Kaiji 10 & 11 - We All Fall Down
Posted by 0rion on December 23rd, 2007 - 11:00 pm
The Gurren-dan motto of pushing and smashing every obstacle in the way has never seemed more sinister.
But then, sinister and provoking is the kind of storytelling that Kaiji does best.
Kaiji is essentially out of the frying pan and into the furnace. Though he’s escaped with his life from the Espoir, the conditions are pretty dismal.
All right, now speaking as someone who had the chore of taking out the garbage, I can say with confidence that few things are as infuriating as this very situation. Regardless of an outstanding debt to a shady yakuza organization, tearing a garbage bag open in mid-transit is grounds for homicidal fury.
Or if you’re having a particularly bad go of things, a good excuse for some manly tears. I feel for you Kaiji, I really do.
It’s interesting to see the contrast in Kaiji’s attitude between this scene and the beginning of the series. The life and death nature of the gambling challenge seems to have really shaken off the cobwebs and given Kaiji some real drive.
“Being difficult is much easier for me. It’s better than getting into slimy human relationships with fake smiles.”
Ahh, were truer words ever spoken? Well, probably…
But still, you’ve got to love Kaiji as the dissident non-conformist. His genuineness is great; it makes his no-nonsense character all the more potent. I can certainly empathize. Whenever people would ask me, “Why are you being so difficult?” I’d usually respond with, “Why are you being so assimilatory?” Yeah, I got sent the principal’s office quite a bit as a kid.
Basically what my blogging compatriot is trying to say here is that with his listless attitude toward life, he identifies entirely too well with Kaiji’s dilemma. 
Whoa…I did not expect Kaiji to resort to fisticuffs so readily. I mean calling the BBB I can understand that.
Actually, I can understand both; that guy was a dick.
.
Speaking of which, what happened to Kaiji’s Super Saiyan OVER 9000 power levels? Last episode he was fighting off five guys at once and winning, and now one scrawny store clerk can hold him back?
Ah yes, enter Sahara, the shady two faced suck-up that you know is absolutely full of it. Sahara’s character is so emblematic of those people who wear enormous fake grins. You know they’d stab you in the back if it was worth their while but they greet you with a smile everyday.
Phonies all of them! (Salinger was right evidently)
Case in point: Your co-worker who was going to pin a felony level theft on you offers to buy you drinks and then proceeds to inquire about your past and outstanding debts. On top of this he claims he can detect this by…smell. Smell!
If I was Kaiji in this situation, I would’ve asked for the check at that point. And the phone trick was just rubbing salt in. Sheesh…Kaiji sure knows how to pick his “comrades”.
Wow, the perfect end for a perfect day! Kaiji just cannot catch a break. So now after living in abject paranoia, being followed by your unscrupulous co-worker, you stumble home to find the Mafioso scumbag who dragged you into this whole mess to begin with. And surprise, he has another “Amazing deal!” Hmmm, subjugating myself to torment in order to reap the fabulous prize of more debt…yes, that does sound like quite a deal indeed!
Well, I guess it was inevitable, and of course, who didn’t secretly want Kaiji to have to put his bold gambling strategies to the test again? More brutal adventures in the shadows of the gambling world, more manly tears, and of course more zawa zawa.
“Reach for the stars!”
Despite Endou’s boldly inspirational words and the name of the hotel, the gamble has little to do with heavenly bodies.
It has plenty to do with plummeting bodies, however. Moses, who bets on these kinds of things?
I can’t imagine that the yakuza just take out an ad in the Sunday paper for this kind of thing: “Gambler? Sadist? Both? Brother, have we got the place for you! C’mon down to unscrupulous yakuza’s house of inhumane gambling! If it involves betting on games of unspeakable human suffering, we’ve got it!”
Also, was I the only person who thought, “Why in God’s name are they serving dinner at this event?” Would this be an appetizing scene for anyone? I mean there’s like six buffet tables out there. Are people just gorging themselves while they watch others drop to their demise?
“Man, all these lacerations and open fractures sure have given me an appetite!” Sheesh…talk about unsettling.
Ahh…it’s cleansing really. You’ve got to love the manly tears; it’s so heart-wrenching.
I must agree with Kaiji that it does seem rather counterintuitive to apologize to someone before pushing them to their death. Still, it is a pretty despairing situation - a “lose-lose” scenario all around, really. You can win by killing or lose by dying. Great… I’m sure Milton Bradley is gonna be all over this one.
