Kaiji Itou is a good-for-nothing loiterer who spends his days drinking beer and stealing hubcaps—that is, until he ends up being tricked by his former co-worker. Unable to suddenly repay his friend's huge debt all by himself, Kaiji is offered a shady deal to participate in an illegal underground gamble on a cruise ship. This turns out to be nothing more than the beginning of his new life of hell—thrown headlong into a life-threatening roller coaster of mind games, cheating, and deceit.
Where to watch
-
Crunchyroll
-
HiDive
-
Amazon Video
see all options Availability data: JustWatch
- Seasons
- 2
- Episodes aired
- 52
- Latest aired
- S02E26
- Total runtime
- 19h 56min
Timeline when each season aired
- Season 1 October 2007 – April 2008 26 episodes
- the show was away for 3 years
- Season 2 April 2011 – October 2011 26 episodes
-
S01E01 Departure
October 3 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Kaiji Itou is a bum who's been living in Tokyo for 3 years and gambling his life away, then one day a shady man named Endou Yuuji comes to his home asking for Takeshi Furuhata. It turns out that his friend Furuhata disappeared and left Kaiji with the debt of ¥3,850,000, which will take him 11 years to pay off. But Endou has a proposition for him; he wants Kaiji to participate in the gambling event on the Harumi Wharf.
-
S01E02 Open Fire
October 10 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The event that will decide the fate of Kaiji and the rest of the debtors, onboard the Espoir, is a game called "Restricted Rock Paper Scissors". Following the explanation, Kaiji is then approached by Funai (the other person who borrowed 10 million) and it turns out that he's a repeater. He wants to team up with Kaiji and Kaiji accepts, not knowing what he just gotten himself into.
-
S01E03 Game
October 17 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Trapped in the depths of despair, Kaiji teams up with Furuhata and Andou but their group is already in a shambles, when Andou decides to backstab them. Kaiji doesn't let this affect him and he comes up with a plan to win, yet they first need some stars and someone to take the bait.
-
S01E04 Failure
October 24 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Kaiji managed to win the match, 2 stars better of however the group still needs 4 more stars and only has 14 million in total and no cards. So Kaiji comes up with the plan to monopolize the bored by getting 30 Rock cards, however they are not the only ones who've thought of the strategy.
-
S01E05 Deadly Decision
October 31 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Both having thought of the buyout strategy, Kaiji challenges Kitami to a Rock Paper Scissors death match but Kitami doesn't accept. So they have a different kind of battle.
-
S01E06 Rise and Fall
November 7 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
With Kitami's group now falling apart, Kaiji proceeds with his plan of buying out all their 30 Paper cards. Funai later approaches Kaiji with their proposition to trade his star for some of Kaiji cards but Kaiji refuses. Now that no one can trust each other, Funai decides to proclaim that everyone should reshuffle their cards, which is an idea that will completely ruin Kaiji's plan.
-
S01E07 Proclamation
November 14 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The 4 hour game of "Restricted Rock Paper Scissors" is nearing its end and Kaiji's group is forced to join Funai's idea of reshuffling all the cards amongst the remaining participants. However soon afterwards they are stuck in their tracks with no one to play against. Kaiji was finally able to stop Funai from getting any more matches, after revealing his cheating plan and also comes up with a risky plan to survive.
-
S01E08 Iron Hammer
November 21 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
There are only 5 minutes left and only Funai is left, so Kaiji challenges him to a final match wagering 5 stars. Kaiji has the edge because he knows that either way he will be sent to the "other room" but Funai is reluctant to except this unfair wager. In the other room Kaiji pins all his hopes on being resurrected.
-
S01E09 Resurrection
November 28 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Kaiji is in the other room waiting to be resurrected by his comrades, however Andou is having second thoughts and decides to betray Kaiji by selling his stars. It doesn't take much for his last hope, Furuhata to betray him as well.
-
S01E10 Messenger
December 5 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Against all the odds, Kaiji was able to survive the night on the Espoir but he left with a new debt of ¥6,295,000. It's been 4 months since then and all Kaiji has been doing is living a mundane life, working in a convenience store. It all changes when Endou appears before him, yet again, offering Kaiji a ray of salvation.
-
S01E11 Revelry
December 12 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Kaiji accepts the invitation to the next party at the Starside Hotel and he recognizes a few familiar faces from the dreadful night on the Espoir. Kaiji is really determined this time not to fall for any tricks however the gambling event this time is "Human Derby" which the spectators are gambling on.
