Kaiji Ito is a young man stuck in a serious financial rut. Things only get worse when he finds out that one of his friends has left behind a massive debt that is near-impossible to repay. However, a loan shark offers Kaiji a solution: he can go aboard a cruise ship and play a shady gambling game, and if he wins, the debt would be forgiven. Kaiji takes the offer and wins. But a logistical screw-up causes him to fall further into debt. Still in the clutches of the loan sharks, Kaiji gets another shot at redemption when he volunteers to participate in a life-or-death challenge atop a skyscraper.
If he succeeds, then he gets the chance to play one last card game—a chance to win back all the money he's lost, and more. If he fails, however, Kaiji's entire livelihood could be destroyed. Kaiji Ito is a young man stuck in a serious financial rut.
Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler. Live action reboot of Kaiji anime.
Things only get worse when he finds out that one of his friends has left behind a massive debt that is near-impossible to repay. However, a loan shark offers Kaiji a solution: he can go aboard a cruise ship and play a shady gambling game, and if he wins, the debt would be forgiven.
Kaiji takes the offer and wins. But a logistical screw-up causes him to fall further into debt. Still in the clutches of the loan sharks, Kaiji gets another shot at redemption when he volunteers to participate in a life-or-death challenge atop a skyscraper. If he succeeds, then he gets the chance to play one last card game—a chance to win back all the money he's lost, and more. If he fails, however, Kaiji's entire livelihood could be destroyed. Much has been written about theories of wealth.
There are rich dads and poor dads and millionaires next door and get-rich-quick schemes (that pretend not to be get-rich-quick schemes) and internet ads telling us that we can make hundreds of dollars a day by sitting on our butts. But what about theories of poverty? If we know what it takes to get rich, then why do so many poor people remain poor?
Somewhere behind the questionable plotting, intense melodrama, and traditional Japanese-style overacting of the live-action lies the answer to the theory of poverty. Some may say that this is a triumphant tale, a manly tale—but even when Kaiji overcomes the odds, he ends up about the same as when he first started.
And the reason for that—the reason why poor people remain poor—is what this movie unwittingly reveals.Of course, the story could simply be taken at face value: a psychological thriller involving games of chance. To that end, the first and third acts of the movie succeed eminently: Kaiji's rock-paper-scissors victory aboard the good ship Espoir comes with the classic elements of reasoning, bargaining, and outwitting one's opponent, while the finale—a high-stakes card game with its own unique rules and strategies—takes that to an even greater level, running the emotional gamut of suspense, despair, hope, and triumph. ( Kaiji's final winning tactic also cleverly ties in to the first game aboard the ship, providing a sense of completeness.) One will need a strong suspension of disbelief to enjoy this story, though: the artificial, closed-room scenarios and contrived staging of scrappy working-class hero versus evil old rich guy are so inconceivable as to put this movie in the 'Fantasy' category. Clearly, Kaiji's greatest strength is in psychological gamesmanship and the theory of gambling games, with believable situations or characters essentially being a lost cause.The ludicrous second act is the weakest link in this movie, though, with its complete detachment from anything involving gambling or game logic. After the cruise ship scenario, a mystical plot twist transports Kaiji to an underground hellhole where he must perform manual labor for the rest of his life.
(Aside from a casual mention at the start of the movie, nobody ever explains WHY the evil rich-people organization is building this massive underground complex. Can we say giant gaping plot hole?) After some ruminations on the plight of the working class, Kaiji enters a challenge where he must walk along a steel beam between two skyscrapers—which, by the way, has nothing to do with games of chance.
It's also in this torturous second act that (best known as L from ) appears, allowing the movie to be marketed as 'a reunion of stars from Death Note'—conveniently ignoring that Matsuyama gets maybe twenty minutes of screen time as a minor supporting character, in comparison to (a.k.a. Light Yagami) playing the title role. That's simply false advertising.Speaking of Tatsuya Fujiwara, his portrayal of a desperate young man in dire financial straits has its hits and misses—the raw emotion and fired-up personality work perfectly in the context of intense gambling games, but anything requiring subtlety is clearly beyond him. The rest of the cast also engages in the kind of overacting that is endemic to Japanese live-action, especially in the skyscraper scene: this is green-screen technology at its most embarrassing, with grown men flailing like idiots on a balance beam that is clearly about three feet off the ground, despite the special effects team's efforts to convince us that they are much, much higher. A forced attempt at poignancy—one of Kaiji's fellow contestants sacrificing himself for the sake of his daughter—also falls flat, because screaming one's heartfelt feelings atop a skyscraper beam really isn't the right time or place.Ultimately, to enjoy Kaiji, one must not assess it by the conventional standards of filmmaking.
