Anime is a hand-drawn and computer-generated animation that originated in Japan. It was famous among Japanese citizens until it became viral around American audiences when DIC and Funimation licensed Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z.
The world of anime was in the light of people all around the world and it also quickly gained traction from its capacity to cross cultural boundaries and evoke universal themes. In this article, we shall look at some famous animes whose main theme is gambling.
Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor
Table Of Contents
Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is a TV series that is about a young Japanese man who gets involved in a strange game to pay off his debts. The plot describes how he plays the game and the various ways he uses to escape debts and live his life in poverty. There are several episodes of this anime.
In the first episode, Kaiji is approached by a loan shark, Yuji Endo who says that he has a large sum as debt for guaranteeing a loan with a former co-worker who disappeared. He further explains that he has no other option but to repay him and that he could earn quite a bit of money via an unknown gambling event on a ship which Kaiji reluctantly agrees to go for.
The second episode shows Kaiji on the ship among hundreds of other debtors. Inside the ship are many types of gambling games and here, Kaiji is tricked into entering a game event of Rock-paper-scissors and loses two of his stars.
In further episodes, we see Kaiji focused on regaining the stars back and losing more stars along the way. He also tries to manipulate other players in the way he was initially tricked. He wins three stars this way but it does not last long and he is stripped naked and put in a dark room with other losers.
He is soon out after picking a fight with another man and during the fight, he earned a badge with jewelry on it. With this new-found wealth, he sets out and finds that 67 people are out of the place with fresh debts. Eventually, Kaiji is able to survive the Rock-Paper-scissors event but has a new debt of ¥6,295,000.
In later episodes, we see Kaiji working in a convenience store with a lot of debt and in poverty, and this time, he is accused of stealing money actually stolen by his co-worker and we see Endo offering him a chance to clear his debt in one night of gambling. Kaiji accepts this offer, this time the gambling event is at a hotel. He sees some of his old friends there but decides not to make any amends.
The officials explain the game where one must push the person in front of them to win and Kaiji decides not to do it, he sees that his old friends have passed the test and learns that in order to collect their winnings, they have to cross an electrified beam bridge 22 stories above the ground.
The first ten people participate in this and Kaiji sees that two of them did not survive towards the end. But this does not stop Kaiji from retiring and he is still ready to participate until there are only three left. In the end, we see massive decision-making and what actions they make in the desperation to win the lot.
He finally is the only survivor then realizes that the official had tricked the participants by cutting off the power in between and argues that there won’t be any prize for him. Initially angry, Kiji agrees to go to another gambling event that offers ¥100 million and he stupidly agrees to join. A battle begins between Kaiji and the opponent in which a device is implanted into each person’s ear and by losing each round, the device moves 1mm close to their ears.
Kaiji loses 8 rounds in a row and finally finds out that their opponent is cheating by using the device in Kaiji’s ear and decides to cut off his ear in desperation. The two engage in another round and soon realize they are trapped in the hands of the sadistic official and decide to do something about it. Kaiji comes up with the idea of a Tissue Box Raffle and manages to convince the official to play along.
If Kaiji wins, he gets 100 million and if he loses, the official could cut off his fingers. The official figures out his strategy and Kaiji loses his fingers. On his way back, he realizes what a bad decision it was to continue playing and still thirst for revenge.
Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler
Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler is a Japanese manga series that began serialization in 2014 with its chapters collected into 18 volumes as of July 2024.
This anime is set at a school called Hyakkaou Private Academy, a high-class elite school housing the most wealthy and influential people’s children. The student hierarchy in this school is determined by one’s gambling ability. Students are ranked by their monetary contributions to the Student Council which fuels a complicated gambling system where students freely bet their fortunes against one another after class.
Those who win the game will earn popularity, prestige, and connections, and those who lose and fall into debt become slaves. These people will be treated differently and will have “life schedules” mentioning the work they have to do to pay off their debts. This is when Yukemo Jabami, a second-year student enters the school/ she has a keen eye for gambling and she gambles for the thrill of it and not for financial gain which the other students strive for. With her keen knowledge a witty logic, she quickly gains popularity and the president of the school, Kirari Momobami takes an interest in her.
This series is available on Netflix & it is easily one of the most addictive iconic gambling anime out there.
No Game No Life
No Game No Life is a Japanese anime published in 2012. Several novels and series were released based on this storyline and were a hit for each publication. It is available all over the world now.
The story revolves around two siblings, Sora and Shiro are known as the mysterious lank gamers because they never fill in their game. Blank gamers are considered the best gamers in the world as they have never lost any game they have played. One day, the siblings receive a mysterious email that transports them to another world.
