Kakegurui Twin

Before going into Review;
"Kakegurui Twin" is pretty stand alone.
You don't really have to watch the main series to understand what's happening here. Also, it's incomplete.

Though Kakegurui only had 2 seasons, I didn't wanted to watch given the slightly mixed reception it got and some scenes I watched on YT made me wonder if gambling is really the point of the show. But I was still curious to see what made Kakegurui one of the popular gambling anime as it is so I checked Twin and.. I have some mixed opinions.

The story follows "Saotame Mary" in Hyakkaou Academy where not a single day passes without someone ... in school loosing their shit. Money, virginity, dignity, anything can be a prize and nothing matters in this school, as long as it's an end result of gambling. What makes this is even more f-ked up is that "cheating is allowed", which is the biggest problem here. Because when you allow cheating, you're basically distinguishing the characters, not based how intelligent they are but based on how stupid they are. The moment you hear a character inner monoluging about their plan as an attempt to hook the viewer, it pretty much tells why the said character will end up ridiculed later down the game, and this basically what happens through out this Anime and so it does in many of these kind of Anime that have been lately popular. Now one would argue, "Well, Kaiji also does the same thing" for which I agree. Kaiji becomes predictable but there's an underlying theme in Kaiji, which what makes it a great psycological Anime, and one Twin didn't had. That is;

"GAMBLING IS FUCKED"
Kaiji draws you into its gambles, mainly because it constantly reminds you why gambling is so fucked and it takes a realistic approach to do it. Kakegurui Twin doesn't have this. Most of the 'Gambling' part went into its mind games complexity which I applaud for but it doesn't work either because if you remember correctly, "Cheating is a-OK". The reason I repeat this is because the show repeats this too. "No one said [insert convenient loophole in rule], so you lose/win", that's the underlying structure of all explanations at the end of every game but it does have some interesting character antiques to look forward to. The underlying theme in Kakegurui Twin is just "Gambling is fun, and hot-crazy-yurified chicks are cool", that's basically it. But, Is Twin a bad show?

With all my rambling about why Twin don't hold a candle towards my favourite Anime makes it seem like I'm hating the show, which I don't because "Kakegurui Twin" is definitely a fun show. As I said, its underlying theme is "Fun with crazy Anime girls" and it does that part great. As over the top as it is, it is confident in its mind game elements, and it does with style. MAPPA trademark visual flair can be found in it's Jazzy opening, absolutely bop of an ending and the over the top characters does their job to deliver the fun you want to see. I personally thought characters weren't bad, they're pretty one dimensional except Mary, who's two dimensional (Wow, who would've guessed your waifu is 2D xD) and the whole Yuri element is.. well, it is charming, except *that* pet, if you know what I mean.

Want to watch some CGDCG (Cute girls doing crazy gambling) with some Yuri in the mix?
Well, this is for you.

- - SPOILER FREE - -
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Kakegurui twin was easily the best entry in the series. As a whole, Kakegurui twin focuses on Mary Saotome as a First-year student at Hyakkaou Academy accompanied by her friend Tsuzura Hanatemari. This is a Canon prequel to the main Kakegurui series.

Animation:
The team was guided by Mappa and Netflix, and to be honest, the animation was a bit better simplified in Twin.
The opening animation was by far my favorite in terms of looks. The color scheme, the matte look, it all looked really nice and pleasing. The ending animation was also very satisfying with its pastel colors and ... smooth frames. They tried lip-syncing again as they tried in the opening in Kakegurui XX, and this time it actually works and doesn't look uncanny/creepy. Although, I was not a fan of the chibis that represent Mary and Tsuzura. They look like something out of Disney, which displeased me A LOT. Altogether, I'm going to give the animation a 7/10.

Music:
The Background / Accompanying music had a substantial upgrade in Twin compared to the other entries. I don't know why, or how it got better, but it somehow fit the themes of the show and sounded very pleasing. The opening was much simpler, High tempo Jazz just like OP 1 of Kakegurui, but no lyrics. I saw that many people did not like the change of no lyrics, but I personally enjoyed it! I do wish that the opening was a bit longer, but all-in-all it was a very nice opening. The ending was also very enjoyable. Queens Bluff by i☆Ris fit perfectly with the theme of the show and the pastel ending. With the upbeat tempo and bright melodies, this song was perfect for the animation. I wouldn't say this is the best ED in the series (lay-on-the-line is literally perfect) but it comes in at an EXTREMELY close second. I'd say that the music is a 9.5/10.

Story:
To keep this review Spoiler-Free I am going to keep this section short. The story was very solid for a six-episode anime. The first five episodes made perfect sense and even was better than the main Kakegurui series. The ending to the story though, not quite. This ending felt rushed. It did fit as a prequel and did end the story well, but still felt rushed and required a bit of brainpower to understand. Overall, I'm going to give the story an 8/10.

Character Design:
Oh my god. Ten out of fucking ten. Mary was so much better designed than how she was in the main series, her friends Tsuzura and Yukimi also seemed like amazing friends, and had really good development. What's also really good is that villains Like Inui and Aoi were perfect villains and just pissed you off in the right areas. Mary's character development also was really good, towards the end of the anime she seemed like her true self, just like in the main Kakegurui seasons. 10/10.

I give Kakegurui Twin a 9/10. Easily the best in the series.

So let’s start by stating this anime is entirely a stand alone, you do NOT need to watch the original series to enjoy the story, however it is fun to see the characters again in a new fashion. I really really enjoyed this after watching the main series some years ago. However I was a little disappointed in the lack of true “psychological terror” that was really prevalent in the main series. I personally feel that this is what gives the series it’s charm, since it’s so few and far between that you see something like that. However, there was still some very interesting gambling ... events that made you think.

