Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI, Volume 2

by Nobuyuki Fukumoto

Aboard the illegal gambling ship, the Espoir, Kaiji has now amassed an additional ten-million yen in debt. Taking his total debt before interest to over thirteen-million yen. With few resources left and less than an hour to win back some funds, the young man's options appear to be running out. Knowing that the endgame is near, panic begins to set. In an effort to even earn himself a lifeline, Kaiji decides to go all-in; betting away all his funds and those of his colleagues. The lives of three men hang in the balance in this deathmatch. Will the final curtain fall on Kaiji, or will he finally find a reason for hope aboard the Espoir?

Genres: Manga, Comics, Thriller

544 pages, Paperback

Published November 24, 2020

About the author

Nobuyuki Fukumoto (福本伸行 Fukumoto Nobuyuki) is a Japanese manga artist well known throughout the Far East for his unique and original gambling ideas, deep psychological analysis of characters and distinct artstyle. Yakuza and gambling are recurring themes in his manga. In English speaking countries, he is known best as the author of Akagi, a mahjong-related manga. In 1998, he won the Kodansha Manga Award for Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji. An onomatopoeia "zawa" (ざわ…), meaning an uneasy atmosphere, appears frequently in his comics and is considered Fukumoto's trademark.
In June 2010, he visited Finland as a guest of honor for Desucon.

Reviews

[Nicholas Palmieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sweatiest game of rock-paper-scissors I've ever read.

[Sysy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Du génie.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't believe how much I'm enjoying watching these deadbeats play this incredibly drawn-out game of Rock Paper Scissors with playing cards. These dudes played this same card game for TWO ENTIRE OMNIBUS VOLUMES of this series, and I still can't wait to see what happens in the third volume. What a weirdly entertaining bit of hyper-specific tension building. Also, it's so refreshing to read a manga that doesn't fall into the same basic, lightly-riffed-upon art style as every other manga ever drawn. This art feels angular and grungy, like a 90s Fantagraphics book or something. Kaiji, you're kind of a loser, but I love you.

[Azia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaiji completes one of the most intense games of rock-paper-scissors, only to discover that cleverness can only take you so far on a boat of desperate thieves and gamblers...This was a great conclusion to the boat arc. Lots of twists and turns that can be easily surmised if you just remember that humans suck. I'm sure Kaiji will find himself walking deeper into hell as time passes. The story is engrossing, but I'm still not a fan of the art and probably never will be. At least the plot is strong enough to overpower the unique (?) art style.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a testament to this manga that I’m closing in one a thousand pages of one night of rock, paper, scissors and still want to keep reading. It’s anxious rhythm feels like padding or filler occasionally but is also an interesting way of slowing down time. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say things don’t go well in the end. The arc of the first two volumes finishes here though, and sets us up for whatever is coming next.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread the remainder of the first arc so my memory is fresh when I (hopefully) get the next official English publication for Christmas 👀
Incredible storytelling. Fukumoto is a god. Anyone who turns down Kaiji because of the art style is missing out on so much.

[Vincent Mollica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marker: Finished Part 2

[Alex Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really strong ending to this arc - cool comic.

[David Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finish to rock scissors paper arc. Brutal reversals.