The worst episodes of Kaiji
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
From his descent into the underground hell to his first encounter with the Bog and Ichijou, relive Kaiji's journey and see just how far he has left to go.
- 02
The final judgement has been met by Tonegawa, as he believes he has discerned Kaiji's plan of purposely splattering the cards with his blood but he was only being lead by Kaiji's true plan. Now all that's left is for certain formalities to be taken care of; for Kaiji to receive is money and for Tonegawa to sincerely apologize.
- 03
Even after his unbelievable feat of beating Tonegawa, Kaiji does feel satisfied unless he beats the chairman. In the restroom Kaiji thinks of some kind of rigged lottery, "Tissue Box Raffle" to beat the one in charge of all this. With all preparations met he heads out to challenge the chairman to one more gamble.
- 04
Through Kaiji's persistence, the chairman finally accepts his challenge but Kaiji must find a way to get the chairman to accept the idea of a "Tissue Box Raffle". Kaiji's plan seems to be going smoothly but then the chairman decides to lay out three conditions that must be followed.
- 05
Kaiji has figured out Tonegawa's method of cheating and decides to use this to his advantage by recklessly wagering the maximum remaining length available (18mm). But this isn't completely reckless, since he's thought of an idea to win the 2 remaining Slave rounds.
- 06
Kaiji agrees to play Chinchirorin with the other workers and foreman Otsuki. Kaiji spends several rounds making small wagers to get a feel for the game. Dissatisfied with the small payout, Kaiji bets big- 3,000 Perica against the timid man Miyoshi.
- 07
Kaiji loses his first bet of 3,000 Perica, but strengthens his resolve to fight. He continues to make bets of 3,000 Perica. After 40 minutes of gambling, he ups the ante and bets 5,000 Perica against foreman Otsuki and his lackey. They respond with enormous bets- each betting the house limit of 20,000 Perica.
- 08
Kurosaki intervenes and tells Ōtsuki that he has no choice but to play, and in the end, he loses 18,252,000 perica which Kaiji splits equally between the Forty-fivers. Kaiji then asks Kurosaki to approve their requests for the one-day outside pass and he agrees. The Forty-fivers insist that Kaiji should keep the money and twenty one-day outside passes, leaving him with ¥800,000 (around US$7,800) to gamble for the team and pay off their debts. Now back in society above ground, Kaiji meets Sakazaki Kōtarō who is looking for a partner to win big in the illegal casinos. Kaiji accepts his offer, and is taken to an illegal casino where he sees a huge Pachinko machine called "The Bog". Each ball is worth 1,000 times more than normal and the jackpot is worth ¥550 million, more than enough to free Kaiji from debt.
- 09
When Kaiji is told there have only been two winners of the Bog, Hyōdō and Tonegawa, he realizes that the game must be rigged. He then agrees to work with Sakazaki for 10% of the possible ¥600 million payout from the Bog, however Sakazaki is secretive about the details of his plan which includes the machine's maintenance schedule. A day before their attempt to beat the Bog, Sakazaki appears with ¥50 million he 'borrowed' from the company president's safe where he works as a security guard. At the appointed day, Sakazaki commences to play the Bog.
- 10
Sakazaki starts to play the Bog, using an initial ¥10 million, dropping balls onto the final holed plate, but they do not have enough momentum. During the game Kaiji successfully passes Sakazaki his pre-prepared magnetized beer can and he prepares to use it to increase the centrifugal force of a ball to make it drop through the winning hole. However the effect is insignificant, but Sakazaki continues, wagering another ¥10 million. Kaiji overhears the security men talk of a device to prevent anyone winning and Kaiji warns Sakazaki's to stop, but he is in a gambling frenzy and continues to play using the money he 'borrowed' from the company safe.
- 11
Kaiji returns to the Sakazaki apartment, only to find it trashed and empty. Sakazaki has taken the last of his money to the race track. Kaiji's plan for revenge involves Sakazaki, so with a plan to beat the Bog, he tracks Sakazaki down at a Sapporo racetrack. Kaiji approaches Endō who is now broke but agrees to fund him, however it will cost ¥113 million including interest plus 50% of the winnings. Sakazaki violently objects but they end up agreeing to split the winnings three ways after costs.
- 12
Sakazaki enters the casino to challenge the Bog again, dressed as a Komusō monk. He plays the machine, quickly losing his stake of ¥6 million, then attacks and damages it. Ichijō is suspicious of his behavior and realizes that it is a distraction and rushes to his office to find Kaiji there. Ichijō has Sakazaki beaten up and Kaiji tortured, then they are thrown out into the street. Days later, the Bog is repaired and operational again. It is Kaiji's final day on the surface and he arrives at the casino to challenge the unbeatable Pachinko machine.
- 13
Kaiji plays on even though it appears the chances of winning are zero. Meanwhile, Ichijō receives a request to send a live CCTV feed to the Teiai underground forced labor camp and to Hyōdō. Kaiji continues to play, even after losing ¥20 million in what seems a pointless exercise.
- 14
Kaiji continues to play, with every ball deflected by the flippers until one ball makes it through to the plates below, the flipper rods bent because the replacement rods installed after Sakazaki smashed the machine were modified by Kaiji. Ichijō starts to panic and then receives a phone call from Hyōdō telling him to let the game continue and not bring the corporation into disrepute, under penalty of death. Ichijō now relies on his three rigged bottom plates to foil Kaiji's chances of winning.
- 15
Kaiji has only ¥20 million left to try and beat the Bog, however he is confident as he is aware of how the three bottom plates are rigged. He explained this to Sakazaki when they were at the racetrack. Slowly Ichijō comes to realize that Kaiji managed to not only tilt the machine to increase his odds of winning, but also create a slightly favorable tilt on the casino building. Unbeknownst to him, Kaiji's group had poured 20 tons of water into plastic tanks in a room on one side of the casino building, causing it to subside slightly on that side.
- 16
Kaiji's improbable idea of tilting the building to tilt the Bog pays off, and he gets closer to winning with more balls dropping onto the third and final plate. Ichijō contemplates the consequences of losing everything he has and tilts the machine again in the same direction to prevent balls reaching the third plate as Kaiji uses his last ¥10 million.
- 17
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.
- 18
The night of lunacy continues; with Kaiji putting his ¥20million and 4 fingers on the line, for a ¥100million gamble. The game is Tissue Box Raffle and something unexpected occurs, which completely throws away Kaiji's sure-fire way to win.
- 19
Months after the events at the Starside Hotel, Kaiji runs into loan shark Endoh in a chance encounter. Kaiji is forced into labor in the Teiai Group's underground mines to pay his enormous debts. Workers are paid a slave's wage in scrip called Perica, making what amounts to ¥350 a day. Those who save up enough Perica are allowed a one-day furlough above ground. Kaiji resolves to do so, but is soon tempted by the foreman Otsuki.
- 20
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.
- 21
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.
- 22
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.
- 23
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.
- 24
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.
- 25
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.
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