All it's really doing is recreating the events of the manga, with numerous changes and awkward plot manuevers to make it fit in a two-hour time frame, preserving only the spirit of gamesmanship and rigorous logic. Those who enjoy the Death Note and school of psychological suspense will get the most mileage out of this, especially in those heart-pumping scenes where Kaiji meticulously explains how he outwitted some greedy old bastard. Think of it as a textbook on how to beat the odds in Vegas (even though most real casino games are far more challenging), or a manifesto on the struggle between the landed gentry and the working class—just don't think of it as a regular movie, lest your brain explode from the one-dimensional characterization and Swiss cheese plot structure.And as for the theory of poverty?
The answer to that comes not from within the story, but from the story's own existence: the fact that it's about a working-class hero triumphing over his corporate masters. Essentially, the movie (and by association, the manga and anime) screams out: RICH PEOPLE ARE EVIL.
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But what it really means is, Poor people convince themselves that rich people are evil, so it's better to stay poor. And that's why those who scrape by continue to scrape by, locking themselves into a poisonous cycle where their own subconscious beliefs stop them from getting rich. 'Oh, I'd love to be rich,' they say—yet here they are, working tirelessly to make the exact same paycheck they made last week, last month, last year. And then they blow it on fast food and lottery tickets and movies where rich people are portrayed as evil and the poor are portrayed as heroes. It is a fantasy we'd all like to believe in—but it remains exactly that. Just a fantasy.
Japanese Title: Haikyuu!!Related: Haikyuu!! Second Season (included in review)Similar:Ace of DiamondPrince of TennisWatched in: JapaneseGenre:Length: 25 episodes (season 1), 25 episodes (season 2), 2 OVA + more on the wayPositives:. High-energy characters and competition. Varied strategies and deep plays. Good production values. Well-woven humour. Friendly to the volleyball illiterate.Negatives:.
There’s no story beyond the sport.For the next step on my sports anime journey, I went with the highly recommended Haikyuu!! (The double exclamation triggers me. It’s simply not right!) Never watched a game of volleyball in my life, but let’s go!In his first volleyball match, middle-schooler Hinata gets stomped. And I mean stomped, worse than Germany versus Brazil (7-1 never forget). He decides the enemy ace, Kageyama, is his new rival, works hard, and gains entry in Karasuno High School, a good institute for volleyball, hoping to rise up and defeat Kageyama on the big stage.
However, Kageyama took a downturn in recent times, rejected from the top volleyball school, and has ended up in the same school as Hinata. Rivals become teammates. Hinata is a fantastic character. He may be a midget – people often forget he’s there – but he sure can jump. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious, except before matches, where he gets so nervous that telling him not to be nervous gives him the runs. Interestingly, despite falling into the typical shounen protagonist archetype (genki underdog) like Naruto and Luffy, Hinata is one of my favourites in Haikyuu.
Usually, the cheerful protagonist is bland compared to the varied supporting cast. Hinata succeeds, I feel, because the underdog status is genuine. He doesn’t have the magic ability to win when the plot needs it. He has his role in the team as a Spiker and doesn’t overshadow the rest of the cast. ‘Less is more’ in action. First, the boys must learn to get along as teammates; otherwise, they can forget victory, let alone a championship. Their only chance at breaking the barriers is the captain.
There’s also Noya in the Libero position (defensive specialist), a noisy fellow and the only guy shorter than Hinata – another great character. In fact, every character on the team is solid. Again, I think it comes back to the balance between Hinata and everyone else – the supporting cast doesn’t feel like they exist solely for him.The funniest character is Tanaka, a guy who wants to look and act like a hard-ass intimidating newbies in a comical manner until the captain reins him in.
