Kaiji (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese manga
series about the art of gambling
, written by Nobuyuki Fukumoto
. It is published by Kodansha
in Young Magazine
. The first part of the manga (13 volumes), was adapted as a 26-episode anime
television series called , which began airing October 2007. A live-action 'Kaiji' movie was released October 10, 2009 in Japan with Tatsuya Fujiwara
playing the role of Kaiji.
Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji is considered Fukumoto's most famous work, and is well known in both Japan and Korea. In 1998, it was the winner of the Kodansha Manga Award
in the General category. A second television anime series based on the second arc of the manga, entitled premiered April 5, 2011 and ran until September 27, 2011.
to get a job, but he fails to find steady employment because of his eccentric disposition and because the country is mired in its first recession
since World War II
. Depressed, he festers in his apartment, biding his time with cheap pranks, gambling, liquor and cigarettes. Kaiji is always thinking about money and his perpetual poverty frequently brings him to tears.
Kaiji's unrelenting misery continues for two years until he is paid an unexpected visit from a man named Endō, who wants to collect an outstanding debt owed to him in Kaiji's name. Endō gives Kaiji two options - either spend ten years to repay this outstanding debt, or board the gambling ship Espoir ("hope" in French) for one night to clear the debt. Using a con, Endō pressures Kaiji into accepting the deal, believing he will never come back from the voyage.
However, Kaiji survives the gamble and is invited to another gambling night, this time at the Starside Hotel. Although initially wary about the offer, he is spurred by his acquaintance Sahara to go. After being the only survivor of the Human Derby, Kaiji decides to avenge his friends by competing in another gamble the Teiai Corporation has prepared; E-Card.
Though Kaiji survives the Starside Hotel he now has a debt of over 9.5 million Yen. He contacts Endō in the hope being able to take part in another high stakes gamble. However Endō betrays Kaiji and sends him to Love Emperor's underground labour camp where he will have to work off his debt for 15 years. In the labour camp Kaiji is paid 91,000 pelica per month (10 pelica are equal to 1 Yen) to dig an underground kingdom. This is reduced to 45,000 pelica after Kaiji loses to Ōtsuki in Chinchirorin. However Kaiji allies himself with other 45ers (those earning 45,000 pelica per month) to defeat Ōtsuki and win enough money for the one day pass.
Though Kaiji manages to get out of the labor camp with 800,000 Yen but he only has 20 days to earn the 60 million Yen he needs to buy his freedom and release the other 45ers. Fortunately Kaiji comes across Sakazaki who tells him of a pachinko
game known as the Bog in a high stakes casino where Kaiji can win over 550 million Yen. Kaiji agrees to help Sakazaki beat the bog however the casino is owned by Love Emperor and the Bog has been rigged to ensure that it won't pay out.
After finally clearing his debt Kaiji has been living with Sakazaki and his family until Sakazaki kicks Kaiji out with 3 million Yen in cash. Kaiji then agrees to help the former 45ers Miyoshi and Maeda beat the president of a casino at his Minefield Mahjong game and win 200 million Yen.
Kazuya Hyōdō
Series 2
Series 3
and Yuki Amami
and a 2011 sequel, Kaiji 2.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series about the art of gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, written by Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Nobuyuki Fukumoto
is a Japanese manga artist well known throughout the Far East for his unique and original gambling ideas, deep psychological analysis of characters and distinct artstyle. Yakuza and gambling are recurring themes in his manga. In English speaking countries, he is known best as the author of Akagi, a...
. It is published by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
in Young Magazine
Young Magazine
is a Japanese manga magazine published weekly by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at adult males . It is also known as Young or YM. It goes on sale Monday every week...
. The first part of the manga (13 volumes), was adapted as a 26-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series called , which began airing October 2007. A live-action 'Kaiji' movie was released October 10, 2009 in Japan with Tatsuya Fujiwara
Tatsuya Fujiwara
is a Japanese television and film actor.-Biography:Born in Saitama, Fujiwara has had an interest in acting from a young age.He is famous for acting the part of Shuya Nanahara in the controversial 2000 film Battle Royale and continues the character as a leader of the Wild Seven in the sequel, Battle...
playing the role of Kaiji.
Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji is considered Fukumoto's most famous work, and is well known in both Japan and Korea. In 1998, it was the winner of the Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
in the General category. A second television anime series based on the second arc of the manga, entitled premiered April 5, 2011 and ran until September 27, 2011.
Story
After graduating from high school in 1996 in Japan, Itō Kaiji moves to TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to get a job, but he fails to find steady employment because of his eccentric disposition and because the country is mired in its first recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Depressed, he festers in his apartment, biding his time with cheap pranks, gambling, liquor and cigarettes. Kaiji is always thinking about money and his perpetual poverty frequently brings him to tears.
Kaiji's unrelenting misery continues for two years until he is paid an unexpected visit from a man named Endō, who wants to collect an outstanding debt owed to him in Kaiji's name. Endō gives Kaiji two options - either spend ten years to repay this outstanding debt, or board the gambling ship Espoir ("hope" in French) for one night to clear the debt. Using a con, Endō pressures Kaiji into accepting the deal, believing he will never come back from the voyage.
However, Kaiji survives the gamble and is invited to another gambling night, this time at the Starside Hotel. Although initially wary about the offer, he is spurred by his acquaintance Sahara to go. After being the only survivor of the Human Derby, Kaiji decides to avenge his friends by competing in another gamble the Teiai Corporation has prepared; E-Card.
Though Kaiji survives the Starside Hotel he now has a debt of over 9.5 million Yen. He contacts Endō in the hope being able to take part in another high stakes gamble. However Endō betrays Kaiji and sends him to Love Emperor's underground labour camp where he will have to work off his debt for 15 years. In the labour camp Kaiji is paid 91,000 pelica per month (10 pelica are equal to 1 Yen) to dig an underground kingdom. This is reduced to 45,000 pelica after Kaiji loses to Ōtsuki in Chinchirorin. However Kaiji allies himself with other 45ers (those earning 45,000 pelica per month) to defeat Ōtsuki and win enough money for the one day pass.
Though Kaiji manages to get out of the labor camp with 800,000 Yen but he only has 20 days to earn the 60 million Yen he needs to buy his freedom and release the other 45ers. Fortunately Kaiji comes across Sakazaki who tells him of a pachinko
Pachinko
is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
game known as the Bog in a high stakes casino where Kaiji can win over 550 million Yen. Kaiji agrees to help Sakazaki beat the bog however the casino is owned by Love Emperor and the Bog has been rigged to ensure that it won't pay out.
After finally clearing his debt Kaiji has been living with Sakazaki and his family until Sakazaki kicks Kaiji out with 3 million Yen in cash. Kaiji then agrees to help the former 45ers Miyoshi and Maeda beat the president of a casino at his Minefield Mahjong game and win 200 million Yen.
Characters
- The main character of the story. Kaiji is in poverty - he lives by himself in a slum and is constantly in debt. He bides his time by playing cheap gambling games with neighbors, though he always loses. In spite of this, when his life is in danger, he displays a remarkable hidden capacity for gambling, which allows him to endure the hardships he faces in the manga. He is shouldered with a 3,850,000 yen debt at the beginning of the story by a co-worker who convinced him into consigning a loan, leaving Kaiji with the full weight of the debt compounded over a year.
- Masato Hagiwara, the voice of Akagi ShigeruAkagi (manga)is a mahjong centric Japanese manga, written by Nobuyuki Fukumoto and first published in 1992. It is featured in the weekly magazine Modern Mahjong, and is a prequel to the author's previous work Ten, in which Akagi's titular character also appears...
reprises his role as lead in the second anime adaption of a Nobuyuki Fukumoto work, opposite Masane Tsukayama who again plays an elderly, refined villain.
- Wealthy socialite and president of the powerful financial consulting firm , not to mention owner and sponsor of underground gambling tournaments like those on board Espoir. He is believed to be seventy years old and worth several hundred billion yen. Driven mad by wealth, conventional hobbies fail to entertain him, so he funds gambling tournaments to watch the destitute of society struggle against overwhelming terror and despair.