I wanna talk a bit about the characters. I really enjoy seeing a deeper side to Mary’s story since it’s so brief when we encounter her in the main series. I like how they’ve made her more dynamic, starting her off when she was just at the school and beginning her first gamble. Tsuzura gave me those typical big chested not so bright vibes, but she was certainly cute and very devoted to helping Mary achieve her dreams. Trying to keep this spoil free so I won’t move into any other characters aside from those immediately introduced.

I really love the modern edge given to the art style as well! It all looks very sharp and dynamic. It’s a nice change of pace from some of the less detailed animes out there right now. And it’s on Netflix, an easy place to find a quick watch. Six episodes makes that easy too!

I think this series is interesting if you’re looking to have a little bit of a taste of the original show without the determination to sit down and watch the entire main series. It covers a lot of the interesting points of what makes Kakeguri interesting, and is amusing to watch since it’s short and sweet. I however recommend watching the main series for the thrills and terror that really makes this entire show pop. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it takes a lot for me to hate an anime so take my review with a grain of salt and watch it for yourself!

There is no such thing as gambling anime.

In reality, shows people refer to as “gambling anime” are simply shonen battle anime with gambling characteristics - entertainment where the stories are all based around various characters resolving their conflicts with each other; only in these shows it’s not about superhuman martial arts masters or kids with superpowers fighting each other; but regular-ass human beings contriving more and more ways to play games of logic against each other, for the purpose of whatever plot-relevant stakes at hand at any given moment. Collective aesthetic dissimilarity, then, is what drives people to proclaim works like these to be in ... a separate genre; but it’s best to regard them as fundamentally no different from your Dragon Balls, your Attacks on Titan, your Chainsaw Men; or even your Revolutionary Girls Utena or Kills la Kill; because it gives you a much better understanding of the plot mechanics these works utilize to entertain you, but also a much broader range of comparison between works, to understand WHY these stories work.

Once you consider these stories not as part of a separate group of things that came out of nowhere but things with a lineage; you get to see what influences their creators had and where their ideas came from. All of which is to say that, generally, gambling anime are stories with the foundations of shonen battle manga with the mechanics of classical whodunnit murder mysteries thrown on top of them; except in these works the murder is turned into a game that the detective needs to win, and “figuring out the murderer by gathering evidence and deducing what happened” becomes “figuring out the true mechanics of the game/the moves the other player is making/the method the opponent uses to cheat by examining the game’s rules and the opponent’s actions and winning the game”. They are shonen battle stories because the protagonist faces a continuous stream of villains of ever-growing threat level; but they work like detective novels in that there is no violence and confrontations aren’t decided by who can overpower whom with whatever magic powers they have, but rather who can outsmart the other. It’s just that “gambling” is the best word we have so far to convey “murder mystery without the murder”; and “outsmarting” as a genre name sounds stupid.

I’m explaining all of this upfront because I need you to believe me when I tell you that one of the primary reasons to watch Kakegurui Twin, the prequel series to its parent series Kakegurui; is because its main character, Saotome Mary, is one of the greatest, most unique shonen anime protagonists of all-time.

So; Kakegurui. It’s that super popular cartoon series about all the kids of Japan’s rich and powerful going to the same elite high school to make connections with each other and definitely get into college, where all the kids are forced into playing gambling games with each other to win more money, because if they don’t have any, they become the slaves of the kids who do have money, to do whatever bidding they have. It’s a unique-enough setting and setup which even makes room for anti-capitalist messaging (if Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is the most libertarian anime ever made, this franchise is by far the most incidentally socialist), but more importantly it’s the perfect foundation for the utterly unique structure with which it tells its shonen battle manga plot, most of which structure is replicated in this spinoff series to a fantastic degree. As stated before, Kakegurui Twin is the prequel to mainline series Kakegurui: a one-off villain turned secondary protagonist in the main story, this prequel stars Saotome Mary, fresh-faced working class first year high school student looking to make it big in the elite high school she studied and lucked herself into attending alongside all the rich kids; forced to partake alongside her friends in a series of gambling games against rich and powerful students within the school in order to keep herself out of what is essentially human slavery.

If you watched Kakegurui and its sequel series (or read the manga) and liked it enough to even be reading a review about its spinoff, rest assured that all the things that make Kakegurui what it is are found just as well here. A student somehow forces the main character to take part in a gamble, which if the main character lost would mean her becoming a slave to the school’s system, but the main character figures out how the game REALLY works/figures out how the opponent is cheating, uses the game’s mechanics/the opponent’s cheating methods against the opponent, the main character wins; the opponent cries, rinse and repeat until the end credits of the last episode whereupon you beg Netflix for another season on Twitter until the story is complete; but it’s the way this is done and everything around it that makes Kakegurui Twin utterly compelling and wildly entertaining (just like its progenitor).

First, there are the gambles. These are not your everyday games that you would play in a casino (not that the kids in this school aren’t shown to be playing exactly those games all the time), but rather wholly unique and original games thought up exclusively for this story by original author Kawamoto Homura! You have your card and board games, sure; but nothing of its kind can touch Kakegurui when it comes to variety! This is a series where characters’ fates depend upon succeeding in games based on things as wildly diverse as speed dating and cryptic scavenger hunts! Every single one of these games has their rules explained in detail, and the show goes to great lengths to explain, step-by-step, every last decision made by every character involved in the game, oftentimes as a big dramatic reveal at the end. If you are smart enough, you can figure out the way to beat the game alongside Mary in real-time, but even if you aren’t, the explanations given at the end are always 100% purely logical - you can rewatch an episode after finding out how to beat it and see every character’s actions in a brand-new light! (And unlike certain other shows in the same vein, games here are far shorter than four real-life hours.)

