You know a bad show to me is not simply a matter of the quantity or size of the flaws you can find in it however it is that you decide to measure such an arbitrary idea but what kind of flaws it has. I can deal with some plot holes for once I mean even the almighty FMA has 2 big ones at the end as long as the work can properly contextualize them and not make me care. Members of the cast being inconsistent though make it tougher to stomach. Im also not someone who asks for absolute realism but simply verisimilitude and consistency. Disregard all of those and the work starts to go sour for me. The worst offenses though are when the work becomes morally bankrupt when it asks me to sympathize and side with people who are clearly contemptible. Kakegurui is one of those shows. Story and Characters Well come to Hyakkao Academy the land of insane teenage gambling horrendous abuses of power and blatantly criminal acts of bodily harm. The school is supposed to be a place for the children of the filthy rich but most definitely the filthy where the future elite of Japan is meant to be prepared for a future where theyd lead the business of their families. In this institution gambling is not simply a passtime students can engage for their own enjoyment but a core part of the socialstructure of the school. Since the current student council president took over she instituted a system where students who stack too much debt become cattle considered second class among their classmates and have to remain subservient to the students with more money. Obviously they also become primary target for bullying. For the viewer who shares that pesky desire to have the elements in the story making sense this plot point will immediately raise a number of eyebrows so lets go bit by bit. First how is this system even allowed existing? None of the students here are of legal age so they should never be allowed to gamble outrageous amounts of money from their parents net worth. Is this a version or Japan where legal restrictions for underage gambling dont exist? If thats the case what about the restrictions for underage driving drinking and sex? None of these are even mentioned so I suppose the gambling premise is entirely based on dont think about it bro. Now you might at this point throw at me my previous statement about realism vs. verisimilitude but let make it clear: that goes for simple stuff like my tsunderes being a bit more violent than what the real world would tolerate or children being a bit more mature than normal it doesnt apply for a universe where an entire legal system seems to operate backwards. Following the fact that the existence of this scenario is a contradiction in itself why would anyone enroll their children in a school like this one? These students are supposed to be future business leaders people with enormous responsibilities in their hands so a cast system that allows them to be bullied humiliated and sometimes even physically harmed by their classmates goes completely opposite to the goal their education is supposed to provide that of shaping them into capable resolute and strongwilled adults. Im not sure any parent would allow their children to frequent a place like this if such practices are not only allowed but incentivized. Then theres the money issue: the students make their bets with money from their families which means that they are stocking up on massive debts their parents will have to pay. At longterm this set up would make the cost of such education extremely expensive making this school a lot more trouble than is worth. The list of absurdities doesnt stop there but lets get to know the cast before we can dive head first into more nonsense Jabami Yumeko is the main culprit of the story. She generally keeps a playful and polite demeanor but shifts to intense obsession when its time to gamble. Im pretty sure she is supposed to be a sociopath Not a realistic depiction of a sociopath though but what fiction believes a sociopath to be like. Truth be told Yumeko is no more than a Mary Sue. It may seem like a stretch to claim this since general misconception is that this kind of character is also supposed to be virtuous or at least framed as such by the narrative even when the audience can clearly see that the opposite is truth but she does have the basic traits of a Mary Sue: she clearly has complete disregard for how much money she bets the supply of money or her disposal is not even hinted at in the anime so in how much danger shes is unclear at no point displays any signs of being the least bit worried constantly displaying the face of someone whos always on top even though her behavior is so needlessly risky. Ironically at one point she even drops this gem: To realize ones ambitions risks must be taken. Funny since she seems to have no ambition besides having a gambling playground for herself. Besides being nice to the already shittycharacters from the main cast and keeping a constant sweetykittydiabetes faade when not gambling is there any reason for Yumeko to be seem as an actual force for good in this narrative? When it comes to motivations and general personality shes no less psychotic abusive deceiving manipulative and sadistic than the members of the student council or any other scumbag in this school so what are the guaranties that once her main source of entertainment in the school is gone or at least significantly diminished shell bring any positive change to the status quo? And even if she does do any of these characters actually deserve it? Theyre all simplistic poorly realized figures and most often just despicable people despite the laughable attempts from the show on making them sympathetic by introducing last minute backstory. Suzui Ryouta the closest friend to Yumeko is an inconsistent pussy. He strangely seems to have no problem talking to multiple attractive girls at school but from the first moment Yumeko enters the scene becomes strangely flustered when first interacting with her. Besides that his role is essentially to tell the audience how risky her situation is when she makes a crazy bet and to be mesmerized when she pulls off a victory out of some strategy the audience has no knowledge off. Momobami Kirari is the student council president or Seitokaichou in Japanese responsible for the creation of the cast system in place in Hyakkao Academy. She sees her fellow schoolmates as pets she can control and play with as well as manipulate to gain power although the goals she wants to achieve with such power are not explained in the story. Through an outrageous asspull in episode 11 not a Deus ex Machina stop using this term wrong she proves to also be willing to backstab her own fellow student council members which leads me to question how would anyone ever trust and help this bitch again when she can betray them on a whim. Other members of the student council that matter are: Ikishima Midari whos completely insane for lifethreatening thrills and CARRIES A GUN TO THE SCHOOL Seriously how is this ever allowed? Why would anyone accept be put into a school that looks more like an asylum for demented shitbags? Yomozuki Runa the loli dressed in a bunny hoodie who helps Seitokaichou on her schemes gleefully plotting against the