- He meets Kaiji in the final segment of the first series of manga, where Kaiji is selected by lottery to compete in the "Castle of Despair". Hyōdō's talents for winning in anything have earned him the title of "king" by some, though others merely call him "very lucky". His first full manga appearance was in volume 8 - prior to that, all readers saw of Hyōdō was his finger tapping.
- In many ways, Hyōdō is quite similar to Washizu Iwao, who was also voiced by Masane Tsukayama.
- A dirty loan sharkLoan sharkA loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
with ties to the yakuzaYakuza, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
. He lends out large sums of money to the desperate, but charges an absurd (and illegal) interest rate. He tracks down Kaiji after a client of his, Furuhata, disappeared without repaying a loan, which Kaiji cosigned in an act of weakness. Recognizing Kaiji could never repay the loan, Endō offers him the opportunity to board the gambling ship Espoir, where he would be able repay his debt and make some money as well.
- After Kaiji defeats Tonegawa his organization suffers because they now lack any connection to the upper management of Teiai. After Kaiji goes to Endō for another high risk gamble Endō drugs Kaiji and sends him to an underground labour camp. When Kaiji is released he goes to Endō for a loan to get enough money to beat the Bog. Endō helps Kaiji borrow 500,000 Yen to beat the Bog and helps Kaiji weaken it. During the battle with the Bog Endō loans Kaiji another 100,000 Yen at a very high rate of interest. After Kaiji's victory he drugs Kaiji, takes the extra money owed him, and leaves.
Part 1 - The Ship of Hope, Espoir
- One of the veterans of previous voyages on Espoir, Funai is an excellent conmanConfidence trickA confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
and uses the fears and worries of the other competitors to his advantage. He "befriends" Kaiji during his first night and explains the unofficial rules to him, and the two agree to form an alliance - both will exhaust their number of gesture cards without having to lose any star pendants. However, at the last minute, Funai backstabs Kaiji and scams him out of two star pendants, leaving him with a single card and a hopeless situation. He is defeated by Kaiji and loses five star pendants to him in a sudden death gamble near the end of the voyage. In many ways, he is similar to Urabe from Akagi.
- Debtor and one-time coworker of Kaiji. One year before the first tournament on Espoir, he lured Kaiji into cosigning a loan for him, making Kaiji liable in case Furuhata did not repay the loan. Although believed to have disappeared, Kaiji discovers him on Espoir and makes an alliance with him after Funai's betrayal. Furuhata is the sharper of Kaiji's allies, and is able to follow and quickly adapt to Kaiji's strategies. Furuhata betrays Kaiji and attempts to use his funds to escape the ship.
- A bespectacled, fat man who forms and alliance with Kaiji and Furuhata after losing all of his gesture cards. Unlike Furuhata, Andō is more opportunistic and tried to backstab the group within minutes of it forming. He usually has to have Kaiji's strategies explained to him by Furuhata. After the gamble of Restricted Rock, Paper, Scissors ends, he betrays Kaiji, and has no regrets about it.
- A clear-headed man who came up with a strategy of buying up all the rock cards and holding them constant; as the other cards deplete, he and his men then prey on those who have scissors. However, he was surprised to learn that Kaiji discovered the same strategy and purchased all the rocks, so in turn he purchased all the paper cards, effectively making Kaiji's strategy useless. After defeating Andō and Furuhata, Kitami approaches Kaiji and admits he was impressed another contestant figured how to manipulate the game, offering him the honor of being his final opponent. He is outsmarted by Kaiji, then blackmailBlackmailIn common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ed into selling all of his paper cards to him.
Part 2 - The Skyscraper of Darkness, Starside Hotel
- A debt-ridden man who opted to participate on Espoir in an effort to clear his debts, but failed. He was saved from death on a whim by Kaiji, but to spare his wife and son from debt he agreed to participate in another gambling tournament, the Human Derby. In the first leg of the race, Ishida accomplished second place, earning a certificate redeemable for 10,000,000¥. During the second part of the race, while overcome by immense fear, Ishida recognized that he was not a man born to be a success in this world, and entrusted his certificate to Kaiji, who he felt had the skill, power and confidence to survive. He urges Kaiji to go forward and not look back, and while Kaiji is concentrating on maintaining his balance, Ishida falls from the steel bridge, covering his mouth so Kaiji would not hear his screams.
