Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler

This article is about the Japanese manga series. For its film adaptation, see Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler (film).

Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler
File:Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler, Volume 1.jpg Cover of the first manga volume, featuring Yumeko Jabami
賭ケグルイ (Kakegurui)
Genre	Gambling Psychological thriller
Manga
Written by	Homura Kawamoto
Illustrated by	Tōru Naomura
Published by	Square Enix
English publisher	NA Yen Press
Demographic	Shōnen
Imprint	GC Joker
Magazine	Gangan Joker
Original run	March 22, 2014 – present
Volumes	15
Spin-off manga
Kakegurui Twin (2015–present)
Anime television series
Kakegurui (2017–19)
Live-action
TV series (2018–19) Film (2019)

Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler is a Japanese manga series written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Tōru Naomura. It began serialization in Square Enix's Gangan Joker in March 2014, with its chapters additionally collected into fourteen tankōbon volumes as of February 2021. In North America, the manga has been licensed for English-language release by Yen Press. The series has also inspired numerous spin-off manga, including a prequel titled Kakegurui Twin.

The story of Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler takes place at Hyakkaou Private Academy, one of Japan's most prestigious schools where, unlike normal schools, the hierarchy is determined by gambling. Yumeko Jabami is a transfer student whose beautiful, innocent façade hides a psychotic addiction to gambling and high-stakes situations. With a keen intellect able to pierce through the elaborate cheating methods used by the most powerful students to rig games in their favour, Yumeko threatens to destroy the twisted hierarchy of the school simply for the thrill of it.

An anime television adaptation by MAPPA aired in Japan from July to September 2017. A second season, titled Kakegurui ××, aired from January to March 2019. The anime series has been licensed and streamed by Netflix outside of Japan. Two light novels based on the manga have been released by Square Enix in August 2017 and March 2019, respectively. A live-action drama adaptation aired in Japan from January to March 2018, while a second season aired in April 2019. A video game adaptation was released in November 2018, but it became inaccessible after its servers were closed down in March 2020. A film adaptation featuring the same actors from the drama premiered in May 2019. A sequel to the film premiered in June 2021.

Synopsis

See also: List of Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler characters

Setting

Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler is set at Hyakkaou Private Academy, a high-class elite school housing the children of Japan's wealthiest and most influential people, with many future leaders and professionals among the student body. However, the student hierarchy in this school is not determined by academic performance or athletic ability, but rather by gambling.

Students are ranked by their monetary contributions to the Student Council, which fuels an intricate gambling system where students freely bet their fortunes against one another after class. Those who win earn popularity, prestige and connections, while those who lose and fall into debt become slaves to the whims of the remainder of the student body known as Pets, nicknamed "Doggy" or "Kitty" ("Fido" or "Mittens" in the dub) depending on gender and identified with a collar-like tag around their necks. Pets who are unable to clear their debts by the graduation receive "Life Schedules" which dictate their futures as they work to pay off their debts.

Premise

Second-year student Yumeko Jabami is, at first glance, a beautiful, cheerful and intelligent high school girl who recently transferred to Hyakkaou Private Academy, but deep inside she is a compulsive gambler who simply gambles for the thrill of it, unlike the rest of the students from Hyakkaou who do so for financial or social gain. Unrestrained by rules or logic, and with an exceptional observation ability to see through gambling scams, she quickly disrupts the hierarchy of the school, drawing the attention of the Student Council, especially its president, Kirari Momobami, who takes interest in Yumeko.

Publication

Main series

Main article: List of Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler chapters

Written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Tōru Naomura, the manga series Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler began its serialization in Square Enix's Gangan Joker anthology magazine on March 22, 2014. Square Enix has compiled and published its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on October 22, 2014, and fourteen volumes have been released as of February 22, 2021. At Anime Expo 2015, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the manga for English-language release in North America.

Spin-offs

See also: List of Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler chapters § Spin-offs

A spin-off series, titled Kakegurui Twin, focused on Mary Saotome prior to the main story, is written by Kawamoto and illustrated by Kei Saiki. It is serialized in Square Enix's Gangan Joker since September 21, 2015. The manga has been licensed by Yen Press. A 4-panel comedy spin-off written by Kawamoto and illustrated by Taku Kawamura, titled Kakegurui (Kakkokari), was launched in Gangan Joker on December 22, 2016. Its chapters are collected and published by Square Enix into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on June 22, 2017, and eight volumes have been released as of February 22, 2021. Another spin-off, titled Kakegurui Midari, which focuses on the history of Midari Ikishima, was written by Kawamoto and illustrated by Yūichi Hiiragi. It was serialized on Square Enix app Manga UP! from February 21, 2017 to May 19, 2020. Square Enix compiled its chapters into four tankōbon volumes.