other members Kaede Manyuda the treasurer of the student council very ambitious and arrogant quick to dismiss the students he doesnt consider worthy enough of battling him. By all accounts hes the least awful creature in the cast Sumeragi Itsuki another crazy bitch who likes to collect nails from other students which she rips off whenever they lose to her in gamble So besides allowing its students to be bullied and made into servants potentially putting them in emotional distress that can severely affect their learning this schools also allows bodily harm to be inflicted on them as well as bets that involve possible death. Not crazy enough for you? The institution is also equipped with special sealed rooms for when Ikishima feels the need to arrest other students for her games. Let me spell this out again: this crazy cunt KIDNAPS people and locks them into special cells where she can bet on deadly games with them using a FIREARM Do you see why this setting is so hard to buy into? As soon as Yumeko arrives at the institution her one and only goal is to gamble with every strong opponent she can find climbing the ladder until she can get the opportunity to challenge Seitokaichou so the bulk of the narrative is focused on the multiple games she engages in with other members occasionally crushing their spirit by revealing the manner they cheat before beating them. Not always successful though as early on she manages to lose a serious bet although its implied that was only possible through cheating and becomes a pet. Interestingly enough as soon as a previously successful character suddenly becomes a pet it seems their winning record is instantly forgotten by the scumbag token extras who immediately shift to bully mode. If youre like me and has near zero suspension of disbelief for stories where everyone is an asshole youll have a hard time with this one. As Yumeko uses her status as a pet to attract and challenge other student council members she finally reaches the top members challenging first Manyuda and ultimately the president. This is the point where the anime turns simply from rageinducing bad to morally bankrupt filth Through a seriously logically questionable trick played with the help of Sumeragi who has an old grudge with Manyuda they lead him into betting such a high amount of money that the loss of that game would put him indefinitely subservient to the student council president and destroy his influence in the council as well as potentially compromising his future and relationship with his father. Yes its that serious So of course he loses and the defeat is followed by Yumeko and Sumeragi gleefully explaining how they manage to reach their ridiculously contrived victory with the final blow being delivered by the president by telling him Youre fired making him snap and pass out. In the follow up Yumeko and Sumeragi discuss what just happens and the way their dialogue is frame tries to imply they had the moral highground somehow. That last bit to me is the most infuriating part. Seriously what exactly was Manyudas crime that was apparently so much more despicable in relation to the other students? Seitokaichou introduced a cast system that locks students into the role of cattle where they remain subservient and bullied by other students Sumeragi who now were supposed to root for used to rip peoples nails off which basically amounts to torture and Midari makes bets with peoples lives Am I really supposed to believe that this guy is so much more deserving of having his livelihood and future sadistically crushed because he underestimates his fellow students? When did arrogance become the worst of crimes? I call this idea bullshit and this anime a hypocritical piece of toxic waste. By the way the ending is a complete copout too. Presentation So do you like variety of facial expression for your characters to help flesh them out as credible or at least likeable human beings? Tough luck baby here its ahegao up the ass for you For those not aware of what I mean ahegao is the term in Japanese for the orgasm face which despite the definition is not relegated exclusively for porn but also used in comedic fashion to convey when the character goes through emotional ecstasy. You might have noticed by now that Kakegurui is quite the fan of quantity over quality and itll sure run that trope into the ground whenever its needed to convey that the fucksticks it passes for humans in the story are going through anything that might be classified as excitement. ITL ALL THE BLOODY TIME Whenever someone pull off some maneuver to outsmart or cheat their opponent in a gamble or even when its simply to explain the genius plan they will pull off insane orgasm faces and laugh like maniacs. Of course the biggest offender here has to be Yumeko because someone up in Valhalla hates me. When its not ahegao its contorted maniacal expressions every antagonist feels the need to break into when they feel superior and about to win on a game or when they try to be threatening. Its quite laughable actually when bunnyloli tries to pull one of these off as if the show seriously thinks she is in any way the slightest bit scary. Seriously any of the girls in the main cast can break her in half and this attempt from the show is just pathetic Characters seem to break into such expressions almost to the same degree as the ahegao as if to painfully remind you to not ever expect anyone here to have personality any deeper than a spit puddle and that subtlety died and we buried its corpse when we allowed this disgrace to be written published and animated. Along with the stupid story the presentation here is another big problem for the anime due exactly to the habits just mentioned. Is the voice acting of any help? Not really although not as egregious as the horrendous faces no character really demands anything more than two different modes of acting so its nothing to write home either. Personal Ramblings It genuinely felt like this anime was specifically crafted with the perfect combination of traits that can make my blood boil. From the sickening emphasis on the disgusting faces to Yumekos insufferable kind and innocent girl demeanor along with the inconsistent impossible to buy into setting and the fact everyone here is a douchebag this whole show was intensively infuriating to watch. I swear Im not really that hard of a person to please and its not like I cant enjoy a story where characters are also morally bankrupt or just outright evil. I mean two of my favorites are Shiki and Black Lagoon and I dont think you can say the main characters in those shows are safely good people what I ask is simply that the show frames that exactly as it is not as if the horrible people on screen are supposed to be likeable or admired in any way. I am fascinated and genuinely find likability in well written morally ambiguous or evil characters and I admire characters who display the responsibility and strength of morals I wish I had in my personality but when the moral center of your story is a selfish manipulative sociopath who cant be trusted to have anyones wellbeing in mind I say you got your priorities kind of backwards Now if you excuse me Ill look for something trashy to wash away this memory.