The essential episodes of Kaiji
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Kaiji — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Kaiji Itou is a bum who's been living in Tokyo for 3 years and gambling his life away, then one day a shady man named Endou Yuuji comes to his home asking for Takeshi Furuhata. It turns out that his friend Furuhata disappeared and left Kaiji with the debt of ¥3,850,000, which will take him 11 years to pay off. But Endou has a proposition for him; he wants Kaiji to participate in the gambling event on the Harumi Wharf.
- 02
The event that will decide the fate of Kaiji and the rest of the debtors, onboard the Espoir, is a game called "Restricted Rock Paper Scissors". Following the explanation, Kaiji is then approached by Funai (the other person who borrowed 10 million) and it turns out that he's a repeater. He wants to team up with Kaiji and Kaiji accepts, not knowing what he just gotten himself into.
- 03
Trapped in the depths of despair, Kaiji teams up with Furuhata and Andou but their group is already in a shambles, when Andou decides to backstab them. Kaiji doesn't let this affect him and he comes up with a plan to win, yet they first need some stars and someone to take the bait.
- 04
Kaiji managed to win the match, 2 stars better of however the group still needs 4 more stars and only has 14 million in total and no cards. So Kaiji comes up with the plan to monopolize the bored by getting 30 Rock cards, however they are not the only ones who've thought of the strategy.
- 05
Both having thought of the buyout strategy, Kaiji challenges Kitami to a Rock Paper Scissors death match but Kitami doesn't accept. So they have a different kind of battle.
- 06
With Kitami's group now falling apart, Kaiji proceeds with his plan of buying out all their 30 Paper cards. Funai later approaches Kaiji with their proposition to trade his star for some of Kaiji cards but Kaiji refuses. Now that no one can trust each other, Funai decides to proclaim that everyone should reshuffle their cards, which is an idea that will completely ruin Kaiji's plan.
- 07
The 4 hour game of "Restricted Rock Paper Scissors" is nearing its end and Kaiji's group is forced to join Funai's idea of reshuffling all the cards amongst the remaining participants. However soon afterwards they are stuck in their tracks with no one to play against. Kaiji was finally able to stop Funai from getting any more matches, after revealing his cheating plan and also comes up with a risky plan to survive.
- 08
There are only 5 minutes left and only Funai is left, so Kaiji challenges him to a final match wagering 5 stars. Kaiji has the edge because he knows that either way he will be sent to the "other room" but Funai is reluctant to except this unfair wager. In the other room Kaiji pins all his hopes on being resurrected.
- 09
Kaiji is in the other room waiting to be resurrected by his comrades, however Andou is having second thoughts and decides to betray Kaiji by selling his stars. It doesn't take much for his last hope, Furuhata to betray him as well.
- 10
The event is Human Derby, a sick game which plays on ones mind and body and Kaiji must decide to push or be pushed. What will Kaiji choose to do? By the end of the Human Derby, only 21 people out of the total 60 contestants survived. Yet this is not the end of it, as there is a new deadly challenge that waits for them.
- 11
10 people including Kaiji have volunteered for the Human Derby on the final bridge, 22 stories high, which spells instant death if they fall. After deciding which order they will go in, the pathway to salvation opens but it may not take much for the monster they've all kept hidden away within themselves to awaken.
- 12
At the Starside Hotel 8 people now remain on the 74m bridge-crossing of death. Faced with imminent death, they all want to give up but Yukio Tonegawa ignores their pleas of mercy and in a mere 3 minutes only Kaiji, Sahara and Ishida remain.
- 13
Kaiji shows everyone that Ōtsuki is cheating by using his special dice. He then tricks the foreman into betting again while Kaiji and his group use their own "special dice", with a 1 on each side, and thus Ōtsuki is forced to pay 5 times the amount they bet, losing 2,535,000 perica in total. Just when Ōtsuki was about to give up for the night, Kaiji reminds him that he still has to deal one more time according to the rules. The Forty-fivers then bet all 3,042,000 perica against the dealer.
- 14
Even with the plates filled to the brim with silver balls, Ichijō's secret weapon, the Curtain of Wind, prevents Kaiji from winning and Kaiji has run out of money. As he is dragged away, Sakazaki appears swearing vengeance on the machine, and gives Kaiji another ¥10 million which he again 'borrowed' from the company safe. Kaiji starts playing again with renewed vigor. The bottom plate is now awash with balls, but none can pass the curtain of wind around the winning hole. The machine appears to groan, and with the plate overflowing with balls, some cascade down the winning hole. Horrified that Kaiji won, Hyōdō sentences Ichijō to 1,050 years underground.
- 15
As Ichijō is removed by the men in black, Kaiji tells him to fight his way back to the surface for a rematch. Meanwhile, Kaiji's friends cash in the balls he won for a total of over ¥729 million. Kaiji, Sakazaki and Endō settle their debts and split the remainder for almost ¥190 million each, from which Kaiji must pay back his friends in the underground labor camp.
Shows like Kaiji
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of True Detective2014–present
Touch darkness and darkness touches you back. - 02Drama·Crime·ComedyThe essential episodes of Fargo2014·FX
Fargo is a seasonal anthology crime drama with some dark comical elements, inspired by the film Fargo written by the Coen brothers. - 03Drama·CrimeThe essential episodes of Chicago P.D.2014–present·NBC
District 21 of the Chicago Police Department is made up of two distinctly different groups. - 04Drama·Crime·ActionThe essential episodes of NCIS2003–present·CBS
NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is more than just an action drama. - 05Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of The Blacklist2013–2023·NBCThe Blacklist is a crime drama involving a former government agent who turned into a high-profile criminal turning himself in to the FBI offering to help catch criminals.
- 06Drama·Crime·ThrillerThe essential episodes of Criminal Minds2005–present·Paramount+Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again.
