the best anime i have seen hands down
and i am only half way in season one
quick pros
and cons for those of you who want to see a psychological
philosophical
potential best anime ever
after or during or before reading this
so pro
excellent story so far
narrative
metaphors
drawing style
cons
drawing style may put you off
a lot of groans or shouting
tears
will have you wanting to be violent to characters
ok now to the story
remember how i did an article on neets
yeah well this guy is that
but this guy changes his life^^^
depends how you see it positively or negatively
so he lets him know that he has inherited the debts of a friend who has gone missing
and he has no job and no income
and he is propositioned that he can go on this cruise and gamble
and if he wins clear up the debt and even make more money to begin a new life
since the debt he has now inherited
wil take him eleven years pay if he
one had a job and two had a good job
and three used a sizable amount of it to pay off debts
what is the worst that could happen
the suspicious thing is ^^
he will not tell him what it is about or the penalty for losing is
or will tell him what the gambling will consist of
will it be russian roulette
black jack
21
one armed bandit
the guy says he cannot tell him because it would give whoever came on board first an unfair advantage
so they arrive on the boat and are checked to see if they are the real participants
and on the boat is a thousand pus people
then they are given the rules but only once
and they are given two envelopes
but first they are told to come up and choose the amount of money they wish to borrow
but they will pay interest of ten percent every ten minutes
and the game lasts for 4 hours
so most people pick the lowest amount from one million yen
then one guy picks ten
and then our main character kaiji
follows suit
they then find out that the game is restricted rock paper scissors
and that they have four of each card in their envelopes
and in envelope b they have three stars
and the aim of the game is to be rid of all your cards
and not be under three stars
but you must not discard your cards
and their will be no cheating
and if you have not used all your cards by the end you will automatically fail
and once you use a card it is automatically taken from your hand
you place the card face down once playing and once you say set you
may not change card
and your stars are your life
you must wage a minimum of a star for each game
and the losers will be taken into the next room
the host said he would answer no question but the contestants grew wild over
what will happen if they lose
and this is where the sinister specter was seen
he called them trash and explained all they need to do was win
the games began and within a few moments a few people were sent into the other room
he declared that they could play for a draw and keep their stars in contact
kaiji proceeded and all went well until
funai produced a card to win
he then assured him that it was to make it seem to the judges they were not cheating
but then on the consecutive round he did the same
kaiji seeing he had been dooped and now with one star
look at funai grinning with his star^^^
and kaiji ran at him demanding his star back
for being betrayed
the judges relayed that no rules were broken
funai walked away gleefully
at this moment i am wishing for karma to come back for funai
for the audience sees themselves as kaiji
and the sense of being in his shoes becomes daunting
we find out or here rumours
that if you lose you lose you are sent to do manual labour for 15 years
with such intensity that most people become cripples
so kaiji looks around and sees the very same person who put him there
via his debt
he chases after him
most people would of beat him within an inch of his life
but kaiji decided they should team up and since they both had one star he devised they find someone with two stars
they do and he is in the break room with the other people crying about their doom because they have one star or two stars and no cards
and his debt friend goes to the toilet to find kaiji
and kaiji is like where is the third member
and you have one card
and he is like
i let the other guy hold it
they run in search of the guy
and then they find him at a table ready to betray them
and they tell him to stop but he sees them and then says set
and loses
he then comes back to the group begging for forgiveness
i was like two betrayals
kaiji not having much luck here
he then devises more schemes such as buying all of one type of card and even wins on separate occassions enough stars to advance to the next round proceeds to hand them out evenly within the group
meanwhile time is ticking
and to cut the story short it is the end of the game he gives his money and his stars over to his comrades
who seem him get taken away to the next room
the manual labour room
and they promise they will save him when the auction and selling of stars commence
and he is in the next room they strip him naked and throw him in the room
with the other losers
he wonders if he has just made a mistake
he meet some others another guy optimistic
that his partner will save him
but their is one pessimistic savvy guy
and with the pessimistic guy talking saying he is foolish to believe in friendship
and what does his friends have to benefit from saving him
made me think would i have put my self out on a limb like that with trust in another
and would most morality fade away when presented with a basic life or death situation
and then the moment of truth comes and the survivors are allowed to exchange stars
the optimistic guy realises his partner is not there and has betrayed him and is having a whale of a time sipping champagne whilst he is on the verge of hell
now kaiji is like it is different for me i have carried these other men on my back and saved them numerous times i am their leader
and his friends are mobbed by people outside offering them five million for one star they agree
but then one of them declares they want to save kaiji
but the one who betrayed him before betrays him again saying do not do it
for if we do not save him we can sell these stars and get out of debt and come out of here with twenty million to share
whereas if we save him we will be in debt
by now i am like nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
they stab him in the back now
he is banging on the glass
saying save me
they betrayer convinces kaijis friend the one responsible for kaiji being there to abandon him
and not to worry they will never see him again
making me really question myself and others
it is easy to sit back and say we will not betray others
but are we sure others will not betray us if we do not betray them first
kaiji is distraught and is abandoned
meanwhile pessimistic guys ride come for him
reiterating to kaiji
friendship and word oaths mean nothing
kaiji declares he will not give up
optimistic guy also distraught says you can say that but that will not change anything
kaiji leaps at the man now leaving
throwing punches left right and center even fighting the guards
they restrain him
and pessimistic guy is nearly home free when he checks his back
and sees in the fight kaiji stole his ticket
for the guy only had seven million on him
and stars are worth five million
so that would not save him
he would need something of value of benefit
and hiding outside would give him no guaruntees
and since they were naked the hiding place of the stash was in the bandage
and so kaiji was released
by now i am rooting for the underdog kaiji
and the betrayer looks behind him and sees the one he sent to hell return
kaiji gladly gives him what he deserves
honestly he did not do enough
and then he grabbed his stars from the two comrades and took their money
and used it to save the optimistic guy
wrapping it all up nicely or did it
but from these episodes
i was questioned about my instincts
for teamwork may seem the best option but is it really teamwork
and humans are social animals but not to be blinded by it
and could i really be kaiji
and put my own safety behind
for the sake of another
and is selfishness our true face or is kaijis face ours
some say plato created the first western university 