Man oh man I can't even describe how disappointed I really am with this arc, shit felt like the espoir arc but a tearsome as hell stretched into 131 chaps and some of them even repeated info that was already given to the reader... feels like Fukumoto is telling his readers that they're just a bunch of idiots or something, just straight up a downgrade compared to past arcs
because this arc didn't even benefits Kaiji as a character at all, the president is a boring character and the "plot twist" was SO DAMN LAME
Spoiler, click to view
SIKE :)
(not so spoiler-free!)
Kaiji part 3 is yet another great part of the masterpiece called Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji
This arc delivered above and beyond my expectations even if the build-up was slow we can already see how well Kaiji was developed over the course of the first 2 parts not to mention how beneficial it was to his character, even at the end of the arc Kaiji learns to respect Hyoudou, the same man who put him in this gambling hell and his trash of a human being son Kazuya
Firstly let's talk about Kaiji's ability to tell a man's personality based on the signs he emits through body language, only a hell like the Man Racetrack arc in part 1 or the Underground Labor Camp arc in part 2 can give a character an instinct like that and that leads to what Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji really is, a series about a man who's just trying to survive in the hell of gambling
THE MANGAKA AND HIS UNIQUE WAY OF REFLECTING A CHARACTER'S EMOTIONS
The mangaka Nobuyuki Fukumoto has a very stylish artstyle, once you finish one of his amazing works you can really notice any manga he has ever worked on based on just a single glance, his artstyle is unmatched and the reason for that is how incredibility twisted his characters face expressions can really become at high cliff hangers in the manga like some short of a caricature
With this unrivaled and unique artstyle Nobuyuki Fukumoto can deliver to the reader the emotions a specific character is emitting through metaphors and with it's inner voice and face expressions the same way Kaiji can with his psychological survival skillsPanelling is also something that was very well done in this part especially, some panels even have characters or objects hovering over from a panel to the next one or infused with beautifully detailed and realistic background, that's only possible due to how flexible Fukumoto's artstyle really is
I'm yet to discover a more mangas that can do what Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji art does, I can name a few good examples to mangas that managed to do something similar
/manga/86559/golden-kamuy
/manga/39982/usogui
/manga/30768/battle-angel-alita
/manga/30013/one-piece
/manga/31133/dorohedoro
CHARACTERS
Often most of the characters in Kaiji aren't as well written as other famous mangas but one thing that I can appreciate about characters like president Muraoka, Miyoshi or Maeda is how they can deliver the psychological question of "what would you do if you were in their shoes at the exact moment" a question that can somehow make the reader relate to the villains of the story even if some of their actions were a little bit extreme Muraoka, Miyoshi and Maeda acts weren't out of character or out of the bound of human morals they did what most people would do and that what most of Nobuyuki Fukumoto's work intend to do, to make the reader question his morals and past actions
mangas like Kurosawa or Kaiji can really benefit the reader's morality for the better because of how neutral the characters really feel except for one GOAT...
KAZUYA HYOUDOU AND WHAT DIFFERENCE HIM FROM THE CHARACTERS IN THE WHOLE SHOW
As the time I'm writing this review I'm still not fully caught up with the series and from what I can tell by the ending of part 3 and the covers of the series Kazuya would have a major role in later parts but as of part 3 Kazuya is mainly a mysterious observer of the match who sometimes comments something or laugh like a lunatic but one thing Kazuya does well is criticize the actual flows of the match, a fourth wall break of Fukumoto himself telling to the reader that even as perfect as his works can be in our eyes he can still find flaws in them which kinda upsets me whenever I see a writer dissing his own work that he had to put blood and sweat in order to create.
Also what I like about Fukumoto's works is how well a consumer can be drifted into a story by just 3 chapters or even less I can talk on and on about how great of a writer he really is and how rare it is to find a mangaka that can write something as well as Akagi, Kurosawa and Kaiji all at the same time, yes yes Fukumoto worked on 3 of his most famous works all at the same time this man truly is a GOD
CONCLUCION
PROS:
-This arc benefits Kaiji as a character even if this part is considered the worst in the series by most fans it still delivered what I wanted it to deliver to the table.
-Has a great and drifting opening to the plot like every other FKMT manga
-Artstyle and paneling are as stylish as ever
-Kazuya delivers the plot and thrill through the roof at the last few chapters
CONS:
-The introduction of women to the story, c'mon Fukumoto
-A slow and somewhat of a wearisome build-up who leads to some readers not binging this part like how it was intended to or even drop the whole series completely
-The rules of Mahjong were a pain in the ass to learn especially when I had to study for my finals
Here are some useful links to learn the basics without too much of a headache:
https://moments.star.com.au/how-to-play-mahjong/ https://aminoapps.com/c/kaijiultimate/page/blog/the-basics-of-mahjong/RrPz_MaoIwu1JPJ21ZKYvrqK4o6nqnbrgoo http://mcgillmahjong.blogspot.com/p/rules-minefield-mahjong-17-steps.htmlThis is my first review btw so if you see a little grammar mistake or something please send me a private message :)