Humour is never far away in Haikyuu and I worried about whether it could get serious enough when needed. Now, a super heavy moment hasn’t occurred in the two seasons so far, but when there has been weight in a scene, the tone has given just enough ‘serious’ for me to believe it.
As for the sport itself, Haikyuu does an excellent job illustrating the gameplay for anyone to follow, even the uninformed like me. The story also isn’t bogged down with explanation either, unlike battle anime. The strategies have variety, character psychology plays a big part, and everyone has strengths and weaknesses on court. The crowd even features Japan’s!The best aspect of the sport is its understanding of what it means to lose and the effect a loss has on players. This is what distinguishes Haikyuu from run-of-the-mill competitive anime like.
The writer doesn’t treat the characters like infants locked into a safe space, and knows that losses provide the greatest opportunities for learning. If Haikyuu could find room for improvement, it would be outside the volleyball. There isn’t any story beyond the sport.
It’s all about practicing volleyball, studying volleyball, and playing volleyball, which creates a lower ‘intensity’ ceiling than if there was more beyond volleyball. That’s not to say Hinata needs to come from some abusive home or live on the streets.
It could be as simple as a romance affected by Hinata’s commitments to volleyball. Perhaps later seasons will introduce something. Haikyuu is very “shounen” in its use of grandstand challenges, too many speeches, intense glares, over assignment of god-like titles to characters, and inspirational scenes. They aren’t realistic by any stretch. However, I have learnt to embrace them – you have to or there’s no way to enjoy hot-blooded sports anime.After I finished Haikyuu, I watched a real volleyball match for the first time and it was phenomenal, probably one of the best matches in volleyball history ( – highly recommended).
Japan even had someone shorter than Hinata playing Libero position! Haikyuu is the best shounen sports anime I have seen so far.
Art – HighHaikyuu is colourful like Hinata’s hair and sports great animation during the action. Simple, yet memorable character designs – expressive too.Sound – HighGreat acting brings this energetic cast to life and are even believable in otherwise unbelievable shounen dialogue. Good music, but nothing outstanding.Story – HighA short but high jumping kid works with his team to reach the apex of high school volleyball. Though Haikyuu has little story outside of the volleyball, the conflict and development within the sport itself is excellent. Overall Quality – HighRecommendation: Try it/must for sports fans.
If you’re a sports anime fan, Haikyuu is necessary, while I urge others to give a try, even if disinterested in volleyball.(. Find out more about.)Awards: (hover over each award to see descriptions; click award for more recipients)Positive:Negative: None. The game isn’t a standard tournament of poker, blackjack, or mahjong, as one would expect. No, it’s rock-paper-scissors.What?You heard me.
The twist is that players have limited uses of each symbol, meaning there are limited wins on the table. Each win allows a player to take a star from the opponent.
To survive the night, a player must have at least three stars (they start with three), but also use up all their symbols. To complicate matters further, beforehand each player could borrow 1,000,000 or 10,000,000 yen at a rate of 1.5% per ten minutes in a four-hour tournament. All must be repaid before leaving the boat. Win an excess to the debt and you keep the difference. Players can sell extra stars at the end for exorbitant amounts of money. Why are the stars so valuable? Well, finish with less than three stars and you become a slave until the tournament next year.
The premise had me hooked. It reminds me of a gambling version of the Zero Escape game series ( is the best visual novel ever made). At first, Kaiji feels like every underdog gambling setup: bum guy forced to clear a friend’s debt. But no, Kaiji spirals into crazy territory only anime would attempt.The games takes unexpected turns, even in something as simple as RPS. I get the impression the writer thought of the obvious first, discarded it, and said, “I don’t print until I find something better.”Kaiji’s strength (and where it outshines ) lies in the conflict between characters. The gambling is a mere device to bring the psyche of each contestant to bear.
This is a depraved underworld where the rich put on these sick and twisted games for entertainment. With each subsequent game – for there are several throughout the series – the entertainment grows more and more twisted. Art – MediumKaiji sports the same art style as, and as with the latter, it’s either hit or miss with the audience. I like its eccentricity.
It’s a notch above on a technical level.Sound – HighThe acting couldn’t have more tension if the actors tried, accentuated by equally tense music. The intense sports-like narrator is perfect.Story – HighA debt-riddled bum agrees to risk it all in a chance at clearing his debts. The games are strange, the rules insane, and the tension high.
A little long in parts. Overall Quality – HighRecommendation: Try it.
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If you liked, you will like Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor. Outside the art, the tension is most likely to put people off. Yes, it’s so intense it may stress you too much.(. Find out more about.)Awards: (hover mouse over each award to see descriptions; click award for more recipients)Positive:Negative: None.
Japanese Title: ChihayafuruRelated: Chihayafuru 2 (included in review)Similar: Hikaru’s GoHanasaku IrohaUtakoiWatched in: JapaneseGenre: Card GameLength: 25 episodes (season 1), 25 episodes (season 2)Positives:. High energy, likeable protagonist. Natural friends dynamic.
Unique sport presents strategic surprises.Negatives:. Slow to escalate.
BLOOM!. Karuta isn’t an infinitely rewatchable game.Not to reveal all my nerd cred, but as the first Yu-Gi-Oh champion from my country over a decade ago, I felt compelled to pick a card game for my next sports anime. As it turns out, the card game Karuta in Chihayafuru is nothing like Yu-Gi-Oh. It’s nothing like what one would expect when they think of competitive card games. I can best describe it as Snap meets Memory – hit the matching card on the board faster than your opponent does.
Chihayafuru doesn’t explain the rules early enough, so watch the video below for a great explanation and a Karuta champion in action (start at 20:33 for mobile users) – rewind to the start for the history of Karuta, if you wish.What strikes me first about Chihayafuru isn’t the unusual game, but the protagonist. Chihaya has this infectious energy about her, that I can’t help feeling happy whenever she is on screen. I love how she speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to say what she needs. She’s a Karuta freak who seeks to establish a competitive team at her high school with the help of her friend Taichi.
However, to qualify as a legitimate school club, she needs more members. Before this, the story flashes back to primary school when another friend, Arata, first introduced her to the game and the circumstances that split him from Chihaya and Taichi.
These three as kids are adorable – just wanna pinch their cheeks! Whoever wrote the scenes for these kids ought to be commended. The dialogue and interactions make the kids natural. Whether a good or bad thing, these episodes were my favourite and I would have like to see more of the primary school days.As for the sport itself, Karuta is fascinating in its unusual nature. You truly won’t find a similar sport.
It has a surprising amount of depth in swipe techniques, card layout, card prioritisation, mind games, and fortitude. That said, there are only so many possibilities in any given Karuta match. As a result, matches become increasingly less interesting that no amount of anime overdramatisation can fix. To alleviate repetition, sports fiction uses character drama between and even inside matches to raise the stakes.
You could be watching a match like any other, or you could be watching a kid trying to win the championship while he parents go through divorce. How much sweeter is the victory after countless struggles that came before, in and out of game?Think of whichever sport you follow. How much more interesting are the matches with a story – the rematch, the underdogs, the return of an injured player, the player who defies her parents’ wishes, the political ramifications?
The story behind a match makes all the difference. Chihayafuru doesn’t need to resort to something as heavy as politics for drama. Just something would be nice. We get a glimpse of drama early on when Chihaya meets Arata all those years later. He now hates the sport, which he taught her with such passion, and lives as a recluse, owing to personal guilt for an action in his past. After this plot point resolves, nothing takes its place.
It does hint at a love triangle in the main trio, but by the end of season two, it makes little progress, still promising something will come of it later on (you have to continue in the manga to verify this promise). What kills me is that I can see the writer knows what will make for a great love triangle. Instead, matches fill most airtime in season two.Chihayafuru as a whole doesn’t escalate enough. It reaches a good level and gets comfortable, staying there without striving for higher. I had my fill with season one – season two was for the review’s sake.
Chihaya made it a fun ride, though. Art – HighChihayafuru’s cute art and soft colouring reminds of. The animation and mood lighting are good, but that overused bloom – Gondor calls for aid!Sound – HighGood voice work, especially for the protagonist, whose enthusiasm bursts off the screen. Fine music.Story – MediumA girl seeks to establish a Karuta club in her school and win the championship. Happy, energetic and fun, but could do with more drama. Overall Quality – MediumRecommendation: Try it.
