No. No it's not. Or at least, it doesn't focus on gambling as much as people want it to. Quite sad how most of the people who watched this show missed out on tense psychological battles and the degradation of mental states of characters during the games they played, because of focusing too much on the "quality of the games".
Story: 5/10
The plot in Kakegurui kinda takes a backseat and is only used to justify the events happening. This reveals the poor pacing of the show, since the show clearly should have been a 2 cour. We sadly do not get to see neither the history of the academy, nor the backstory of Yumeko or the student council.
Art: 8/10
The art stays pretty loyal to the manga. It has a mature vibe to it which fits well with the show. The "ugly/orgasmic" faces also serve as visual representation of, yet again, the character's mental state.
What lowers the mark are the CG scenes, which sucked.
Sound: 10/10
Amazing jazzy opening. Hayami Saori. Sawashiro Miyuki. Sugita Tomokazu. Need I say more?
Character: 10/10
This is where Kakegurui shines. Each little gamble introduces a new character, their motivation to gamble and the extent to which they will go achieve their goal. The variety of these "reasons" is what makes the show interesting. Some characters want to be treated as human beings, thus playing to achieve a higher status, some want to experience near death situations which makes them feel alive, some want to use the academy as a stepping stone to stardom or to a prestigious position of a politician, thus gambling in favor of their success.
If the plot takes a back seat, the character interactions is what drives the show. Using the Midari arc as an example, we get to see a game between a person who gambles for fun, Yumeko, and a person who is crazy enough to gouge her own eye out just to demonstrate her willpower and who would put the lives of other people on the line just for her personal pleasure, which results in one of the best episodes in the anime, the outcome of which I won't spoil. Other than the Midari arc, the paroxysm of these interactions is shown in the Manyuda arc. With many cringing out of discomfort during the "nail biting" scene, the said scene demonstrates the determination of one of the characters to advance to their goal, discarding, or "betting away" what's personally important to them.
Enjoyment: 9/10
I started watching Kakegurui because I wanted to see people play poker in anime. In the end, I got a show that excels at being a psychological thriller. I didn't get what I expected, I got something much better.
Overall: 8/10
Rambling aside, look at how much I wrote about the various characters without focusing even a single bit on the games of Kakegurui.
Is the show about gambling? Yes it is. Is it *only* about gambling? No. Does it focus on the games used in said gambling? No.
If you're watching Kakegurui for the games, don't bother, you'll end up disappointed. However, if you want to watch "crazy people do crazy things" while risking their lives, go ahead, this show is for you.
Sadly, with the anime original ending, the conclusion to the show is a bit lackluster. Had the show been a 2 cour anime, which would fix the pacing, this would be one of my favourite shows of all time.
