Kaiji
Seen it?2007 | 2 seasons | 23 min | Animation, Drama, Crime
Weeknight Watchearly ratingWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With a short run with a modest audience, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for crime-drama fans and animation lovers. If you loved Agatha Christie's Poirot, start here.
- The mood
- Dark and gritty.
- The pace
- 2 seasons: a few weeks of evenings, short, snackable episodes, about 20 hours in all.
- What might put you off
- Rated TV-MA: expect drug use.
- It's in Japanese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
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.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesSolid
8.1 out of 10
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Ran for 2 seasons and reached a small audience so far
- Buzz & cultural impactSolid
About 109K people sought it out in the past year
Season by season
The show overall is a Weeknight Watch. Here's how each season stacks up; Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is the high point.
Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor2007 · 26 episodes · 7.5 out of 10Sunday- Kaiji: Against All Rules2011 · 26 episodes · 7.0 out of 10Sunday
More like this
Want more like this, picked just for you? Get my picks
Cast & crew
- Masato HagiwaraKaiji (voice)
- Fumihiko TachikiNarrator (voice)