Related media

Anime series

Main article: Kakegurui (2017 TV series)

An anime television series animated by MAPPA aired from July 1 to September 23, 2017, on Tokyo MX, MBS and other channels. Yuichiro Hayashi directed the series, Yasuko Kobayashi handled the scripts, and Manabu Akita handled the character designs. TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND composed the music for the series. The opening theme, "Deal with the Devil", is performed by Tia. D-Selections performed the ending theme "LAYon-theLINE". The series ran for 12 episodes. The series is licensed and streamed outside of Japan by Netflix, while Anime Limited acquired the series for release on home video in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Sentai Filmworks released the anime on Blu-ray on November 30, 2021 with a new English dub.

A second season, titled Kakegurui ××, aired from January 8 to March 26, 2019 on MBS, TV Aichi, and other channels. The cast reprised their roles, and the staff returned for the second season. Kiyoshi Matsuda joined Yuichiro Hayashi as director for the second season. The second season's opening theme song "Kono Yubi Tomare" is performed by JUNNA, and the ending theme song "AlegriA" is performed by D-selections. The second season ran for 12 episodes. Netflix released season 2 outside of Japan on June 13, 2019.

Light novels

A light novel titled Kakegurui Trip, written by Hikaru Muno (Kawamoto's younger brother) and illustrated by Naomura, was published on August 22, 2017 by Square Enix. A second light novel titled Kakegurui Joker, also written by Muno and illustrated by Naomura, was published on March 22, 2019 by Square Enix.

Television drama

Main article: Kakegurui (2018 TV series)

A Japanese television drama adaptation was first announced on November 21, 2017. The drama, directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa, was first broadcast on MBS on January 14, 2018, and TBS' slot Dramaism on January 16, 2018. The opening theme is sung by Re:versed titled "Ichi ka Bachi ka" while the theme song titled "Strawberry Feels" is sung by BIGMAMA.

After the live-action series premiered in Japan on January 14, 2018, it became available for streaming on Netflix in the United States and United Kingdom in early May, 2018. It became available in the Philippines on February 1, 2020, and Netflix Japan on July 2, 2018. The drama was streamed on Netflix in Japanese with subtitles including English, Spanish, Chinese, and Thai in May 2018.

In January 2019, the theme song "mummy mummy" for the second live-action season was released, by the rock band Bigmama. Passcode performed the opening song "Ichi ka Bachi ka" ("All or Nothing"). The second season premiered on April 1, 2019 on MBS and TBS, and ran for five episodes. The second season streamed on Netflix in July 2019.

Theatrical films

Main article: Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler (film)

In August 2018, it was announced that a live-action film adaptation of Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler would premiere in 2019. It features the same actors from the television drama, and stars Minami Hamabe as the protagonist Yumeko Jabami, along with Mahiro Takasugi, Aoi Morikawa and Elaiza Ikeda as Ryota Suzui, Mary Saotome and Kirari Momobami, respectively. The film, directed by Hayato Kawai and distributed by GAGA Pictures, was officially released in Japan on May 3, 2019.

On August 29, 2020, a sequel to the first movie was announced to be released in 2021, with Hanabusa (who directed the television drama) replacing Kawai as the film's director. In addition to directing, Hanabusa also co-wrote the screenplay along with Minato Takano. The sequel features a returning cast set to reprise their roles from the first film. It premiered on June 1, 2021.

Video game

On July 14, 2017, registration started on the official website for a video game adaptation entitled Kakegurui: Cheating Allowed, which was developed by Wizcorp and Crossover for the iOS and Android systems. On December 28, 2017, it was revealed on the official Twitter account for the game that its original release was delayed to November 20, 2018 in order to make improvements to the gameplay, which features a gambling system similar to that shown in the manga. On March 27, 2020, the servers were officially closed down and the game became inaccessible.

Reception

As of February 2019, the manga had over 5 million copies in print.

See also

• Gambling in Japan

Explanatory notes

Japanese

External links

• Official website
• Kakegurui: Cheating Allowed official Twitter on Twitter
• Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia