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The follow-up to the abstract gamble of part four is a rehash of E-Card from part one. While many may praise the stakes and mind-games between Kaiji and Kazuya, there is really not much difference between the similar stakes and mind-games present in part one. E-Card held up because it was a short arc that complimented a game with such trivial mechanics. The meta-game and twists revealed themselves quickly and resolved themselves quick enough to not lose steam. This rehash suffers by repeating the same game with a blackjack veneer. The gamble is repetative and lacking in any ingenious or imaginitive cheats or meta-game. The ... cheats and meta-game are exactly what you'd predict in a blackjack themed card game and the stakes can't really hold much suspense since the maximum stakes have already been played since part one. What kept me reading Kaiji after the adrenaline-fueled stakes of part one have been the puzzle-like nature of the gambles and the imaginitive cleverness of the meta-game, such as the rock paper scissors twist, defeating the bog, or part four's psychological game. Dedicating an entire part to a gamble that is as dull as you'd expect watching a blackjack game to be was a total misstep in the series. Fortunately, there is some interesting backstory for Kazuya to break up the monotony and it does set the stage for part six which would break this tired formula with a refreshing deconstruction of the gamble by making life itself a gamble.

Shin-chan is in many ways a Japanese equivalent to The Simpsons. The son, like Bart isn't the brightest bulb in the pack, but makes up for it with his clever antics and mischief-making. Shintaro knows just how to push the right buttons of the adults. Sometimes it's intentional, like embarassing his mother in public to get his way. Other times it is through misunderstanding. The humor of shin-chan is the mixture of childhood innocence, irreverant behavior, and gags. If you have ever been a parent or had younger siblings, you can relate.

If you enjoy comedy in the style of Yotsuba& with less wholsomeness and a ... bit more crassness, look no further. Unfortunately, most will never give this anime a chance due to the infamy of the Funimation release. Please do yourself a favor and avoid the funimation dub like the plague! It follows the Ghost Stories formula of tossing out the script because they think they can write better comedy *spoiler alert: they can't.* If you want a show that tries to be the next Family Guy knockoff written by unfunny hacks, choose the Funimation Dub. If you have any respect for the original work or comedy in general, go watch the fansub and never look back.