'Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler' Explores the Thrill of Gambling

Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler was one of the new anime series I picked up last July.  I never had seen an anime centered on gambling before, and it intrigued me tremendously.  I found every episode constantly exhilarating and riveting, as it effectively translated the inherent thrill of gambling into itself.

The anime is set in a bizarre high school called Hyakkaou Private Academy, in which high-stakes gambling isn’t only rampant, but actually serves as the predominant concern of every student.  Not sports, not academics.  Gambling.  The students come from rich and powerful families, so betting huge amounts of money are not uncommon.  However, the incurring of lots of debts still occur, and those who are unable to pay become “house pets”, i.e. slaves of the other students.  And thus, a hierarchy is established, which celebrates the most proficient, boldest, and shrewdest of gamblers in the student body, but disparages those who lose and fall into debt.

Enter Yumeko Jabami, a transfer student whose keen sense of observation, high intellect, and immense wealth are surpassed by her fondness for gambling and lust for taking risks.  The greater the risk, the greater her arousal and euphoria are.  Thus, her focus isn’t on victory, but on the thrill of the game.  With this disposition, she begins disrupting the status quo and proceeds to challenge the most powerful in Hyakkaou – the student council.

Aside from Jabami, there are other interesting characters in this anime.  Though they are mostly one-dimensional, this is amply compensated by the fact that they are wrapped in so much mystery and possess fascinating eccentricities.  Next to Jabami, my favorites are the student council president Kikari Momobami, who is oozing with enigmatic charm, and the masochistic, revolver-toting Midari Ikashima.

Though not notably clever, the story is so riveting and immersive.  It effectively paints a very intriguing world.  And with each new reveal about this world, the show only gets more addicting.  Meanwhile, the animation – though visually fan service-y at times – is dynamic and vivid, forcefully inciting tension and excitement when necessary.

I really enjoyed Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler.  It was even on its way of becoming my most favorite new anime series of 2017 at one point.  Then, episode 12 came, and I was quite surprised.  Not necessarily because it was a mindblowing episode, but because it turned out being the debut season’s last one.  I wasn’t aware that the anime was only going to have twelve episodes this year.

In the end, I can’t help but be disappointed.  12 episodes were inadequate.  It seemed like it was only warming up, and just like that, the momentum is cut.  I feel slightly cheated because it didn’t provide the payoff that it was building towards all throughout the series.  It feels like Castlevania all over again.

What makes it worse is there’s still no news of a season two.  The wait is going to be probably long, unfortunately.