with the great visuals the result it masterly done.
Did I enjoy my time with Kakegurui? Sure, to a certain extent. The story itself isn´t one of my usual cup of tea, with such a narrow story line and lack of personal growth- and interacting of the characters. The choice to only focus on gambling was risky, either that will appeal to you or it won’t. I fall a bit to the second category, I can absolutely appreciate gambling, or competitions as an element in a story, but to have a whole show around it didn´t capture my full interest. Had they combined it with more elements, such as character development and relationships a bit more, the final product would´ve appealed to me much more. But the stunning animation with those little extra sound effects made this a visual feast for me, and the reason that I watched it to the end. The story and its characters I find mildly entertaining, absolutely not boring, just not deep-heart-and-soul-catching, which I highly appreciate in a show.
So, to come to some sort of conclusion, I would recommend you to watch Kakegurui purely based on the amazing animation, if not the plot seems like your thing, it´s worth it. But if you indeed find this type of show appealing, then you are in for a treat.
Alenni
A word of caution before getting into this review: There will be minor spoilers. I thought that overall, Kakegurui was pretty damn fun and enjoyable. 6 may seem like a bad score, but I think it's fair. I scored it based on what it says by it, and it means "Fine". Perfectly how I would describe this when I look at this as objectively as possible in my review, and not out of pure enjoyment (else it'd be a 7 or 8, to be honest). Now with that out of the way, into the review. CHARACTERS Let's start out with the characters. The majority ofthe notable characters are female. I find this rather unique in a gambling anime since this very rarely happens. The majority of characters also show a crazy side, most of them being female since, as I've said before, most of the notable characters are female. While this isn't anything new, it's understandable since this is gambling themed and gambling can make people go nuts, and this sort of side can add to the excitement or fun of the series, it can also understandably get either dull or ridiculous at times, more likely than not being ridiculous since it often displays most of the characters' crazy side in an exaggerated fashion. There's also one who is just insane all-around, which is the one with the eye-patch, as you probably already would have expected when judging sorely on her appearance in the opening. With how she is, I sometimes wonder to myself why she is even allowed to attend the school. Even when this trait often comes in with the characters, there's quite a good number of characters who either have character development or depth. This even includes Ryouta Suzui, the male main character and one of the most "normal" notable characters of the series. Despite the fact that he mostly sits around and watch the games that the main character (Yumeko) participates in while asking and answering questions, even he will gain bits of a type of character development over the course of the series.
However, there is one thing I noticed about the characters, and that all you pretty much ever see are teenagers. Not really any adults. That's not to say that there aren't any in the series, because there are, but with the exception of the one and only teacher you'll ever see that appeared for a very short time and practically the only time in the very first episode, the few that appear in flashbacks, and a few of them talking a little bit to a character in one episode, there's practically no adults shown to be present. I find this very weird. Who is running the school? Is that person or are those group of people running it indirectly? If they are, do they even care much as to what is going on around the school, like what the student council president making such a system for every student in it to follow? We never know these answers.
Now let's move onto the main character, Yumeko. She is your typical character in gambling series that is very good or intelligent that rarely loses. In fact, Yumeko is the usual "mysterious transfer student that is surprising good at what is essential to this series" general trope. She's also the usual crazy girl trope when it comes to gambling, having traits like being aroused in a few of them. So you can see that she's quite the typical character in numerous ways. Despite being crazy in gambles, she has likable qualities, the main thing being that she's very kind and actually cares about her friends. There are quite a number of things that I find about her that is more unique or enjoyable to me as the main character. One thing is the fact that she doesn't mainly gamble for the sake of others, because if she did, she would have aimed to defeat the student council in order to stop the sort of corrupted system and to put an end to the corrupted student council. As it usually goes with mysterious main characters, you will learn more about Yumeko as the series progresses and understand even more about her character. The series will unwrap more and more about her personality, which is what the ending theme of this series symbolizes. You will learn things like how she enjoys both herself and her opponent feeling the same pain while both having the chances of winning or losing, and since she likes to risk as much as she could, she'll make sure that her opponent does the same, which would bring great worry to them. The way she feels and witnesses pain in the gambles is full of pleasure. Pretty much a type of hedonist, in short. With these types of numerous aspects of her character, you will understand why many other characters who has a crazy side and are in such a crazy environment will even deem her as being insane, which includes the one who is pretty much completely insane all-around.
However, you will only learn the mysteries of her personality. You will not learn much when it comes to her background. It'll unravel a little bit of it at one point in the series, but nothing more than that, and it doesn't look like we'll be able to get anymore than that in the anime series due to how the series ends with it's own, anime-original ending (so it looks like there won't be a second season, though I could be wrong on this). You'll have to go through the original source of it all, the manga of this series (which is still on-going by the time I've made this review) if you want to possibly know more about her background.
STORY AND SETTING
Next, I talk about the story and setting. The story is simple to follow and know what is going on. Nothing really complicated. The premise, the general setting's rules and what they need to do in order to survive around the school, and even the games themselves are easy to follow. As the anime progresses, you will learn more and more about the school and some things behind the main character. The pacing, for the most part, is also fine. The roller coaster keeps on going nonstop without anything feeling slow-paced, and, for most of what is going on, not rushed at all. Surprisingly, even though this series is filled with pretty looking high-school girls, there's not that much fanservice, or at least anything as strong as the ones in the opening and ending. That's pretty much the most you'll get when it comes to fanservice. There's quite a number of teases, and there are a few scenes like bouncing boobs and boob grabs, but they are very minor in numbers. In fact, as far as I remember, the manga of this has a lot more fanservice than this adaption of it.
Despite all of this however, when you think about it, the story is pretty basic and average. Not really much special, even though there are some nice twists here and there, this in a gambling high school, and the main character doesn't gamble for justice. The usual mysterious transfer student who turns out to be good at what is essential to the series is gambling and defeating anyone standing in the main character's way while aiming to challenge the big-bad is what you can pretty much say about what is going on the whole time. There's also the fact that the setting is literally only in high school. There is almost nowhere else they go. Nearly everything that happens in this series happens only at that exact same school. So if you're expecting them to go literally anywhere else outside of the school grounds even a decent amount of times, then you'll be disappointed. In fact, you would very rarely even see them even going outside of school. You will never see any of the characters' homes. It's pretty weird, as if it wasn't weird enough that you don't really see any adults.
The tone of the series is quite dark, but not that serious, to be honest. It is marked as a drama series and definitely does have some serious moments, along with very dangerous and risky elements, but still not that serious overall. I would say that despite how dark it clearly is, it mainly portrays itself as being lively and fun, so if you are expecting this to be something pretty serious, you might be disappointed.
As an adaption of the manga, it has done pretty well for the most part. It has been extremely faithful to the manga while doing a few things in it's own styles, although they did skip a notable amount of things, and the final episode went into it's own original direction to end things instead of continuing to being faithful to the manga, which is odd when this suddenly happened. To be honest, I find the way it decided to end things in the final episode to be disappointing, and that it just gave me even more of a feeling that this really should have had a couple more episodes in order to adapt the next event that would have been a worthy stopping point to the series in my opinion.
GAMES
I would now like to talk about the games. Pretty much all of them are simplistic, straightforward, and pretty much basic plays. This also includes most of the strategies being used. You'll probably quickly understand what's going on throughout. While these aren't necessarily bad things since there's actually not really anything wrong with the gambles themselves, apparently it makes certain others want more from the games, if not much more since it doesn't help that, much like other gambling anime/manga series, the pattern of how the games basically go as are pretty similar (and it's in a basic shounen way), the outcomes of the overall games are mostly very predictable, and that this series focuses a lot on cheaters. Despite all of this, I find that the games can still be enjoyable. Why? The characters themselves and how they exaggeratedly bring out their various emotions and personalities in the different situations of whatever games with the great or ridiculous looking art. This is probably the main aspects in what makes it fun for me to watch through. Seeing the ridiculous reactions from the characters never really gets old for me, but if you're expecting depth in the games from this series, then this will disappoint you.