Then there is Kakegurui Twin’s supporting cast. Let’s not mince words: the Kakegurui franchise as a whole has one of the greatest casts of characters in anime history, and Kakegurui Twin’s cast is no exception. Internal monologue is the name of the game here (hehe); as not only are these used to explain what happens in the game, rather the games themselves are used as reflections of the characters participating in them! This allows the runtime to provide incredibly vivid and detailed insights into the personalities of these characters! There is barely a single throwaway named character in Kakegurui: every character in the series has his/her own unique view of the world, unique ideology, unique desires and unique relationship to every other member of the cast; and these relationships are in constant flux! Every single game is posed as a psychological battle between characters; where their entire personalities and worldviews are pit against Saotome Mary; and every game is mined for every last shred of possible characterization, be it a deep dive into one of the characters’ personality and beliefs, as reflected through their actions in games, or the character development that comes after a game is over. What puts it over the top is that, like I said, this is not a story about superpowered characters, these are regular kids who live the same lives as you and I do. And because we spend so much time with them during the games; because we are privy to every last one of their thoughts and feelings; few anime make the viewer so empathetic towards its characters as Kakegurui! From childhood friend Hanatemari Tsuzura’s unwavering admiration of Mary, to Mikura Sado’s sexual submission and unending idolization of principal villain Juraku Sachiko (an overbearing, domineering, sadistic presence matched by few other characters), you FEEL for these kids, their triumphs, their despair, their desperation! And because these kids ultimately have to still go to the same school once their conflict is over, you get to watch what happens to them in the aftermath! Other series have used this kind of device to have a recurring cast of villains before; that is true. But none of those series had a cast of characters this dynamic, none of those series make the viewer want to see what happens to the characters THIS much! When you start watching Kakegurui Twin, you think the main draw of the series is getting to see the games play out, once it’s drawn you in, you understand that what keeps you coming back is that you want to see what happens to EVERYBODY in this story!

Finally; Saotome Mary. As I said, she is one of the greatest, most unique shonen protagonists of all-time. Other main characters facing similar challenges all have an intrinsic quality to them that is commonly associated with positive qualities. They’re generally protective of others, love adventure and having a friendly fight, they never give up and always trust their friends. They are never shown to have any vices, and even the very notion of them having any interest in the opposite sex tends to be verboten (stories like these never allow a main character to have any kind of sexuality). You know the type; you’ve seen a million shonen anime with main characters like this by now (at least it’s better than the milquetoast non-entities of the isekai genre). Even within its similar group of stories; as far as main characters go, Madarame Baku of Usogui fame is the smartest man in the world who has everything planned out years in advance, and Itou Kaiji of… Kaiji wins because of his indomitable will to survive. Even in the main Kakegurui series, protagonist Jabami Yumeko’s sole character flaw is her compulsive addiction to gambling; and even that is shown as mostly being a danger to herself as opposed to others.

Saotome Mary’s strength comes from the pride she takes in herself.

Throughout the series, Saotome Mary’s triumphs come not from a will to defend others, not from a need to save the world or all else is lost, not even out of desperate self-preservation, but simply from an utter and absolute refusal to bow to her enemies! In every gesture, in every frame, in every line of dialog, the audience gets the sense that this is a woman with infinite self-regard, who’s ingenuity, daring, inventiveness and brilliance stems out of her single-minded dedication to the idea that she. Will. Not. Lose. This is a character who becomes a gambling genius out of pure spite against people who think they’re smarter than her and want to fuck her over! Yet she never succumbs to petty sadism like her enemies, her infinite self-confidence is always secondary to her sense of righteousness! Where, if you were a villain, other battle manga protagonists would, after defeating you, offer you a helping hand and give you a speech about how you can turn over a new leaf and be a good person from now on; in Kakeguru Twin, Saotome Mary will publicly dress you down, utterly destroy your ego, call you a bitch, and essentially dare you to quit being a bitch! She will get you to start getting character development and become a better person through the sheer power of what can only be called weaponized smugness!

It’s this sense of tempered ruthlessness that makes Saotome Mary stand out as one of the all-time great lead characters in anime. Whether it's her thinking hard about her next move in order to make it in her school, whether it's her being upset and exasperated over what the school does to it's students, or when she is panicking over betrayal, this is a woman impossibly admirable, yet more human and more relatable than most other lead characters in the entire medium; an absolute showstopper of a performance that few will ever forget! Here's a comparison that you will probably understand: Imagine if Seto Kaiba from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series was gender swapped and given a show to star in, defeating villains who have no idea who they are messing with, and you will know what Kakegurui Twin is like.

(Special mention must go to other principal villain Mibuomi Aoi; possibly the scariest, most horrifying sociopath in anime; a terrifying piece of shit who you get the sense doesn’t even live in reality, and only begrudgingly treats the people around him as humans because they’re easier to order around that way; one of the greatest anime villains, period.)

And of course, the entire thing is gorgeous. The series trademark of making the characters faces extremely distorted and ugly in order to portray their deranged emotions on screen remains, but so much of this thing is infused with so much style, so many different styles of filmmaking and animation is used all throughout the show. The music is still the same freeform jazz, so that's still a plus. And in general, the drawings are superbly beautiful, and Dolby Vision gives the series top notch image quality.

That is to say: Kakegurui Twin is more Kakegurui. It's one of the absolute best things on TV today, adapted from one of the absolute best things on shelves today; a new perspective and fresh addition to a group of the most enthralling characters you've ever seen. The only reason the overall rating is a 9 is because the story is not finished yet (this will be amended eventually, lesz the world should perish prior); but trust me: this thing is a fucking masterpiece!

I really have mixed feelings for this one.
I am actually a fan of animes with this kind of themes + I've watched the two seasons of kakegurui itself. Mary Saotome is a well-written character though she isn't my favourite of this anime.
The art of this ONA isn't up to expectations as the only decent looking character is Mary. The OPs and EDs were good though.
For enjoyment I will give it a 7. There were some twists and cute scenes that can match up to the main story itself.
So yep XD a 7. If you like Mary ... Saotome a lot and you want to watch animes under this genre, you should watch it.

