Anime about gambling is surprisingly popular and represents an exciting way to combine these two worlds. Here are the 10 best choices.
Anime About Gambling: The Top Ten Choices For Cartoon Gambling Lovers
Anime about gambling may not be your first association to combining punting with enjoying cartoons. However, anime are part of mainstream culture worldwide and have a faithful following in almost every country and demographic.
Then again, gambling has been a favorite pastime of countless individuals for generations. It seems intuitive that the two would join forces at some point, but you’d be surprised at how long ago such a marriage occurred.
If you’re on the market for such imaginative, animated action, here are some of the best options.
The Ten Best Anime About Gambling: Not To Miss Series
There’s no arguing about tastes, and each online gambling enthusiast has different priorities when finding the best gambling resource, favorite game, etc. The same common sense applies to picking the best gambling anime, but we’ve compiled the following list based on widespread acceptance and positive reviews. The list includes:
- One Outs
- The Money of Soul And Possibility Control
- Kaiji: Ultimate Surivor
- Saki
- Death Parade
- Mahjong Hishouden: Naki No Ryuu
- Mahjong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended Into The Darkness
- Stardust Crusaders
- Legendary Gambler Tetsuya
- Kakegurui
One Outs
This anime follows the storyline of one Toua Toguchi, a passionate gambler at heart and a talented baseball pitcher by profession. Hailing from the streets of Okinawa, this protagonist enjoys a baseball-deriving game named One Out.
Toua’s life changes when he’s suddenly commissioned to spearhead a real-life baseball team through numerous challenges. One of these challenges sees the talented pitcher adhering to a seemingly straightforward rule. Pitching an out results in winning $45,000, but Toua loses $455,000 for every run he lets go.
This anime about gambling follows Toua’s story over 25 episodes in the first season and incorporates psychological, gambling, and sports elements. If you need to add some excitement to your gambling sessions and pick up some tricks of the trade, we highly recommend One Outs.
The Money of Soul And Possibility Control
If you’re looking for an edge-of-your-seat anime with a compelling backstory, you’ll find it in this title. This anime follows Kimimaru Yoga, a second-year economics student, and his gambling adventures in a world where lives mean nothing and money is everything. Yoga uses the alias “Entre” to protect his life during weekly matches deciding players’ futures.
This anime features 11 episodes in its first (and so far only) season, making it the perfect length for a weekend binge. There’s also a dubbed version if you don’t feel like reading subtitles.
Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor
When you need a survival-mode anime about gambling, you’ll struggle to find one more nail-biting than this title. You’ll witness the main character, Kaiji Itou, falling prey to an old coworker. After becoming the victim of a trick to assume his coworker’s debt, our hero goes out on a cruise ship and participates in illegal gambling.
This anime features gory scenes as Itou goes through various trials to protect his skin, body parts, and life. The protagonist must face people’s worst natures, cheating, and greed to stay alive.
Saki
Mahjong is a relatively straightforward game to learn but one of the most complicated to master. Saki is an anime about gambling that introduces viewers to Saki Miyanaga, an adorable girl who has a turbulent relationship with this ancient game.
Miyanaga understands the intricacies of scoring a neutral 0 in Mahjong. However, a friend forces our heroine to join her school’s Mahjong Club, and it is a pleasure to follow her while she finds ways of coping with the pressure. This anime is easy to follow and doesn’t rely on fillers.
Death Parade
As the name implies, this title is a mystery/psychological drama focusing on an imaginary battle between perishing and reincarnation while introducing gambling. The anime also takes place in the afterlife, which the series author decided contains endless gambling sessions.
The barmaster, named Decim, gives players the chance to lose their soul in the void or reincarnate in his bar. His sports of choice? Air hockey, bowling, poker, bar darts, and other games.
Mahjong Hishouden: Naki No Ryuu
This three-episode 1990s anime may seem too short to take note of, but you’d be wrong not to give it a try. The episodes follow a characteristic Mahjong connoisseur called the Crying Dragon. The protagonist survives by playing the game against gang members and always wins using Ron. This specific move requires a player to wait for their opponent and deliver one critical strike.
Mahjong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended Into Darkness
When it comes to anime about gambling, this title is an excellent choice. The series hero, Nongou, is an impulsive gambler indebted to the mafia for more than $27,000. This anime is a psychological thriller and follows Nongou offering his life in exchange but realizing things aren’t what they seem during the 26-episode series.
Stardust Crusaders
This anime title incorporates a different story arc and spin-off of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Jotaro’s opponent in this story arc is the mysterious D’Arby, and the two battle it out in a game of poker. The ultimate prize includes the souls of everyone who ever lost against D’Arby, including Joseph. If you’re looking for the most thrilling anime about gambling, we recommend checking out Stardust Crusaders’ episodes 34 and 35.
Legendary Gambler Tetsuya
If you prefer oldies but goldies when it comes to anime entertainment, you’ll have tons of fun with this title. This historical anime follows Tetsuya, a traveler with a knack for Mahjong. However, the traveler suddenly finds himself in 1947 Shinjuku. There, he encounters a man who demonstrates that true Mahjong mastery is still far from Tetsuya’s reach.
Kakegurui
Ask any avid anime enthusiast, and they’ll likely tell you that Kakegurui is the quintessential gambling show you shouldn’t miss. This Netflix original took the global gambling anime scene by storm, primarily thanks to over-the-top situations and in-series wagers.
The high-stakes games and gambling strategies are incredibly well thought out. The anime takes place within a private jet-set high school where gambling is the great equalizer. If you need a superbly intricate anime about gambling, we recommend Kakegurui for the reasons mentioned above.
Sandra Larson is a writer with the personal blog at ElizabethanAuthor and an academic coach for students. Her main sphere of professional interest is the connection between AI and modern study techniques. Sandra believes that digital tools are a way to a better future in the education system.
