# Kakegurui (2017)

> A transfer student who plays for the thrill of it challenges a corrupt school council that rules its campus through gambling debts.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/63052

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 24
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, drama, thriller
- Network: MBS, TOKYO MX
- Cast: Tatsuya Tokutake, Saori Hayami, Minami Tanaka, Ayaka Fukuhara, Karin Nanami, Yuki Wakai, Tomokazu Sugita, Mayu Udono
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7131720/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: sadistic, tense, stylized, dark, cold, exhilarating

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series as a mixed-to-positive, stylish gambling thriller whose high-stakes games and striking characters carry it despite uneven strength across its run.

## Synopsis

Kakegurui (2017-2019) is a Japanese anime series produced by MAPPA and broadcast on MBS and TOKYO MX, adapted from a manga. Set at the elite Hyakkaou Private Academy, it follows transfer student Yumeko Jabami (voiced by Saori Hayami), a dark and mysterious wildcard who plays for the thrill of it rather than for money. Opposing her is the corrupt student council, where Ryōta Suzui (voiced by Tatsuya Tokutake) is drawn into the orbit of her games, while council members Mary Saotome (voiced by Minami Tanaka) and Kaede Manyuuda (voiced by Tomokazu Sugita) enforce a system built on gambling debts. Losers who cannot pay are demeaned by classmates and forced into servitude, and some wagers cost an eye, fingernails, or worse. Each episode is built around a single escalating game of wits and nerve, with the stakes and psychological pressure rising steadily across two seasons of twelve episodes each. The tone is glossy, sadistic, and hungry, with exaggerated expressions and theatrical staging turning card games into spectacle. Viewers who enjoy Liar Game, Usogui, and Death Note will find resonance in its cold calculation and tense cat-and-mouse psychology. Its 24 episodes deliver a dark, stylish thriller about power, appetite, and the pleasure of risk.

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