The God of this world states that there should be no war, or any form of violence, instead, everything should be considered a game. What starts as a game, remains a game. The siblings initially confused, get the hang of the game and face challenges one after another. Here, if they lose any game, they die.
Both the siblings calculate all the strategies possible for each game and move on steadily when they are faced with a curveball along the way which confuses them the story revolves around the two completing challenges and eventually reaching a kingdom where they meet new people and the aim of this is to prove to be better than the others. Even though there are some questionable scenes in the anime, the viewers are hooked with curiosity and confusion fueled by the thirst of having them win.
Rio: Rainbow Gate
Rio: Rainbow Gate is a Japanese Anime series animated by Xebec. This series revolves around a popular casino dealer, working at Howard Resort.
The series opens up in an Island CAsino called Howard Resort where the protagonist, Rio Rollins is a popular casino dealer with the ability to bring good luck to gamblers just by walking past them.
It all started when Mint Clark started going to casinos with her grandfather to the Howard Resort. Mint gets acquainted with Rio and they soon go for a walk where they get to know each other more; Clark seems to have noticed the luck Rio brings into his life cause no matter what obstacle is in front of him, as soon as Rio intervenes, it vanishes immediately.
To test this out, Rio sat down to play casino games and ended up winning even while taking a high-risk betting nine of his cards. In the coming episodes, we see Rio is called a ‘Goddess of Victory ’ and the owner of thirteen cards called gates. She then is being asked to train new people to be dealers. Although her gambling skills are good, she is a bit clumsy causing fuss inside the casino.
One day Howard takes Rio to a haunted casino where the dealer is called Misery. They soon engage in a bitter match and Rio somehow manages to win the next day, she is informed that a former colleague is been possessed by Misery and they both engage in a fight where if Rio wins, she will have to leave the girls alone. Rio again struggles but she manages to free the friend.
As the story progresses, we see Rio being able to fully take advantage of her abilities and how she makes use of it.
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Death Note
Death Note is a manga series created by Tsugumi Ohba, featuring illustrations by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in twelve volumes from December 2003 to May 2006.
The plot is about a high school student who discovers a mysterious notebook. The book is called “The Death Note”. This book grants the ability to kill anyone whose name is written on the notebook as long as the writer knows their face and name. The series revolves around the aim of creating a crime-free society under the alias of a vigilante named ‘Kira’. Ironically, Kira is the Japanese word for ‘killer’.
The story begins with the protagonist, Light finding a notebook called Death Note when he is in high school. He soon finds out that the note could kill anyone whose name is written on it. The police task force is behind this case finding out who Kira is, the alias under which the crimes are going on. Light soon graduates high school and Detective L, the main guy in the force recruits Light into the Kira Task Force.
Soon, actress Misa Amane acquires a second Death Note from a shinigami named Rem, a supernatural being that guides humans towards death and makes a deal for the shinigami eyes which has the power to reveal the name of anyone whose face she sees in trade for her half lifespan. Misa then discovers that Light is the original Kira when he becomes her boyfriend. Light tries to use her to reveal L’s true name. L finds out that Misa is the second Kira and detains her.
This triggers Rem and threatens to kill Light if he does not find a way to save Misa. Light arranges a scheme where he and Misa temporarily forget about the Death note and it is passed on to another person in the Yotsuba Group called Kyosuke Higuchi. With the memories erased, Light joins L’s investigation deduces Highuchi’s identity and arrests him.
Light then regains his memories and uses the death note to kill Higuchi regaining the possession of the book. Light then instructs Misa to start killing using her death note after regaining her memory which makes her the prime suspect to L. This is soon learned by Rem and she kills L. The task force agrees to have Light operate as the new L and soon the crime rates drop.
Four years later, L’s successors are appointed- Near and Mello. Near works for the US government and Mello joins the mafia. Mello kidnaps Light’s sister in exchange for the notebook using it to kill all of Mear’s team. Another Shinigami called Sidoh goes to Earth to reclaim this notebook and ends up meeting and helping Mello.
The episode breaks into chaos as Light tries to find Mello and ends up attacking Near’s group. Light is wounded and begs the people around him to kill him by writing his name on the notebook. In the later year, the world returned to normal and Lira Task Force members were conflicted about whether they made the right decision; cults worshipping Kira were formed by then.
The Death Note is a 37-episode television series adaptation broadcast on Nippon Television. It was directed by Araki and produced by Madhouse. Additionally, many video games were also published with this live-action drama.
Btooom!
Btooom! Is a Japanese manga series written by Junya Inuoe. Btoom is a comic bunch of more than 26 volumes which was later animated.
