Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa

Aaaaaah the refreshing feeling of watching something good and original!!

That's what I felt watching Tonegawa's anime. Despite one or two disposable episodes towards the end, the series as a whole is quite fun and well done, I'm not just talking about fluid animation, the story has its highlight here.
The episodes are always based on extremely original little adventures, whether from the Tonegawa saga or another character, with jokes that make you laugh out loud. It's silly without being stupid. It's very cool.

Tonegawa will never be forgotten and his legend is immortalized in this wonderful 24 episode anime!

Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa is a parody done right. It succeeds where many don't, keeps us continuously engaged with fresh humour and day-to-day lives of TEAI member lives and most importantly Tonegawa. This review will contain minor spoilers. You have been warned.

Story - 8

The story is very simple and works as a prequel to Kaiji (even though it isn't canon, but this reviewer sees it as canon). It's set several months before the battle on the ship of hope, Espoir. Tonegawa is tasked with assembling a diabolical game and he endeavors to do that with his team.
The shenanigans that result from that point on are incredible. ... From Tonegawa trying to discern who is who in his team, to some genuine life lessons (what is flash mob, what is a pyramid scheme, how to manage a team and so) Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa manages it all.
At some times it switches to the life of Foreman Ootsuki and further world builds the underground of the Kaiji universe, but the episodes feel weaker than Tonegawa's.
Nonetheless it is very enjoyable.

Art - 7

Kaiji's art was never the thing I fawned much about. It was neither great nor horrible to me, just enjoyable. It adds uniqueness to the world and it faithfully stays true to the artstyle. The physical metaphors are as always, amazing.

Sound - 8

The opening song is just plain amazing. It is so simple and catching and makes this reviewer dance along. It mashes really well with the general tone of the story and the particular circumstance in which music is used.

Character - 9

To me these were the absolute stars of the show. Tonegaw, Ootsuki, the men in black, even Hyoudo and some other side characters are really nicely developed. They stay in character (I see you men in black with your glasses), their personalities are all pleasant and realistic, but the star of the stars is, and always will be, Tonegawa. He is simply amazing. I came from Kaiji hating his guts and this show made me LOVE the character. The only mishap to me was Seijo (the casino owner) who got on my nerves too much and the woman in black. Her plotline with one of the men on the team and lack of screentime made her feel undeveloped and took away some of my enjoyment.

Enjoyment - 8

Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa is simply put amazing, I love it, I'd watch it any time, the narrator really made me laugh, and the english was also amazing. Would recommend to a friend.

For overall rating Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa gets a well-deserved 8!

I like a five-star rating system rather than 10 stars, so a four really means a two and that means that I thought this anime was ok, but I don't think I would recommend it to other people.

I wanted to watch this because I thought it would be a deeper exploration into Tonegawa as a character and the rest of the Teiai organization. In a way I got that, and I wasn't opposed to it being a comedy series, but it just was not as fulfilling as I thought it would be. I don't mind the artstyle but it just doesn't look as good as ... the other series, it references the Kaiji series too much, the narrator (announcer, really) can be too much, and there isn't much that goes into how the characters and corporation really tick in a deeper way. Having good comedy would make up for that, but it was ok for me, definitely some laughs, but not amazing.

The last episode sums up the series, not coming to any real conclusion, but referencing Kaiji a lot and ending on a half-decent joke. It's alright for people who want to see more of this world of Kaiji, even with less ruthlessness, but it really feels like a published fan series, which it basically is. It's not so bad, but take it for what it's worth.