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Debt.
The minuscule devil on the majority's shoulder that continues to grow as time goes.
If left unattended, it can become a tether on one's life, restricting them from a liberated future.

The story starts off with a mid-20s nobody, simply living by the days and with no plans for the road ahead, until he's greeted with a debt he was unaware he had and an opportunity to eradicate it completely and then some. But of course, it comes with risks, even putting one's very life on the line.

What's interesting about this series is the human character study on behavior. As our MC goes through multiple trials ... and tribulations, we spectate the mental effects it has on himself and his fellow participants. With success, it's common to experience greed. In moments of failure, it's not rare to lean towards betrayal. The MC is very well represented as not some God figure who never fails and always comes out on top. He's not some OP mastermind; he's very realistic in his behavior and he DOES fail. For a gambling series, this can be appreciated because no matter what, you don't know what to expect. But as time goes on, he does grow and learn from past mistakes so he also isn't a gullible fool who continues to stumble on his own feet.
Kaiji is a human and that's displayed great.

Factors outside of the writing aren't anything to awe about. Not to say it isn't bad but it was just enough to not be considered a nuisance. The art style is unique and some might find it a bother I enjoyed it as something outside of the norm. It's not the regular cookie cutter style that's copy pasted in a lot of series'. There is a ton of narration, which was common for Madhouse anime released around the same time that didn't rely on action. But other than that, sound, art and directing were nothing too notable and that's fine.

So, what are the flaws?
• Outside of the MC, being Kaiji, and maybe two others, the characters outside of the study of human behavior were very very bland. A little disappointing as they provided absolutely nothing but to be a stepping stone for Kaiji's growth.
• The pacing is kind of a big problem here. While it can be very intense and the episode passes very quickly, it takes a lengthy amount of time for progress to happen from episode to episode. Each episode, only about one notable thing happens so once you get used to it, it starts to drag about halfway. But this was a personal experience in my part.

Essentially, this story is an evaluation on capitalism. The risks people will go for money, the contentment with a lackluster life.
The inevitable mountain climb for wealth: How far would you go to be at the top?

For a 4 and a half minute short, one of those minutes being the credits, it would be difficult to manage a compelling story. But did they even try?

First off, there's no story. If there is, they certainly didn't make it to be comprehensive. Fast cuts one after the other of completely different scenes. It's honestly frustrating to attempt to process.

It's clear this was supposed to be a complete style-over-substance scenario about a third of the way in but they didn't even manage to do at least that. The visuals are very choppy, don't blend well together and simply isn't that attractive. I feel i'm ... someone who appreciates different styles of animation and don't even have much problem with CGI but this just isn't pleasant. The only +1 i'll give for it is the designs themselves.

Summarily, I don't recommend, even if you have a lot of time on your hands. There are plenty of shorts out there with something worth sharing. Maybe you'll be able to appreciate the artistic aspect but if that's all there is to offer, save your time.