Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler (Japanese: ?????, Hepburn: Kakegurui) is a Japanese manga series written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by T?ru Naomura, which began serialization in Square Enix's Gangan Joker from 2014 and is licensed in English by Yen Press. A prequel spin-off manga, Kakegurui Twin, began serialization in Gangan Joker from 2015. An anime television adaptation by MAPPA aired in Japan from July 1 to September 23, 2017. It is licensed by Netflix. A second season has been announced.
Video Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler
Plot
Hyakkaou Private Academy houses the most wealthy and privileged students in Japan, with many future leaders and professionals among the student body. In the school, the student hierarchy is determined by an intricate gambling system in which students bet their fortunes against one another. The system is overseen by a tyrannical Student Council that oversees all aspects of student life. The students in debt become slaves to the whims of those who hold their debts. One day, a new student appears, one who gambles for the thrill of it rather than the financial or social gain. She quickly disrupts the hierarchy of the school and the student council frantically tries to find ways to shut her down.
Maps Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler
Characters
Main characters
- Yumeko Jabami (?? ??, Jabami Yumeko)
- Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese); Erika Harlacher (English)
- Played by: Minami Hamabe
- The main protagonist of Kakegurui, Yumeko is a new transfer student to Hyakka? Academy. Very beautiful and mysterious,she upsets the social hierarchy of the school by engaging in an increasingly risky series of gambles that put herself and her money on the line. Rather than aiming for victory and monetary gain, Yumeko gambles because she enjoys the risk. She is able to quickly deduce how games are being manipulated in her opponents' favor and, by doing so, she can more often than not turn the tables on her foes. She currently lives alone as her only living relative, her older sister, has been hospitalized long-term. Yumeko's current status is as "pet." Although she could easily pay her debts due to her vast family wealth, she chooses not to because her "pet" status allows her to invite everyone to gamble without being rejected.
- Ry?ta Suzui (?? ??, Suzui Ry?ta)
- Voiced by: Tatsuya Tokutake (Japanese); Griffin Burns (English)
- Played by: Mahiro Takasugi
- A student with good grades but very poor at gambling. At the beginning of the series, he has amassed a massive debt to Mary due to his poor luck and serves as her "pet," being forced to help Mary manipulate a game against Yumeko. After Yumeko helps pay off his debts, Ry?ta is fiercely loyal to and protective of Yumeko, later admitting that he even has feelings for her. He often tries to keep Yumeko from making high-risk gambling choices, which normally proves to be impossible. Though he is mainly uninvolved in the action, he often serves as Yumeko's conscience, pulling her back to reality when her compulsive gambling leads her to frighten others or to behave manically. He is a kindhearted person and holds little ill-will towards anyone, including Mary. Despite his milquetoast personality and lack of impulsivity, Yumeko enjoys having him as her confidant, even trusting him with her life.
- Mary Saotome (??? ???, Saotome Meari)
- Voiced by: Minami Tanaka (Japanese); Kira Buckland (English)
- Played by: Aoi Morikawa
- A student in Yumeko and Ryota's class who begins the series as one of the school's top gamblers and Ryota's torturer. However, she is quickly humbled in a jankenpon game, losing to Yumeko and amassing a massive debt that turns her into a "pet". Despite their initial antagonism, she later becomes Yumeko's ally. Unlike Yumeko, Mary aims for victory in every gamble and cares more for her social and monetary standing within the school. After learning how the student council president perceives the "pets," Mary forms a grudge against her and aims to become the next Student Council president. Mary is featured in the prequel series Kakegurui Twin.
Supporting characters
- Itsuki Sumeragi (? ??, Sumeragi Itsuki)
- Voiced by: Y?ki Wakai (Japanese); Erica Mendez (English)
- Played by: Ruka Matsuda
- A former student council member who is a daughter of a toy company CEO. She likes collecting human nails, which she removes from her opponent's fingers after they lose to her. She became a student council member after she donated a large amount of money, gaining Kaede's allegiance as a result. After losing to Yumeko in a game of Double Concentration, her seat on the student council is revoked.
- Kirari Momobami (?? ???, Momobami Kirari)
- Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)
- The President of the Student Council who got the position by defeating the former president in a high-stakes game two years prior to the story. Upon taking office, she created the hierarchy that turns the students with the largest debts into "house pets." It is hinted that she has a certain attraction to Yumeko and may even have met her before.
- Sayaka Igarashi (??? ??, Igarashi Sayaka)
- Voiced by: Ayaka Fukuhara (Japanese); Erica Lindbeck (English)
- Played by: Yurika Nakamura
- Secretary of the Student Council and a close ally of the President. It is implied that she has romantic feelings for the President, and wants nothing more than to make her happy.
- Runa Yomozuki (??? ??, Yomozuki Runa)
- Voiced by: Mayu Udono (Japanese); Kayli Mills (English)
- Played by: Natsume Mito
- A student council member who likes video games and is always seen wearing a hoodie with rabbit ears. Spends her time taunting various students. Her skills and preferences as a gambler have yet to be revealed. She showed herself to be an impartial mediator during the manga's 'Re-Election' arc.
