Manga Review: Kakegurui Vols 2-3
By: Mithrandiel
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
NOTE: Since the gambling obviously involves money changing hands, and the series uses Yen, I’ll be doing loose conversions to USD for the sake of comparison.As I mentioned in our review of Kakegurui Vol 1, the series has certainly captured my interest. Volume 1 laid the groundwork for the deranged world of Hyakkaou academy; a school where skill in gambling dictates your social status and future potential. The fearsome student council wields tremendous power and influence over the school, that is until the arrival of Yumeko Jabami, a mysterious, extremely skilled, and slightly insane gambler who arrives to great fanfare after a series of high-profile wins. The end of volume 1 saw our heroine defeated at the hands of student council member Nishino, putting her over $3 million in debt and reducing her to the lowest of the housepets.
Volume 2 Review
Volume 2 presents an opportunity for both Mary and Yumeko to relieve some of their debt. This is especially promising for Mary, who is given her "Life Plan" by the student council.
You see, if you get into enough debt with the student council and can't buy your way out, you are their puppet for the rest of your life. Mary realizes that they have every major event of her life planned out and actively seeks out a solution. When the student council makes the announcement of a special gambling event in which you can possibly transfer your debts, she forms an unlikely partnership with none other than Yumeko.The girls end up facing off against Jun Kiwatari, a delinquent and all-around jerk who attempts to take advantage of Yumeko's status as a housepet earlier in the volume. He's accompanied by Nanani Tsubomi, a quiet and submissive partner who is often the target of Kiwatari's bullying. The game? Two card indian poker. The major twist is that everyone has 10 chips, each representing 10% of their total debt. With a staggering burden of $3.1 million, that means that each of Yumeko's chips are worth $310,000! After a few rounds, each team realizes the other is cheating in one way or another, but rather than shut down the methods, they agree to keep them in place and power through.
The game comes down to the final hand, and the best option for team Kiwatari/Tsubomi is for Tsubomi to fold, even though she has a strong hand. Kiwatari attempts to bully her and keep her under his thumb, but Yumeko offers her the opportunity to escape and make Kiwatari a housepet instead; an opportunity that Tsubomi nearly lets slip away. However, she ultimately sides with Yumeko and stays in, securing victory for herself.Kiwatari is pissed, and swears revenge. However, when it comes down the rankings, something is off. Mary ends up placed at #1, followed by Tsubomi, Yumeko and Kiwatari in last place. When he demands an explanation, the girls are happy to explain:
Basically, the values they reported to the student council didn't have to be accurate, so Mary reported Yumeko's debt and vice-versa. At the table they held their placards as though they had the correct debts, but there were no rules against having the right debt value in front of you either. Their trickery meant that Kiwatari took last place, affording him a shameful fate.
In the wake of their victory, Yumeko and Mary form a newfound friendship/alliance, and Tsubomi discovers her independence yet again.Volume 2 did some great work with character development, as Yumeko became less of a lone wolf and begins forming alliances with those around her. This theme continues as the series continues, but I'm glad they didn't wait too long to reveal this side of her. Sure, she was a friend of Suzui's, but he seems all but useless when it comes to what matters most: gambling. This is probably the biggest opportunity when it comes to the characters within Kakegurui: the glaring weakness of Suzui. Still, the volume was a step in the right direction for Kakegurui as we go into volume 3.
Volume 3 Review
Even though Yumeko has chalked up yet another big win, and diminished her debt significantly, she still remains a housepet. As I mentioned before, housepets typically have a miserable existence, with the exception of one "privilege" - the right to challenge anyone, including student council members, to a public match. You only get one shot to use it, and it cannot be refused. Yumeko reveals that her plan is to target the student council president, whom she deems "interesting". However, Midari Ikishima, the chair of the student council beautification committee, doesn't wish to see Yumeko destroyed at the hands of the president: she wants to do it herself!
Midari seeks out Yumeko and challenges her to a game called "ESP". The game takes place across two rooms: one with the dealer, and the other with the two players (Midari and Yumeko). The dealer has 5 cards with different logos on them and lays them out face down in a specific order. The players are supposed to guess what order the dealer placed them in. Each matching card earns you points, and whoever matches more of the dealer's cards, wins. Midari, being a masochist looking for much more than the thrill of winning money, declares that the winner gets to pull the trigger on a gun loaded with a pre-determined number of bullets on the loser one time for each point that's between them (e.g. Midari gets 4, Yumeko gets 2...Midari pulls the trigger twice). This insanely high stakes game splashes in quite a bit of Russian roulette, making it a thrilling gamble!
Suzui and Yumeko's compatibility is put to the ultimate test across the 3-round game of ESP/Russian roulette. Each time, Yumeko is able to play to a draw, not having to pull the trigger, or picks the gun with no bullets in it. After some impressive calculations revolving around video cameras and flipped images, Yumeko is victorious over Midari! Of course, no victory is complete without some sizzling trash-talk from Yumeko:
While this game is going on, there is an interesting sub-plot between Mary and the student council president. In an attempt to bring Mary to heel and slow Yumeko's advances, the president extends Mary an invitation to the student council. Mary thinks it through, but refuses (largely due to pride).Overall, volume 3 continues to make steady progress in fleshing out Yumeko's character and world-building in general. You see a bit more of the student council's inner machinations, and gain even more respect for Yumeko's game-playing skills. Midari's character is a little overdone at times, with numerous outbursts and insane ramblings that begin to grate on you after a while. Still, Kakegurui continues to impress with its ability to draw you into the high-stakes games Yumeko finds herself in.Going forward I'll be reviewing chapter batches by arc, so stay tuned when I review chapters 17-21 on Monday!