Kakegurui Twin is certainly different in terms of plot and mood set up in this show in comparaison with the main Kakegurui show, but it gives a refreshing breath to the series. The ''dark'' mood and the psychological distress we know from the main show is softer in Twin but it still has its intriguing and entertaining side with dynamics games and the relationship between the different characters.

Regarding the quality of this anime itself, several aspects can be highlighted here. The animation style is different from the main series but stays clean and detailed. The OSTs are nice and some of them are just jamming. ... The VAs did a great job, which isn't a surprise with that whole series.

For people who are saying that Twin doesn't worth it just because Yumeko is not here, Mary genuinely carries this show and the way she is represented here makes that character even more likable now than in the main series.

Of course, only 6 episodes is frustrating but we're talking about a manga spin-off that got an anime adaptation, which is pretty rare. Mappa got several projects and Twin maybe wasn't the main priority but it is obvious that they still put effort into this show, which is in their honor.

It's classic kakegurui. Some of the gambles were not as well designed as those in kakegurui imo, but it still follows the same kind of format, same suspense, same satisfaction at watching these girls overturn seemingly impossible odds. Plus, mary best girl. If you enjoyed the main anime series, and want more of the same taste, then you'll get it here. i would say most of the side characters are quite one-dimension, it has your typical submissive "i-would-give-my-life-to-you" sidekick, but for me it was worth it just to see mary prevail and outwit those that went against her. it was great to see her get ... to where she was in kakegurui.

Kekegurui, an anime that used to pop off around the late 2010’s but now its public reputation is basically summed up as that “dat one anime with the weird faces and the poker”

No wait that's Kaiji.

Kakegurui is the one and only anime that I know is not worth defending ,but I do it anyway. I know it's not a great show.But what bothers me is that it could be great. But it trips over itself a lot. And the OVA, Kakegurui Twin,I was excited for,but then it turned out……mmmm alright. It didn’t suck necessarily. I think it does some tiny little things here and there ... better than its parent story,but goddammit.

STORY
What really sucks about this OVA is that it doesn’t do a good job of proving that Kakegurui can be good, if that makes any sense. I know one in every 3 anime watchers hate this show, and that is valid,can’t argue about it. But what sucks is that Kakegurui has soooooooooooo soooooooooooooooo much potential to be a great series. Some think that it’s just yuribait fanservice with kookie faces, and they aren't wrong. But they basically write the show off as just that while myself sees certain aspects about its worldbuilding, aesthetic, and characters that feel like breeding ground for something interesting. I love how Hyyakkaou Private Academy feels like a miniature version of the real world,where the rich basically have control over everything and the poor are deprived of their human rights and bodily autonomy.The fact that all of this is based around gambling as well shows that all humans are equal in the eyes of Lady Luck.However, some students are so desperate to win at all costs that they use tactics to win either by straight up cheating, or using psychological taunts. And what makes it interesting is when they try to figure this stuff out. And I think this set up leaves some strong characters,they arent the most well written,but their personalities are so warped and fucked up because of this predatory social class that the school perpetuates.And not to mention the antagonists in Kakegurui are so alluring and captivating.They’re the type of characters that can only work in anime. I say this because I watched a little of the live action adaptation and I almost died of cringe faster than you can say Rudeus Greyrat.The downside to all of Kakegurui’s elements are that they feel like a tease.Its like a fancy pinata that is eye catching,but when you cut it open, its just hollow paper.

What Kakegurui needs desperately is a story, a story with stakes, and balls;a story that has the same amount of weight that backs up how dramatic the show acts.Its not like the writer doesn't have the competence needed to write because they sat down and planned out these convoluted as hell games. This season literally has a speed dating gambling game and it is ridiculous.But for some reason in this season along with the others, the story is just not up to par with everything else. S1 was just worldbuilding watching Yumeko walk around gambling with people, S2 tried to have a plot about a race to take the student council position but then it shits the bed by diving into different story arcs entirely,and while the story in this OVA is more cohesive than the others. Dude,come on, the story is basically Mary trying to secure the rights to some gambling den and joining some club. Its really lame tbh for something like Kakegurui. This is a gambling show, I want people to die, I want the mafia to come in, I want these snot nosed students to have actual life or death consequences,Its not like there are adults to stop them or anything.There are a shitton of expendable characters in Kakegurui and in season two the cast literally doubles in size. I WANT YUMEKO TO KILL SOME MOB BOSSES,IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK, HOMURA KAWAMOTO?

ART/ANIMATION/SOUND
On a technical aspect,Kakegurui does a lot of swings and hits, one thing that Kakegurui truly deserves praise for is its direction, the use of camera shots, 3d, and little tricks to play with the audience gives this show "style". Which is one thing I can never fault a show for. This is the type of show that has flashes of brilliance in the little moments. One scene could have some of the most fluid hair and fabric movement for a nanosecond, another scene could be an insane dance sequence. And I am really glad that they use visuals to explain these games and the thought process of each player. And also the staple of the series, the facial expressions, some say they’re kooky, I think they're effective depending on the tone of the scene. Twin is less ambitious, the facial expressions are toned down heavily because I feel like the animator they had for the previous seasons was busy or something. But this season isn't awfully animated,its alright. And the soundtrack of Kakegurui in general is lowkey one of the best anime soundtracks of all time. The most iconic track being "Strange Visage" which is so iconic that its literally labelled as "The track from Kakegurui that you've been searching for". Its one of those soundtracks that make you really think, a sort of controlled chaos with erratic jazz and electronica. And yes the soundtrack invades my study playlist. It fits Kakegurui's vibe so well that it becomes the vibe. And it even gets better in season 2.I can't tell if TWIN has a new soundtrack, but it sounded great nonetheless, goes to show that the best thing about Kakegurui is its soundtrack.