-
S01E12 Degradation
December 19 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The event is Human Derby, a sick game which plays on ones mind and body and Kaiji must decide to push or be pushed. What will Kaiji choose to do? By the end of the Human Derby, only 21 people out of the total 60 contestants survived. Yet this is not the end of it, as there is a new deadly challenge that waits for them.
-
S01E13 Monster
December 26 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
10 people including Kaiji have volunteered for the Human Derby on the final bridge, 22 stories high, which spells instant death if they fall. After deciding which order they will go in, the pathway to salvation opens but it may not take much for the monster they've all kept hidden away within themselves to awaken.
-
S01E14 Dying Spirit
January 9 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
At the Starside Hotel 8 people now remain on the 74m bridge-crossing of death. Faced with imminent death, they all want to give up but Yukio Tonegawa ignores their pleas of mercy and in a mere 3 minutes only Kaiji, Sahara and Ishida remain.
-
S01E15 Heavens
January 16 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
With only 2 people remaining, Sahara is the first to survive the bridge-crossing of death however there is something sinister behind the window, before him. With all options out of the question, Kaiji is at a loss of what to do but he eventually finds a loophole that is potentially a path to salvation.
-
S01E16 Fury
January 23 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Now that the ticket he had from the bridge-crossing is void, Kaiji cannot leave empty handed, so the mastermind of this offers him a chance to gain up to ¥100million. The game is "E-Card" and there are 3 types of cards (Citizen, Emperor & Slave). The rules may be simple but there's a lot more to this psychological battle, especially since Kaiji will be facing Yukio Tonegawa.
-
S01E17 Adversity
January 30 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The game of E-Card has just begun and Kaiji is feeling pretty confident after winning his first 2 matches. However the true psychological battle has just begun, where Kaiji struggles to figure out his opponent's mindset.
-
S01E18 Trifled
February 6 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The game of E-Card that Kaiji put his hearing on the line continues into the 2nd Round and even though Kaiji has come up with a plan, it still doesn't stop him from losing the next match. Confident now that he has found a way to win, Kaiji bets 10mm for the next match but it may end up causing an upset for the rest of the game.
-
S01E19 Limit
February 13 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Onto the 9th match, this is the most crucial point for Kaiji who only has 4 more matches and 4mm till destruction. His mind is full of so many conflicting thoughts and even without the confidence in his choice he somehow managed to win to ensure his safety. Yet something feels off about the whole turn of events and through his deductive skills Kaiji realizes that they are cheating.
-
S01E20 Departed Souls
February 20 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Kaiji has figured out Tonegawa's method of cheating and decides to use this to his advantage by recklessly wagering the maximum remaining length available (18mm). But this isn't completely reckless, since he's thought of an idea to win the 2 remaining Slave rounds.
-
S01E21 Heart and Soul
February 27 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Onto the final match of E-Card and Kaiji decides to go for another life or death gamble, as he has come up with a way to take advantage of this disadvantaged situation.
-
S01E22 Execution
March 5 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The final judgement has been met by Tonegawa, as he believes he has discerned Kaiji's plan of purposely splattering the cards with his blood but he was only being lead by Kaiji's true plan. Now all that's left is for certain formalities to be taken care of; for Kaiji to receive is money and for Tonegawa to sincerely apologize.
-
S01E23 Unconventional
March 12 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Even after his unbelievable feat of beating Tonegawa, Kaiji does feel satisfied unless he beats the chairman. In the restroom Kaiji thinks of some kind of rigged lottery, "Tissue Box Raffle" to beat the one in charge of all this. With all preparations met he heads out to challenge the chairman to one more gamble.
-
S01E24 Condition
March 19 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
Through Kaiji's persistence, the chairman finally accepts his challenge but Kaiji must find a way to get the chairman to accept the idea of a "Tissue Box Raffle". Kaiji's plan seems to be going smoothly but then the chairman decides to lay out three conditions that must be followed.
-
S01E25 Pallid
March 26 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The night of lunacy continues; with Kaiji putting his ¥20million and 4 fingers on the line, for a ¥100million gamble. The game is Tissue Box Raffle and something unexpected occurs, which completely throws away Kaiji's sure-fire way to win.
-
S01E26 Afterglow
April 2 · 23min find the promo
Show synopsis
The final scene of the night of lunacy begins. The name of the game is "Tissue Box Raffle" and Kaiji's plan, to win on the first draw seems to have run into a dead end.