ART AND ANIMATIONS
Now for the art and animations. I think MAPPA did pretty good in the art department. They make the cards and poker pieces look very well done at times, and there is a lot of impressive visual moments and effects in this series. While the character designs themselves mostly look pretty standard, the amount of details they put on certain aspects of the close-up faces impressive to me. This especially goes for their eyes. Not often do I see such beautiful looking eyes nearly everywhere in an anime series, with some of them having nice-looking visual effects. They also added little extra details on different parts on the faces at times, most noticeably on the insane faces, such as bits of wrinkles on the lips and making the nose drawn to look a bit more realistic. This is helpful for the type of faces since it helps give you that ridiculous, shocked, or cringing feeling to the viewers like most were purposely made and presented to be as, and it can even help add into the excitement and feeling of whatever is going on, but the insane faces are understandably not for everyone. Due to the amount of details they often put on them, they can look over-the-top, even when ti comes to anime usually making things over-the-top. There have been a few to some faces that look absolutely hilarious to me, and I unfortunately mean that in a bad way since I'm not talking about the ridiculous ones that were clearly made purposely to look funny, which are also hilarious looking. As for the animations, they're mostly standard and decent, but there have been a fair number of very good ones. The opening itself is just filled with great animations.
SOUND AND VOICE ACTING
Last I will talk about is the music and voice acting. Starting with the opening and ending, it's honestly a couple of my most favorite songs of the whole season. They're very good and I find them perfectly emphasizing how energetic and upbeat the anime portrays itself as despite how dangerous and dark it is. The opening will take a bit of getting used to, but still great and very stylish. As for the overall soundtrack of the series, I would say it's decent to above average. There's a few weird and questionable tunes, but overall everything else has either been fine or enjoyable, and they fit well in the situations present. The crazier tunes help add to the fun and insanity of the situations the type of songs it's used in. There's not really much to comment on the voice acting to me, but I think they did fine. I think Saori did very well as the main character, Yumeko.
And on that note, I think that wraps up the review. If I would have to score and summarize each aspect I've talked about,
Characters - 7/10. A lot of the characters are your typical anime characters, but a good number of notable characters have depth or character development.
Story and Setting - 5/10. Not really anything special when you think about it, and nearly everything only happens in the school. Not to mention with the way they've ended it at the final episode is pretty disappointing.
Games - 5/10. Not really bad since it didn't do anything wrong, but will probably leave you wanting more from them.
Art and animations - 6.5/10. Great details and sometimes visual effects on numerous things such as the items and certain parts of the faces, especially the eyes, but the insane looking ones are a major hit-or-miss.
Sound and voice acting - 7/10. Fantastic opening and endings with a lot of decent to enjoyable tunes in the overall background music, but there are a few questionable or weird tunes. The voice acting is fine to me.
Overall - 6/10. A very stylish and lively series overall, but it could leave much to be desired, since it's pretty basic when you think about it. As long as you don't expect too much or have very high standards, then I think you'll be fine. I highly suggest watching through the PVs first in order to know what you'll pretty much be getting into throughout if you're still interested.
themegamancave
Kakegurui- The Great Value Brand of Kaiji: Now with Chicks! The dim, incandescent can light burns the back of your head from above. Your mouth is a desert, lips parched as you struggle to even swallow your own saliva. An irregular heart beat increases its oscillations, and your vision blurs as you attempt to read your own cards. You're a house pet, a term coined only for those drowning in the debt of the student council and this one hand of poker could either seal your fate for the rest of your life, or set you free of the shackles of your dues. Anger, guilt, nervousnessand tension well up inside your brain, clouding any sense of strategy once present in your arsenal. The remaining cards are dealt, each one like a subsequent dagger being driven into the heart. Your fingers dig into the cheap felt table lining and begin to burn from the friction. As the last card approaches, thousands of scenarios race through your mind, and your opponents stoic appearance does nothing to ease the pressure. Will you survive? Will your reputation and existence be dismantled, succumbing to the hands of the tyrannical council?
The final card slams down with a thunderous echo…
Gambling is a subject rare to take center stage in the realm of anime. Kaiji, Death Parade and Liar Game are some of the only examples I can think of in the medium, until studio MAPPA’s (Zankyou no Terror, Yuri!! On Ice) Kakegurui landed this season. From a viewer’s perspective, for the gambling to really have an impact on our senses the scenes must comprise a balance of suspense, mind games and creativity. Kaiji the Gambler, arguably the best example I can think of features a main character literally gambling for his life, in games that are either very intricate or require a large degree of mental fortitude to participate in. The result is white-knuckle tension that has your finger hovering over the skip button, ready to binge through the entire anime in one sitting. Kakegurui attempts to mimic Kaiji’s critical success with a different target audience by introducing better animation and a more familiar setting, high school. Because, you know, that makes sense.
There is a “well visioned” setup, with taboo setting of school in which students engage in lavish betting and gambling once the last bell rings for the day. We witness firsthand the daunting effects of losing in this school: you're deemed a “house pet” and everyone treats you accordingly. This wouldn't be quite as ridiculous if it weren't for the fact that kids are ridiculed and treated like shit in high school to begin with. In essence, this significantly dilutes any ounce of realism with regards to the stakes these students are playing for, and ultimately the entire premise from the beginning. The “upside” is that IF you are successful at gambling and start raking in the dough, your family is already rich as fuck so…. none of this betting really even matters to begin with. See my point? From its inception, Kakegurui’s narrative is faulted. The whole premise of the anime seems pointless in that if you win, you'll be rich and if you lose, you'll still be rich but get treated like that awkward kid who frequently gets stuffed into lockers. The student council seeks to rule the school with an iron fist, but I'm not sure what they actually do; except cheat to win, fly in fancy helicopters and wear terrifying androgynous masks.
Unassuming transfer student Yumeko Jabami looks to shake things up at this school by winning any and every gambling match she's in. Countless opponents fall victim to her innate ability to see through tricks and deftly play each person for a fool. This can be frustratingly similar to the No Game no Life effect, in which Sora and Shiro’s victory was assumed prior to them even starting the game. To top it off, Jabami seems to get off on the thought of risking “everything” on each of her matches. Each of her mental orgasms is brought to our attention in exhausting detail, as her eyes leer red and her legs tremble with excitement. The anime progresses almost episodically with a “rinse, repeat” effect. New characters are introduced, Jabami challenges them, a new game is played and Jabami emerges victorious yet again. This process repeats over and over and over again in a due loop merry-go-round. There’s no sense of doubt, no uncertainty built into the script. It’s a perpetual nightmare from a scripting perspective.
With Jabami at the helm, we as viewers never really experience her thoughts about anything. Neither her strategy, intuition or objective ever becomes clear and the games themselves often end up narrated by her foes. Long, overthought monologues about what they “think” she is planning through each and every move, which began to take a toll on my attention span since I knew the eventual outcome prior to each match taking place. And since a majority of the anime is spent “in game” and we don’t catch a glimpse of what Jabami is thinking, her characterization is thrown out the window. The rare occurrence of a line of dialogue from our “heroine” is spent devilishly coercing another one of her pawns to help her with a bet in the game. The main protagonist in the anime doesn’t even have fucking character development… it’s embarrassing.
Did I mention how edgy Kakegurui is? I was legitimately interested to see where the plot would unfold when I started the series, but my supposition quickly dissolved when I uncovered the anime’s true nature. It’s 2017, so I’m not sure what I expected, but the initial consensus was that I was at least intrigued. So a girl gets her jollies by gambling, who cares? But, when EVERY character acts as if they’re on the verge of insanity? Now we have an inherent problem. Not to mention the horrifically unattractive adrenaline slut who gets wet thinking about having her head blown off from a game of Russian Roulette. It’s a sex scene away from being a dumpster fire Sundance film about how fucking “raw and gritty” some teenager’s life is. Again, it’s the tactical diversion producers craft to steer the audience away from how dreadfully written a show can be, simply because it’s dark or shocking. I don’t always mind this level of scheming when the veil is at least entertaining. But in Kakegurui, you get the worst of both worlds: badly written and boring.
