Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler -, Vol. 14 (Kakegurui - Compulsive Gambler -, #14)

by Homura Kawamoto

[lessthelonely]

4.5/5 stars, just to be clear.

This is one of those moments in a story that I realized just how ultimately positive this series is. As I've seen a lot of criticism directed at this series in the past - especially derived from comparisons to "Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor", talking about how this series seems incredibly self-indulgent and ultimately void of motifs or compelling motivations. I don't think so. In fact, more and more I notice the similarities between both these series - they're ultimately about the same thing: human nature.

This series is self-indulgent. I love it despite that. But it also comes at human nature from an angle of experiencing the ultimate "fun" (at least, the series treats it as such) of dealing with risk-reward scenarios, of taking a chance in people's good nature or deciding to backstab them. I find it very refreshing to paint these scenarios in this way because it highlights one's choices to trust other people or look after themselves. "Kaiji", keeps this, but makes it about survival and choosing to ultimately talk about how those who truly believe in people's good intentions and that the world is a nice place will end up suffering from it.

Maybe it's just me, but I find both to be alluring. This series, however, makes it a little more fun and thrilling for me.