Forum - View topicKakegurui (TV) (all seasons).
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Stark700
 Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Season 1 - Kakegurui (TV) Season 2 - Kakegurui (TV2) Genres: drama, mystery, psychological, thriller Themes: gambling, school Plot Summary: At Hyakkaō Private Academy, the sons and daughters of the wealthiest of the wealthy engage in a unique curriculum geared to teach them to how to read their opponents. Specifically, students have a rigorous curriculum of gambling where the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer. When Yumeko Jabami enrolls, she's decides to teach the students what a real high-roller looks like. ---------------------------------- Will be adapted by studio MAPPA and the staff that worked on Garo Season 1. Quite hyped to see what they can do with this show considering the psychology of the storytelling. |
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Stark700
Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Episode 1:
Whoa, this was...quite something. The OP song as a stylish eerie theme to it. Yumeko and Maeri immediately stands out as the more noticeable characters while I'm not really impressed by Ryouta) so far. Character expressions are extremely noticable in this show from the start. We got a gambling game already between Yumeko and Maeri. Loved the amount of psychology they added into this first episode without wasting much time. Good start so far. |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6229 Location: Houston, TX |
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The facial expressions alone have me in for the long run. I love the main character
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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I've watched only two anime on gambling, both by Fukumoto Nobuyuki. I was wondering which type of gambling series this one would turn out to be and it seems it's closer to the Akagi version of gambling. Differences I can see between this and Akagi is the protagonist has never lost interest in a gamble since the surroundings are just as risk-crazy as she is and she's happy to hold onto money to use as gambling collateral unlike Akagi's preference for the life-and-death gamble which risks everything until one side dies.
It's probably a series feature, but I'm not keen on the camera shots on the skirts and posteriors. I suppose it's the predominantly female cast which lends itself well to this kind of thing, but I don't mind so long as the gambles which should be the main centrepiece are properly illustrated. Suzui plays the all-important narrator role since he's "normal" compared to the rest of the cast and someone has to give a sane voice of reason to narrate the insane gambles which seem to characterise this series. It's perhaps not a coincidence that Jabami's surname might have something to do with her incredible affinity for huge gambles (and winning them). |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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#2
Double deck concentration this time round, but there's a trend emerging with each week's gamble being stacked in favour of the challenger through some form of underhanded trick or cheating mechanism. Like Akagi, Jabami Yumeko has a set of talents which complement her gambling mania. Without amazing powers of concentration, memory and acute senses there is no way she could have seen through the marked cards after just one session. She also has an interesting habit of letting her opponents cheat their way to a mini-session win or a big lead before she turns the tables. It looks like the trend for this series is set since Yumeko is taking on the kimono-clad council member for next week. She'll probably beat them all in a different and unique gamble each time, though probably not without setbacks along the way. It's still interesting to watch even if the outcome of Yumeko getting a win through some form of comeback starts becoming predictable. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15576 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I was a bit apprehensive at first, but I think that I am getting into it, possibly because she makes me think of Sora from No Game, No Life. Kind of fun seeing someone use their wits to undermine the cheating of the other party, that they can go from reasonably harmless to being down right terrifying to the other, but with the student council thing brings to mind other things.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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#3
If viewers didn't think Yumeko was talented at the art of gambling, then this episode should be conclusive proof that behind the insane desire to gamble lies talents which can but not always sway the balance of probability in her favour. From a simple observation of a guide's hands and just two rounds of this gamble she was able to uncover the truth behind this week's elaborate cheating scheme. Yet despite all of this she still managed to lose and end up saddled with an eye-watering debt of enormous proportions. Unlike Akagi who never had a decisive loss in his own series, Yumeko has a bit of work to do if she wishes to shake off her kitty tag. Had to rewatch the scene when she was eyeing the ceiling, but what follows is an explanation of why the outcome she had earlier predicted failed to come to fruition. It also shows the lengths the student council are willing to go if they intend to single out one individual for a lynching via gambling losses. Her insanity does prove to be useful as an effective deterrent against stereotypical bullies who pick on her because of her status. Anyone who saw her feline impression would certainly think twice about laughing at her if it meant being challenged to a no-limit gamble which cannot be refused. As for the last scene and the "life plan" drawn up by the council, suffice to say it's everything to do with the size of the debt and how impossible it is to repay even in a school dedicated to gambling. Next week will probably reveal more details, but for the time being Yumeko is going to have to work towards shaking off the tag and then earning the right to challenge the council president in an all-or-nothing gamble. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15576 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I certainly did come into the episode interested in what attempt to cheat would be seen through, and I am enjoying this whole thing.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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#4
