The spin-off to the highly popular Netflix anime Kakegurui is here with Kakegurui Twin, featuring the story of a series regular and sly gambler Mary Saotome. Let’s see what her origins were in this review!
Kakegurui Twin Overview
Kakegurui Twin is a spin-off of extremely popular gambling and psychological anime, Kakegurui. The series centres around Mary Saotome, the third main character of the original series, and features her life before she met the main characters of the original show. The series is being animated by Studio MAPPA, a studio with one of the best reputations going in anime today, with shows like Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen under its belt.
The spin-off is being directed by Yuuichirou Hayashi, previously known for directing the final season (ha ha) of Attack on Titan, alongside Kaori Makita, who has also worked in storyboarding Attack on Titan and other shows like Banana Fish and Terror In Tokyo. The series is also known as Compulsive Gambler Twin and is available to be watched on Netflix!
– Kakegurui Compulsive Gambler Twin Review does not contain spoilers –
Kakegurui Twin Review- The Plot
Getting into this, if you were a fan of the original two seasons of anime, you already know this wasn’t going to be high art. The series is known for its reckless and sometimes nonsensical gambling, alongside the highly suggestive and sexual way it treats students of a high school, especially female ones. That works for some people and not for others, but because of how spin-offs work and the kind of audiences they attract, you were probably here exactly for the express purpose of seeing that. Well, worry not, because Kakegurui Twin was certainly more of the same thing you saw in the original anime.
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Well, at least somewhat. There were always going to be some differences here to help this stand out a little. For one, this is a lot less insane and deranged than Kakegurui, especially when compared to Season 2. Whereas the original anime was full of scenarios and gambling situations that no reasonable person would ever dream of falling into, let alone go in willingly, this one is more realistic. There is no Russian Roulette or games that make you jump off of 10-storey buildings or any characters as insane as Yumiko Jibami.
Instead, Kakegurui Twin is a much more grounded story of Mary and how she came to establish herself as someone to be respected and feared in a school as weird as this one. There are some discrepancies from her abilities in the original anime, which is supposed to be set after this show, as she seems to be a little more capable here than she was there. Then again, she wasn’t going up against Yumiko here, who can convincingly destroy anyone in a game of chance, especially those who often use ulterior means to come out on top like Mary and the rest of the Student Council.
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The story told here is of trust and friendship, alongside the standing of Mittens and other enslaved people in the school. That certainly is an interesting story to be told in this show and one that should always have been anticipated as being addressed, but seeing as we already know that nothing gets fixed by the time the original timeline takes place and the ones campaigning for it are nowhere to be seen in the anime (meaning they are Kakegurui Twin original characters), the plot feels strangely meaningless despite being heavier than originally anticipated.
There are tiny inconsistencies and contrivances throughout it, and above all, in a show that fancies itself as a thriller, the twists and turns here are surprisingly easy to predict. Knowing how the characters ended up and using a little bit of logic is enough for you to predict where most games are going, even if the show might try to swerve you a bit. The games here were consistent with the quality of the original anime, meaning they were somewhat interesting if you understood the rules or you were going to have to wait until someone pulled off the inevitable trickery, and you didn’t have to think about them anymore.
Kakegurui Twin Review- The Characters
The main character in Twin is Mary Saotome, the third most important character in the original anime. Her origins aren’t what we delve into here, however. It’s her arrival into the academy and falling into the same gambling mindset to come out on top that we saw her possess. She is a headstrong and fun character who’s great at gambling but bad at making friends, making her a little generic but still fun for a short while, which is what this show is.
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There are a lot of new side characters introduced here, which all come with a caveat- almost none of which are in the original show, making their ending not very interesting for those who have seen it. If Twin is the first time you’re watching the series at all, then you don’t need to worry about any of this, but I don’t consider this a spoiler since you can see all of these characters in the trailer and realise what all of them being new faces means.
The co-protagonist, or deuterogamist of the show, is Tsuzura, who is a bit of a doormat, all things considered. She doesn’t have much personality beyond respecting and caring for Mary and being her friend. She isn’t an eyesore, but the show would have been exactly the same quality if she wasn’t around. The same could be said about Mary’s first in-show opponent and friend, Yukimi. The trio have decent chemistry, but other than one game, their dynamic isn’t explored a lot.
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The antagonists of this show are a completely different story, however. All of the new characters introduced, including the three new student council members- Aoi, Sachiko, and Sakura were fantastic and highly entertaining for the amount of time they got. Their motivations were well established and crystal clear, making them very fun characters to observe and interact with Mary. Overall, Kakegurui Twin has a mixed cast with some inconsistencies but overall quality.
Kakegurui Twin Review- Animation and Music
If there’s one thing that can be universally praised about this show, it is the production. The show is animated extremely well by notable industry-giant MAPPA, which has spent a lot of time putting a lot of detail into every frame of Kakegurui Twin. The series is well known for the reaction shots depicting the most beautiful girls as absolute insane maniacs, and we have plenty of that here, alongside some great character design in general. The series is a feast for the eyes in more ways than one.
The music is also tremendous, as it is exactly as exciting and blood-pumping as it needs to be in a show based on gambling as a theme. It can be intense to listen to while a high-stakes game is going on, but doesn’t hesitate to be gentle when the time and moment calls for it. The opening and ending themes are both animated really well, but they can sound a little generic when compared to how good the openings of the original were. Overall, this is an extremely well-made adaptation.
Verdict
Kakegurui Twin is a perfectly enjoyable, if a little tame, show that featured fantastic production alongside some great characters combined with an average plot. This was a good continuation to the series as a whole and a good sign for its future.
Watch Kakegurui Twin on Netflix!