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I was a bit sceptical about this anime after reading its description but after watching the first episode I became addicted to it.

Story: 9

While the plot isn’t something extraordinary, “Kakegurui” is focused more on the psychological aspect of the story: how do you escape from critical situations, what do you do when your future is at stake, when you’re about to lose your family’s fortune in a game? The whole plot revolves around Jabami, a transfer student that happens to be obsessed with gambling and makes her name widely known in her school from the first day of attendance. Even though each episode has ... a repetitive storyline, there’s always a plot twist that keeps you intrigued and prevents boredom.

Characters: 10

Each and every character is unique and represents a stereotype. Jabami, the main character, is by far the most complex out of them all: she is beautiful, insanely smart, and crazy (not necessarily in a good way). The way she expresses her emotions and theories always drives the people around her to the point of madness and breaks their masks allowing them to show their true identities. Some of the supporting characters are well portrayed, though there are fewer details about them but their interaction with Jabami relieves fragments of their stories.

Art: 10

I have rarely seen emotions so well portrayed in an animation. They literally made every feeling come to life on the faces of the characters and in their eyes. Especially in the most intense scenes, the expressions of the gamblers are so exaggerated; their eyes are so vivid that it feels like the whole moment is coming to life before your eyes. The animation is the work of a perfectionist, the details are amazing and everything is well placed.

Sound: 10

I love the innocent voices of the characters and the way they change under stress. The music is beautiful and the opening and ending are both perfect in illustrating the theme of the whole anime. The music matches the atmosphere of the scene.

Enjoyment: 10

As I previously said, this anime is totally addictive, especially for the way the characters (mostly Jabami) think. With every episode I can’t wait to discover more about the wicked lifestyle of these rich students and their gambling strategies. It’s truly the best anime of this season and one of the best of its kind.

I would like to state in my review more reasons why the anime is worth watching because, from what I see until now, it is a bit underrated and very criticized.

I started watching Sword Oratoria after I saw the original DanMachi, and to my surprise the stories aren't related at all, even though you might see the two story lines intertwining here and there. This anime is focused not only on Ais but the whole Loki Familia, it has many new characters and it provides a different point of view on an adventurer's life.
The plot is pretty good, it has a lot of ... mysteries in it and it's quite unpredictable, since at this point I can't really figure out how the whole thing is going to end and who's on the good side, and who's with the bad guys. It also has plenty of action, to be honest I wouldn't mind more fighting scenes but it's not boring + if there's no action, it means you get some fanservice.

The animation style is pretty similar to the original DanMachi. If you liked that one, you'll like this one too. In my opinion the animation is simple, there's nothing special or unique about it that could draw your attention. It's not bad either but it could be better.

The sound is ok, like I mentioned about the animation too, it's plain, not special, nor annoying.

The worst part about this anime is that the characters (up to this point) do not show any evolution. In the 1st one you could have seen Bell growing and becoming stronger but here there's nothing. No one really improves, they just reveal stuff about each other and about their past and what made them become who they really are. However, it's interesting to see things from Ais' point of view, personally I find her quite interesting and there are some things from the original series that make more sense now, after understanding how she thinks and how the Loki Familia works together. Plus, I have the impression that the antagonist in this anime might be constructed better than the main character and we don't get to see this often.

Overall it is an enjoyable anime. I will definitely continue watching it until it ends. It isn't as good as the first one but it has enough good points that make it worth watching!