haha n00b i use t3h l33t sploitz nao all ur c4rd r bel0ng 2 me

;_;

lolol rofl pwned kkthxbye!!1

I always love Fukumoto’s storytelling. He manages to create such an intense, gripping atmosphere surrounding games which, on the surface, seem quite trivial and uninteresting. I mean who would imagine that an anime about Rock Paper Scissors could be a gripping psychological thriller?

I mean, when the game begins, the rules seem awfully basic and arbitrary at first. You have 3 stars and 4 cards of each type, and you have to retain your stars and get rid of your cards within 4 hours.

With such a basic setup it seems as though dumb luck would rule out any sort of skill. The real game, however, has nothing to do with the cards. It’s all about using shrewdness and intuition to force the odds in your favor. Pretty brilliant stuff, really.

Funai is suspicious from the very beginning; you’d think that someone who’s been on board the Espoir multiple times would have to be an excruciatingly untrustworthy person.

On the other hand, it’s easy enough to blindly trust people when they offer a ray of hope. I mean why would someone betray you if both could remain unscathed? Ughh…it was really difficult to watch Kaiji get deceived so completely.

On the other hand, it was a pretty good con. >_>

Funai reels Kaiji in slowly with hope of a way out, then builds trust by warning him against conmen who will try to take advantage, and then finally lays on the time pressure, causing Kaiji to put aside his misgivings.

It’s the same kind of tactic car salesmen use when they try to create a time crisis by hinting that the car will be gone or you won’t get the great sale price if you don’t buy now.

OK, I gotta say, the highlight of the episode for me was seeing Kaiji get pimp slapped by the yakuza heavy. After all his whining and crying, I think he richly deserved it. Fortunately, it also served as a good reality check for him, a reminder that this is a battle with his life in the balance.

Again, the raw human emotion in the despair of the situation feels very genuine. The style is similar to Reservoir Dogs in some ways; I kind of saw Funai as the Mr. Pink character - ruthlessly logical, cunning, and bent completely on his own self preservation.

Another reason why Fukumoto’s storytelling is so provocative is because the characters react and struggle realistically within these life and death situations. Unlike the cool, calculating genius of Akagi, Kaiji is a character you can more readily empathize with.

What’s great about Kaiji, of course, is that he isn’t just a complete loser. He does have a good head on his shoulders, and some surprisingly shrewd gambling instincts.

He just has to be completely backed into a corner before he gets serious enough to stop qq’ing and unleash his awesome gambling mojo.

Fukumoto has such a unique ability to create likable and compelling characters even from the absolute dregs of society. The guileless trio must now use their every means to survive in a room filled with gamblers and con artists.

The intensity and suspense is practically bursting at the seams, and we’re only on the second episode! Zawa, zawa, indeed.