Jan 13, 2024
Season 1 worked extremely well because it allowed for the exploration of the human psyche by pitting the most broken and desperate men against each other with their lives on the line, perfectly providing the opportunity to display the main character's ironclad desire to never let these evil games of chance turn him into somebody he's not, while showcasing deep strategy from the smartest players who best all of the systems they're forced into at all odds.
Simply put, Season 2 handles this poorly.
Throughout this 26-episode season, Kaiji only plays two games of "chance," with only one of them being against another human.
The first arc starts
...
off slow due to our rather despondent Kaiji following the events of season 1, but ultimately returns to a satisfying battle of deception in the end as Kaiji slowly regains his senses.
The problem with this season lies in the fact that a large majority of the season is spent following Kaiji's
battle against... a pachinko machine.
There was no psychological battle between gamblers against all odds, no exciting turns of events, and the absolute worst pacing imaginable. If you had even the slightest grievance with any of the pacing of season 1, this season is sure to leave you disappointed with its constant redundancy and lack of any meaningful progression each episode.
Although the stakes are the highest they've ever been, the final gamble couldn't feel any less important, and Kaiji's character isn't given the same opportunity to shine. A very disappointing sequel to a great season 1.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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