Kaiji, a regular guy who works for 900 yen (approx. $9) an hour at his local convenience store. Although he is faced with debt left by the guy who he cosigned a loan with. Seeking to clear his debt, Kaiji goes underground to the Yakuza in order to gamble.

Bone chilling and blood pumping, Kaiji is some of the best gourmet shit I've seen when it comes to psychological thrillers. The games are simple, yet they always develop in ways I never expect and the suspense that builds is intense. There is no plot armor or much ass pulling. There is always a looming threat of Kaiji actually losing, and people actually die and suffer. Furthermore, the thought processes and logic behind each arc is super interesting and I find it to be pretty sound. Although, sometimes it can get a little weird. But I think that the adrenaline behind the games in tandem with the themes of deception and morality Kaiji presents play really well together.

I also think that Kaiji is just a great protagonist because he's only a normal dude who is trying to live and make things right for himself and for others. Tonegawa and Hyodo on the other hand don't have anything crazy going on either, but they have interesting thought processes and they're conniving enough to clash with Kaiji's character. None of the characters are the deepest I've seen, but they don't try to be something that they're not and I appreciate that. It's less about the characters and just more about the psychological factor anyway, which these ones do a good job of intertwining with that.

Kaiji is also super enjoyable for me because of the art and the music. Now, I don't think the art could be for everyone since it's a little rough and everyone looks like ugly bastards. But as for myself, I actually love how the art looks and I think it's appropriate for a story that runs its themes. As for the soundtrack, it's so god damn good. Each track does a great job of building the scene and provoking the right feelings while also managing to sound catchy alone.

The only issue (besides some minor asspulling in like 2/3 places) that I think could make it or break it for someone is the pacing. The pacing is absolutely glacial and you need to be patient with it in the first half of its run. Although, I only found that it hit me between the Espoir arc and the Human Derby arc. But things start to pick up more near the end of the Human Derby, and afterwards it becomes quite gripping again. Other than that, the show takes its time but I don't think it's terrible.

As long as you're patient, Kaiji is an incredibly exciting show, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great drama or thriller.