Kaiji Review

story 8/10

Ever wondered what life would be like if there were no rules of honour or even common decency? Me neither - the consequences of such a world would just be too horrible to contemplate, let alone enjoy. So the fact that I have remained enticed throughout this dark and sadistic title can only be due to Kaiji's indisputable skill at spinning a good yarn. Despite every cringe suffered and every ‘Oh my God, that did not just happen!' uttered along the way, I have nevertheless been unable to tear my eyes away.

Kaiji is an anime with a complete disregard for fluffy notions of fairness, justice, and decency; hardly anyone here learns the error of their ways, and tendencies towards domination, greed, and betrayal are shamelessly flaunted as virtues. With this Machiavellian stance on the world, and populated with thoroughly deplorable personalities, Kaiji's events move in a fashion quite unlike what we are used to. More often than not, the games are designed to be physically and mentally tortuous and proceed in such a twisty way that the outcomes are difficult to predict. Thus, while the premise looks simple on the face of it (i.e. Kaiji gets himself into various games whereby he continually gambles everything dear to him), the plot progression is full of nasty surprises.

Furthermore, the often convoluted strategies Kaiji comes up with in order to survive easily cross the boundaries between genius and insanity. On the one hand, this means that, a bit like a madman trying to prove to the world that he can fly off a cliff, Kaiji has been able to keep my undivided attention throughout. On the other hand, such extreme creativity means that the developments occasionally turn out to be logically tenuous at best. One moment Kaiji is in the throes of panic, weeping uncontrollably and cursing his own stupidity, when, suddenly, remembering a random phrase spoken by his opponent fifteen minutes ago will trigger a bold new plan! On the whole, though, this approach is well suited to Kaiji's dramatic tone and thus largely forgivable.

animation 8/10

While overtly ugly, the character designs are also unquestioningly perfect. I say this because anything more pleasant to look at would have failed to capture the inherently monstrous personalities on offer. With thick lines and sharp, exaggerated features, the cast of Kaiji have a unique look that, for some reason, makes them seem more expressive than normal. When a devious character grins in delight, my stomach turns in genuine revulsion.

Generally speaking, Kaiji utilises rich, dark tones highly reminiscent of Death Note - in fact, the animation provides for a very similar atmosphere. Still, there are technical aspects which Kaiji could improve, including the fact that the characters' mouths just open and close rather than move in distinct shapes, motion is far from fluid, and minor uses of CGI are obvious here and there. However, although noticeable enough to keep Kaiji from a perfect score, this title is not an action show, and so these issues do little to ruin its overall effectiveness.

sound 8.5/10

The opening and ending themes are thoroughly enjoyable and highly suitable to boot; if you happen to have a punk-rock music collection with a smattering of blues, then you might even find the themes worth owning. The rest of the score is instrumental mood-setter which enhances the dark atmosphere very well while the episode is playing, but is forgettable as soon as you close your player.

As for the performances, Kaiji's voice actor is superb; during the moments when his frustration drives him to tears, I truly believe he is grief-stricken. Moreover, his is a surprisingly pleasant voice, full of potential strength and sincerity despite belonging to an initially pathetic man. All the others also do a fantastic job and are flawlessly fitting to their roles. The only person I actively dislike is the narrator, who thinks the best way to generate tension is to shout the obvious in a manner better suited to Takeshi's Castle; his excited babbling actually manages to ruin the atmosphere on occasion.

characters 6.5/10

Nearly all of the cast are short-lived and nearly all of them are users, bullies, cowards, weasels, or just downright evil; although interesting in that transient sort of way, few apart from Kaiji can be said to be particularly complex, likeable, or even memorable. They do just enough to raise the emotional stakes when important to the plot, but once their part in the story is over with, they disappear off the radar never to be seen or heard of again.

Kaiji stands out as the admirable loser who learns to outwit them all; although, it should be noted that his growth is very one-dimensional. Every one of his problems requires learning to be harder, craftier, and luckier than his opponents, which leaves very little room for any other kind of growing; there are no warm romances, no instances of comic relief, no moments of innocent joys, and certainly no contexts outside of the ‘games' to soften the blows of Kaiji's experience. Since his past is only fleetingly touched upon, I find it impossible to imagine him forming normal relationships and engaging normally with others. In fact, he is really nothing more than a cipher until the events on the Espoir kick off; and even then, he develops in ways so removed from anything resembling normalcy, that he remains difficult to relate to. What that means is that, while a believable and generally admirable character to follow, Kaiji is not a typical hero who stirs any deep or lasting emotions.

overall 8/10

Beyond the slight imperfections in animation and a tendency to veer into the absurd, Kaiji's biggest flaw is its lack of stunning characters. Despite this, it manages to provide consistent nail-biting thrills and spills which should not be missed by anyone. If you like your psychological suspense lathered in dark cynicism, then Kaiji's journey is without a doubt a must-have.