As an intense game rages on with Student Council member
Kaede, Yumeko feels herself inching closer to her ultimate desire: a chance to
gamble with the most powerful person in Hyakkyu Academy: Student Council
President Kirari Momobami. The odds have
never been this stacked against her and Yumeko might even find herself drawing
newfound friends and allies into her chaos.
For the ultimate rush, the thrill of the gamble and the nirvana of
pleasure it brings her, Yumeko will risk it all. In the end though, her final fate may fall to
the hands of Ryota, Yumeko’s first and closest friend at Hyakkyu. Behold, the ultimate gamble is about to
begin…place your bets.
After so much build up to the most epic match of the
series, it was kind of weird to feel like much of this final set of episodes
kind of faltered a little bit. Maybe the
rules were more confusing than ever. Maybe more time was being taken than usual
to build up a massive meltdown. Im not
sure but besides some pacing issues in the first couple of episodes, we still
got a finale that seemed to act as a nice bookmark for Yumeko Jamabi’s journey
while keeping us all curious about what might lie ahead in Season 2.
Listening to Kaede prattle on about how he had Yumeko
figured out got a bit tiresome after the match began. He had things down to mathematical statistics
and I was just waiting for Yumeko to crush him the way she does, win or
lose. What I didn’t expect was Yumeko
bringing in Itsuki Sumeragi, the fingernail girl Yumeko defeated at the
beginning of the series who had just returned to get on Yumeko’s good
side. Much like Nanami a couple weeks
back, we got to see Yumeko work her manipulative magic to bring out the inner
gambler in Istuki and have her be the one to make the final call that put Kaede
in his proper place. Icing on the cake,
The President was there too. Yeah turns
out the creepy mask wearing student we’ve seen back and forth is actually…a
twin? Idk that was a bit of a weak twist
for me. But with Kaede out of the way,
it was time.
Naturally, we make it to the final episode before Yumeko
and Kirari finally met at the table.
Once again, confusion was everywhere though using tarot cards was a cool
choice to spice things up. I will say
that I didn’t believe for a moment that either Yumeko or Kirari would end up
leaving the school. What I didn’t expect
was Ryota finally coming out of his shell of uncertainty and giving Yumeko the
biggest rush as he held her fate in his hands.
Maybe I’ve gotta change my Yumeko love interest theory from Mary to
Ryota cause he turned her on in the biggest way in the whole show. I will say I feel like Kirari was a bit out
of character, doing very little to talk down to Yumeko’s assembled group of
friends: Mary, Itsuki and Ryota. Instead
there was plenty of civil banter between the two gamblers. Could that be because her twin is the more world
domination like one? Seriously, the twin
twist had better pay off in Season 2 otherwise this is just a waste of time.
And so we end the “first season” of Kakegurui very
different from where things started. The
hierarchy has changed and not one character is the same from when the series
began…except the creepy Umaru looking chick, she’s still a twisted brat. Again, Ryota kind of spells out what’s
obvious: Yumeko’s arrival has changed everything and everyone who’s come into
contact with her. Mary and Itsuki are on
good terms, Itsuki even apparently looks in on a girl who I assume is a victim
of her nail fetish. Midari still longs
for her death but longs a bit more for Yumeko to accept her. And Nanami is walking with a bit more pride
and a smile on her face. Change has come
to this Hell on Earth and even Kirari is taking steps as a result, the
dissolving of the Student Council. How
will this all play out in Season 2 but Yumeko…hopefully will never change.
Final Thoughts?
The first half of Kakegurui was uncomfortable to sit through at times
but always had a breakneck pace and great payoffs. There was hardly a freak out I didn’t enjoy
and watching Yumeko Sherlock her way through all deceit and methods of cheating
was pretty amazing. Yumeko herself, for
all her psycho mindset, was a great Anime heroine. She lives for the gamble but has a kind
heart. She despises cheating but takes
time to listen and judge her opponents, even discovering a couple of new
friends along the way. She’s gorgeous on
the outside but a demon on the inside and she’s just the kind of upheaval
Hyakkyu Academy needs. The rest of the
cast was fun and I’m glad Ryota finally came into his own at the end, otherwise
he’dve remained the weakest member of the cast.
And those freakouts again, man were they something. I haven’t said much about the animation but
it was pretty good, worked on by Studio MAPPA, the people behind Yuri on
Ice. The soundtrack was cool too,
putting chaotic jazz to better use than Gundam Thunderbolt that’s for sure. I’ll admit, some story similarities between
this and Kill la Kill are glaring at times.
I wonder if in Season 2 we’ll learn that Yumeko and Kirari are both
sisters and they’ll have to fight their mother, the head of the Academy, or
something like that.
Final score for Kakegurui is 8.5/10. The story has pacing issues during the second
half and the first half has some of the most uncomfortable moments of any Anime
ive ever seen. Not to mention…the rules
feel like they were made up on the spot just to make everyone sound intelligent
for a moment (though the games themselves are all pretty unique in their own
way). But if you can survive it, there’s
some really good payoffs and everyone gets exactly what’s coming to
them…courtesy of the sexiest kind of crazy, Yumeko Jamabi. Never since Casino Royale has gambling been
so dire with the stakes and yet just as fun.
Well now we’re in the countdown to the 4th
Anniversary of the Anime Corner. As I’ve
announced that the live action Fullmetal Alchemist from last Christmas will be
the celebration review, check back later this week for a double feature review
of the two Fullmetal Alchemist
movies, starting Thursday with Fullmetal
Alchemist: The Movie-The Conqueror of Shamballa, followed by Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of
Milos on Friday and Fullmetal
Alchemist Live Action 2017 on Saturday, March 31, the anniversary day. See ya all then.
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