Oh god… as it stands now, reviewing Kaiji when it’s finally over is going to be a incredibly difficult. At the moment, I have no idea whether to classify it as just good or excellent. All the commenters on the previous episode made me see this series in a new light, but on the other hand I still remain convinced that the beam-arc was just way too long and drawn-out. I hope that the final episodes will either back up how amazing this series is, or how flawed it is.
The current episode was just amazing, though. This is really what I’ve been hoping for: mind-games without cheating. Tonegawa was absolutely amazing this time, because for once he has to use his head. He’s now going through the same as Kaiji was, back in round one. The creators also switched the viewpoint for this episode: the entire episode was told from the perspective of Tonegawa. We never get to see any of the worries that play into Kaiji’s head.
There’s one thing I do know for sure about this series: I absolutely HATE the cliff-hangers. They work fine if you’re marathoning this thing, but when you watch it on a weekly basis like I’m currently doing, they leave me every episode with a bad taste in my mouth, just because I’m too eager to find out what’s happening next.
I’m really interested to find out where Tonegawa’s thinking-error lies. Obviously, Kaiji can’t die yet; there are still five episodes left. But this also means that the final arc is going to be a relatively small one. The next episode will probably be enough to conclude the E-Card arc and introduce the final one, leaving just four episodes for the real action. If I had to guess (and hope), then Kaiji will be taking on the big boss himself. At the moment, I see Kaiji crazy enough to challenge that guy for something around 20 billion yen. Bleeding ear or no bleeding ear.
As far as I can tell (i.e. a quick look on Wiki) there’s a lot more after the E-card arc, so I’m expecting either a hasty wrap-up or a second season. The former will feel rushed, but the latter will leave yet another cliff-hanger; neither outcome sounds ideal to me so I’m hoping to be proved wrong.
All the same, this show has consistently rocked and rocked hard all the way through.
Ack, not again! With Madhouse, it’s almost certain that it’s going to be the first option. These guys have always been lazy with adapting the endings of their adaptations (Shigurui, Claymore, Pet Shop of Horrors, Akagi (according to rumours I’ve read) and some would argue that with Death Note). I really hope I’m wrong in my fears here…
I have not read the manga, but my guess is that Kaiji was purposely baiting Tonegawa to see that he had pulled a card back. He placed a citizen out there, then pulled it back making sure that Tonegawa saw it. Then he bled on both cards which really were the one’s from the 11th match.
In the case of Akagi, the reason why the anime had a non-ending was because the manga was never finished; Fukamoto got bored of writing it and left the story hanging.
Because the anime was a straightforward adaptation Madhouse just left things as they were 😉
Lol – I know what you mean about the cliffhangers!;) I love Kaiji but I really should have seen this show as a marathon after it finishes airing (the one week wait kills me!:)
WOW now That’s a cliffhanger! This series really knows how to deliver intense cliffhangers.
btw psgels if u really do like mind games without cheating go finish akagi. i like to think of akagi as kaiji’s cousin anime; except it has a bigger and 10x smarter daredevil in it!
Actually, in response to the first commenter, the anime is only based on the first series of Kaiji. There are three manga series of Kaiji, each with their own name and presumably their own closure.
There is only one game left for the first manga series, so there is no reason that this anime should end unsatisfactorily. There probably will be a second season, but it would be based on the second manga series and so it should not effect the closure of this season.
Hey, good news for those who were annoyed at the cliffhanger. 22 is out as we speak.
http://www.the-triad.org/
Someguy is right. Hopefully Madhouse won’t screw up the ending and wrap the events of the first part of the Kaiji manga successfully. I’ve still got the bitter taste of the Claymore ending…
This was another great episode. Tonegawa is starting to fall apart.