Kakegurui Episode 3 Review: Slit-Eyed Woman

How can you lose and still be a winner? You have to do it like Yumeko in Episode 3 of Kakegurui: You make sure that you expose your opponent for what she is; then you instill fear in her as she realizes that nothing can save her from a humiliating defeat; last, you acknowledge your defeat and then try to uncover the reasons behind it. In the end, you just make it your school life’s purpose to make a fool out of all those sick bitches in the council. Ok, that is actually what I would have wanted for Yumeko to be her school life’s purpose, when in reality all she wants is to gamble with the president who is probably as insane as she is. I think that in the process I will get my wish fulfilled as well.

No need to worry, Suzui-san

Japanese Title: 糸目の女

Plot

This was the first game in the series that Yumeko lost. I was expecting her to lose at some point to raise the stakes a bit, but this was not so much a loss than it was a declare of war. Her loss was calculated and she was cheated from a win that would have destroyed her opponent. Is the president, Kirari, a worthy opponent for Yumeko?

At least we got to see Mary’s thoughts and how she analyzed the sword game. Of course, her skills are not up there with Yumeko, and even if she was unable to find what kind of cheat there was in this game, she is generally able to predict when a cheat could affect her chances to win.

The moment I saw the roulette-dice mash-up and a dealer handling the swords, I knew that magnets were involved in the cheat. It goes a bit too fat to have your minions do piercing to do your bidding, but for a few millions, I would have had the piercings myself. Still, I don’t think that it’s easy to manipulate these tiny swords, even with the magnets.

I have a thought, though: I think that it’s a too suspicious that Yumeko lost that game after learning about the house pet rule. According to the rule, a house pet can force a game with whomever they want as long as the bet is reasonable. Maybe Yumeko wanted to become a house pet so that she could challenge the people she wanted. Maybe.

Episode Highlights

To your face: Yumeko spares no punches. She just went full verbal attack on her opponent. Everything she threw at her was alarmingly true and I was impressed by her observational skills. Of course, the writer already knew his characters and made it easier for Yumeko but she was so impressive in her maniac mode that I fell for her once again.

I don’t know if you are a good gambler, but you’re the lowest of the low as a person

Bear-in-the-Hole: Some light research bore no fruits on this type of gamble cheating. True or not, Kakegurui has some mystery elements in its plot. Every little detail can be described and analyzed in some way, and Yumeko is the perfect character to follow in this journey.

Themes & Trivia

Goroawase: Goroawase is a common form of Japanese wordplay where homophonous words are used interchangeably with letters and numbers. It is most commonly used as a mnemonic technique and thus is very frequently used in marketing. For instance, the video game company KONAMI used the numbers 5(ko) 7(na) and 3(mi) in telephone numbers and as a high score in Konami games. The number 29 can be read as ni(2) ku(9). Niku means meat and many restaurants have special offers on the 29^th of each month.

Oni Mask: During the episode, we were subjected to many Japanese culture items. What made the biggest impression on me though was the oni mask, part because the slit-eyed woman is in charge of the cultural club and part because she is a devil herself.

Oni are yokai from Japanese folklore who are similar to demons, devils, ogres, or trolls. They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature, and theater. Due to their popularity, they are frequently used in anime and manga stories. My favorite use of the name is in Street Fighter IV where a character named Oni is actually Akuma, whose name already means ‘devil’.

Comments

Yumeko is becoming one of my favorite anime characters. Call me superficial, but there is a sexy quality to her gambling insanity that I can’t get off my chest. We know almost nothing about her except that she if filthy rich and completely insane. And a gambling addict, of course, but that was part of the protagonist requirements. Yet, she projects an aura of indifference to anything but two things: her own desires and a twisted sense of justice that is definitely on the light side of the force. If you cheat, then she will win using the rules you have established by cheating. If you are a huge pile of shit who treats people unfairly, then she won’t hesitate to throw it all on your face. Yumeko is an insane vigilante who directly caters to her needs but indirectly (and maybe unknowingly) fights for what is just and right.

To the top!

Yumeko doesn’t care that the people around her, excluding sidekick Suzui, are a piece of shit, just like the slit-eyed woman who won a bit unfairly. But this is not a fair world, and Yumeko knows it. Knowing what went wrong was more important than winning the game and that knowledge is what will allow her to climb the gambling ladder all the way to the final boss.

Did you like Episode 3 of Kakegurui? Let us know in the comments below by using either the forum or the Facebook tab! Join us in our new forum and let’s talk about our favorite series! Don’t forget to check the rest of our Summer 2017 reviews!

NEXT TIME: The Animal Woman (家畜になった女)