A change of pace this week. First time a gamble is introduced late and carries over to the next week and it's now possible to cooperate since it's a card game with Jabami and Saotome having the chance to talk it over prior to the start. The "Life Plan" dealt out to students with impossibly large debts is essentially human trafficking by a different name. But this is a school which encourages gambling and has connections in high places, so it's not surprising something as outrageous as this is accepted in lieu of repayment. The differing reactions to the Plan from Jabami and Saotome more or less sum up the mental state of both characters. Ikushima is similar to Jabami in that she's addicted to the thrill of gambling, although the big difference is she gets a mental high of orgasmic proportions from life-and-death gambles and won't accept anything less. Naturally most people with a normal mindset get the creeps from her challenges, but Jabami owes her for intervening before Kiwatari and flunkies could have their way with her. Viewers will probably see what she's made off in later episodes. Kiwatari is a veteran of the Student Council's regular "loan rescheduling" exercises and is clearly good at it since he's able to participate without a tag and can walk away with a profit. Problem for him is he's up against two opponents he's clearly underestimated which based on next week's episode title means he's walking out with the student population's biggest debt. Saotome did not bully 2/3 of her class at the start of the series without having a decent level of gambling ability while Jabami is only in the competition because the student council fixed her up last week. He might be sharp enough to detect collusion, but his arrogance is his undoing since he's incapable of seeing through a bluff. Is this the first gamble Jabami is involved in which doesn't involve inbuilt cheating? Apart from the collusion, I'm not sure what kind of rigged system this gamble would involve since it's so simple. Maybe marked cards or a rigged deck but that's elaborate and easily spotted. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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#5
Well, well. A game of bluff, double-bluff and triple-bluff for this week as the Indian poker arc reaches a conclusion. The cheating for this game is purely down to collusion with Jabami and Saotome making it clear they knew what they were doing from the start when up against a pair of students they had background information on. The fourth participant over the two weeks might turn out to be a valuable ally for Jabami in the future. She seems "normal" (like Suzui) and is only forced into these circumstances because she has no choice. Jabami even taught her a new way of signalling to allow the game to continue after the original signalling methods were seen through after 6-7 rounds. The student council uses debts as leverage against specific individuals. I thought it was a measure to break up Kiwatari's delinquest group but it turns out they were after him from the start because of his family background. The musical chairs of debt as well as the shouldering of payments from students who succeeded in the gamble is a small price to pay if they can secure a decisive tool of blackmail for influence peddling outside school grounds. No episode next week and I'll pass on the cast commentary bonus episode. Just as well the break is after this episode and not the one after since it looks like Jabami is going to have a match with Ikushima after all. I wonder how good Suzui is under pressure if Jabami is nearby giving support. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15576 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Oh my god, that was hilarious. Was wondering what the plan was, but when they started laughing at the tallies were being given incorrectly to what we had been told up to now, it became clear that the girls had played him from the start. They spoiler[changed their amounts at the start before swapping plagues so that he would not know what the real value of the chips was].
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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If the student council hadn't agreed to the figures, the gamble wouldn't have taken place. It's important to note that the only one who lied was Jabami, the cameo scene with Suzui was necessary since Saotome needed to declare truthfully as she wasn't in their plans. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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#6
After a week's break, back once more to the gambling asylum that is Kakegurui. One of the questions I couldn't answer last week was how big Jabami's debt would be after the musical chairs of debt. Since she refused to pay back the money she earned from the Indian Poker tournament, the answer is her debt is still the largest in the school (tied with episode 5's big loser). Jabami wants to challenge the council president, but it looks like she'll have to jump through a few hoops first before she earns the right to do so. This first hoop won't see any money change hands unless Jabami wins (and stays alive in the process). Saotome is definitely talented at gambling, but that's probably not the only reason why she's been invited to join the Council. The president has some ulterior motive for getting Saotome to join, but viewers probably won't get to know why until much later. Like all games thus far, there's definitely some kind of cheating mechanism involved. It's clear Suzui is doing everything he can to save Jabami, but the latter probably used the "sign" hint as a bluff and she's planned something as insurance in case she lost the first round. Suzui probably used the episode one theme as his way of signalling the card order to Jabami, but it looks like the hint (if any) wasn't heeded and Jabami lost because of sheer luck. Not that she's worried, since the look in her eyes in that final shot is a giveaway that she's absolutely confident she won't be shot. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15576 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Man, this guilt pleasure is hitting some dark part of my psyche. Like I am loving how horrid these parts are, like it looks like they are in some sort of Saw set. That we have these thrill addicts in a game of something akin to Russian roulette.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2967 |
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#7
What's better than beating an opponent at a life-or-death gamble? Seeing through your opponent's motives in calling for the gamble, unmasking the innate cheating mechanism within the allocated three rounds and depriving your opponent any satisfaction from the final outcome. Jabami didn't need to win this gamble to walk out alive, she simply executed what she predicted at the start and left her suicidal opponent absolutely flabbergasted. Suzui might be absolutely useless at gambling, but if he hadn't cooperated in the second round Jabami might well have lost. His role as the series narrator with the normal personality is most pronounced in this arc since there was almost nothing he could do except trust in Jabami's abilities and gambling instincts. The student council president is just as twisted as Jabami, but in a very different way. Although incredibly talented at gambling, she sees other humans as mere objects to satisfy her both during and after gambles. Saotome might have benefited from the school regulations when she was riding high, but it's easy to see why she rejected the offer having experienced life on the other side. Had Suzui been in her shoes, there is no doubt he would have refused the offer in the same way and for the same reasons she did. |
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