Bet

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.

So many times, the uber fans, those true to original material bomb the show IMDB with negative reviews, because they are sad.

Came into this show with zero idea of what to expect, but now I have binge watched the whole series. Completely campy & different, but entertaining as hell. It leaned into its roots in anime & did so very well. Young actors who do a great job, also plays on current norms: social media influencers, app gambling, etc.

This won't win a Golden Globe or be on list for best show of the year, but it is really fun & has me interested in what they will do with another season. Watch it!!!!

I'm by no means the target audience for this series; I don't like manga particularly and I'm 40 years old. I was simply bored and looking for a fun watch. And mostly, this was a fun watch. I liked how Yumeko was portrayed and I think she, and all the other characters, could have been way more over the top.

I didn't care much about the plot to be fair. And the sentimental bits I could have done without.

Sometimes it's just nice to watch something that requires zero thought. Plenty of serious stuff around to watch if I'm in the mood for it.

I went in expecting nothing. I left it having had some good laughs and sorta wondering what a second season could bring. Won't hold my breath for it but I'd watch it if I had a couple days off work.

By the way, just look at the writers' names to know it's Americanized. Not necessarily a bad thing. Ymmv.

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.