Now Kaiji going into manly tears mode over this situation I can understand, but the rest of them as well? These are the dregs of society, the lowest of the low, the sort who would murder their own grandmothers if there was some profit in it for them. I somehow find it hard to believe that all of them are suddenly overcome with emotion at the thought of killing another human, especially if that person is between them and a huge sum of cash.
That aside, it makes for good thematic storytelling. I’m certainly interested in seeing how Fukumoto will develop this idea in the coming episodes.
Having been recently persuaded that Kaiji was worth my time, I’m now desperately waiting to see what happens in episode 12. Episode 11 was awesome. The way Kaiji shifts inevitably from one gambling trap scenario to another reminds me of the way Satou inevitably winds up screwing his life up in Welcome to the N.H.K.!.
Aren’t the debtors debtors because they’re too soft or incompetent to murder their own grandmothers for profit? Hence the outbreak of tearfulness.
Kaiji can only fight with his pants off it seems! I also wonder how many anime geeks can relate to his thoughts on human relations…
I think most of the debtors here are the type that are forced into gambling to pay their stuff back. Sort of like Nangou in Akagi.
Nice to see someone blogging this. Most animebloggers seem too busy with eroge adaptations. I personally love the psychological depth in fukumoto series. Not the type of series everyone can appreciate, but deserves more attention.
With my own blogging partner currently MIA, and me not having much chance to post on my own, im just gonna talk your ears off here instead.
First, yeah, having worked fast food, I instantly became depressed watching Kaiji’s miserable life. Not that I’m the picture of success now, but still, I’m at least a step up from that type of job, in my mind.
You know, I can’t explain it, but so far I like Sahara. Know why? He’s a dick, a complete and utter bastard once he drops the thin veneer, but he’s HONEST about it. He’s also got this rather amusing way of doing things. So, you know he’s gonna dick over Kaiji at the first chance he gets, and you won’t get angered in the way everyone needed to feed Andou his own double-chin.
So you can actually enjoy a bastard being a bastard, and he’s just a bit cool at it so far.
And I’m with blue. The reason these guys are in their debts is because they are mostly too weak to be the real cutthroats. The cutthroats are the lunatics on the bottom betting on people doing a deadly balance act, and egging them on to perform what could only be called attempted murder at best.
Man, the human horse race might be a bit less stifling than the Janken, but its so much more dehumanizing and brutal. You got it exactly about just how unsettling this scenario is. The glee taken in this cruelty and pain. But its not at all unrealistic, to my cynical eye. Its just the extension of reality TV, after all. Going from humiliation to humiliation AND pain. Awesome show, in all respects.
Oh, and to quote DTZ: “Holy crap, there was a girl in the show!” He half thought they didn’t exist in Kaiji-land. Which would mean the characters reproduce through their manly tears, or something.
@ Dio
Actually I’m fairly certain that’s how they reproduce, I think the woman was just visiting from another series.
Also, I think you’re correct with the comment on reality television. It’s just a matter of time before something equally barbarous makes it way over to the Fox network.
LOL, of course it would be Fox.
And yeah, good point guys about these guys being the kind who are too cowardly and unmotivated to do anything. Plus this is Japan, where people are in general less violent and more acquiescent, so I suppose it makes sense.
@ Dio Bravo
Hehe, wanna come write for Epic Win? I promise we’ll pay you at least three times what DTZ does.
@ blue
Yeah, we like to talk about shows that aren’t getting as much coverage on the net. Although if you’re interested in reading more like this, allow me to direct you to The End of the World, where you’ll find Martin talking about many of the same shows.
@IKnight
I don’t blame you for being impatient! Kaiji is one of the few shows this season that has me anxiously refreshing every week waiting for the next episode to drop.
All I can say is Double down on Kaiji, because he is the only one who is willing admit that what he is doing is wrong, but he couldnt care less about anyone else right now.
I have to say, with Kaiji, that the was the most frustrating part of the ep was when the contestants started saying they were sorry right before pushing them over, what a load of bull butter. I hate it and it stanks.
These episodes were real kick ass, Not the same kickassery as earlier but its just getting started. The Manly tears never leave the protagonist, Where-ever he goes, His shitty life always helps him to shred a tear and helps us to really feel for him.
I can’t wait for more.
@Orion: awesome, that 0×3 dollars will really help me.
@ Dio Bravo
I knew you’d appreciate that. Just let me know when you want to start and I’ll put you on the payroll.
REVIEW THE REMAINING EPISODES NOW, I DEMAND IT.