CHARACTERS
There are a lot of Kakegurui characters, but let's be honest, the only one that truly matters is Yumeko, she is bae.
I literally had an entire paragraph about why I like Yumeko but had to cut it out since she isn't even in this season :(. And major bummer because the show could have had a cameo or something to tie all the seasons together but no. And with the protag of the series, Mary. I have no problem with her, she likes to take the piss out of people which is kinda entertaining but she is more “tame” than the other characters and I have to admit her ragtag duo of glasses girl and blue haired girl aren't that exciting to watch. They are basically the Ryouta of this season,but a bit more useful.Now for the antagonist of this series Sachiko Juraku,her character is not well developed but hubba hubba. I’m not the type of guy who falls for anime girls willy nilly,I'm more of a personality rather than looks type of man. But holy shit. I love a girl who is a controlling dominatrix ,and with the red eyes and white flowing hair, woooo weeeee,put a collar around me,master,really embarrassing myself right now,but shit i already typed this, might as well own it. Her house pet SandM girl was an interesting case as well but she isnt as developed as i had hoped. I still enjoyed them because the two bounced off each other like a couple in a trashy porno.Goes to show that character development isn't always necessary, just highly highly highly highly highly recommended if you want your audience to care about things other than looks.

THE KAKEGURUI CREATOR IS WEIRD LOL
I don't know, at this point I probably should just call Kakegurui a mediocre franchise and be done with it but honestly…….I can’t. There is still something about it that allures me and it has so much potential. I just want a better story, But I doubt i'll get that because the creator is too busy making either card game anime, isekai manga, or isekai manga with card games in them. Speaking of them, I need to mention their portfolio of works,because its hilarious.This creator has a thing with card games, They were the creator of that Build Divide card game show no one cares about, and there's an upcoming anime called High Card that is about, you guessed it, card games,but the twist is that the cards have supernatural powers or something lmao.There is also that controversy where they made an isekai that ripped off real characters from other works in such a way that it felt like personal attacks against other authors,and it got to a point where the author had to apologize and the series was canceled. This is probably the funniest controversy I have seen online so far lololol.But moral of the story,the creator doesn’t have the time of day for this series anymore. They treat Kakegurui like their bastard child, ignoring them,focusing on their new children, and planning to send them to the wall when they get the chance. Sadly Kakegurui can never be the Lord of Winterfell because it's Kakegurui.

ENJOYMENT?
And as a mild supporter-not really a fan- of this series,I feel like defending this show is like a dog trainer in a circus trying to get the dog to do a trick but it just sits there and I just yell at the audience being like “ Just you wait, it's gonna do something amazing,just you wait!”. I don’t know how long this delusion can last,but each year I kinda feel the intrigue of Kakegurui fading away,and this OVA,while not terrible, does little to take me back to those days where Kakegurui was a fresh and exciting face in the world of anime.

Damn, well this was a pleasant surprise. Typically, when you have a canon spin-off like this, you expect it to be fun, but nothing too special. Perhaps more of the same, but with a bit of a twist. Kakegurui Twin definitely fits the latter description, but it surpassed my expectations in many ways. So much so, I'm just gonna say it - I enjoyed this a bit more than the main series and my scores reflect that!

So how does Twin differ from the rest? Well, firstly it delivers on much of what makes Kakegurui in general appealing. Very high stakes gambling with a ton of ... tension, very wild characters, expressive visuals and terrifice voice acting. However, it has some aspects that I definitely like more.

For starters, the characters are way more...sane. I know that sounds weird, but if you know Kakegurui, you know what I mean. First of all, the absolute nutcases like Yumeko and Kirari aren't here yet, so that alone drops the insane-o-meter by several points. Besides that, Mary is as cerebral as any other key player, but has clear intentions and understandable goals, which makes you understand her much better and even root for her. She shows an unexpected amount of sympathy and compassion and the cast of likeable supporting characters manage to bring the best out of her. Even Sachiko, the de facto main villain of this story, is definitely cruel, but still in a reasonable and engaging way. The main Kakegurui story is like watching a car crash - it's euphoric mayhem that may end up costing lives, but it's an entrancing spectacle so you just cannot look away. Meanwhile, Twin is a more classic underdog story, the average but clever girls stepping into the lion's den and challenging the ones at the top.

The moments of outsmarting also felt even more satisfying here. I can't quite put it down, but it almost felt as if the gambles were more like puzzles to be solved. They were very difficult, sure, but a solution exists if you're clever enough to find it. They felt more like intellectual challenges rather than the outlandish death games that they were portrayed as in the main series. The gambles also made sense and the stakes were high, but were also more real and had clearer consequences. It wasn't just different people flexing their wealth or their lack of concern for their own well-being or that of others, the characters gambled because they had specific goals and winning these games was necessary to achieve those goals. The crossing of these different ambitions is also a major driving force behind the conflicts in this story.

Also, one more sidenote, the music in this series was the best in my opinion, in particular the opening and ending.

So overall, this was a really nice surprise for me. It's really enjoyable from top to bottom and I highly recommended. Honestly, I was just bummed out that it was so short, this definitely had the potential to be a full season. Mary definitely makes for a compelling protagonist. Also, I wonder what happened to her in between this and the main story. She's surprisingly kind here but by the time we meet her again, she's become just as cruel and selfish as the others. But, I guess living with bloodthirsty sharks tends to rub off on you and your only choice to not get eaten is to become one of them...

If you want to see if you will like Kakegurui, watch kakegurui twin! It is honestly a good prequel and shows what the show will be like, but is even better. It is also shorter, so if you don't want to commit to double the episodes, this is a good option.

