Kaiji (Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji) summary and analysis

It tells the story of Kaiji Itou, a young man who lives in a bad way, without working and unloading his frustration on other people's cars, drilling their tires or stealing certain parts of the car. But one day, Endo, a representative of the mafia loan organization, shows up at his house, informing him that he owes them a large sum of money for having endorsed an acquaintance of that organization long ago. With the passage of time, the interest on that debt has increased considerably, and our protagonist Kaiji is completely cornered by the situation and impotence because he does not have such a large amount of money. However, Endo offers the opportunity to pay off all your debts in one night, in what way? betting to get rid of your debt, and earn something extra to improve your life.

Kaiji Accept Endo's offer, and enter one night on a boat designed for the occasion called "Espoir", in which not only he, other hundreds of poor devils swindled will do everything necessary to get out of the hell of debts and problems in which are their lives. Through this, and as the plot unravels, Kaiji will know first hand the human instinct of survival, not only reflected by him, but by the other participants, using his wit and cunning to overcome this difficult obstacle.

I think this is a good introductory plan for those interested in watching the anime or reading the manga later, the use of cunning and strategy that you will have to implement to get out of certain situations. Both the first and second season, consist of a single argument, and is practically the same, the difference is the game that is presented and the bet of this is getting worse or harder than the previous. It is an anime that engages because we can notice the growth of this character as the plot progresses, and at the beginning to see it as a vague or stupid, we could develop some empathy for this, depending on the situation in which it is found. the intensity of the plot.

Although it shows a lot of characters in the anime, the plot focuses on Kaiji as such, a young man who moves to Tokyo after graduating, and who has a hard time getting a job. However, it is not something that is taken very seriously either. Part of their days are administered procrastinating, smoking and wandering. However, all this changes, when he has to pay a very high debt for damage to the car of a worker of the mafia loan organization, and will have to resort to using his ingenuity to solve these situations that will force him to put himself in very difficult positions as the plot continues.

Kaiji as a person, has a rather kind and considerate character, trying to see the positive side of things or the good side of humanity, even though he will find himself in hell. He is a very human character, who suffers a lot as the plot unravels, and we can notice the strong impulse and need to survive at all costs, knowing firsthand that if he surrenders in those tests, he loses. The cast of secondary characters that our protagonist will find, will not show a great variation in the type of lamentable and monstrous individuals, making the most negative factor of the human character stand out: selfishness, greed, and avarice, as predominant emotions in this, not all but a great part of these.

With regard to its animation, you can notice a character that sets it apart from other styles, and that is the facial definition that most characters present with thick strokes in the face area and quite predominant, either by their noses or chin, as well as their eyes, and I think they give this approach in that way because you can appreciate in a better way the amount of emotions that the characters feel, depending on the situation in which they are. It is this type of design, which makes Kaiji a peculiar or rather unusual anime, but seeing that it has the magnificent direction of the house of animation Mad House, a study that in its year, that is, in the adaptation of this , in 2007, referring to the first season, he did an incredible job, showing us quite remarkable colors, very fluid animations, but giving priority to the facial expressions of each character.

With respect to sound, the soundtrack does an incredible job of transporting us to the exact situations in which the moments of tension or test are developed, in which we are placed in a position in which, we will not know what could happen with accuracy, leaving that space of doubts and intrigues that catches more and more, showing a sense of willpower that will make us approach and feel the situation in a more realistic or vivid way.

Despite showing a very simple theme, with regard to the bets, the predominant factor of this, is the human character and ability for Kaiji to use the means necessary to get out of these, the moments of tension, as well as joy or loss They look very reflected visually and emotionally. The reason I get hooked a lot was because of the human quality in those difficult situations, and as a gambling addict, it stands out in some way through his ingenuity. Without more to say, I invite you to give an opportunity to the anime or the manga if you finish watching the two seasons. I hope you liked it and have a good day.