One of the reasons why I like anime is because it takes on offbeat subjects that cannot be found on regular American television. Like for example: baking bread, tennis, or gambling on a boat in the middle of the ocean playing a bizarre card game. Now you can probably think of anime that make use of the first two themes, but the last one should make you scratch your head in bewilderment; unless you assumed it was Yu-Gi-Oh. Of course the anime I am speaking of is Kaiji; and after only watching the first two episodes I believe this is going to be one wild ride. Check out my first impression of this new series after the jump.
Kaiji loves money, and tries to get as much as he can by gambling with his friends. Unfortunately, he sucks at gambling and has little to no work ethic; which ultimately means he is dirt poor. That is not the worst of it though, because he now owes the yakuza money; and we all know that is not a position anyone wants to be in. All because Kaiji cosigned a loan for a friend of his, a friend who ended up skipping out of the loan leaving Kaiji with the bill. He now has to pay it off, but not only the loan but the increasingly high interest as well.
However, the yakuza—being the nice people that they are—offer him an opportunity to wipe clean all his debts. All Kaiji has to do is board a giant boat dedicated to gambling and come out victorious. However if he looses, he will be in even more debt and sent to a forced labor camp. Kaiji can do nothing at this point, his only option is to agree to their plan and board the boat.
What makes this anime different is that it utilizes games that do not exist in real life. I’m not taking about card battling games like Yu-Gi-Oh or Magic The Gathering, but games like poker or craps. Its better this way because the game can be custom made to emphasize suspense and drama; an aspect that Kaiji seems to excel at.
Now on to the artwork, which is quite ‘unique’ to say the least. Noses are long, heads are misshapen, and something about their teeth really scares me. This look might be bad for most series out there today, but for Kaiji it works. The most important part is that it is consistent; and as long as its consistent, it works for me. Anyways, gamblers are supposed to be ugly.
The opening and ending are great, in both music and in animation. However, I first envisioned the into to be darker than what it turned out to be; though I think it still works. The background music helps emphasize the suspense this series seems to hold so dear. Not to mention there is a sweet song that scares the viewer by constantly saying the word “zawa’; much like the “evil” song from Bleach.
Kaiji , after only two episodes have peaked my interests more than a lot of shows this season so far. I hypothesize that the reason behind this is the fear of unending debt and harsh labor. Death is used in a lot of stories to entice fear, but I think living a hard life of labor and debt is an aspect that we can all relate to and equally would have no part in if there was a choice. If you like suspense, drama, and gambling, then give Kaiji a chance; trust me, so far I haven’t been let down. Not to mention, Nobuyuki Fukumoto, Kaiji’s mangaka won the Kodansha Manga Award for this manga.
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ざわ．．．ざわ．．． (zawa... zawa...)
I never did watch Akagi, but I might watch a bit more of Kaiji :)