- Kaiji's younger co-worker at a convenience store he found employment at following his survival of Espoir. Sahara dreams of finding his big break in life, and like Kaiji feels he is getting nowhere with his dead-end job. He begs Endō to permit him to participate in the Human Derby, despite warnings from Kaiji. Sahara's youthful strength and impulsiveness benefit him greatly in the gamble, and he gets a strong lead on the other racers, earning first place in Kaiji's block and receiving a certificate redeemable for 20,000,000¥. In the second leg of the race, Sahara is the first to reach the other side of the second bridge - however, before he can cash his earnings from the Starside Hotel, he falls into a trap set up by Kazutaka Hyōdō and is killed.
- A powerful business magnateBusiness magnateA business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
and the third highest ranking executive in the financial firm Love Emperor. He serves as the host and overseer for both the Restricted Rock, Paper, Scissor and Human Derby games while acting as the opponent for the E-Card gamble. A stout man of middle-age, Tonegawa is a staunch realistPhilosophical realismContemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....
, believing those who risk their lives in Love Emperor's tournaments to be street trash at the mercy of society and those with superior abilities and initiative. By reputation Tonegawa is a master of human psychology and the art of observation, displaying acts of insight so profound his abilities appear supernaturalSupernaturalThe supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
. He is defeated by Kaiji in E-Card and thrown out of power by Hyōdō Kazutaka; with his downfall a power vacuum appears in Love Emperor's inner circle, leading to chaos among the management. Many of those who are loyal to Tonegawa's faction within the company, notably Kaiji's debtor Endō Yuuji, disappear without a trace. Tonegawa himself is lead away after his defeat and is never seen again.
Part 3
- Kurosaki has served in Teiai Group for years and is a friend of Hyōdō. He was promoted to the position of second-in-command of Teiai Group one year after Kaiji defeats Tonegawa; replacing Tonegawa's faction as the dominant faction. Kurosaki seems to be more friendly that Tonegawa as he praised Ōtsuki for his Chinchirorin rules but states that because Ōtsuki failed to think of a worse case scenario this caused him to be defeated. He also promotes fairness, such as refusing to let Ōtsuki back out of his bet, rather than threatening people.
- Kurosaki appears to be in charge of the underground labour camp where Kaiji is sent and resides nearby. This was demonstrated when he was shown watching Kaiji gambling with Ōtsuki at Chinchirorin but was able to travel to the labour camp and arrive after Ōtsuki got his safe.
- Foreman for group E in the underground labor camp and Kaiji's supervisor. Together with Isawa and Numagawa he makes a lot of money selling food, alcohol, and tobacco at twice their retail price to those in the labor camp and by winning at Chinchirorin. Though he was initially friendly to Kaiji this was a ruse to encourage Kaiji to spend his all money buying food and alcohol from Ōtsuki. Ōtsuki then loans Kaiji some money to play Chinchirorin, then wins this money back from Kaiji and forces Kaiji to work for half-pay to repay the debt. After Kaiji figures out that Ōtsuki is cheating by using 4-5-6 dice (dice without the number 1, 2, or 3 on them) he exposes Ōtsuki in front of everyone. Ōtsuki then agrees to let Kaiji and the other 45ers use rigged dice against him thinking he will only have to pay 2 or 3 times the amount bet, however Kaiji and the 45ers uses rigged dice that only role 1 so Ōtsuki has to pay 5 times the amount bet (under Ōtsuki's rules if the 3 dice all show 1 the player wins 5 times their bet). After being dealer for 2 rounds Ōtsuki loses over 18 million pelica.
- Another person in group E paying off their debts by working in the underground labor camps. He keeps a record of all the wins in Chinchirorin which makes Kaiji realise how Ōtsuki is cheating. He and several others earning 45,000 pelica help Kaiji defeat Ōtsuki.
