History Manga / Kaiji

* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: The entire manga later deals with gambles tha essentially comes down to life or death.

* GambitRoulette: Kaiji's plan to beat the bog at the end of Season 2 relies on a series of convoluted {{plan}}s. But Kaiji and Ichijo both DidntSeeThatComing so many times, it turns into a Roulette that would ''almost'' look like XanatosSpeedChess if it weren't for the fact that Kaiji can't change '''anything''' after he starts playing.
** The very same bog machine is one, it has too many traps, counter contingencies, and last hour reveals to be true

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: The people Kaiji are up against have enough money and influence as to be practically untouchable.
** ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: The reason why Kaiji is awesome.

* TrappedByGamblingDebts

* TheBadGuyWins: Unfortunately. [[spoiler: Kaiji was pretty much in the clear after winning E-Card and just had to leave with his earnings. But decided to get revenge on Hyoudou and challenged him to a tissue box game he created and tried to rig. It backfired as Hyoudou saw though the deceit, turned it against Kaiji and caused him to lose pretty much ''everything'' he risked his life for through the night.]]

* TheManBehindTheMan: Hyoudou (whose name isn't even revealed until the very last episode) is the man behind Tonegawa.

* KansasCityShuffle: A ploy Kaiji uses as part of his scheme to defeat the Bog. [[spoiler: Sakazaki trashes the Bog, damaging the flippers so that they will have to be replaced, when Kaiji has rigged the replacement flippers to fail. However, in order to make it less obvious, Kaiji launches a futile attempt to break into Ichijou's office while the Bog is being trashed, making it seem like that was the point of the entire ploy. It works beautifully.]]

* LuckBasedMission: A rare non-game example. DoubleSubverted. Kaiji decides to take on "The Bog", a notorious pachinko machine. There is no luck involved in playing the Bog, because [[RiggedContest it's rigged to be impossible]]. [[spoiler: Kaiji must use his wits to create artificial circumstances that will LEAD to his victory. But because he constantly [[DidntSeeThatComing doesn't see it coming]], the game goes back to simply being a LuckBasedMission, except in the end everything he and Ichijou did end up tipping the odds to his favor.]]

* Hypocrite: Kazuya keeps talking about how grateful he would be to see an actual selfless act during his games. And yet when [[spoiler:Mario]] saves everyone in the 14th Round he comes up with excuses to explain it away.

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually [[Film/KaijiSeries three live-action films]] (''Film/KaijiTheUltimateGambler'', ''Film/Kaiji2TheUltimateGambler'' and ''Film/KaijiFinalGame'') and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

[[folder:Live Action Movies]]
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Most of the characters look much more attractive than in the original work.
* CompressedAdaptation: Story-wise, the first film is basically a mix of the first two seasons. Specificlly, the Cruise/Rock Paper Scissor Arc, the underground city arc and the Steel Beam Crossing/E-Card arc. Movie 2 focuses more on The Bog arc.
* CreatorCameo: Fukumoto himself appears as a black suit.
* CompositeCharacter: Inverted; Ishida's daughter plays part of Sakazaki's role (namely [[spoiler:The BigDamnHeroes moment from part 2]], thus effectively splitting his role.
* GenderFlip: Ishida's son and Endou are both women in this adaptation.
* GratuitousEnglish: Tonegawa's infamous "FUCK YOU!"
* SmurfettePrinciple: See GenderFlip, above.
[[/folder]]

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually three [[Film/KaijiSeries live-action films]] (''Film/KaijiTheUltimateGambler'', ''Film/Kaiji2TheUltimateGambler'' and ''Film/KaijiFinalGame'') and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually three LiveActionAdaptation films (''Film/KaijiTheUltimateGambler'', ''Film/Kaiji2TheUltimateGambler'' and ''Film/KaijiFinalGame'') and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually three LiveActionAdaptation films (''Film/KaijiTheUltimateGambler'', ''Film/Kaiji2TheUltimateGambler'' and ''Kaiji: Final Game'') and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

** In part VI, Chang comments on a random poster near their hideout warning about molesters being seemingly useless. [[spoiler: That is, until Chang gets lost trying to find his way back to the hideout, and had it not been for the poster, he would have never returned to Kaiji and Mario.]]