It would be a disservice to anime fans everywhere if I didn’t at least attempt to address the comparisons between Kaiji and Kakegurui. Kaiji as a protagonist is someone you can really root for. His awful luck is inviting, in a sympathetic manner. He basically starts from nothing, and risks his actual life for a chance at redemption. Jabami comes from out of nowhere, with no clear motive and little to no relatability. Kaiji’s gambling games are fewer, but are better explained and have a more intricate explanation. Kakegurui falters, partially due to a shorter run time, and that the games are changed so quickly that less attention is given to their development. It feels like the writers are more focused on getting through everything vice making an impact on what they introduce. Kaiji is primarily a male cast, making it harder to attract female viewers but ideal for a seinen genre. Kakegurui has more females than you can shake a stick at: loli’s, tsunderes and yanderes to boot. Hence my opening statement in the review. Lastly, as I mentioned previously, most of Kakegurui’s dialogue comes from the opposition, creating a wall between the viewer and the character appearing to be the main protagonist (Jabami). In Kaiji, this internalizing is shared between he and his adversaries. It creates an equilibrium that helps the viewer rationalize either end of the gamble.
I think it’d come off as redundant if I expounded any more about the characters in Kakegurui. Despite having significantly less screen time, Ryouta and Meari receive significantly more development than Jabami, inflating my unpopular opinion of her ten-fold. We do get some back story on a few minor characters, but nothing short of a plot device in order to propel the story forward. Possibly the most interesting character from the entire cast is Manyuda, who actually has a clearly defined motive, is cutthroat and calculating and doesn’t seem to break character as much to partake in edgy escapades. Oh yeah, and he’s the only member of the student council who actually gambled fairly, at least in his own game. If you’re looking for relatable or enticing characters, Kakegurui may not be the anime for you.
If there’s anything I learned from watching Kakegurui, it’s that facial expressions are apparently everything. In an environment where maintaining a “poker face” is often sought after, the animators in this anime decided to do the exact opposite and emblazon a crazy face on almost every character in the cast. It’s brilliant in some respects because it helps distract the viewer from the rest of the anime’s inadequacies by giving them a fresh dose of ADHD, but is entirely unnecessary. It does helps manifest some false suspense, only it ends up making some of the scenes more irritating. The rest of the animation is quite good, and the overall tone it sets for the show works well for the subject matter. The character models are attractive and proportional, and the flashier scenes with dialogue-heavy moments please the eye. One major blemish on the art side would be the complete lack of animation with the Jabami idol karaoke scene. It came across as complete laziness, with the still image of Jabami fading out into the completion of her song. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but it was jarring to say the least. To help make up for it, they at least added a completely random duet between her and Yumemi to close the episode.
I’ll be honest, I absolutely love the OP for the show. It’s a psychedelic, sexy acid trip with a risque’ jazz track narrating the visuals. If you look closely, it even tells a small story relating to the story progression of the anime itself. The ED on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired, sans the mystery of what’s underneath Jabami’s outer layer of clothing. The song isn’t even catchy, a quality I can at least cling to in an ED. The rest of the soundtrack existed to create false tension and accentuate the mood of its corresponding scenes, and I can’t recall it being necessarily bad. Voice acting in Kakegurui is one of its strong points, and I can only imagine how much fun the seiyuus had considering how edgy the series can be. The actors actually had a chance to break character and have a good time.
From an entertainment perspective, Kakegurui hits all the wickets. It has hot girls, great animation and an almost avant-garde approach to storytelling that could be incredibly appealing to young, impressionable audiences (aka, most of the anime community). This being said, I can’t be baffled by how well the show was received, even if I didn’t agree with it. This is the main purpose of a reviewer or critic, to point out enjoyment as well as flaws. I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t enjoy Kakegurui. But is it a good gambling anime? Hardly. It suffers from a severe lack of character development/relatability and has an edgy stigma about it I can’t shake. The previous negatives coupled with the unrealistic premise can create some harsh criticisms and overall disappointment. I’d recommend this to fans of shows like Re:Zero, No Game No Life or any other similar series, due in part to it being edgy and appealing to a certain audience. Thank you to all for reading this review, and be sure to check out the rest of my Summer 17 ones!
Story-2
Art-7
Sound-7.5
Character-3
Enjoyment-5
Overall-4.45
HellLyter
Welcome to Hyakkaou Private Academy, a gambling paradise where success is rewarded with wealth and prestige and those who fail are punished with massive debt and dehumanization. In this twisted establishment, taking big risks and cheating profusely are a commonality amongst the school's student body. While many may be turned off by these extreme conditions, protagonist Jabami Yumeko, a major gambling addict, finds herself right at home when she transfers to the academy. She doesn't have any elaborate plans or aspirations and only desires one thing; the ecstatic feeling she derives from gambling. WARNING: The plethora of psychotic lesbians in this anime may be too muchfor the weak of heart to handle. Proceed with caution.
The male protagonist in the show is Ryouta Suzui. He's basically your average guy and falls under the "I'm useless and have to rely on the heroine to do everything" trope. His primary purpose is to serve as the juxtaposition to Yumeko's character so that her damaged psyche and general insanity is made more apparent. And not just her, but practically every other member of the cast as well, who all seem to add their own little bit of crazy to the show. Seriously, some of these characters make the infamous yandere Yuno Gasai look like a domesticated housewife in comparison.
Kakegurui's plot is really quite simple. There's no intricate story at play and characters (with the exception of the twintailed blonde Meari) don't receive much development. This anime instead focuses on a multitude of unique games played by the characters. Now these aren't fun family matches. They are games with high stakes played by demented yet intelligent characters, and it's just a thrill to watch.
Of course, these games are incredibly exaggerated in order to engross the show's audience. The producers are even able to make a basic game of rock-paper-scissors intense. Now while I'm sure this approach didn't work on everyone, it was enough to entertain me personally and keep me invested in the anime, so I'd say that Kakegurui's presentation was a success. The highlight of these gambling matches was when Yumeko managed to turn the tables on her foes with her amazing analytical skills and luck. It was so fun watching her completely own her opponents.
I just love the distorted faces made by the characters in this anime. Whenever they're experiencing a high or a low during a match, the characters always seem to have amazingly detailed and demented expressions. Their visages often made watching them gamble even more enjoyable and managed to make them seem crazier than they already were. The rest of the animation was often high in quality as well, and it assimilated with the soundtrack quite nicely.
I was really tempted to give Kakegurui a lower score. The story is quite simplistic (bordering the nonexistent range) and there really isn't an explanation on why the school is so fixated on gambling. Also, I found myself constantly wondering things like where the heck are the teachers? I guess they were massacred by the student council. I wouldn't put it past that group of psychos. The fact that only one character had any marginal development while the rest remained generally stagnant was also a negative factor against Kakegurui. But the show is just so damn entertaining. It's honestly one of the most enjoyable seasonal anime that I've seen in awhile. And while the characters aren't that developed, they make up for it with their eccentric personalities. Yumeko commanded my attention every time she appeared on screen, and the majority of her gambling matches were intense and fun to watch, even if they were over dramatized and often served no significant purpose.
Kakegurui is clearly not for everyone. In fact, from a technical standpoint, the anime is actually quite poor. But unlike many other shows that I've seen, Kakegurui was able to make me not completely focus on its shortcomings thanks to its its explosive cast and atmosphere. If you're into the game and/or physiological genre, then I'd recommend giving Kakegurui a chance. And if you have a thing for crazy women, then you don't want to miss out on this anime. Trust me.
Panda_Roll
The past 5 or 6 years there was a trend called "best girl" anime. The whole thing revolves around pushing the main waifu front and center for the purpose of selling the manga. This gets exaggerated with the anime because now she needs to sell the manga AND merch. Enter Yumeko Jabami, her character intro in the theme song AND the show is boobs first. I'm not joking, We first get a shot of her bouncing chest with the theme song saying her name over and over THEN her face. That's not a good start. Because everything revolves around her the rest of the "story" andplot suffers. The school is called Hyakkaou Academy. An elite school for the rich to.... ummmmm... Gamble?
