Is Kakegurui Worth Watching? – A Complete Review

Kakegurui is a Japanese manga series written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Tōru Naomura.

The series follows the rich and elite students of Hyakkaou Private Academy.

These students are taught important subjects like other schools during the day, however, at night Hyakkou turns into a gambling den.

The students’ popularity is determined by their gambling success. As of February 2019, the Kakegurui manga had over 5 million copies in print.

1. Quick Review

Kakegurui takes place in the unusual yet popular Hyakkaou Private Academy that strives to prepare its students for the real world.

Most of the students at this prestigious academy are the children of the richest people in the world.

As a result of the status of their students, their academy has eccentricities that make it stand out from all the others. By day, it is a normal school, educating its pupils in subjects like history and languages.

The academy promises to prepare these elite kids for the real world and there’s no better to do it than showing them the real deal. 

At night, Hyakkou Private Academy turns into a gambling den, educating them in the art of dealing with money and manipulating people.

Kakegurui | Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Money surpasses all and those who succeed in the art of gambling are the most popular at the school. Through Kakegurui, we are pulled into the world of gambling.

The interesting thing to watch is how there are always two games going on at any given time – the first is the gambling game the characters are playing on the table, but then there’s also all of the mind games and subtle cheating that goes on surrounding the actual gamble. 

2. Info Card

3. Is it Worth Watching?

Kakegurui is about a school that turns into a literal casino at night. How much crazier can it get than that?

The main idea that the anime builds on is engaging and makes you want to see how they plan on seeing this concept through to the end. 

There are moments where the main characters go overboard with their bets and have you wondering what the point of the whole gamble is.

With intense scenes, amazing animation, and some maniacal, sadistic personalities, all bets are off when it comes to this show. 

I. Plot

The main plot revolves around the protagonist Yumeko Jabami, a second-year student at Hyakkou Private Academy.

She is a beautiful, cheerful, and intelligent high school girl at first glance, but her mind is obsessed with the love of gambling.

This gambling den is unrestricted by any real-world rules or logic. The main character uses her extraordinary observational skills to her advantage and sees right through the other students’ gambling scams.

Through multiple risky and insane strategies she has used while gambling, Yumeko quickly rearranges the hierarchy of the school, putting herself on top and catching the attention of the student council who now plans to take her chips off the table and stop her success for good.

The characters of the show have been written as maniacal, gambling obsessed humans who will go to extreme lengths to come out as the victor.

This makes the concept very interesting though the stakes they’re playing for don’t seem all that relatable to us as viewers.

II. Characters

Yumeko Jabami is the main protagonist of Kakegurui. She appears to be a naive and beautiful transfer student who is ready to try her hand at Hyakkaou’s special curriculum.

When she’s exposed to gambling, however, her true dark nature steps out of the shadows.

Unlike the rest, she doesn’t play to win but risks her life for the mere thrill of the gamble, and her borderline insane way of gambling catches many people’s eyes, including the student council.

Ryota Suzui is one of the secondary main characters and at the bottom of the social ladder at Hyakkou Private Academy.

He loses while gambling with Mary Satome and as a result is reduced to “house pet” status.

When Yumeko comes along, she gives him a second chance by giving him money to repay his debts and as a result, they become friends.

Ryota is described as a kind and friendly person, who is more of an ambivert. As the story progresses, we see his confidence growing as he stays by Yumeko Jabami’s side.

Mary Saotome is a deuteragonist of Kakegurui and a classmate of protagonist Yumeko Jabami.

Initially, we see Mary being sadistic and rude because of how she treats the so-called “housepets”, such as her classmate Ryota Suzui.

After losing to Yumeko Jabami and experiencing the life of being a housepet, Mary becomes desperate to regain her status within the academy, having no other goal in her mind.

After regaining her status, she seems to have changed her behavior and though she is seen getting annoyed by Ryota’s cowardice or Yumeko’s reckless behavior, she still deeply cares about them.

III. Setting 

The Kakegurui series is set in Hyakkaou Private Academy, an elite school that molds the children of Japan’s richest and most influential people and also has many future leaders and professionals among its student body. 

This popular school wishes to prepare its elite students for the real world and attempts to tackle this task from all aspects.

Hyakkou Private Academy goes as far as turning the school into a betting haunt for Japan’s richest kids to delve into the underground world of gambling.

IV. Theme Songs 

The opening theme song for the series is “Deal with the devil” by Tia.

The closing theme songs for the series are “Lay on the line” by D-selections (eps 1-8, 10-12), “Koi no Russian Roulette ” by Yumemi Yumemite (Yuu Serizawa) & Yumeko Jabami (Saori Hayami) (ep 9)

The theme songs of Kakegurui do an excellent job of setting the mood, both through its beautiful upbeat blues’ opening and the almost constant jazzy background music.

The ending theme songs are very stylistic with piano chords, eerie beats, and haunting lyrics.

Both opening and ending theme songs utilize music that perfectly matches the momentum of the visuals.

4. Grade

5. Final Thoughts

Kakegurui presents characters with quirky traits and gradual developments. The character’s reactions, thoughts, and decision-making skills in every game are intense and as realistic as it gets.

With gambling as the main subject, the creators chose games and strategies that make it simple for the audience to understand.

The show will surprise you with how invested you become as the plot moves forward because every scene is tense, full of strategy, and high stakes.