It's getting more interesting as new folks join. The introduction of Midari San was the twist I loved the most in this challenging game. This game was definitely built for her but that foolish mistake at the end *puff* kawaii!!
This volume was definitely a notch down when it came to the game that was featured and I am finding that the type of game being played is definitely a factor in my rating.
Also knowing that there are an additional 10 characters which have been introduced into the mix (and which I'm assuming Yumeko will have to play before the "BIG" showdown) has also made me a little :/ although I'm hoping that some of them will turn out to be potentially new faves.
I really wanted more of Kirari and Yumeko in this volume so was disappointed on this front. I also think that because the last two volumes I have read in this series have been all-time favourites, this volume was very much lacking in personal enjoyment.
I do want to give this volume 4 stars because I love the artwork and general chaotic craziness which is the whole series but this instalment felt very much like a filler to me :( I really hope the next volume is once gain top notch!
I was a little peeved that the last volume dumped ten new outside characters into the mix in the closing pages since we haven't even fully used all the students already at the gambling school, but they integrate quickly and well as we jump into another bizarre game of chance with bloody stakes and psychological thrills galore.
The school's status quo is up in the air as a multi-volume arc begins to determine who will be elected student council president. I expect plenty of alliances, betrayals, machinations, and manipulations along with the usual cheating and wild moments of sheer luck. Here we go!
what even happened.... filler. the guillotine match was cut weird ? (no pun intended) ??? so that ruined the flow. the little torture family business kid was funny. the ririka mary moment tho 🚶♀️
I feel like my ratings of this series now almost entirely revolve how engaged I am with the game that’s featured. This volume has our characters playing a game involving a finger guillotine that’s played a la Russian Roulette. The conclusion was a huge cop out, a pattern I’ve noticed with the series. Whenever there’s ever any real risk of bodily harm, the story conveniently makes it go away, removing any tension that might be present.
Whatever, it’s still compelling and I’ma keep reading.
I took a long break before reading this volume but I really enjoyed it compared to how some of the previous ones were going. That being said, it also felt like maybe the series should have stopped? Adding in the new family members into the school felt a little shoehorned in, but it did make it interesting.
Following the beautiful flashbacks in volume six, I feel like the beginning of the Momobami clan arc lacks depth. Still, it's at least comedic. Midari is played more for laughs here and definitely isn't as one-note as her last appearance. Yumeko is meh in this one. Erimi Mushibami is alright, but aside from the whole "I come from a family of torturers" thing, she's pretty bland. Most of the Momobami clan are, so far, compared to the members of the student council we've seen.
Mary Saotome's arc seems to be going nowhere fast, which is a shame since she's one of the more interesting characters here.
That being said, the Finger-Cutting Guillotine game still managed to create an atmosphere of tension, more due to the reactions of the characters than the actual game.
Yumeko has beaten everybody, so the council president is next, right? Wrong. Let's extend the series since it's so popular by bringing in some outsiders who are all cream-of-the-crop level in gambling, as always. I nevel liked a large cast of characters. So far the series has thrown only a handful at me in each volume. Now the writer pulls 8 new characters out of his a$$. How am I supposed to remember their names? This is by far the crappiest volume so far. I guess the only crappy one so far.
Momobami is also part of a group of students with highly-influential parents. Now that she wants to organize elections for Hyakkaou council president, the others in the group want the position too. They join the school-wide election where anyone who wins the most election chips will be the next council president.
Kakegurui dives into its second major story arc with the arrival of the Hundred Devouring Families, an extended clan of business moguls headed by Kirari, who resent the ringleted school president's twisted mismanagement of Hyakkaou Academy. Then again, it's not like they're offering an ideal alternative: one of their members baits Yumeko (who appears to be distantly related to the Families) into a match involving a "finger-cutting guillotine," a torture device exactly what it sounds like. But they're taken aback when Yumeko, not to mention the death-seeking Midari, relish what should be gruesome psychological torture as the ultimate game of chance. By this point in the series, the manga's tone and baroque characters should be familiar to readers; the Families work to provide a foil to the Madness of the Gambling School, even if they're not terribly reasonable themselves - but then, reason is relative. After all, the dealer in this game never actually intends to harm anyone; Yumeko doesn't care if she loses a finger, while Midari typically relishes the threat of mutilation - enough that she commits an action causing even Yumeko to disown her. So, more of the same, although the Families and their murky scheming (they prefer shadowy plots to the in-your-face craziness of the Student Council) add higher stakes to what's becoming a familiar formula.
With the seventh volume of “Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler”, we enter the election arc with a bang! There’s a fresh set of faces to gamble, a new set of stakes, and plenty of fresh madness.
While it’s hard not to feel like everything from the set up to the gamble of the volume is just a remix of stuff from the previous arc, the detail of the new rivals being absolutely thrown off by how wild our established cast can be makes it all fun.
The art is lovely (the portrayal of Jabami as a mer-thing is a particularly striking image) leaning a bit more toward horror then ecchi this volume. While I really dug the gamble, the twist, and the promise of the new arc, the remix-feel and the comedic absence of Suzui in the gamble itself (I struggled to double check if he was in the room at all) do add a touch of drag to an otherwise fun time.
God that was tense. I love that we got a return of Yumeko and Midari gambling together. The unrequited desire that Midari has for Yumeko is so addicting to read, especially since she is the only person who gets under her skin. Who doesn't love two psychos getting together to make a "villian" squirm. Im officially out of physical copies of this manga and need more asap!
I really enjoyed the risk factor of the Finger-Cutting Guillotine gamble. I also thought it was funny to see Midari again, despite me not liking her character too much. I greatly enjoyed watching how Mushibami got tricked and lost her own game.
The Momobami clan arc is off to a fun and riveting start in the manga! I'm curious to see how the manga will expand some of the characters the anime didn't touch on, and see how Yumeko and her old foes face off against those vying to become student council president.