No seriously where are the teachers in this? Why are there no classes? All you ever see is students gambling or bullying each other to where it seems more like a prison than anything. That's what I mean, it's not important for this to even feel like a school. Jabami is a gambler so that's all there needs to be in this school.
The sad part is, for how much they make this revolve around this one character, they failed at making her look good. Seriously the way she "gambles" is so stupid it would only work because the plot said so, I mean really really REALLY stupid to where it's boring to watch because the only way for her to win is "because plot" each and every time. There are no mind games, no deception or clever maneuvering like the show advertised. It's just Jabami is awesome, she wins the world! Bow before your ultimate waifu!
The other characters in the show are there to make her look good. Mary is the lancer/rival type who exists to lose to the awesome Mary Sue. Ryouta is the damsel in distress that needs to be saved...etc.
Made by Studio Mappa the art and animation here is beautiful, the crazy and edgy expressions look good. Even the voice acting and music are great. However the writing, story and plot are so bad nothing can really save it.
All it is a Mary Sue waifu with extra edginess to it. The show has nothing more to offer.
ronie91
Kakegurui sends us to an elite school where betting decides not only the future of the student, but also the future of his assets and career. For me it is something unheard of in this area. Although I've seen RPG series of games to fantastic fantasy worlds where life is based on games, Kakegurui [at least for me] has brought something unprecedented in proportion to the bets in a realistic way! I intend to be a bit truthful in my criticism, without overdoing it like some people who have entered the show and have often made revisions ahead of time, before they even have eventried a few episodes. The psychological part of Kakegurui for me worked a little more towards the middle, however, it fell a little from the middle to the end. Even then, there were parts that even if they did not work, sometimes they could get some tension in others. You can count on the fingers the episodes that were psychologically strong and others that were somewhat weak.
In this respect, we can get the director's attention. And while I keep in mind the number of episodes that I may consider psychologically "weak," I will not do it here, as I believe people should check for themselves, and also spoiler. I also want to point out that there has been a lack of better [and deeper] development of some characters, which I believe is a deficiency of the adaptation itself and the number of volumes that have been adapted, not having to do with direction. And even though there is not a deep development of the main characters, [something I reiterate: it has to do with the volumes that were adapted, it is not the director's fault, but the arches being adapted] was at least interesting to see how some characters evolving , albeit infrequently, in order to become auxiliaries in the saga of the main protagonist. Kakegurui was an interesting journey through the betting world in a dress never seen before [by me at least], and I recommend it to anyone who likes the theme. Although this first adaptation did not bring a darker aspect of the elite bets --- as the play proposes --- I believe that for whoever finishes it the manga will be able to reserve great surprises.
Unique_Username
Plot: Obsession, repression, insanity, and thrill-seeking, these are all topics primarily emphasized in Kakegurui. What was interesting in the show was that gambling, for me, was really just a tool to deliver a message; because if we are to judge Kakegurui simply as a gambling show it would be plain awful. The setting is rather generic as the show occurs in a school, although to be fair it is a rather “special” school that is built on gambling. The hierarchy is constructed based on who has the most money, which the general rule of thumb anywhere, and who is the most competent gambler, meaning who isthe most adept in psychological warfare. Consequently, fortunes can be overturned since practically all students are engaged in gambling their assets away with hopes of securing their immediate and long-term futures; giving those who are financially disadvantaged a chance at a better life, or so it would seem. The first few episodes were very intriguing as we are introduced to how the organizational construct within the school functions. The school employs a system similar to the one demonstrated in Assassination Classroom, where a specific class (a social class in the case of Kakegurui) is designed for those at the bottom of the pile; who are naturally repressed, ridiculed, and discriminated against by their peers. Individuals who accumulate large amounts of debt sink into the lowest tier possible within the hierarchy, a social class known as “house pets” whose job is to basically be used to increase the morale of other students. The system would incentivize students to continuously enhance their gambling skills by showing them what would happen if they are to fail, a message conveyed by the misery that house pets usually suffer. On the other end of the spectrum, you would have the student council who sit on top of the food chain and basically dictate everything that goes on in the school and are the ones responsible for implementing and maintaining the contemporary structure.
All was working just fine until our main character, Jabami Yumeko, arrives and turns the system on its head, as is expected. Now, this all sounds nice and interesting, but things start to turn south as the show progresses and the world building rather comes to a halt. Many things in the show seem illogical or perhaps unexplored, we were never shown what the role of instructors or even adults was in general, which is very odd since they are within a school. The show depicted the school as being an independent organization functioning with minimal interference from the principal or teachers, as the only ones who actually wielded any form of power and were in charge of basically everything were the student council. This becomes more apparent as the show progresses since members of the council seemed to have the ability to do anything including having interrogation rooms or even weaponry. We do not really know how the council came to hold so much power or who granted a student council so much authority. The show justifies the extensive jurisdiction of student council members by stating that they hail from prestigious families whom are highly influential and are the root cause for students have such vast authority. Furthermore, even if we are to overlook such elements the show grows to become rather repetitive and formulaic, unfortunately, as Jabami Yumeko battles a new villain each week in order to reach the top; defeating each opponent in rather similar and predictable means.
Animations:
The animations in the series were just fine meaning that they were not bad nor special, but rather represent the standard you would expect of a modern day anime. Although, I must say that two things stood out while watching; the facial expressions of students and the fanservice. I must admit, I was not a fan of either. The facial expressions that were displayed by many of the characters were rather disturbing, especially at the beginning of the show, though luckily they tuned things down towards the end. Meanwhile, the fanservice was rather distasteful to say the least; as characters would normally become increasing aroused as the stakes would go higher. Though their heightened “sensations” were depicted in a rather disconcerting manner as characters would exhibit suicidal tendencies rather than pleasurable emotions, which was a turn-off for me. Though on a positive note their uniforms looked really good.
Music:
The ending for the series was the one musical piece that stood out for me, I really enjoyed its rather “hip” style. I did not enjoy the opening so much, though I was interested in the images it was showcasing which displayed and foreshadowed some of the events in the anime. I do not recall paying much regard to the music that was playing during the show, as no single track attracted my attention through the anime; which rather means that it was neither bad nor good.
Characters:
I think this is the dimension that the series suffered the most. I honestly did not care for any of the characters, including Yumeko, Suzui, and Saotome, even though they are considered to be the main cast. In fact, asides from Yumeko whose name was brought up 100 times each episode, I had trouble memorizing the names of any of the characters. I felt disconnected from all of them, especially that the show did not explore their backgrounds, motives, and experiences; despite the presence of adequate material to go on. A fine example of this would be not displaying the relationship of Yumeko and her sister, who is supposedly bedridden in a hospital. The show simply does not explore issues that are considered essential for the progress of a solid plotline. Another seemingly important issue that was not explored in-depth was what were the true motives for students who are apparently poor to join such a prestigious school, aside from money? Plus what prevents them from leaving immediately once they become house pets? Issues that could have easily been explored if the spotlight was given to Suzui for an episode or two. Moreover, I truly wished that the show had focused on the morality of having such an oppressive system, showing the life that house pets have to endure; something that, again, could have been focused upon if Saotome was given some screen time off the gambling table.
Though on a more positive note I did enjoy the political game that was played between students, where alliances would constantly shift depending on who is in power and what certain situations require.
Overall:
Nonetheless, despite all the downsides of the show I still found it entertaining at the very the least. I came back to watch it every week even though I knew what the outcome was going to be, and that is where the show’s value lies, entertainment. It never really attempts to do anything more than being an episodic anime that gives its viewers an injection of adrenaline week in week out. Although, question marks will be raised as to whether the show will be given a chance to rectify its errors in a second season since the series received an anime exclusive ending. Either way, I can recommend the show for those who want a spike of adrenaline from a series that relies on the psychological aspects of stress in general, and gambling in particular, to thrill its audience. Though be prepared for an anime that goes directly into its main themes, without giving much thought to any other sideline or underlying concepts.