Story - 6
There is more of a story to this than Kakegurui. In Kakegurui, Yumeko basically just goes from person to person gambling with them. But in Twin, Mary has more of a reason to gamble, and we see her develop a bit. We see her character do things other than gamble, which is ... nice to see compared to Kakegurui.
The gambles themselves are also better. There is some "cheating", but the cheats are less annoying and still have a bit of mind games to them. I didn't like the last cheat Mary used, though. I did find that the coupling game "cheat" was a bit hard to understand at first, overall the game could have been explained better so that you understand how the cheat works. But, the cheat for the coupling game was actually smart.
So, in short, the mind games are better in Twin, and there is more of a story instead of just episodic gambling.

Art - 7
I thought the art looked better in this season. Not as much hyper detail on the eyes, but generally more crisp art.

Sound - 4
I didn't like the opening or the ending, and the general soundtrack wasn't as good as the two seasons of Kakegurui, it was just okay.

Characters - 6
In my opinion, Mary is the best character in the whole series. She is smart, but not unrealistically able to solve everything and guess everything right like Yumeko. She also acts realistically and has a likeable personality. She is harsh, but it makes her character fun.
There are two main side characters that are basically Mary's friends. I like them as well, they have actual personality traits and are likeable. We also see how the trio becomes friends, and a part of how they met is used in one of the gambles, showing how this isn't just an episodic anime,

I didn't really like the girl who seems like she is the president and has a housepet on a leash, like what. Just more unrealistic and kind of annoying. But I did think some other side characters were good, like the two girls the trio works with for the coupling game.

Overall, we don't have any characters who are simply unbeatable and always have a trick up their sleeve, which is refreshing. It allows for more realness and more mind games.

Enjoyment - 6
The anime still wasn't amazing. There was still some unrealistic parts, like the fact that they even have a coupling game at this school, like who is paying for this and what the heck are these rules. But it is still kinda fun to watch, especially since the characters are better.

Overall - 6
Not perfect by any means, but it is the best out of the entire series. It actually has a story and some of the best gambling games.

Kakegurui twin is a canon ONA to the main series and it shows Saotome Mary's journey as she first enters the school in her first year and tries to make a name for herself, however since it's a prequel it can be watched as a stand alone since the first episode briefly explains the main twist about the school and the story in general so you won't be lost if you haven't watched the main show. This review will be spoiler free, of course i will need to talk briefly about the story and characters but those will be very surface level and non-spoilery.

Before ... anything let's get the opening and ending out of the way... the opening is purely instrumental but the animations are unique for those interested in that, the ending on the other hand has a pretty good vibe at least in my opinion and animations are similar to the ones on the opening.

Regarding the art and animations the show was made by MAPPA so of course they will be decent at minimum but nothing compared to there main shows like jjk or chainsaw man, this show clearly had less budget and less work put into it wich makes sense since it's a simple 6 episode ONA. It still has a couple of those crazy mocking faces the main show is known for but they seem to be toned down a bit (i didn't read the manga source so purely comparing to main show). Overall no jawdropping animation but nothing you can consider bad either.

Now for the part everyone is probably reading this review the story and characters. For those who did watch the main show they will immediatly notice that Mary's personality is completely diferent she is basically a different character with the same name and design probably to fit better her new role as a main character in this ONA. this change in her personality is a bit hard to get accustomed to but if you don't constantly try and compare the two it probably won't be much of a problem or buzzkill, besides this her new personality as i said fits much better in her new main character role in my opinion and her character is one of the most enjoyable parts of this ONA (obviously for those who watch this ONA as a stand alone and don't watch the main show won't notice this change in Mary's personality so it's one less issue i guess). As for the other characters i will be much quicker to talk about them but here we go: Tsuzura is literally the main character of the main show but waifu version, she is a very weak gambler(in a bambling show) and is just constantly simping for Mary being basically Mary's personnal assistant(just like mc is to yumeko in main show); the other friend is basically a filler character i don't even remember her name; sado is a character with a vendetta towards Mary that simply comes off as extremely annoying; aoi is what i would consider a main antagonist in this show however we the main character doesn't really play against him to "take him down" so the show leaves an unfinished feeling on the viewer; Sakura will be one of Mary's adversaries in the show, basically a standard logical and rule-following character just average all around and not note worthy in my opinion; lastly Sachiko is neither a friend or fow to the main group and is more like a character that wants to watch the world burn, she is basically the character moving in the shadows and setting everything in motion from first to last episode, her character is more unique then the others in my opinion so she stands out but not a complex character by any means. The story i feel was already briefly explained in the intro to this review and throughout each character's brief explanation and i don't intend to go deep into it to not spoil it but basically as i said Mary enters this school where a person she knows from middle school is in her class, that person being Tsuzura, and she helps Mary understand the inner workings of the school, in return Mary decides to befriend Tzusura and help her improve her situation at school.While Mary is trying to gain status at the school she attracts the attention of some members of the student council (mainly Sachiko and Aoi) and the story procedeces with gambling games each episode with different adversaries. The games themselves were much more difficult for the viewer to undrstand at least in my opinion they were still very unique and out of the box just like the main show, but i feel the could've been explained a bit better.

Overall, many viewers seem disappointed in this ONA because they are constantly comparing to the main show wich obviously has much more story to it and feels underwhelming, however if you go to the game without expecting a masterpiece of storytelling and character depth and development then i find the show pretty enjoyable it is not an anime that incentivizes deep thought and is to be enjoyed on a surface level; if you are not an anime watcher that exclusively watches shows with deep story and character development, i can recommend this show as a small enjoyable show that can be easily watched in a single day.

Wagwan! Alexandre desu.

The Plot
Kakegurui Twin is a prequel for the main series and tells the story of Mary Saotome, and how she became one of the most feared players in Hyakkaou Private Academy. It depicts on how she was a transfer and didn't have any rich friend and how she uses her fast thinking to fool the other player during multiple games.

