Bet

Truly do not understand the terrible reviews. If you go into this expecting some sort of cinematic masterpiece then yeah, you're going to be disappointed and hate yourself. But that's on you.

I found the show oddly compelling and totally binged it, as evidenced by my writing a review on the whole thing, what, a day or two after it was released? Don't judge me, I have no life. 😂

The acting is touch and go - Yumeko is great, Ryan is good, Michael is freaking terrible. The plot is thin, because it spends too much time laser-focused on a singular aspect before blowing it wide open on the penultimate episode - this was a miscalculation that may cost the series a second season, though I find myself hoping not.

All in all, I'd watch a second season and -do- recommend the series...but you HAVE to go into it with zero expectations and just enjoy it for it what it is. Let yourself have some fun - it ain't gonna kill ya. ;)

Was gonna give it a 7, but subtracted a star for the Japanese RickRoll at the end of the finale.

This is a much uneccessary adaption. The acting is super cringe and I have seen students' movies with much better acting. Mostly all the actors are over the age of enrolling in high school. The genderbend Suki character is uneccessary and the most cringy twist to this adaption. The writing for this character is subpar and the actor didn't do much better job in portraying the character. It comes off as a parody of a certain internet personality rather than a real person.

The plot doesn't focus much on games and twists which are the most exciting parts of Kakegurui. Instead, all the games scenes are portraying in a lackluster way while giving screen time for cringy dialog and more subpar acting.

At one end of the critical spectrum I bet we have the anime faithful who feel betrayed in whatever capacity, and at the other I'll wager we have friends and families of the live action adaptation. I'm putting my money on Yumeko, since Ms. Martineau is clearly having a field day playing an unhinged gambler with a hidden feudal Japanese clan agenda. The rest of the cast is acting like they have an actual stake in this game, and the overall vibe is I daresay, delightfully mischievous, with a sprinkle of Sex Education (minus the good vibes). Plus, how can you go wrong with the message that the world is controlled by soulless cheats who run it like a roulette table with a hidden switch. Of course our true overlords are the tech idiot savants who are ruining the planet, but their avatars on this remake of Kakegurui will do.

Kakegurui didn't need this. The anime was stylish, chaotic brilliance, and the original live action adaptation already captured that well enough. This remake is a total insult. It reeks of lazy Americanization, stripping out everything unique and replacing it with bland, safe garbage. The actors look like they were pulled from a casting call for toothpaste commercials hawkweed, unattractive, and completely lacking the unhinged magnetism the roles demand. The cinematography is flat, the energy is gone, and every creative choice feels sanitized by clueless execs chasing trends. It's not just bad. It's embarrassing. Don't watch this.

It isn't actually that bad if you stop comparing it to the anime. The plot is good and the charcters are designed to portray their personalities that follow the plot. The aesthetics of the series were also not so bad. I liked that they made the student council stand out with the black suits as well.

We can all agree to disagree that this series would have been better on its own though. But lets remember that it is BASED on Kagegurui, it is not meant to be accurate.

Miku did a great job portraying Yumeko and the rest of the actors did their best. A reminder to be kind to the actors as it is not their fault for being casted.