Thank you for reading
Goukeban
You know, a bad show, to me, is not simply a matter of the quantity or size of the flaws you can find in it, however it is that you decide to measure such an arbitrary idea, but what kind of flaws it has. I can deal with some plot holes, for once (I mean, even the almighty FMA has 2 big ones at the end) as long as the work can properly contextualize them and not make me care. Members of the cast being inconsistent, though, make it tougher to stomach. I’m also not someone who asks for absolute realism, but simply verisimilitude andconsistency. Disregard all of those and the work starts to go sour for me. The worst offenses, though, are when the work becomes morally bankrupt, when it asks me to sympathize and side with people who are clearly contemptible. Kakegurui is one of those shows.
Story and Characters
Well come to Hyakkao Academy, the land of insane teenage gambling, horrendous abuses of power and blatantly criminal acts of bodily harm. The school is supposed to be a place for the children of the filthy rich, but most definitely the filthy, where the future elite of Japan is meant to be prepared for a future where they’d lead the business of their families. In this institution, gambling is not simply a pass-time students can engage for their own enjoyment, but a core part of the social-structure of the school. Since the current student council president took over, she instituted a system where students who stack too much debt become “cattle”, considered second class among their classmates and have to remain subservient to the students with more money. Obviously, they also become primary target for bullying. For the viewer who shares that pesky desire to have the elements in the story making sense, this plot point will immediately raise a number of eyebrows, so let’s go bit by bit.
First, how is this system even allowed existing? None of the students here are of legal age, so they should never be allowed to gamble outrageous amounts of money from their parents net worth. Is this a version or Japan where legal restrictions for underage gambling don’t exist? If that’s the case, what about the restrictions for underage driving, drinking and sex? None of these are even mentioned, so I suppose the gambling premise is entirely based on “don’t think about it, bro”. Now, you might at this point throw at me my previous statement about realism vs. verisimilitude, but let make it clear: that goes for simple stuff, like my tsunderes being a bit more violent than what the real world would tolerate or children being a bit more mature than normal, it doesn’t apply for a universe where an entire legal system seems to operate backwards.
Following the fact that the existence of this scenario is a contradiction in itself, why would anyone enroll their children in a school like this one? These students are supposed to be future business leaders, people with enormous responsibilities in their hands, so a cast system that allows them to be bullied, humiliated and sometimes even physically harmed by their classmates goes completely opposite to the goal their education is supposed to provide, that of shaping them into capable, resolute and strong-willed adults. I’m not sure any parent would allow their children to frequent a place like this if such practices are not only allowed, but incentivized. Then there’s the money issue: the students make their bets with money from their families, which means that they are stocking up on massive debts their parents will have to pay. At long-term, this set up would make the cost of such education extremely expensive, making this school a lot more trouble than is worth. The list of absurdities doesn’t stop there, but let’s get to know the cast before we can dive head first into more nonsense!
Jabami Yumeko is the main culprit of the story. She generally keeps a playful and polite demeanor, but shifts to intense obsession when it’s time to gamble. I’m pretty sure she is supposed to be a sociopath! Not a realistic depiction of a sociopath, though, but what fiction believes a sociopath to be like. Truth be told, Yumeko is no more than a Mary Sue. It may seem like a stretch to claim this, since general misconception is that this kind of character is also supposed to be virtuous (or at least framed as such by the narrative, even when the audience can clearly see that the opposite is truth), but she does have the basic traits of a Mary Sue: she clearly has complete disregard for how much money she bets, the supply of money or her disposal is not even hinted at in the anime, so in how much danger she’s is unclear, at no point displays any signs of being the least bit worried, constantly displaying the face of someone who’s always on top, even though her behavior is so needlessly risky. Ironically, at one point she even drops this gem: “To realize one’s ambitions, risks must be taken”. Funny, since she seems to have no ambition besides having a gambling playground for herself.
Besides being nice to the already shitty-characters from the main cast and keeping a constant sweety-kitty-diabetes façade when not gambling, is there any reason for Yumeko to be seem as an actual force for good in this narrative? When it comes to motivations and general personality, she’s no less psychotic, abusive, deceiving, manipulative and sadistic than the members of the student council (or any other scumbag in this school), so what are the guaranties that once her main source of entertainment in the school is gone, or at least significantly diminished, she’ll bring any positive change to the status quo? And even if she does, do any of these characters actually deserve it? They’re all simplistic, poorly realized figures and most often just despicable people, despite the laughable attempts from the show on making them sympathetic by introducing last minute backstory.
Suzui Ryouta, the closest friend to Yumeko, is an inconsistent pussy. He strangely seems to have no problem talking to multiple attractive girls at school, but from the first moment Yumeko enters the scene, becomes strangely flustered when first interacting with her. Besides that, his role is essentially to tell the audience how risky her situation is when she makes a crazy bet and to be mesmerized when she pulls off a victory out of some strategy the audience has no knowledge off.
Momobami Kirari is the student council president, or Seitokaichou in Japanese, responsible for the creation of the cast system in place in Hyakkao Academy. She sees her fellow schoolmates as pets she can control and play with, as well as manipulate to gain power, although the goals she wants to achieve with such power are not explained in the story. Through an outrageous ass-pull in episode 11 (not a Deus ex Machina, stop using this term wrong) she proves to also be willing to backstab her own fellow student council members, which leads me to question how would anyone ever trust and help this bitch again, when she can betray them on a whim.
Other members of the student council that matter are:
- Ikishima Midari, who’s completely insane for life-threatening thrills and CARRIES A GUN TO THE SCHOOL! Seriously, how is this ever allowed? Why would anyone accept be put into a school that looks more like an asylum for demented shitbags?
- Yomozuki Runa, the loli dressed in a bunny hoodie who helps Seitokaichou on her schemes, gleefully plotting against the other members;
- Kaede Manyuda, the treasurer of the student council, very ambitious and arrogant, quick to dismiss the students he doesn’t consider worthy enough of battling him. By all accounts, he’s the least awful creature in the cast;
- Sumeragi Itsuki, another crazy bitch, who likes to collect nails from other students, which she rips off whenever they lose to her in gamble;
So, besides allowing its students to be bullied and made into servants, potentially putting them in emotional distress that can severely affect their learning, this schools also allows bodily harm to be inflicted on them, as well as bets that involve possible death. Not crazy enough for you? The institution is also equipped with special sealed rooms, for when Ikishima feels the need to “arrest other students” for her games. Let me spell this out again: this crazy cunt KIDNAPS people and locks them into special cells where she can bet on deadly games with them, using a FIREARM! Do you see why this setting is so hard to buy into?
As soon as Yumeko arrives at the institution, her one and only goal is to gamble with every strong opponent she can find, climbing the ladder until she can get the opportunity to challenge Seitokaichou, so the bulk of the narrative is focused on the multiple games she engages in with other members, occasionally crushing their spirit by revealing the manner they cheat, before beating them. Not always successful, though, as early on she manages to lose a serious bet, although it’s implied that was only possible through cheating, and becomes a pet. Interestingly enough, as soon as a previously successful character suddenly becomes a pet, it seems their winning record is instantly forgotten by the scumbag token extras, who immediately shift to bully mode. If you’re like me and has near zero suspension of disbelief for stories where everyone is an asshole, you’ll have a hard time with this one.
As Yumeko uses her status as a pet to attract and challenge other student council members, she finally reaches the top members, challenging first Manyuda and ultimately the president. This is the point where the anime turns simply from rage-inducing bad to morally bankrupt filth! Through a seriously logically questionable trick played with the help of Sumeragi, who has an old grudge with Manyuda, they lead him into betting such a high amount of money, that the loss of that game would put him indefinitely subservient to the student council president and destroy his influence in the council, as well as potentially compromising his future and relationship with his father. Yes, it’s that serious! So, of course, he loses and the defeat is followed by Yumeko and Sumeragi gleefully explaining how they manage to reach their ridiculously contrived victory, with the final blow being delivered by the president, by telling him “You’re fired”, making him snap and pass out. In the follow up, Yumeko and Sumeragi discuss what just happens and the way their dialogue is frame tries to imply they had the moral high-ground, somehow. That last bit, to me, is the most infuriating part.
