Kakegurui

Content Warning: Attempted Rape, Gunplay, Sexual Imagery, Masturbation, Orientalism, Bodily Harm

From the outside, Kakegurui looks like it's your average stylish "goon-slop of the week" anime. The opening has half a dozen panty shots, the ending is Yumeko strip teasing as she saunters towards the camera, and everything in-between is drenched in hypersexual horny tension. And that's what I used to think years ago. However, I believe Kakegurui has some truly profound thoughts underlying it, and to me it genuinely comes off as a message in favor of queer liberation.

The visuals are spectacular. The opening is stylish, and the ending is triumphant. The character designs are surprisingly memorable for an anime set in a high school, with everyone in the student council sticking out years after the fact. Midari, Runa and Kirari especially. And while the environments tend to be a bit dull, the characters exude such a stage presence that they make even mundane classrooms feel imposing.

The characters of Kakegurui are the highlight of the entire show. Yumeko is a phenomenal protagonist. Every single time you see her you're just waiting for something to set her off. Wondering when the facade will peel away is almost dread inducing. Mary and Itsuki are excellent foils to her. They provide some fun alternate perspectives, and while they can sometimes be a bit one note, both have some incredible moments. The student council are an excellent cast of villains. Whether it's the masked Rurika, the gun-wielding Midari, or Kirari's very presence, there's never a dull moment with them. Even the weaker gambles never lose steam. The only character I didn't like much was Suzui, though I suspect he's only included because a generic boring nice-guy brown hair protagonist is the only way to get losers to watch something with an otherwise all female cast.

And I think it's important to mention that, at least in my opinion, the sexual stuff genuinely works well (beyond it being a necessary narrative element). It's difficult to explain, but I feel like most horny anime present feminine eroticism in a very "consumable by men" way. A horny chasteness that tempts the reader but makes it clear that the woman in question is still "good moral wife material." And while I don't doubt Kakegurui was intended for male audiences, the way the characters express horniness feels surprisingly lesbian. The focus on full body feelings, the sensitivity, breath, sweat, blushing, and kinks like fingernails, gunplay, pissing, and riskplay is genuinely refreshing. I steer clear of a lot of goon-bait anime in general, but Kakegurui worked for me.

That being said, Kakegurui does have some flaws. The way Yuriko is treated - and the title of her episode - feels like a rather disgusting bit of racism. And while it was a narratively irredeemable rapist saying it, I'm never a fan of the r-slur being used. Though that's quite a small list of issues at the end of the day.

I think Kakegurui is absolutely worth a watch. The first few episodes do an excellent job of reeling you in, even if this kind of show feels out of your ballpark. It's all around excellent, and whether you're here for the sexy slop or the gambling, I think you'll find something to love. And if you're willing to read further into it, I think it gets even better.

While watching Kakegurui, I realized that over-indulgence - be it sexual, monetary, control, power - was never treated like a character flaw. None of the student council are treated as villains because of their hedonistic desires. You're only a villain in Kakegurui if you hurt or cheat others.

I feel like this is mostly personified in Midari. Midari, in most other mediums, would be treated like a detestable disgusting villain. She gambles with life and death, she frequently works herself up to the point of needing to masturbate, she's constantly looking to kill or be killed. But, in Kakegurui, none of that matters. Her being so out there and extreme with her desires isn't any sort of moral failing. In fact, I don't think Yumeko insults her over any of these features even a single time. What makes Midari a bad person, in Yumeko's eyes, is that she was rigging the gambles to be pleasurable to her. That she wanted to steal the eroticism of a life-or-death situation away from Yumeko, and refused to share it.

The same is true for most of Yumeko's other opponents. Itsuki expects her opponents to bet their fingernails (which hold some level of erotic value) while she refuses to do the same. Yuriko draws in those at rock bottom, and crushes their spirits. Mary seeks status, and tries to force people into the house-pet system to prevent competition. And Yumemi, due to her failing to rig the game correctly in the first place, is barely treated as a villain. This really comes into focus when you see Mary and Itsuki get "rehabilitated" into allies, and Yumemi's immediately forgiven as she's willing to honor her end of the deal. Once they stop harming others, once they're willing to take risks and gamble, then in Yumeko's eyes they're redeemed.

The only outliers are men.

There's two major male antagonists in Kakegurui, and both are misogynistic power-hungry losers. Jun is introduced as a rapist, and unlike the women before him, he doesn't have any redeeming factors. He's not gambling for any personal goal, he's not even getting satisfaction out of the act. He's here because he can exploit the power dynamics here, and can rape/torture women as much as he likes. And he's left three-hundred-million yen in debt, with all his power gone and the woman he tortured finding her freedom.

Then there's Kaede, and while he's not a rapist he's nearly Identical to Jun. He's here solely to amass power and wealth. Gambling is simply an exercise in statistics for him. And the more he feels in control, the more condescending, misogynistic and cruel he gets to the women around him. He's cowardly enough to bide his time, and the second he thinks he has the advantage, he goes all in. I don't think it's a coincidence that he goes on a lengthy misogynistic rant against Itsuki right before he loses everything.

The world of Kakegurui is a world in which women are free to be ugly, in a sense. While propriety and restraint are still a factor, it's a knowing game amongst most of the women in the cast. They maintain cheap, standard anime smiles as long as they can. But when they're away from peering eyes, they drop the charade immediately. Wrinkles emerge, spit strings are visible, even their mouths and eyes distort into more violent, more real shapes. And this isn't treated like a gag, or a "hah you're ugly and morally reprehensible" gotcha. It's reality. It's the lack of a facade. It's flesh.

Women are free to be ugly. Women are free to indulge in whatever pleasures they wish. Women are effectively able to cast off the patriarchy. And they are none the worse for it. While men are intimidated in this system. They're stuck believing that the way the world works outside is law, they're constantly grossed out by earnest expressions of sexuality, and they can't fathom how they lost to women.

As for what makes this trans-feminist instead of just feminist? Well in my opinion, I believe most of the messaging applies truly to trans women as well. The need to take grand risks to receive grand rewards feels like overcoming the dread surrounding getting HRT. The themes of taking control of your life, of being a "housepet" (cis) forever, and rejecting a pre-made (cishet) life plan also feel overtly queer in my eyes. I feel less set on my queer readings of the show, and I'll likely need to watch season two before I finalize my thoughts. But I thought it was worth noting, as I wasn't expecting to relate to so many of these characters and stories going in.

Regardless, I think Kakegurui has a lot to say. I doubt most of it was intentional, but for being an anime from 2017 I thought the number of queer and feminist talking points were unique. I'm curious as to whether anyone else read the show this way.