Kakegurui (sometimes spelled as “kakegasuru”) is a Japanese manga series written by Homura Kawamori and drawn by Toru Naomura that was later turned into an anime series called Kakegurui: The Legend of the Five Tigers. In Japan, it is one of the most popular and best-selling comic books among children and teenagers. This series is very famous for its illustrations and colorful art. The story follows high school student Kakegurui as he joins the World Martial Arts Tournament to challenge the others.
The story of Kakegurui was actually inspired from the real life Japanese legend of Gingka. This legendary ninja was famous for being able to blend in with his enemies’ disguises. This allowed him to blend into any situation without being easily detected. However, in this live-action version, Kakegurui has also become a Shinigami. He then joins the tournament in order to eliminate the other six shinigamis.
One of the most important themes of Kakegurui: The Legend of the Five Tigers is the struggle of a young boy to control his anger about himself. The second season of Kakegurui has already shown how this theme plays out. In the second season, Kakegurui faces off against the new Shihoin and struggles with him for control of the Shihoin’s Shikai.
As previously mentioned, the animation was done in high quality. It looks quite nice despite some having cartoonish proportions. The live-action adaptation is also well-animated. The movements are smooth and realistic, while still having that 3D effect. It looks as if they took the best parts of the anime and combined them with those from the live action to create the ideal animated fantasy.
It would be fair to say that this was not an anime series specifically aimed at the gambling community or for anyone with deep pockets. The story may appear to be aimed at a mainstream audience but the main target audience is the younger generations. Although it is based on a traditional Japanese myth, the story does appeal to the western world as well. There are references to things like the Lottery, which has made it very popular in the UK and US. Some people who live in the UK and US might find the references in Kakegurui to be a little strange but it is still an enjoyable watch.
The first episode of Kakegurui has a lot of hype already surrounding it. They have claimed that this will be the first ever live-action gambling movie. It’s not unlikely that they will add more characters into the mix as the live action progresses. If you are a fan of Japanese animation and live-action then this could be an option for you. If not, it is likely that you’ll find this opening theme tune to be quite annoying. As with any animated Japanese film, I am expecting more of the same in the future.
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