Seriously, what exactly was Manyuda’s crime that was apparently so much more despicable in relation to the other students? Seitokaichou introduced a cast system that locks students into the role of cattle, where they remain subservient and bullied by other students, Sumeragi, who now we’re supposed to root for, used to rip people’s nails off, which basically amounts to torture, and Midari makes bets with people’s lives; Am I really supposed to believe that this guy is so much more deserving of having his livelihood and future sadistically crushed because he underestimates his fellow students? When did arrogance become the worst of crimes? I call this idea bullshit and this anime a hypocritical piece of toxic waste.
By the way, the ending is a complete cop-out too.
Presentation
So, do you like variety of facial expression for your characters to help flesh them out as credible, or at least likeable human beings? Tough luck, baby, here it’s ahegao up the ass for you!
For those not aware of what I mean, “ahegao” is the term in Japanese for the orgasm face, which despite the definition is not relegated exclusively for porn, but also used in comedic fashion to convey when the character goes through emotional ecstasy. You might have noticed by now that Kakegurui is quite the fan of quantity over quality, and it’ll sure run that trope into the ground whenever it’s needed to convey that the fuck-sticks it passes for humans in the story are going through anything that might be classified as excitement. IT’L ALL THE BLOODY TIME! Whenever someone pull off some maneuver to outsmart or cheat their opponent in a gamble or even when it’s simply to explain the “genius” plan, they will pull off insane orgasm faces and laugh like maniacs. Of course, the biggest offender here has to be Yumeko, because someone up in Valhalla hates me.
When it’s not ahegao, it’s contorted maniacal expressions every antagonist feels the need to break into when they feel superior and about to win on a game, or when they try to be threatening. It’s quite laughable, actually, when bunny-loli tries to pull one of these off, as if the show seriously thinks she is in any way the slightest bit scary. Seriously, any of the girls in the main cast can break her in half and this attempt from the show is just pathetic! Characters seem to break into such expressions almost to the same degree as the ahegao, as if to painfully remind you to not ever expect anyone here to have personality any deeper than a spit puddle, and that subtlety died and we buried its corpse when we allowed this disgrace to be written, published and animated. Along with the stupid story, the presentation here is another big problem for the anime, due exactly to the habits just mentioned.
Is the voice acting of any help? Not really, although not as egregious as the horrendous faces, no character really demands anything more than two different modes of acting, so it’s nothing to write home either.
Personal Ramblings
It genuinely felt like this anime was specifically crafted with the perfect combination of traits that can make my blood boil. From the sickening emphasis on the disgusting faces, to Yumeko’s insufferable “kind and innocent girl” demeanor, along with the inconsistent, impossible to buy into setting and the fact everyone here is a douchebag, this whole show was intensively infuriating to watch.
I swear, I’m not really that hard of a person to please, and it’s not like I can’t enjoy a story where characters are also morally bankrupt or just outright evil. I mean, two of my favorites are Shiki and Black Lagoon, and I don’t think you can say the main characters in those shows are safely good people, what I ask is simply that the show frames that exactly as it is, not as if the horrible people on screen are supposed to be likeable or admired in any way. I am fascinated and genuinely find likability in well written morally ambiguous or evil characters, and I admire characters who display the responsibility and strength of morals I wish I had in my personality, but when the moral center of your story is a selfish, manipulative sociopath who can’t be trusted to have anyone’s well-being in mind, I say you got your priorities kind of backwards!
Now, if you excuse me, I’ll look for something trashy to wash away this memory.
PrivateJoe
Kakegurui is a high school comedy anime disguised as a gambling anime. Filled with eccentric and psychotic characters, one notable aspect is how the show sexualizes its characters, depicting them experiencing intense pleasure akin to orgasms during gambling moments. Even the show's outro doesn't shy away from this boldness, featuring closeups of the main character's ass and boobs, which seem to be for comedic effect. In essence, Kakegurui is more akin to Prison School's unrealistic premise than a gambling anime with high stakes. However, Kakegurui is nowhere near as funny as Prison School, and worse yet, its gambling aspects have zero stakes. The main character, Yumeko,is overpowered and wins almost every gambling match, practically making the stakes zero. Yumeko only ever loses if they want to lose. Overpowered characters and winning with asspulls are entertaining in other anime, but in Kakegurui, it's lame because the story is too repetitive. They never add in slice-of-life, school, or romance-centered episodes. Every single episode is a gambling match. By the second season, the story starts getting too repetitive and predictable.
Still, even with Kakegurui's flaws, I did enjoy the first season of Kakegurui - enough so - that I gave it an 8. I say it's worth checking out, but expect the story to get repetitive. Also, the second season is worse because they stop showing Ryouta and instead introduce bland, one-note characters, which is why I'm giving this "Mixed Feelings," even though the first season is an 8.
Hibbington
I have been watching anime for a long time. Hell I’ve just been on this planet for a long time. Throughout that time I do not remember a situation where I was so fixated on one certain aspect that completely capitulated everything else. That is where I am with the faces in Kakugurui. These issues with obnoxious faces is nothing new for me and can be seen in my Daily Lives of High School Boys review as well as my opinions on Drifters. But Kakegurui has achieved a level of obnoxious faces into a territory that has not been explored that I shall deem as egregiousfaces.
The show’s art style is presented in a way that resembles sadistic hentai with these faces.
I for one am not a masochist nor a sadist that will get enjoyment from an entertainment medium that way.
I also am not a hentai fan so when add the sweat and the lips/drool helps take it to that egregious level.
This shows theme is based on a school where gambling gets you to the top of the totem pole.
I for one am someone who likes the game of poker. I watch the World Series of Poker every year. I even had a favorite poker player in Phil Hellmuth.
So I was optimistic that at least like the action in Drifters I can find satisfaction in the gambling of the show.
Unfortunately the gambling we got was a mix of redundant themes and girls over-powering on masochism.
But even if the gambling was more satisfactory it is hard to enjoy any battle of strategy when your bombarded by egregious faces left and right.
Now by this point I already had all these negative feelings towards Yumeko. This is more than just "compulsive gambling".
So enter stage left a Yumeko on steroids named Midari Ikishima.
During her dedicated episodes is where I just lost all hope for this show because when you put the theme of death into the show that changes everything.
This isn’t about riding the economic train to the top of a gambling school.
Your bringing in the theme that you can actually die in this school. That put that stake in the heart for the setting.
Midari is apart of the student council that are the main villains of the show.
They are a conglomerate of individuals that have come together to hold a monopoly on the school.
The basis of the show is for Yumeko to take them down one by one.
The entirety of the show continues to try and make the student council even more sadistic than Yumeko herself.
They try to establish a higher-level sadism that is not accepted to make you not like these characters.
But if you already have Yumeko pass that level the effect is just completely negated.
When considering my rating for the show I need to remember that the bottom score is not a 0 but a 1.
So to not give this show a 1 out of 10 are there enough aspects to push something up to a 2 and so forth.
Basically every character was doing these gambling orgasms. It is the same issue the entire show.
Even when they gave me an architype that I tend to enjoy in a villain in glasses.
The enthusiasm dwindled away quite quickly thanks to once again from Yumeko’s gambling orgasms.
So I can confidently say that the Characters, Enjoyment, and Art are all a 1 out of 10.
I’ve already covered how the setting is disseminated. But we do have progression. There is an end game to the show.
They do not waste much time with frivolous OVA content. That is something I can put up as a 2 out of 10.
Now bringing it up to a 3 out of 10 is another story. There was a lot of empty transition from going to the next student council member.
There also was never a proper hierarchy build out so I can understand the level of difficulty increasing.
They don’t really have much time to build up to it though. Their goal seemed to be to have the main event match-up in this entry.
I can settle on a borderline 3 out of 10 with the story.
So what it comes down to is music. I tend not to deviate my music score much from the rest of the show.
I tend not to value it that highly. The ending song is okay but I do have major issues with the performance from Tia in the OP.
There was a real turn-off for me listening to this nasally running on voice she used in the song.
I’ve skipped the OP every time since episode 2. So with that I’d have to give another 1 out of 10.