Chihayafuru is certainly worth a look for this unusual sport and the energetic protagonist that leads the charge.(. Find out more about the.)Awards: (hover mouse over each award to see descriptions; click award for more recipients)Positive:Negative: None. Japanese Title: Ping Pong the AnimationSimilar:Watched in: Japanese & EnglishGenre: PsychologicalLength: 11 episodesPositives:. Natural, smack talking dialogue.
‘In the action’ cinematography. Realistic about achieving success.Negatives:. Bland protagonist. Dull drama.
Janky art style.Continuing my dive into sports anime, I went for Ping Pong the Animation, a highly rated piece of the genre in the hope of finding the best anime had to offer. Immediately, the art style tempered my hopes. Those ugly characters, especially during the opening credits, are not the most pleasing sight, but I figured it was worth staying for at least one rally.Then once it got rolling, I started to see why people were interested. Ping Pong the Animation is not as I expected it to be, nothing like the usual sports fiction aimed at teenagers. Akin to its art, this anime took the rough and dirty approach to teenagers. Neither their manners nor behaviour was sanitised; they shit talk in every conversation as if their mothers will never hear of it.
They felt like real teenagers. Couple that with the intensely stylised action, camera down low alongside the ball, Ping Pong engaged me to the end. Like the realistic approach to dialogue, Ping Pong is realistic about talent, dreams, and winning. It never resorts to feel-good victories. I love how it focuses on hard work and drive rather than dreaming.
That said, most drama unrelated to the sport itself (ambitions beyond table tennis) lacks that excitement found in the competitions. When it deviates from the sport, it feels a little irrelevant, at least relative to the amount of time dedicated to these side plots.Protagonist Smile isn’t interesting either. He suffers from the ‘quiet character with no story to tell’ problem. I kept wondering when his story would really start, but there is no change, no real development for him by the end. The other characters simply matter more, such that removing him altogether would have changed little. Kong is much more interesting with his story of alienation from China and efforts to succeed in Japan. Art – MediumThe art is simultaneously good and janky.
The lines are rough, proportions inconsistent between shots, and animation is shaky, but the action looks great, camera angles putting you right in the action, your eyes with the ball as it tears across the table. Characters are hideous, though.Sound – HighPing Pong the Animation sports great dialogue – very natural, especially when it comes to the smack talk. I also commend the use of actual Chinese for the Chinese characters.Story – HighSeveral students look to hit it big in ping pong. The struggles are real, the characters interesting (outside the protagonist), and the action intense. Overall Quality – HighRecommendation: A must for sports fans. Where a lot of sports fiction goes for the feel-good vibe, Ping Pong the Animation serves competition with reality in mind.(. Find out more about the.)Awards: (hover mouse over each award to see descriptions; click award for more recipients)Positive:Negative.
Japanese Title: Free!Related: Free! Eternal Summer (sequel – included in review)High Speed!
Starting Days (movie prequel to childhood)Similar:Prince of Stride: AlternativeTsuritamaWatched in: Japanese & EnglishGenre: High SchoolLength: 12 episodes (season 1), 13 episodes (season 2)Positives:. Super fun and enjoyable. Chemistry between main characters. Elegant art style suited to the water. Music gets you pumped to swim.Negatives:. Season 2 largely repeats season 1 drama. Some cheesy confrontations.With the sports genre being least familiar to me, I thought it time to dive in new territory, though I probably should have picked something other than Free!
Iwatobi Swim Club to start with. I wasn’t the target audience for those glistening bodies, tight shorts, and the protagonist undressing every episode.
Well, I’m already halfway across the pool, love the water, so may as well reach the end.Free follows a group of friends and their passion for swimming. In middle school, swimming was life, swimming enveloped every waking moment, but then high school crashed into their bubble of happiness. One of the gang, Rin, moved to Australia to make it as an Olympian. They drifted apart.
Jump to the final years of high school, the mature and sensible one of the group Makoto wants to refresh the passion for swimming with his friends Nagisa (a guy) and Haru (full name: Haruka, also a guy, hates his girly name – they all get made fun of for having girly names). Haru swims for the pleasure of it, needs water like air, to the point where soaking in a fish tank at the pool shop isn’t beyond his dignity. With the loss of the swim team, he’s retreated into his bathtub – wearing his swim trunks, no less – a quiet guy without a passion in the world. Then Rin storms back into their lives (subtle with those shark teeth, guys), attending a nearby school known for excellence in aquatics.
