Kakegurui & Kakeguruixx

Shonen anime, as great and cool as they may seem can get quite boring sometimes. Year after year and season after season of the same combat styles and fights. Do you want something different? Something more 'intellctual'? Something with more risk? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, Kakegurui is the anime for you.

The first season of the series came out in July 2017 and its second season, Kakeguruixx came out in winter 2019. What exactly does this show have to offer you? The series begins by showing a new student entering Hyakkaou Academy, a school in which only the richest of the richest of students attend. Their parents are politicians and CEOs so money is not a precious commodity to most students. Hyakkaou is a special school. Grades or marks do not matter. The only skill that matters at this school is gambling. The school has its own hierarchy with 'house-pets' at the bottom of the student body and the students who win get to control their 'house-pets' lives. As I mentioned, the series begins with a new student entering the building. Her name is Jabami Yumeko. In the very first episode, we see Yumeko making risky bets while gambling in a game of 'rock-paper-scissors'. Her opponent quickly realizes that Jabami is different. She is a gambling addict who gambles, not for money, but only for fun...


The characters in this series gamble for different motives. Some gamble only for the money, some for torture and some for pleasure. However every gamble in this series is suspenseful and enticing to make the viewer feel like they're in the action. The characters all have a broad range of personalities in both seasons. The characters are unique and different, which allows for a more in-depth analysis of each character.



Both seasons of the series were enjoyable in their own way and presented a series of obstacles in the way of the characters which is always nice to see in an anime with a lot of intellectual depth and risk as it allows characters to 'think outside the box' to eventually find their goals.

Personally, I enjoyed season one more than season two because I enjoyed the classic gambling games represented in the first season more than the less conventional games and gambles shown in the second season, but that's just my opinion.

Overall, I would recommend this anime to anyone who hasn't seen such a unique iteration of the Shonen and Drama series. A bit more character development would have given this anime an extra layer of drama, but it was quite enjoyable, so give it a shot!

Final Score: 8.5/10