In today’s article, I will talk about one of the best animes I had the pleasure of watching, the unpopular Gyakkyō Burai Kaiji. Why unpopular? What is this anime about? Is it worth watching Kaiji? In this article, I will talk about everything regarding this great work, without revealing spoilers.
Why is Kaiji unpopular? Because most people do not accept the art style and drawings that are quite different from traditional animes; it is based on an old manga and has very thick lines. I myself hesitated for years to watch this anime because of the art style, but finally, when I gathered the courage, after 2 episodes I was already used to the style and finished it in 2 days.
For this reason, if you are someone who has not watched this anime because of its art style, you are missing out on a great work that is even compared to Death Note, Steins;Gate, and several other Psychological Thriller animes.
What is the anime Kaiji about?
Kaiji is an anime quite similar to Liar Game where the main character has to participate in gambling games that use a lot of strategies, cheating, and can even be deadly. The synopsis of the anime and manga Gyakkyō Burai Kaiji tells the story of Kaiji, a bum who inherits a debt of millions of yen from a friend, whom he agreed to be a guarantor. He is invited to participate in a ship where he will bet on trivial games with other players to pay off his debts. It seems simple, but the anime goes much deeper.
Unlike Liar Game, the main character Kaiji is not super intelligent; in reality, he is foolish, always getting into trouble, but he manages to turn things around, only to get into trouble again. The anime works a lot with our psychology and keeps us engaged from start to finish. Although the art style may seem childish, the anime has very heavy scenes that affect our emotional and psychological state. Sometimes Kaiji becomes more agonizing and frightening than horror movies and animes, even though it is not an anime focused on fights and action.
Details of the Kaiji Work
The Kaiji work has 2 seasons adapted from 26 episodes and 2 Live Action movies. The manga was created by Nobuyuki Fukumoto and deals very well with the art of gambling. It is divided into arcs. I will leave a list of all Kaiji works:
- Anime 1 – Gyakkyō Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor
- Anime 2 – Gyakkyō Burai Kaiji: Hakairoku-hen
- Manga 1 – Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji
- Manga 2 – Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji
- Manga 3 – Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji
- Manga 4 – Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji: Kazuya-hen
- Manga 5 – Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji: One Poker-hen
- Movie 1 – Kaiji: Jinsei gyakuten gêmu
- Movie 2 – Kaiji 2: Jinsei dakkai gêmu
We recommend that you watch the 2 seasons of the anime and then follow the manga in the Dantenroku arc. The anime is full of twists, suspense, cheating, techniques, terror, and fear. Despite the art style, it is a great work on par with Death Note and Steins;Gate, but like all works, there are points that failed in its adaptation to anime. To conclude the article, I will leave the anime’s opening for you to get to know the music and the proposal of the anime:
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