The Cons
The story is abysmal. It is the same formula for every game in this anime. They explain how the game is played, and then they try to fool the viewer to think that Mary was tricked or has fallen for a cheater move, ... and in the end of the game the roles reverse and Mary is a gambling mastermind. That threw me off a bit because it is not relatable, it is not organic. I understand if a player is experienced in a few games, like dice or cards but, she has the knowledge of every game and every bit of information that a new player like her shouldn't have. And then you have lesbian love because Netflix tries to be inclusive every time and a side character that is only used for Mary to win the gambling room and later for the couple's game. There is no connection between the three of them and that is barely spoked about during the episodes.


The Neutral
I don't think there is nothing neutral about this anime because the cons cancel the pros so it became a neutral anime.

The Pros
If every anime had Mappa has a studio and the budget of Netflix, I think every anime would have this type of animation and music. It is fluid, it has motion, and the OST is appropriate for the theme.

The Conclusion
If you liked the parent story, you should watch this. It is the backstory of one of the principal characters. For newcomers, I have mixed feelings because it is an introduction to the main theme of the anime that is gambling and hierarchy status, but I don't think it does enough to appeal and create curiosity to pursue the anime.

imo this is actually the best Kakegurui gets

I think the first season of OG Kakegurui does some things better but Twin is overall a better product.

First, the protagonist.

Yumeko is... fine, but she feels more like a force of nature who loves ~gambling~. In a way, she feels like karmic justice in the form of a marketable waifu.

In Twin, our protagonist is a familiar face in Mary Saotome. This is a prequel (which I have mixed feelings on) so she's not 1:1 with her OG Kakegurui counterpart but she's still Mary Saotome and I just think she's a more dynamic and interesting character.

Speaking of which, she's ... given two buddies who actually contribute to the plot more than "sit here and commentate". Watching these 3 dorks start up a gambling den to help Mary's rise to power is actually pretty cute and fun, I enjoyed it.

I think the cast is overall better. A lot of the more annoying or underutilized characters from OG Kakegurui are gone. Runa's there but she's only really there for one scene and she's not the main focus of it, I like Kaede but he's only namedropped (I also like Itsuki but she's not there either), and Yumemi is gone altogether. Really, the only member of the student council from the OG series that gets any notable screentime is Midari which, based.

She's only really there for foreshadowing, both for her future and a later battle, but she does get a whole gamble to be a part of, which is a significant part when there's, like, 6 games the whole season.

The new characters are pretty intriguing. While I have some gripes with Sachiko and Mikura, I did enjoy their part in this series and I think her dynamic as well as Aoi and Sakura's are pretty interesting concepts.

However, speaking of Sachiko, I don't think she's that engaging of an antagonistic force? I feel like she lives in the shadow of Kirari which goes doubly so when Kirari is literally in the series (albeit as a cameo/shadowy antagonist). She's a bit of a sadist who has an obsessive fascination with the main protagonist and is part of the student council who has a servant who is also obsessively in love with her... this is just Kirari with a less healthy relationship dynamic.

I mean, I guess I liked watching Sachiko and Mikura so it wasn't that big a deal but it's just Kirari and Sayaka again.

How about the games?

I thought they were for the most part good. I think the first and last were the best, the first gave me real good flashbacks to peak Kakegurui and the treasure hunt had a really cool solution.

However, I didn't like the coupling game. It had good psychology behind it but I couldn't get behind it when the looming threat was "are our protagonists gonna have to spread their legs for dudes they don't know, including one who is fat, haha, get it, he's fat, nobody wants to sleep with a fat guy".

On one hand, it's uncomfortable. On the other, it goes back to one of Kakegurui's biggest problems which is they never commit to any significant physical damages. I'm not ASKING for someone to be shot or have their finger cut off or be forced into prostitution but you're the one who keeps making gambles with shit like that on the line and you have lost all credibility with me that you'll carry any of this out.

I also think the ending wasn't very satisfying. I think Kakegurui Twin the manga goes on for, like, 17 volumes and obviously, 6 episodes wouldn't cover that unless they either skipped over a ton of stuff and/or went for like 3 hours each. But, like, no one told you you had to make this. Kakegurui S2 ended on an open note/cliffhanger too, did OG Kakegurui not have enough material to adapt into a season, even a 6 episode one?

I mean, it's not really as cliffhangery as Kakegurui S2 but it just kind of ends with a "and the story continues!" ending which... okay. Part of this is at least handwaved away by it being a prequel but that just raises more questions.

There are 5 or 6 new characters introduced with significant parts to a character who is in OG Kakegurui and they just vanished into thin air? Not to mention one of them is gagging for Mary calling her her prince and Mary's dedicated to helping her escape being a housepet but iirc in S1, we meet Mary using and abusing a housepet?

I'm sure it'll make more sense if I read the manga but just watching Twin and going back to OG Kakegurui S1, it doesn't exactly flow easily into each other.

I think Kakegurui Twin has some glaring problems (weak antagonist, the coupling game, unsatisfying ending) but Twin gets a lot right. The cast is great, the games are fun, and it gives us a more engaging protagonist. Honestly, I kind of wish Twin was the original anime, I'd rather follow Mary and her buddies in OG Kakegurui too.

If you liked Kakegurui OG (particularly Mary) and want to see more, I think it's the best season of Kakegurui. If you didn't like Kakegurui, this probably won't change your mind.

While it is not great, and it is not downright awful. Kakegurui Twin doesn't fully live up to the expectations that the two main animes have had. It feels like a downgrade in some sort of ways, Mary is not strong enough on her own to carry a show even with some supporting characters she has that we have never seen in the two main animes. This stems from the problem, of how her role in the Kakegurui seasons one and two were that of as a supporting character. You can be a fanastic suppoting character, but if you have the lead role and you ... are expected to do more it is not easy. Perception is key, and it was evident from the first two episodes, that this show was going to be a rating of a 5.5 to a 6 for me. Then it hits you with the third and fourth episodes mainly to get it out of being stuck in first gear. Honestly, if this show was made first and had a transition phase of Mary and her character supporting crew I would have felt better about it. The show is ok, but it isn't in the form of hype that it should have been for a better overall presentation.

