This gambling anime is one of the most beloved anime for many critics on this site, because of its unique concept and engaging story. The focus of the anime was the Psychological part of the game and provide a Thrilling experience for the viewers. The Games on the other hand engages a wider audience with its simple rules, but the simplicity is also exactly why it turned out to be the most disappointing anime I have watched. But before I talk about the games in this anime, I will talk about...
Characters: Itou Kaiji, the MC. A typical loser. He does nothing productive as he drinks all day, and he hates his own life. Until one day he has to pay a huge debt. But instead he chose to join an underground gambling tournament for a chance to win big and bring life into his emptiness. Unlike other GAME anime MCs who are overpowered, Itou Kaiji is rather balanced. He at times cracks under pressure and at time embrace it. So watching him play is very entertaining because it is hard to know what will happen next.
The other "gamers" showcases how their motives change depending on the situation, and they contributes well to the psychological parts of the game. They were keys at changing Kaiji as a person, as he learns more from them throughout the series.
The villain Hyoudou, is a sadist who spouts nonsensical philosophy. When talking about philosophy, in my opinion it should be somewhat realistic, which is not the case here. Also he was supposed to be portrayed as a mastermind, but instead he is portrayed as a one trick pony. So he is a miss.
Police? They never showed up in this anime... But I guess an anime shouldn't be taken too seriously.
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Story:
As I said before, all the games had very simple rules. But arc 1 was well done because there were still strategies in the game itself. In the 2nd half it went downhill, and it is hard to talk about why I was not impressed without dissecting one of the games played.
So here comes the spoiler: One of the games played in the anime was Slave vs. King. It is a two player game where there are 10 cards in total. Player A and B take turns to change their role of Slave and King. If the player is a Slave, the player gets four citizen cards and a Slave. If the player is a King, the player gets four citizen cards and a King.
King > Citizen > Slave > King. Both players place one card face down until they agree to reveal it. If Citizen and Citizen, it is a draw and the game continues. If King and Citizen, the King wins and game ends. If Slave and King, the Slave wins and game ends.
It makes no differences between a blind man and a normal person playing this game. Either way 80% win for King and 20% win for Slave. So if anyone ever analyzes how they were able to beat someone in this game, it is crap. There is no strategy in this game, and any explanation for how they won this game could work.
The plot twists were well placed, and it was a breath taking experience for me, except the last four episodes. The game played in the last four episodes was too simple and everything Kaiji said were obvious and unimpressive.
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Art & Sound:
The art style fit well with the theme because the overall tone is dark and depressing. I am not an expert on art style but hey, it is produced by Madhouse. The voice acting was well done, especially the narrator, he hypes up every moment in the anime! The tone for OP was upbeat and the ED was depressing, I did not like it but that is just my music taste.
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Personal enjoyment:
Itou Kaiji was entertaining and the most frustrating character to watch, everyone is flawed but his mistakes were too silly, and I dislike people who make dumb decisions (Myself included). First half still had a lot of surprising and memorable moments and then second half happened. Much of the disappointment were my own fault, because I had way too high of expectations. But as much as I disliked the show, it is still about gambling and I was a Facebook poker addict so I enjoyed most of it.
Grading:
Story 5/10, Art 8/10, Sound 7/10, Character 7/10, Enjoyment 6/10, Overall 6/10
I disliked it but I recommend this anime to anyone who has not seen it yet.