- A middle aged man who seeks to beat the Bog and win enough money to buy a house so his wife and daughter will return to him. At first he wants Kaiji to help him beat the Bog but later helps Kaiji defeat the Bog.
- Manager of the casino that owns the Bog. He has worked at Teiai Group for many years and is one of the subordinates of Yohishiro Kurosaki. He is well manicured and with a cautious personality (he increases security around the Bog to prevent Kaiji tampering with it). After Kaiji beats the Bog Hyōdō demands that Ichijou pay back the 700 million Yen Kaiji won by working for 1050 years in the labor camp. As Ichijou is dragged away Kaiji encourages him to return and challenge him again.
Part 4
Casino President- The casino president employs Miyoshi and Maeda. He has Miyoshi and Maeda convince Kaiji to gamble against him in Minefield Mahjong, which he has rigged in his favour by having Maeda looks at Kaiji's tiles while Miyoshi gives Kaiji false information. Though Kaiji initially loses all his money Hyōdō loans him more money so the game can continue. After several draws where the wager is doubled the wager reaches 140 million Yen. By tricking the casino president into thinking he had another tile Kaiji is able to win 480 million due to him having ura-dora.
Kazuya Hyōdō
- Son of Kazutaka Hyōdō he enjoys gambles as much as his father. After Kaiji loses all of his money he keeps loaning Kaiji money so Kaiji can continue to gamble, however he tells Kaiji that if Kaiji cannot repay the debt then Kaiji will either be sent back to the underground labor camp or will have his body parts removed (which body part will be removed is determine by a lottery wheel). After Kaiji beats the casino president Kazuya takes Kaiji to a graveyard and tells Kaiji that Kaiji was declared dead when he entered the labor camp and a fake corpse was used to stage Kaiji's death.
Gambles
Series 1- The game featured in the gambling tournament the first night Kaiji spends on Espoir, with an average survival rate of 50%. The rules were outlined after the issuing of war funds, which were done a minimum of 1,000,000¥ and 10,000,000¥. The money was in effect a loan, equaling the debt of the contestant and compounded at 1.5% every ten minutes for the four hour voyage; contestants who hold onto their funds for the length of the trip would have to pay 140% of what they invested, thus putting an incentive to finish games early. Money that exceeded the amount needed to repay the loan to the Espoir hosts would be pocketed by the contestant.
- This gamble is similar to the original gameRock, Paper, ScissorsRock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
but with a twist - the hand gestures are represented by cards, and contestants are given four cards each with the same gesture for a total of twelve. Contestants are also given three plastic stars as collateral to bet on each round of play - whenever one loses a round, the winner gets a star from the loser. To survive the night, contestants must maintain their three star pendants and lose all of their gesture cards. Cards cannot be destroyed or thrown away, to do so is subject to instant disqualification.
- Due to the simple nature of the game, single matches can be completed within ten seconds, and players can win or lose in a matter of minutes. Winners are allowed to go upstairs, where any extra star pendants are exchanged for cash and they lounge in a small cafe. In the event of a loss, individuals are taken to away to a back room by men in black suits.
- The gamble seen during Kaiji's competition at the Starside Hotel, consisting of two parts – and . In contrast to Restricted Rock, Paper, Scissors, contestants are not briefed on the rules of the Human Derby, and are unaware of the nature of the gamble until they accept participating in it. Contestants are loaded into numbered "coffins" and are elevated several floors up the Starside Hotel to a platform overlooking a concrete courtyard. Contestants are expected to walk across four long, steel beams - the first to arrive on the other side of the beam nets 20,000,000¥, the second place finisher 10,000,000¥. The steel beams become more narrow as the contestants begin to cross them, though touching the beam with hands at any time disqualifies the contestant. The pushing of contestants to get out of the way is not condoned but is in fact encouraged, since the contestants (the "horses") are being bet on by spectators below, who enjoy the struggle to the other side. Contestants who fall from the beams suffer severe injury - depending on how and where they land, their injuries can range from serious to fatal.
