Kakegurui
a review by KilluaMorales
a review by KilluaMorales
With a synopsis like that, expect this series to be very character driven, and it definitely delivers on that aspect. The story sounds like a allegory of totalitarianism where we have basically one student controlling anything and everything through gambling and another student standing up against the system. This series is not like that at all. This series is about competition and power through gambling, and those who fail to reach the mark lose their humanity and their names. You see how desperate people become when they lose those two things, and you see how people just give in to the system and refuse to fight back. You see both sides of the spectrum and how much they suffer because of this fucked up system. This is well told storytelling when the lore behind this show set in stone the way it is. That should say a lot.
From watching this series, you'd expect one of the major themes of this series to be corruption, and you'd be right. Because of this system, you also how it corrupts students when they bully those that have lost their name and status which at times makes their fall from grace a bit cathartic at times. When you think about it, this can be nice callbacks to classical works like 1984 and even Fahrenheit 451.
Now this is a series about gambling, so expect there to be a lot of gambling. You get that. The gambling can go from simple games like Rock-Paper-Scissors and even a simple flip of the coin to more complex stuff like Poker and ESP card games. The variety in these games is downright amazing and at times a bit overkill. Fortunately, due to the games' variety, it makes the series much more intense than ever. You also see well the characters work together in these games from the main characters to the supporting characters. And speaking of which...
The characters are the heart of the show. They're three-dimensional and relatable. You see how much they suffer, how much they struggle, and how much they develop as well. You even see the corruption behind the characters as well which is a nice twist on the villains making them more relatable as well. Of course the standout of these characters is
To be honest, I knew something was up with girl when she's first introduced. I mean, why would a sweet and naïve girl like her would transfer to an academy like this without knowing its dark side. That's until you realize that she's more than aware of it, but that she was prepared for it. At one point, she's sweet and caring and at the drop of a pin, she's batshit insane. She's practically two-faced, but that's what makes her character work. Despite the fact that she's the strongest character in this series, she's not without her flaws. When you look at all the shit she pulls off, you start to see that she's basically a Mary Sue. She's too damn perfect for this show, and you know exactly what will happen when she starts gambling. She'll start off with a disadvantage and then later turn the tables on whomever she's facing. There are even times when she'll turn her opponent's partner against them just by influencing them to give in to the thrill of gambling. This does make the matches more exciting, but at the same time it makes them a bit underwhelming in the end. Fortunately, she has friends that make up for her flaws with the big one being
Okay, I'm already of what most people say about this guy. That he's useless and is completely unnecessary towards the plot, so I'm gonna go ahead and say it, and I don't care about the backlash.
Ryota is arguably one of the best characters in this series. He starts off as this weak-willed guy that's unable to fight back against the system. You see his point of view and how much he has to put up with from being used as a chair to being used as a tool to cheat. Thanks to Yumeko's sweet and caring side, you see him develop not only as a character but also as a gambler as well. He may not be the best gambler in the series, but his personality and analysis skills more than make up for what he lacks. As the series progresses, you start to see that Ryota isn't influenced by Yumeko like others to give in to the thrill of gambling. He gives into it of his own free will. At that moment, you start to see that Ryota is more of a bad-ass than he lets on. And that's not even going into his character dynamic with Yumeko.
These two work so well together with Yumeko being the one that calms Ryota when he's overwhelmed and Ryota being Yumeko's line of reasoning. At times I kept thinking to myself, "These two should just hook up already." I mean think about it. Whenever those are around each other, they seem to always enjoy their time together. Hell, the more I think about it, the more I start to realize that Ryota plays a huge role in Yumeko's gambling obsession. I'm a little disappointed that you don't see these work together more in the second season, but you gotta appreciate what they have. Like this scene.
But I've spoken enough about these two. Let's move forward and talk about
I'm gonna be frank everybody. I don't like Mary. I've seen her trope so many times that her character is just plain annoying. She starts off like everyone else, corrupted by the system and obsessed with manipulating people, but she gets her ass handed to her by Yumeko, she doesn't take responsibility when she loses everything. Hell, she's the type to get jealous of Ryota's relationship with Yumeko despite the fact that she likes to manipulate him when he lost everything. Here's a quick spoiler: there was a scene where Ryota was completely overwhelmed over the fact that there was a high chance that he and Yumeko would lose the game leading to Yumeko's expulsion. Yumeko tries to comfort him telling him that if they lose, the risk and burden will be all on her. Ryota refutes by basically confessing his feelings to her and telling her that the risk and burden was just as much his. How does Mary respond when hearing that? She immediately gets pissed off showing that she has some sort of feelings for Ryota (She doesn't deserve a good guy like Ryota). I know that's a nitpick, but seriously. She does have a moment of redemption when she realizes the truth behind the system, but it doesn't really change much about her character. She has some development, so I can give her props for that, but nothing much really changes about her. She sides with Yumeko, but she's still the same person she was just take out the manipulation.
