This genius anime series follows a young, indebted, menial job worker called Kaiji as he becomes entangled in a series of escalating stakes gambling games. As the series progresses, we discover that the games are organized for the benefit of rich businessmen who enjoy watching the poor and desperate players competing against one another. The stakes get quite high as losing can mean a life of slavery and even death, whereas overcoming the odds and winning may result in a ticket to riches and escape from a lifetime of minimum wage jobs. The games develop slowly with the story being told from Kaiji's point of view, and his inner thoughts always weighing and analyzing the implications of each decision. Each game lasts 3-4 episodes and each episode usually ends in a cliff hanger with Kaiji in a desperate situation trying to overcome insurmountable odds. The strength of the series is the realism and complexity of the games themselves. The rules are always clearly explained (often with graphical animations) at the beginning, and we follow Kaiji's thoughts as he first watches the game develop and tries to figure out his best move. There 's a strong "prisoner's dilemma" backdrop to the proceedings, as Kaiji often tries to rally his fellow players to work together against the people he perceives as the true opponents - the organizers of the games - but the games are designed to reward the temptation of self-interest, will Kaiji succeed?
If you like gambling movies like Rounders but in a darker setting - the dark backdrop of a world of haves and have-nots, rich businessmen and a perpetual underclass of young men with no future - and without the Hollywood fluff and formulaic structure, then I highly recommend this series.
If you like gambling movies like Rounders but in a darker setting - the dark backdrop of a world of haves and have-nots, rich businessmen and a perpetual underclass of young men with no future - and without the Hollywood fluff and formulaic structure, then I highly recommend this series.