* EurekaMoment: Endou first realizes what mode of transportation Kaiji and the gang is using after spending the night in a camper van with Kurosaki. [[LivesInAVan Take a guess what it is.]]

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually three LiveActionAdaptation films (''Film/KaijiTheUltimateGambler'', ''Kaiji 2: The Ultimate Gambler'' and ''Kaiji: Final Game'') and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually three LiveActionAdaptation films (''Film/KaijiTheUltimateGambler, ''Kaiji 2: The Ultimate Gambler'' and ''Kaiji: Final Game'') and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually three LiveActionAdaptation [[Film/KaijiTheUltimateGambler films]] and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually LiveActionAdaptation films and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of 2019, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 69 volumes released throughout the entire run.

A {{SpinOff}} manga focusing on Tonegawa's life before Kaiji, ''Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management Blues'' (''Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa''), got an anime adaptation in the Summer 2018 season which itself got a dub by Sentai Filmworks later in the year. Making it first of the Kaiji series to land in the west before the main series.

* ThreeDEffectsTwoDCartoon: The ship and its main hall. The "inside" of the Bog in season 2.

* ConspicuousCG: The ship and its main hall. The "inside" of the Bog in season 2.

->''"[[EarWorm The Future is in Our Hands!]]"''

** A far more satisfying one comes [[spoiler: at the end of the Restricted Rock Paper Scissors arc, where managing to get back three stars after Ando and Furuhata's betrayal, he roughs the two up a bit before grabbing their extra stars and all their cash and buying Ishida's freedom with it. Kaiji may not have paid off his debt, and is now in even ''more'' debt, but so are Ando and Furuhata.]]

The year is 1995. After graduating from high school, the young [[ButtMonkey Kaiji Itou]] has moved to Tokyo in hopes of finding a steady job. Two years later, he's still [[{{NEET}} unemployed]] and in a state of depression. Kaiji wastes what little money he has on cheap gambles, alcohol and cigarettes on a daily basis. To feel better about himself, he sabotages expensive cars and collects their emblems. One of these cars belongs to Yuuji Endou, a {{yakuza}} with ties to the financial empire Teiai Corporation.

It turns out that Endou has been searching for Kaiji for a while, ever since he co-signed a contract for his friend Furuhata, which left him with a large debt. Endou also wants Kaiji to compensate for the car's damages. Kaiji is left with a choice; he must either spend 10 years [[WorkOffTheDebt working off the debt]] in a labour camp, or board a gambling cruise called "Espoir" (French for "hope") where he will be able to pay off the debt in one night... If he wins.

And that's just how the first series begins. ''Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji'' is probably the most famous work of Nobuyuki Fukumoto, a {{seinen}} {{mangaka}}. Starting in 1996, it has since then received critical acclaim for its ridiculous yet brilliant gambles as well as the complex psychological analyses of the characters. There are currently six series, the first two of which have gotten anime adaptations by Creator/{{Madhouse}} (much like ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' before it), and eventually LiveActionAdaptation films and pachinko games. Kaiji also makes an appearance in ''Girls RPG Cinderellife'', a dating sim by Creator/Level5, for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As of April 2018, the sixth series is ongoing, with a total of 66 volumes released throughout the entire run.

* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Kaiji hopes that the {{Yakuza}} don't [[spoiler:come to collect on his debt after the first arc. [[CaptainObvious They do]], and he's forced to gamble again]].

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Literally. Figuring this out is a key aspect to surviving.

* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler: Kaiji desperately tries to persuade Kazuya not to end his own life, but Kazuya thinking Kaiji is trying to trick him refuses to listen and bets his Red Life anyway. ]]

* GraveMarkingScene: Kaiji is taken to a cemetary at the start of the series by Kazuya to visit his own grave - telling Kaiji that this gamble will end with him rich or dead.

* ShrineToTheFallen: The cemetary Kaiji is taken to is filled with those who gambled against Kazuya and died.