I haven’t given a show a 1 out of 10 since 2015 and if I was going to pull the trigger to change that. Right now feels like the right time.
I’ve never experienced something so off-putting in anime like Kakegurui and it is going to be a benchmark for me when it comes to off-putting themes.
If anything is as off-putting as the egregious faces and gambling orgasms then it will be a contender for a 1 out of 10 on my rating scale.
Some people are complaining about having an original ending but for me this was far gone before that. This is an abomination of the highest order!
Ezekiel_01
(Introduction) A show about rich high school student, stupidly gambling there lives away for kicks but everything changes a little bit when compulsive Psycho Gambler with Red-Eyes Black Hair Jabami Yumeko enter the scene. To literally give the student council, who doesn’t do anything but sit around all day, an intense facial workout. Get ready to be amazed by Studio MAPPA's artistry, for almost every single character in this show have the ability to make ridiculously funny faces that will give Reddit some temporary memes to play with. Get mind-blown to the intensely good animated atmosphere of Kakegurui Gambling, which are the few things I foundrespecting in this show. And If you ever get lost what the heck is going on during the middle of the gameplay, don’t worry, after every match, Jabami and the gang will explain everything in front of your face. So sit back and relax, don't think much. Which is kind of a shame because some games in the anime look original enough in my eyes that they seem like a very fun party game to crush your friends with.
(Story/Plot/Writing) (4/10 Mediocre) (W/ Light Spoiler)
When I read the anime synopsis for the first time, I found it kind of fresh. I barely see any high school anime that heavily focus on gambling and then after I finish it. I found it no different from any “Cliché Highschool” Tropes and I see it more stupid than your average high school anime. The show's main story in summary is about a new student that will rebel against the antagonistic “’ Student Council Hierarchy”. Our insanely daring protagonist will cross obstacles to reach the top to have a chance to rival the Big Fish of the school, this is not Kill La Kill Right?
While actual School stuff is non-existent in this show. The majority of the time I only see students gambling around the school. And why would they even bother to study or do sport that will benefit their future if the school has a shitty ranking system that will only measure student performance base on their gambling skills? The school being a setting has lost its meaning. You can replace the school with a casino or a gambling den that requires its attendees to wear high school uniforms and you will not find any difference.
The thing I found this anime stupid is the school is too dumb to exist. On all accounts, it’s a facility that raises scammers than potential elites that will benefit the country or the world. Yeah, you heard me right! 100 percent of the student who wins their gambling games cheat their way to win, just like in real life. A school that makes rich people lose their hard earn fortune because of their dumb spoil rich brats gambling away their money. Is that Legal? It's ridiculously funny and unreal. It made me remember an incident related to kids spending on their parents’ credit cards on microtransaction on videogames then eventually incurring massive debts in the process. This is literally what this pea brain student currently doing in the school. Lots of students get a quick buck sure but a lot of them lose a lot of money that they didn’t even own or earn by themselves.
To me, if these students came from influential families or rich corporate bodies. Then in one way or another, the school gambling shenanigans can actually affect the economy. Imagine a large company supplying products, services, and jobs suddenly got bankrupt not because of natural economics but because their child accidentally bet 90 to 100 percent of the company stocks because why not! That will be hilarious to see.
It also feels like a shounen anime where the protagonist gets friends along the way by savagely beating them up first. But in this anime instead of using brute force as a normal person will do to get what they want. Every conflict in this show is resolved by gambling. I can also say it’s similar to Yugioh but instead of stakes is getting vanish in the shadow realm when you lose. The person loses their dignity and tons of money. And sometimes block their freedom to choose what they want to do with their lives.
If you are watching this show to learn how gambling works or to educate yourself on the pro and cons. Hoping to get the edge you needed to win big in your local casino or make a fortune in Las Vegas. I am sorry to tell you that’s not going to happen. The games they used in the gambling itself are not that even smart or impressively complex either in my opinion. I didn’t learn anything in this show because the game itself is so lazily written. The show has the balls to explain everything at the last minute just to say they didn’t magically win because the author showed them the script. I find it dull, boring, and uninteresting for the most part.
(Characters Only Main to Talk About) (5/10 Average but Entertaining) (W/ Light Spoiler)
Honestly, I don’t like any single character in this show. The only thing I find joy watching them, aside from the funny faces they make. Is the lunacy when they discover they did a lot of dumb things or realize they are incompetent people tend to: Overestimate their own skill levels, bunch idiots. A lot of people here have serious cases of the Dunner-Krueger Effect except for Jabami Yumeko, she is a mary sue in this show. She is never been wrong even though her behavior and motives are questionable on many levels.
Side Characters on this show are more like archetypes in my eyes. They have personality but they don’t have any significant depth or identity of their own for me to care but they are entertaining to watch. Like for example, Jabami is the Marysue, Mary is a lesser Jabami, Ryouta is a walking mouthpiece, Midari is a bitch, Kirari is your typical Edgelord Student Council President, Runa is a Loli, Yume is a Pop Idol, Itsuki is a lesser bitch, and Kaede is your glasses guy. And to take account. What I said is not a pure spoiler by the way.
If you watch the Opening of the show "Deal with the devil" by Tia or the very first episode. This will be definitely your first impression of them and if it is, congratulation they remain like that for the duration of 12 episodes. Don’t expect significant character development or changes. We do get some itsy-bitsy background story but that is what you have for putting some levels of depth on your characters. And Personally, that is not enough to make them memorable or stand out. It exposed how poorly written they are.
(Technical Stuff) (Art & Animation 8/10 Very Good)( Music and Sound Design 6/10 It's Ok)
I am going to compress all my opinion on the technical stuff here. My final verdict for the animation and music on this show is that it's good and very good in fact for a TV series. I think MAPPA did a good job in making the atmosphere of the gambling more enjoyable to watch and bonus points for the funny faces too. OP song is fun to watch but definitely not the music I want to listen to or kept in my music files. ED song is fine, fun to watch for 1 to 3 episodes and after that, I no longer care. Background music is also good in adding substances to the gambling vibes. And that’s the only positive I can say in the show if only the characters and scriptwriting were the same quality then it will be truly an enjoyable experience.
(Enjoyment/ Bias Personal Opinion) (6/10 I still Enjoy even I have issues with it)
I think I said everything why I found it enjoyable and annoyingly bad
(Final Thoughts) (Overall 5.2/10 just an average flavor of the season type of show)
I like anime when the stakes are high and the risk is very outrageous. Especially it is batshit insane at times. But in this anime, I really don’t see any heavy risk involve. It loves to use BIG NUMBERS! To show the audience how extreme the situation is but the problem, it really doesn’t properly demonstrate that you will take the situation seriously. It gives the illusion that a simple game has BIG consequences but in reality, it's not. It tries hard to become serious by hyper exaggerating a lot of stuff which ended up becoming funny than grim.
Characters don’t serve as people in this world but are similar to crazy cartoon characters that are there to add aesthetic value to the show. Ever wonder why they look extremely slutty because that is their purpose in the first place. “Sex Appeal”.
Ever wonder how casinos bait people into gambling even though people know in nature they might lose?
Simple,” Money, Bright Light, and Colors and Sex”
That is more than enough to hook a Man to Gamble
In Kakegurui Case, that’s how it establishes its audience in the first place
One of the oldest tricks in the book.
And you got Scam!
DarthInvader
*No Spoiler Concise Review* TL;DR: If Kaiji and Shokugeki no Soma had a forbidden love child, you get Kakegurui: a show that throws all realism out of the window and the female MC orgasms every time she whispers "Kakegurui" or "Let's Gamble." [Story: 3/10 , Characters: 5/10, Art: 8/10, Sound: 6/10, Enjoyment: 5/10] What is Kakegurui? It's a psychological mystery anime where the MC, Jabami Yumeko, a transfer student, starts attending Hyakkaou Private Academy, a normal school by day & a gambling heaven/hell by night, whose sole purpose is to teach their rich spoiled brats in the art of dealing with money & manipulating people. This show throwsall realism out of the window and declares that the best gamblers are those who are addicted to gambling, not those who stay calm. This show is both sexy and risky. It's always fun to watch a naïve sexy self destructive intelligent gambler destroy and toy with the school government because she finds it fun and stimulating. Viewers will soon realize that the outcome will always be the same, yet it's the 'how' that makes this show great. If you are into gambling and you love psychopaths yet cute characters then this anime is for you!
