The Best Episode Of Kakegurui, Ranked

Kakegurui is an anime animated by MAPPA that presents one of the most unconventional concepts out there, a psychological drama focusing on Hyakkaou Academy, a school for Japan’s ultra-wealthy. However, in this school, your worth is determined by how skilled you are at gambling against your classmates.

In the dog-eat-dog world of Kakegurui, we follow compulsive gambler Jabami Yumeko, as well as the power plays and not-so-subtle mind games to win or simply for the sake of the thrill. With several seasons under its belt, we’ve selected the ten best episodes from this underrated anime.

10

The Woman Who Became Human

Season 1, Episode 5

We finally see a satisfying conclusion to Yumeko and Mary’s participation in the ‘Debt Swapping Game.’ Although it seemed like Kiwatari the bully had the upper hand in the last episode, Mary and Yumeko turned things around.

After declaring that Tsubomi and Kiwatari are secretly signaling to one another, Yumeko and Mary reveal that they’ve swapped each other’s debts and written down a different debt amount on the provided sheet, causing Kiwatari to operate on false information. Not only that, but we see a beaten-down Tsubomi find her feet again to defy Kiwatari and enact the vengeance she’d always wanted after becoming a ‘house pet.’

9

Refusing Women

Season 1, Episode 7

In this episode, we see the continuation and conclusion of Yumeko’s game with deranged student council member Midari Ikishima. While Suzui is in another room panicking about what cards to lay out, Midari reveals the gory details of how she lost her eye to the student council president.

Although Yumeko reveals the tells of Midari’s game as always, she displays her disgust for Midari using the game to die rather than actually gambling. In the meantime, we see a tense power play between Mary and Kirari, with Mary declining Kirari’s offer to join the student council while vowing to crush Kirari.

8

The Woman Who Bets Her Life

Season 1, Episode 11

After Manyuda was revealed to have backstabbed Yumemi in the last episode, it’s now Yumeko’s turn to gamble with Manyuda. As the student council treasurer, he can raise the stakes and essentially have a massive advantage against Yumeko.

But there is always a twist in every Kakegurui episode. Manyuda’s overinflated ego and belief he couldn’t lose led to his defeat, with the cherry on top being the revelation that the student council president never left the school and had an identical twin to act for her. The episode ends with Manyuda being fired from the student council and a hint of what we’ve been waiting for since the first episode.

7

Gambling Woman

Season 1, Episode 12

The finale of the first season saw the much-anticipated showdown between Yumeko and the student council president, Kirari Momobami. But interestingly, Suzui Ryota, who thus far has mostly been a narrator and commentator, finally takes part in a gamble once more.

The stakes are high in this gamble, as the one who loses will have to leave the school forever. Suzui is charged with flipping over the last card for Yumeko, which, if positioned in reverse, would lead to Yumeko’s loss. However, in another unexpected twist, the game ends in a draw, with neither woman winning.

6

Communicating Women

Season 2, Episode 4

In the aftermath of the previous episode, Yumeko ends up poisoned by Miyo and Miri, while Mary takes her place to win the antidote and prevent their votes from being taken. The ante is upped when the loser of each round must poison themselves by pricking their finger on the needle Miyo provided.

We see Miyo and Miri’s secret communication tactics at work, but again, Mary turns the tables on them. Mary noticed the dealer had done a trick when shuffling the cards and, by doing that, could now predict the numbers each player had in their hands. In a ruthless move, Miyo orders Miri to lose on purpose to save her own skin.

5

The Treacherous Woman

Season 2, Episode 7

In one of the best moments in the show, Yumeko managed to drag Manyuda, Sumeragi, Ibara, and Miroslava into a game after approaching Terano Totobami to gamble. The game is the ‘Greater Good Game’, where players are taken into another room and given the choice to deposit their coins in a tax box or personal box.

Very quickly, distrust and paranoia set into the five players, all of whom need to deposit coins in the tax box to keep everyone in the game. Although Yumeko proposes a solution to see who isn’t paying their taxes, some players continue to point fingers as the tension ramps up.

4

The Winning Woman

Season 2, Episode 8

The Greater Good Game finishes in a way that underscores why this anime is a must for those who love mind games. This episode sees Manyuda’s confidence shine once more as he reveals who the traitors are.

Although Miroslava and Sumeragi are revealed to be the traitors, it turns out Sumeragi and Terano had placed a bet before the game began. The bet was essentially to prove to Sumeragi that Manyuda still had some fighting spirit left in him and, in a heart-warming way, a sign of Sumeragi’s care for Manyuda.

3

The Logical Woman

Season 2, Episode 10

In the tenth episode of Season 2, the fight between Kirari’s secretary, Sayaka, and Yumeko ends with only one victor. We also get to see Sayaka’s backstory and how she became Kirari’s secretary.

Stuck in a loner playing the Tower of Doors, Sayaka intends to win the game to prove her place at Kirari’s side, which she feels is threatened by Yumeko (although this fear is entirely unfounded). However, Yumeko ends up winning, which underscores how Sayaka’s reliance on pure logic led to her defeat. The episode’s ending sees Kirari rehire Sayaka as her secretary, with Sayaka realizing she’ll never understand Kirari’s character and being perfectly okay with it.

2

The Woman Who Bears The X

Season 2, Episode 11

Another game of trust is played in the penultimate episode of Season 2, as three student council members, Mary, Yumeko and Suzui are pitted against each other. Playing the ‘Hundred Votes Auction,’ players are tasked with winning a bid for a large batch of votes.

In an amazing twist, Rei is discovered to be the one who arranged the game and the only one really profiting from it. Throughout Season 2, we see Batsubami’s alleged acts of kindness and chivalry, which were actually her pooling votes to allow her to compete in the election. It was Rei’s plot to take revenge on the Momobami clan and take over as head of the clan and the academy.

1

The Null Woman

Season 2, Episode 12

With Batsubami’s scheme unmasked in the previous episode, it seems like everyone is going to lose except for Batsubami herself. However, it turns out the solution was really simple. Yumeko was able to communicate with the Momobami clan members in the hidden room and stop Batsubami’s game by just bidding one vote each time.

Although she despaired of the outcome, Yumeko proposed that Batsubami do a final gamble with her. Giving her the 3 billion yen she won from Manyuda, Jabami put the Jabami clan name on the line for a coin toss flip. In the end, Jabami wins the coin toss, but it’s a good ending for Rei too, as she’s freed from the shackles of her past and joins the academy as a student.