The next character to focus on is
This fingernail obsessed girl is another one of those characters corrupted by the system, but her corruption wasn't as deep as expected. This former student council member actually has a notice for why she does what she does though her motive doesn't really explain the fingernail collection (that was just downright disgusting). Even with that, you see how she's grown to be more independent, and you see how resourceful she is when she tries to help Yumeko in a few episodes. There's not much to talk about her since she doesn't really have much screen time in the second season, but I gotta admit her reaction to Ryota's confession was just plain hilarious.
Every character just feels three-dimensional and relatable from the two-faced idol Yumemi Yumemite to the masked Ririka Momobami that there are times where you actually sympathize with some of the villains in the show. Well maybe besides these two characters:
Where do I even begin with this character. We do get to see the reason behind her obsession with death, but her masochistic personality can be a little overkill at times. I gotta admit that she gave us arguably the best gambling match in the series, but her character does get a bit annoying in the second season when she goes full blown yandere for Yumeko.
And who can forget the big bad herself
This bitch just an enigma. I've watched this anime and read the manga multiple times and could never get a read on this girl. All we know is that she's the reason for the system and that she knows how to manipulate people from the members of the student council to even the regular students. She's literally the polar opposite of Yumeko on so many levels. The fucked up thing about her is that she sees the academy as an aquarium making her even more difficult to understand.
In the end, you have characters that really make the anime stand out so much that you can't help but find at least one character to like and one to hate.
I knew I was in for an art show with this anime, but I was not expecting the studio behind it to basically hit the ball out of the park. Hell, I had never heard of this series when it first came out until I saw what studio was behind.
For those who are wondering, Kakegurui was produced by MAPPA, the same studio that gave us:
Now the art style that they used is not the same as the original source material, but that doesn't mean that the art style was bad. In fact, it's one of the best looking art style of recent years. The background looks so realistic at times that I thought I was watching the live action series of the same name (I recommend checking that series out, even though it's more on the comedic side). The character designs were just overkill in a good way. The overreactions were so spot on with how the characters react to different moments like the aforementioned confession scene. If you remember Mary and Itsuki's reaction, you see how big their mouths get. I was watching this thinking to myself, "Am I watching an anime version the hit Netflix cartoon Big Mouth?" The overreactions are what fit the series, so I can't really complain.
Then we have the voice acting. Wow, just wow. The voice acting was just amazing Yumeko's voice acting was the best with the English and Japanese dub. I don't know how these make Yumeko sound so damn sexy. I mean, I expect nothing from Saori Hayami, the voice of Miyuki from The Irregular at Magic High Scho and Shinoa from Seraph of the End. But Erica Harlacher really surprised me. For those who don't know, she's the voice of the serious natured Kurapika in Hunter x Hunter. Now that I remember, she was also the voice of my girl Ann Takamaki from Persona 5, so maybe is does make sense. Either way, these two voice actors knew how make Yumeko sweet and caring in one scene and then insane and perverted in another.
Another voice acting role that surprised me was the voice of Ryota both Japanese and English. First, Tatsuya Tokutake's voicing in the Japanese dub was well-done. This guy is a brand new voice actor, so I'm amazed that he can pull off his character so well. This kid has got some talent, so I'm looking forward to what he does next. Then there's Griffin Burns in the English dub. This is another voice actor that surprised me from another relatively new voice actor. He's already making a name for himself after getting an award for best Breakthrough Role and Actor of the Year. For those who don't know who Griffin Burns is, he voiced Akira Fudo in Devilman Crybaby.
To be honest, I think the English dub has the Japanese dub beat in this retrospect. Netflix chose the right people. You got Erica Mendez (voice of Raphtalia in the English dub of The Rising of the Shield Hero) voicing Itsuki and the iconic Michelle Ruff (voice of Yuki Nagato from The Melancholy of Haruhu Suzumiya) voicing Kirari. I expect nothing less from these voice actors, and I look forward to what they do next.
Then we have the OST. The soundtrack was amazing for the show. It knew how to set the mood for every scene. If there's an intense scene, then expect the music to be either make it hard for you to breathe or make your heart race. If there's a light-hearted scene, then expect the music to put you at ease. In laymen's terms, it gives you that intense gambling sensation like you want to take a risk. The OP and ED themes are very fitting for the series with their catchy and fast-paced tones, but it's not the greatest. It's not really something that you can just listen to without watching the show, but it's not a bad thing. It just fits the show.
All in all, MAPPA hit the ball out of the park with the animation and sound, but I wouldn't really call it a Grand Slam.
f I had to compare to compare the two seasons, then season one would be the best out of the two. Season 2 had a very good start showing each of the characters' development, but it's ending was very anticlimactic, and it felt like the development they had was just thrown out the window. Even so, this series is this generation's Kaiji. I look forward to what they do with this series, because it deserves more seasons, and if they announce another season, then I hope MAPPA comes back and deliver on what they do everytime.
If I had to give each season an individual rating, season 1 would be "GODLY!!", And season 2 would be "A One-Time Watch"
In the end, I can say that Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler (both seasons overall) is...
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