I loved this show! I’m not sure what other people were looking for when it came to the execution of this show, but I really enjoyed the prequel and how it gave us more insight into the world of Kakegurui. In regards to these “types” of programs I think it would benefit most people to go ahead and read the manga as opposed to watching the anime. It didn’t have as much as of the same eerie shock value that was in the first rendition we were exposed to and that might be the reason why it doesn’t score as high as expected. Our ... protagonist, Mary Saotome, is still shrewd and discerning, but in this prequel you see her as more cooperative, strategic, and adorably doubtful. Something happened between the events of Twin and KKG. Something that made her lose hope, her small belief in justice and humanity, and her complete integration of herself into the system. Someone pointed out to me that in KKG she was holding the flower hair clip that her cute blue-haired friend, Tsuzura, had in Twin. So something must have happened to her between that time to make her become angry and unhinged.
I have only seen the anime so I’m only making a guess here, but I remember a scene in KKG where the little lollipop loli (Runa) told Mary that if she doesn’t shape up then she’s going to receive a Life Plan. A Life Plan is when a student has taken on so much debt that the student council has to create a plan that does essentially bail you out, but you’ll be paying a grave personal price. Runa told Mary that she could be betrothed to some old, gross but insanely weather geezer that’s into little girls and could have her do all sorts of sordid things, but would absolutely wipe out her debt. The look on Mary’s face when she’s given the news is absolutely terrifying. She’s disgusted but at the same time horrified. What if Tsuzura got herself into so much debt that Mary couldn’t save her? What if Tsuzura had received that kind of fate so Runa reminding her was what made her so terrified? I have absolutely no idea so if this is truly what happens in the story, I’m sorry, my intention isn’t to spoil it for anyone.
What really amazes me about this series is all the components that come together to make the games difficult and calculating. It’s not enough to just know math but it helps to know music, literature, history, science, and more. You couldn’t win a scholarship to this as a normal person like in Ouran Host Club and think you’re going to be okay. I enjoy watching the thought processes of these students and how they use their smarts and cleverness (two different things) to outwit one another. I wish I could be as crafty and witty as the young women in this show. Listening to them unveil how they win their games is like hearing how a detective solved a mystery.
I encourage everyone to watch Kakegurui Twin and not to put so much pressure on it to be as “charged” as its predecessor. The mechanics of how the characters operate in Twin is because they are still operating under the status quo. Jabami’s involvement in KKG is likely more exciting because the status quo is attacked and the system is at risk of being destroyed. I’m looking forward to the second half of Twin (I wonder if they did that on purpose?) and I believe that by watching the series in chronological order instead of order of release more people can appreciate the story.

It's more Kakegurui, so if you like the show you will probably like this too. Not quite as good as the original, I think Yumeko is a stronger character than Mary, but at least Mary isn't a clone of Yumeko. I think Kakegurui XX's games were a little too convoluted for the show's good. The fun of the show is having really simple games but then the characters unravel the complex ways their opponents rig or cheat them in order to gain an edge. Twin definitely returns to more of this original feeling and the games themselves are easy to follow.

Side notes, the OP is ... excellent and the English dub is pretty good. I watched half subs half dubs and while the Japanese voices are better I prefer watching the English dub.

Overall I have no real complaints other than Twin is REALLY short. Worth watching!

Kakegurui Twin, a shaved down version of Kakegurui.

It's the prequel to Kakegurui, but imo it does not add much new information/lore/plot/whatever you wanna call it to the anime show of Kakegurui. You follow Mary as a starting nobody in the gamble school, and just as with Kakegurui, she (and others) try to win games or gain advantages through some kind of scheme or cheating. This is the first shave down in my opinion. I might have different impressions, and I don't know if it is just the source material for this prequel, but the games and the schemes are really not interesting. Sometimes they are ... simple enough that the regular viewer figures it out if they think about it for a second, or the scheme/game is done at such a bullshit level that it doesn't even matter, the plot and story just move in favor of Mary by the power of bullshit.

The second shave down are the characters. Although they use the same or similar characters from Kakegurui, Mary feels very different(as it should since she is yet to experience everything), but she is at the level of a boring average character in the anime's world with a little bit more braincells and desire. Supporting characters that become her friends are medicore as well. One is just simping for her all the time without much reason, the other is also an average character which has little depth. I hate to say it, but I think the character I found so annoying and over the top in Kakegurui such as Yumeko, carried that show. If the voicing is less energetic and dramatic, it doesn't work. They need to be full on crazy.

The "crazy" shots are also shaved down. Where in Kakegurui you can see quite the number of dramatic close ups with sometimes glowing eyes and idiotic facial expressions, that is present in this prequel, but to a much lesser degree, and they are less dramatic. And that's a shame since those dramatic emotional moments went quite well with the ethically gray characters who would do anything to gain money when everything is on the line. Touching on that, that also slightly bothers me in this anime. Morals and ethics were almost nowhere to be found in Kakegurui. Yumeko was an addict that wants to satiate her lust for gambling, Mary was a bitch in it for herself most of the time, and you saw all that through the eyes of a wimpy MC. But in Kakegurui Twin, Mary has a feel of morality at times, a conscience for her friends, almost to wash her from the shit behaviour in Kakegurui. It's weird to see some good guys where first everyone had no moral compass, especially after you have seen regular Kakegurui. She and her one friend, maybe the other one too, for some reason have some kind of decency, but everyone else is just the worst, girls and boys, but especially the few boys in the show are just the scumbags of the earth.

Is this anime for you? This anime might have one purpose, and one purpose only, and that is to please the cosplayers that overrated Kakegurui, and give them more material and characters to group cosplay as some pseudo lesbians with suggestive kinks. Otherwise, you are better of just watching Kakegurui, the Kakegurui in its full glory, rather than this shaved down version.