The premise is very straightforward. It's your run-of-the-mill high-school anime where the MC wants to throw a wrench at the flawed school council system. This time the entire school council are epic/loaded Boss Gamblers. How do you get to the top? Through boss battles of course. Here's a fun fact, they are all cheaters, except the MC of course. She just wants to get her fix of orgasms through the thrill of gambling. The show revolves around Yumeko and Suzui, both archetypal foils of one another, trying to unearth the "system" and win the boss battles to reach the top, aka face the Student Council President. Although the start of the show was amazing, mid-way the story takes a huge nose dive of boredom and it barely comes back up with the anime having an original ending instead of staying true to the manga. Guess, MAPPA isn't fully sold on the success yet for second season despite going all out by bringing together director Hayashi Yuichiro (Garo: Divine Flame) alongside writer Kobayashi Yuichiro (Attack on Titan) and Akita Manabu (Fullmetal Alchemist ) as character designer.
Though the story is very predictable, aside from figuring out how each gambler is cheating, it's the characters that really fuels the fun in the show. The MC, Yumeko, is a naive beautiful kawaii girl on the outside but inside she's an intelligent yuri obsessed psychopath who needs to gamble to quench her compulsive gambling addiction. Juxtapose her with Suzui, her partner in crime, who is just there to make viewers feel smart because all the other characters in the show are psychopathic gambling geniuses. The members of the student council, despite being one-dimensional, are all unique from one another as seen through their gambling personality and the type of games they like to play. The epic Boss, President and Yumeko, if looked at closely, are just same psychotic characters on the inside except their outer characteristics are inverted from each other. Moreover, what really accentuates the characters in this show are the voice actors. The voice actor for Yumeko, played by Saori Hayami, just steals the show. Who knew the calm lady like seiyuu from AnoHana could portray the role of a horny psychopathic addict.
Aside from its predictable story and one-dimensional characters, the show does a phenomenal job in the art, animation & sound department. Nothing short to be expected from studio MAPPA. The OP, Deal with the Devil, is actually a refreshing change from usual Jpop to classy jazz for that smooth chill vibe. The background score really heightens every tense mood in the anime and just overhypes every little reveals. The ED song is alright but not as good as the OP song. The character designs were toned down to reflect better on screen compared to the actual manga. However, the crazy psychopathic facial expression of each characters and the shrills that captures every thrills really hammers down the central slogan of "Let's Gamble." Hands down, the show has great camera working, much like Edgar Wright with its cut scenes that adds a lot to the plot. Moreover, the blended CGI animation with bold vibrant colours really brings out the inner psychopath that exists not only in the characters in this show but in our hearts.
Overall, Kakegurui is just one of those crazy psychotic animes you want to watch because you love going on a thrill ride fully knowing the end destination. Though the anime will have an original ending the show is a faithful adaptation of the manga. If you love gambling and you love cute characters having earth-shattering pseudo orgasms while getting their gambling fix, give this show a watch. It's different yet same as other game related shows like Kaiji and NGNL. Anyways, give it a watch and tell me later how fast you caught on how the Boss Gamblers were cheating.
P.S. Thank you for reading. I hope you found this short and supaishi review helpful!
JJMFREAP
Kakegurui is...really something. I can't think of too many series quite like it. It's not really my usual cup of tea, but a friend convinced me to check it out, and I'm glad I did. It's nice to branch out. To put it briefly, it's absolute madness from beginning to end, but that is what keeps it engaging. Kakegurui, is first and foremost about gambling. A bunch of the children of various rich shmucks all gathered together in a toxic cesspit of a school, where money and power are everything. After all, this school, as insane as it is, is only a tutorial for the manipulativeevil that the real world of the rich elite entails. In any case, this story differs from other gambling focused series in that it's not so much focused on the cerebral outsmarting of opponents, although there's plenty of that too. The main focal point is that literally EVERYONE IN THIS PLACE IS COMPLETELY INSANE! All of them should be in some sort of institution! Seriously, Suzui is probably the only sane person present, and I believe he's mainly there to offer some sort of reasonable perspective to all of this madness. Everyone else is some psychotic lesbian with a gambling addiction, narcissistic disorder, death wish or all of the above. This is the main driving force of the story and to me, it keeps it interesting and unpredictable till the very end.
Everything is very over the top - visuals, sound, voice acting. All of this serves to depict the euphoric madness of the characters and their obsession with gambling. The overly detailed glowing eyes, the wacky flow of hair and clothes, the poses, the uncomfortably detailed animation on the mouths, all of it is very striking and serves the same goal. The characters are out of their mind, but they are all unique and very engaging. A lot of their backstories and character motivations are quite surface level, which is something that bothered me a bit, but their personalities shined bright enough for this not to matter too much. Another valid critique is that the central plotline is kind of weak, it's mostly just episodic chaos. Nonetheless, what is happening in each episode is intense and interesting enough to hold your attention. Granted though, sometimes there is so so so much dialogue in any scene, that it feels like characters just go on and on forever. But, I get it. There are a lot of unique games whose rules need to be explained, characters need to share their perspectives and motivations, it sort of comes with this type of story. Thankfully, the wild visuals and audio help move the dry patches of dialogue forward and the overexaggerated voice acting is a key factor to keeping it interesting too.
Now, we have to also address the elephant in the room - the fanservice. There is a LOT of it here, so be prepared. There's a lot of lesbian tension between all the girls and a lot of suggestive poses, lots of touching, licking, kissing, sniffing, etc. There's plenty of eyecandy but I don't think it's too overbearing, especially compared to other lesser series. It at least also serves a plot purpose. It attempts to emulate the almost sexual pleasure that the girls derive from gambling, showing their extremely twisted and perverted perspective on life. It also fits that a lot of them don't view others as anything more than objects. Thankfully, the bulk of the horniness remains in the opening and ending, during the episodes themselves I think the sexualization is within reason and it serves a purpose.
Overall, Kakegurui is a really unique series and that can be hard to do nowadays. I would say, although there are some flaws and some people might find the fanservice too much, it's a very interesting experience that showcases gambling in it's most insane and intense form, which I would say is much closer to how it really is for a lot of addicts. Definitely worth a watch!
DesolatePsyche
Kakegurui 7/9/8/8/8/8 First things first. My "reviews" system is explained on a blog entry. Which can be found through my profile. ------ ✦Story✦ Premise of gambling with high risk stakes is rather heavy gambling addiction setting to have, which is quite interesting. It's essentially episodic "battle shounen" with each episode giving us different game and different enemy whilst slowly crawling towards the "end game boss". I did enjoy it whole the most part, but I felt it a bit dull how story was presented and the lackluster games with a bit disappointing endings. Whilst the "big picture" of the story is rather nice, it is still conveyed in arather bland way.
But nevertheless considering it's simply gambling/card games which I have no interest of, it was still made in a very entertaining.
✦Art&Sound✦
Both art and OST are absolute bliss in this Anime. Character design, animations and music has such a rousing style to it. It simply sucked me in as a viewer and the approach of Animation was almost perfect. I do absolutely adore character design though. It's beautiful and absolutely hot.
Music is essentially "stereotypical" casino music, but did sound rather nice. Opening was catchy and artsy, whilst ending was absolutely hot.
✦Character✦
Many hot batsh*t crazy hot chicks. That is enough to know about characters. I loved it and I absolutely adore Jabami. And a little reserved male straight-man-slap-stick-act sidekick.
✦Enjoyment & Overall✦
What else to add. It's beautiful, edgy, colorful Anime about gambling with crazy hot chicks. Even if you have no interest in card games or in gambling in general, it is still very entertaining Anime. I enjoyed it a lot and will for sure check out sequels.
Biggest weakness I find about this Anime is integrity of the story and some characters that just fade into non-existence. But that is simply an outcome of "episodic" type of an Anime.