- Once the winners of the first leg of the race have been identified, they are given coupons redeemable for their prize with a set time limit. To cash the coupons, the contestants must cross a similar but more dangerous bridge twenty two stories above the ground. Falling from this bridge is instant death. Since the hosts concluded that the crossing of the bridge would not be entertaining if the contestants could give up and use their hands to assist in their retreat off the bridge, a mild electric current is run through the steel beams - while not powerful enough to cause serious injury or be fatal, the current is enough to stun contestants, causing them to lose balance and fall from the bridge. Psychologically, this bridge is much more challenging because of the greater peril involved.
- As the name suggests, it is a card game. Like Restricted Rock, Paper, Scissors it also has psychological strategy to it and it also uses three card types. There are three cards, the Emperor (koutei), the Citizen (shimin), and the Slave (dorei). The game is meant to be a simplification of society that Hyōdō Kazutaka refers to right before the game begins. The Emperor has ultimate power to give money (ie. most powerful card). Citizens cannot disobey him because they want money (ie. Citizen loses to Emperor). The Slave has nothing to lose and has no use of money, therefore the slave can defeat the Emperor (ie. The Slave loses to the Citizen card but wins over the Emperor card). The game is played with one side having four Citizen cards and an Emperor card (Emperor side). The other side having four Citizen cards and a Slave card (Slave side). Since it is much harder for the slave side to win (as Slave cards can only defeat Emperor cards) the players of the Slave side get five times more winnings. Each game is played with 12 matches each match having each player set down one card. As Kaiji had no money, he was given the choice of losing an eye or an ear.
- Unlike the other gambles, this gamble is made by Kaiji himself. After completing E-Card he prepares to leave the hotel but then steps on a tissue box and notices that its sides are open, which he finds fascinating. Upon further investigation of the box Kaiji decide to challenge the Chairman to a raffle gamble with the tissue box as the container for the lots.
Series 2
- A variation on the dice game, Chinchirorin, this game was crafted by Ōtsuki, one of Kaiji's fellow inmates in the underground labor camp. The notable exception to Chinchirorin is that dealer rotation moves clockwise, but each player may opt to pass their turn as dealer. If they opt to play dealer they must play as dealer two times consecutively.
- An elaborate pachinkoPachinkois a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
game in a high stakes casino featuring a payout of 100% of the earnings from the machine. Taking this into consideration the house has set up state-of-the-art countermeasures to ensure victory; such as tightening the nails to ensure only 1 in 100 balls go in, using flippers to knock away balls, and tilting the three plates. Previously only two people have ever beaten the Bog; Hyōdō and Tonegawa. When Kaiji first comes across the Bog the jackpot is 550 million yen but when he plays it the jackpot has risen to over 700 million.
Series 3
- A variation on MahjongMahjongMahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
where the game is played with two players who make their best hand from a random draw of 34 tiles. Players do not draw a tile as usual, but instead take turns discarding tiles. Since a win can only be declared with a hand in conjunction with a discard, 'ron' is the only way a player may win. If neither player achieves ron after 17 turns, the game is considered a draw, the tiles are reshuffled, the current wager is doubled.
Manga
The manga has currently been divided into four parts so far, each comprising thirteen volumes:Season 1
The anime opening theme for the first season is "Mirai wa Bokura no Te no Naka" by Kaiji with Redbourn Cherries, and the ending theme is "Makeinutatsu no Requiem" by Hakuryū.| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
Season 2
The anime opening theme for the second season is "Chase the Light!" by Fear,and Loathing in Las Vegas, and the ending theme is "C kara hajimaru ABC" by wasureranneyo.| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
Live-action films
It has been adapted into a 2009 film starring Tatsuya FujiwaraTatsuya Fujiwara
is a Japanese television and film actor.-Biography:Born in Saitama, Fujiwara has had an interest in acting from a young age.He is famous for acting the part of Shuya Nanahara in the controversial 2000 film Battle Royale and continues the character as a leader of the Wild Seven in the sequel, Battle...
and Yuki Amami
Yuki Amami
is a Japanese actress.-Career:Amami joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1987 and retired in 1995. Amami was the youngest actress in the company's history to be cast in a top male role...
and a 2011 sequel, Kaiji 2.