The story begins with the adventures of Ryota, an unemployed young man who is one of the world’s top players. He lives with his mother at twenty-two. One day, he wakes up on a tropical island though he does not remember how or why he is there. While calling out for help, a stranger responds by throwing a bomb at him.
Ryota realizes that his life is in danger and that he is somehow trapped in the real version of the game he is playing.
In this game, he meets Himiko, a Btooom player who plays as his in-game wife. As the days go by, investigations pursue in search of Ryota and find that the developer of Btoom! Has been associated with an Illuminati-like organization called the Schwaritz Foundation wherein the leader of the organization is none other than Himiko’s father. This game was an attempt to use the players as subjects to conquer the world entirely through their domination of the virtual world and get rid of the existing crimes they are committing.
The story has two alternate endings in which Ryotu sacrifices himself for Himoko and other players and she gets to meet her dad and expresses her disgust in creating such a death game and detonates a bomb that she hid after making it back to the mainland killing her dad and ending his whole organization; the other ending is where Ryota survives and plans to marry Himoko while the organization is forced to retreat.
Joker Gamett
Joker Gamett is a Japanese anime that is an adaptation of the novel series by Koji Yanagi. This series premiered in June 2016.
The opening scene shows a world before the Second World War in 1937. Yuki is the founder of the D-Agency and a lieutenant of the Imperial Japanese Army. As a spy, he was named the “Demon Lord.” He was so good at his academics that he was expelled from school due to his cowardly fighting tactics, which led him to open the D-Academy.
The story revolves around the adventures the team goes through investigating various crimes. One such incident is when Yuki wakes in France as part of his mission and is on a mission with Alian, Jean, and Marie. When German soldiers surround their house, Yuki fixes their only gun and gives it to Marie. He also creates a dust explosion that gives them enough time to escape.
Saki
Saki is a 2009 premiere Japanese manga written by Ritz Kobayashi. The protagonist of the story is Saki Miyanaga, a skilled mahjong player who joins her high school’s mahjong club despite previously hating the game.
In this series, she gets an invite to check out Kiyosumi High School’s mahjong club and play along with fellow members Nadoka Haramura and Yuki Kataoka. The club’s president soon notices her talent to score high points in the game and when asked about it her friends, mention that she manages to win every game due to her family’s pressure and that she doesn’t really like the game.
The president then gives her another variant of the game which she wins with ease and making herself surprised, she suddenly shows some appreciation for the game. She then decides to join the mahjong club so she can play and win more games.
Nadoka seems to have a teensy bit of jealousy towards Saki as she broke her streak of winning consistently and the fact that Saki does not like the game and even then manages to win every game. In later episodes, Hisa and Mako, Saki’s fellow members join a mahjong club which turns out to be a retreat training club for those who play mahjong.
Saki, not knowing this, plans to go see a waterfall where the members of the club get acquainted with her and invite her to join; they get to witness how good of a player she is and soon Saki’s team reaches the semi-finals when she beats one of the opposite players with her skills.
As the final match begins, the team peers get to know each other a little more and find out that Mihoko wants to dominate the whole team. This is followed by tough matches and the team encounters several dramas and scenes where Hisa and Mihoko come face-to-face after years.
In the end, as the training camp ends, they try to hold a meeting with all members and end up splitting for leisure time. Saki and Teru have some romance going on and Hisa finally confirms it. When confronted about it to Teru, he denies it leaving Saki distraught. Nadoka cheers her up by taking her to a temple and they exchange souvenirs. By the time they return to the camp, they are greeted by Hisa who leads them both to a training room where the players are seated and ready to play.
Final Note
Out of all the summaries I have written, almost all animes are top-notch and very hard to choose from, even to binge-watch. As all of the stories deal with gambling, we all will have an idea of its adverse effects and all the negatives. If there is one piece of advice to convey through these anime, it is that there is a very thin line between gambling for the thrill and the other cause of its addiction. All the animes are binge-worthy as long as you do not spend twenty-four hours on them! With a warning that these animes might get addictive, watch out and take care!
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FAQs
Gambling anime is popular due to its unique plot, great animation, neurological responses from watching the show, and the central theme of each anime.
No, anime is not solely focused on gambling it is just seen as a source of entertainment among children and adults regardless.
Among the ones that are mentioned here, I personally really liked Kakkegurui as the story plot in itself is too absurd to be true which makes the whole series more interesting to watch which is weird.
Of course, anime is never targeted at a specific audience. People all over the world can watch it no matter where they may be.
These animes are available on various platforms like Netflix, telegram, and other websites. Some animes may be restricted to some countries which we get to access through VPN.
