I don’t think I need to apologize for liking this piece of shit. I just don’t. I walked into this series decided to swallow it dry like bitter medicine, nose shut, just so that I could finally get rid of all the signs and the imagery and the cosplay and the horny dogs who would constantly try to lure me into watching Kakegurui. I mean, it is just so fucking flashy. That gorgeous (though seemingly plain at first, with her flat black hair and 2nd gen kpop bangs) main character that is Jabami Yumeko draws your eye. The show doesn’t play a lot with a range of colours but it explores the arguably most exciting ones, constantly finding ways to present blacks and reds in fancy fashion. And you can’t help but wonder what the fuck is up with those sparkling killer bloodshot red eyes of her on the promo pics. At least I wanted to know. But I wanted to hate it immediately, and I dove into it wearing a passion for hate-watching on my sleeve and my god, I still enjoyed it so much. I think.
And I’ll admit, it is a dumb show. It is a full exercise of futility and absurdity and it is seasoned with so many dumb tropes I hate to watch on anime: immense amounts of money that lose meaning after only a few zeroes; cute girls doing cute things, but they are actually evil psychopaths; a school that has no actual classes and works under a “system” that is just literal crime but for some reason it runs smoothly; a completely unnecessary male main character that is deeply involved in every single event of the show but can never seem to understand what is actually going on right in front of his stupid eyes; gorgeous faces being twisted into looking like that titan who ate Eren’s mother because, you know, bad people are ugly... you get the gist. However, what bothers me is that even when using such formulaic and offensive elements, Kakegurui is shy. It doesn’t dive all the way into the madness or the creepiness or even the high sexuality of it; in fact, after the initial bang of proposing the absurd that kneads the story, it gets a little stale. It’s nowhere near as edgy, dramatic or aggressive as I think was the intent of it. It’s not all-in on any of the elements that could make it so. However, even being dim and dumb, it is entertaining and often even a lot of fun. The show chooses not to take itself too seriously, probably acknowledging that it is a silly effort, which allows us to turn from cringe hate-watching to guilty pleasure indulgence.
But I think what kept me going the most during the season was the fact that I could hear a cry of criticism far in the distance. Somewhere in there, deep down, I believe there is a play on capitalism and its values. The show presents itself through the point of view of a maniac who gets her psychological and sexual release from risking everything in a gamble, even while she constantly denounces that each of the games designed for the gambles are fake and rigged. All the rich and powerful student gamblers are presented confidently and arrogantly until the moment their facade is exposed and they are faced with real risk of losing. I think this could have been an attempt to present capitalists as scammers who will boast about their skill and prowess until it is revealed that they would not be able to live their jolly good lives if not through lies and exploitation of others (represented by the “pet system”); not only that, but they will howl and growl about the rules of society and how everybody should be able to afford to play the game, all the while being overwhelmed when faced with the presence of someone who actually believes in this system and its dangers. Yumeko is a fine representation of the ideal capitalist, one with infinite resources and no morals or remorse, only a neverending hunger for more, and she is met by all (well, except for the dense, unnecessary male main character) with panic and disgust. That was the underlining meaning I was able to find among the moans, fan service and the ugly faces of Kakegurui.
In conclusion: I was right in believing beforehand that Kakegurui was a silly, exaggerated and kinda pointless show, but I was wrong in believing I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it, have fun with it or even draw something to reflect upon watching it. It made me crave for the next episode even if only to find out what the fuck they were going to do with all that hot mess... which is way more than I could have asked anyway.
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