- Midari Ikishima (??? ?, Ikishima Midari)
- Voiced by: Mariya Ise (Japanese); Sarah Anne Williams (English)
- Played by: Miki Yanagi
- Third-year student and head of the Beautification Committee. Midari wears an eyepatch after stabbing her own eye out to pay her gambling debt to Kirari, but remained loyal to the Student Council when Kirari promised to kill her in the future. Midari is aroused by violence. She often challenges opponents to increasingly violent gambles where the participants can either be maimed or killed, favoring modified versions of Russian Roulette. After Yumeko forces their seemingly deadly game into a bloodless draw, she becomes infatuated with her.
- Yuriko Nishinot?in (??? ???, Nishinot?in Yuriko)
- Voiced by: Karin Nanami (Japanese); Cristina Vee (English)
- Played by: Natsumi Okamoto
- Head of the Traditional Culture Research Society and a member of the student council, who quietly uses her position to shield her club's girls from being enslaved by others. She runs a rigged roulette-style game of "Life or Death."
- Yumemi Yumemite (??? ???, Yumemite Yumemi)
- Voiced by: Y? Serizawa (Japanese); Faye Mata (English)
- In public, a part-time idol hoping to make it big and the Student Council's head of public relations. Secretly hopes to be an Academy Award-winning actress in Hollywood in the future and hates having to deal with her Japanese fans, viewing them as disgusting and perverted. She challenges Yumeko to a game of tic-tac-toe with a variety show challenge. After losing to Yumeko and having her secrets revealed to her fans, it is turns out that her fans are fine with the way she is and she decides to continue her career as an idol.
- Kaede Many?da (??? ?, Many?da Kaede)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); Chris Niosi (English)
- Played by: Taishi Nakagawa
- The ambitious Student Council Treasurer who seeks to become the President at the earliest opportunity. After losing a game to Yumeko, he is hospitalized and his hair turns white due to his great shock. He makes a come back in 'Re-Election Arc' of the manga and becomes Yumeko's ally.
- Ririka Momobami (?? ???, Momobami Ririka)
- The nondescript masked vice president of Student Council who is frequently seen with Kirari. She is revealed to be Kirari's identical twin sister.
Media
Manga
Kawamoto and Naomura launched the manga in 2014 in Square Enix's Gangan Joker anthology magazine. At Anime Expo 2015, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the manga.
In addition, there have been multiple spin-off manga that take place within the same franchise: Kakegurui -Twin- (????? ?-???-), a manga that focuses on Mary Saotome prior to the main story, is illustrated by Kei Saiki and serialized in Square Enix's Gangan Joker since 2015. A 4-panel comedy spinoff manga written by Taku Kawamura titled Kakegurui (Kakkokari) launched in 2016 and also runs in Gangan Joker. Kakegurui Midari (????? ?), which focuses on the history of Midari Ikishima, is illustrated by Yuuichi Hiiragi and serialized in another Square Enix-owned magazine, Manga UP!, since 2017.
Anime
An anime television series animated by MAPPA aired from July 1 to September 23, 2017 on Tokyo MX, MBS and other channels. Yuichiro Hayashi directed the series, Yasuko Kobayashi handled the scripts, and Manabu Akita handled the character designs. TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND composed the music for the series. The opening theme, "Deal with the Devil", is performed by Tia. D-Selections performed the ending theme "LAYon-theLINE". The series ran for 12 episodes, it is licensed and streamed by Netflix. A second season has been announced.
Live-action drama
The live-action drama adaptation was first announced on November 21, 2017. The drama first broadcast on MBS on January 14, 2018 and TBS' slot Dramaism on January 16, 2018. The opening theme is sung by Re:versed titled "Ichi ka Bachi ka" (????) while the theme song titled "Strawberry Feels" is sung by BIGMAMA. Tsutomu Hanabusa is directing the drama.
Cast
- Minami Hamabe as Yumeko Jabami
- Mahiro Takasugi as Ry?ta Suzui
- Aoi Morikawa as Mary Saotome
- Taishi Nakagawa as Kaede Many?da
- Yurika Nakamura as Sayaka Igarashi
- Natsume Mito as Runa Yomotsuki
- Ruka Matsuda as Itsuki Sumeragi
- Natsumi Okamoto as Yuriko Nishinot?in
- Y?ma Yamoto as Jun Kiwatari
- Kiyo Matsumoto as Nanami Tsubomi
- Miki Yanagi as Midari Ikishima
Cultural references
In Japan, gambling is, for the most part, illegal, especially under-age gambling, which most of the characters in the series are. In the anime, all forms of casino gambling and games of chance depicted are illegal in Japan, with indirect references to legal cases where gambling syndicates has been prosecuted and dissolved by various means, and casinos were only legalized in Japan in 2016, which also address the high percentage population that are gambling addicts. It also portrays scenes of a member owning, showing and firing a weapon, which could be liable to a life imprisonment.
Notes
References
External links
- Official anime website (in Japanese)
- Official live-action drama website (in Japanese)
- Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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