Excepthe has changed. He finds their past childish and doesn’t have time for nonsense like “friendship.” His return motivates the others into reopening the school’s swim club.The childhood memory catalyst works well here. How many times have you seen the ‘childhood friend’ trope only to find nothing indicates they were ever childhood friends? Free sells its impact through the camaraderie between characters. I never doubted they were friends.
The Iwatobi Swim team.The boys enlist the help of their wisdom-quoting literature teacher, a funny character with an embarrassing past involving ‘swim wear’ from her previous Tokyo job, and Rin’s younger sister Kou (real name: Gou, but that’s for boys – having a name commonly used by the opposite gender is a recurring theme). Manager of a swim club is her dream job, surrounded by glistening boys. She creams her knickers at the sight of Haru and “all those hard muscular arms and pecs” – a hilarious fangirl stand-in character. In fact, all characters had me laughing in Free. They are fun to be around, and after the dreary, uninteresting anime I watched previous, this was a refreshing change. “All those beautiful muscles!”Needing a fourth swimmer to qualify as a team, Nagisa uses his boundless enthusiasm to recruit current track & field athlete Rei – “He also has a girl’s name, so he’s destined for the team!” Though I would identify the most with Haru, Rei is my favourite character.
I love his methodology and logic; he hates swimming because he sees it as going backwards in evolution to when we were fish in the ocean. “It’s illogical!”Free has no drought of comedy.
As for conflict, their struggles have an emotional core grounded in reality. Each has something to learn, individual motivations in the goals they strive for, but do so as friends to the end (hopefully).
Swimming doesn’t have the luxury of the physical head-to-head clash found in the likes of boxing or tennis. Free leans heavily on character mindsets to weigh the races with drama, often represented through beautiful metaphors – the wall seeming an ocean away, seeping blackness on the edge of vision, or the feeling of freedom, swimmer alone in the water. These techniques make the sport engaging, though it wouldn’t keep one breathless for a long-running anime. Thankfully, Free doesn’t aim to cross the Pacific. On land, the conflict is a sip overdramatic, yet still enjoyable; if Free hadn’t sold itself as a ‘fun first’ anime, this could have been a problem. Where Free does waver is in its second season.
They introduce a new rival, but from his backstory to his dramatic beats, he’s a near copy of Rin with less emotional impact. Season two isn’t bad, just more of the same and not as funny. Only the final three episodes advance the characters in a meaningful way.For my first traditional sports anime, (technically second, but track & field series Suzuka hardly had any sport) Free! Iwatobi Swim Club was a great start. I expected a fan-service ecchi fest, but no, none of the ‘attractiveness’ comes at the expense of other areas. Free is an excellent example of how to do an ‘attractive’ anime without resorting to the dregs of the fan service barrel. I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this.
Will definitely watch again and am excited to experience more sports anime.Art – HighGreat animation when swimming. Even outside the water, there is plenty instead of usual static pans – hair always moves. These artists know how to create elegant art suited to the water. Also, Sydney, Australia looks perfect – glad they did it justice.Sound – HighThe ED with Haru as the Prince of Persia searching for water in the Arabian Desert, Nagisa dressed like a harem girl, Rin as some water baron, is both a creative metaphor and humorous. Listening to the metal OP, you wouldn’t believe this was a swimming anime. The music in general is good.
I preferred the dub for the less feminine voices on several characters (some sound prepubescent in Japanese), which makes the girly name jokes funnier through contrast; however, the Australian accents are better in Japanese. So surprised!Story – MediumA group of friends seek to revitalise the swim club and bring back the passion for swimming. Free has enough drama to fill the plot, but characters and comedy keep one going to the end. Overall Quality – HighRecommendation: Worth it for the first season, at least.
Stay on for the second if you want to spend more time with the characters. Iwatobi Swim Club is an all-round fun anime anyone can enjoy.(.
Find out more about the.)Awards: (hover mouse over each award to see descriptions; click award for more recipients)Positive:Negative: None Posts navigation.