Kakegurui Episode 5 Review: The Woman Who Became Human

If you haven’t been following MANGA.TOKYO’s news, we’ll have to wait three weeks until the next episode of Kakegurui. Episode 5 was kind enough to not leave us with a cliffhanger, at least. We got to see how the Blind Man’s Poker ends, and it was majestic.

Japanese Title: 人間になった女

Plot

I wonder if I have to use this space to try and explain to myself what happened in this episode. I’m not sure if I am as dumb as Kiwatari, but that was one elaborate plan between Yumeko and Mary. When she asked for her help during the last episode, how many hours did she need to properly explain it to her? I’m still not sure if I have the full grasp of it.

This table is drenched with lies

Let’s start with the fact that everyone on the table is cheating and that for the first time all the participants are aware of that. This has gone further from a classic gambling table. This was a test of wits. The difference between the two cheating pairs was the magnitude of the deception. While Kiwatari and Tsubomi followed a simple hint strategy, Mary and Yumeko prepared an elaborate plan that started way before the match. Mary loaned Suzui (without his knowledge) the exact amount of money that would make her debt equal Yumeko’s. On the other hand, Yumeko bet in the game only an amount of money equal to Mary’s debt to the Student Council. By switching their debt plates before the game, Kiwatari thought that Yumeko’s chips worth more than they actually did. That strikes me a little odd, since I feel that in the last episode they announced the amount of each chip, and they couldn’t have lied there, could they? Or maybe they didn’t have to announce anything? I don’t remember.

Jabami Yumeko is insane

The viewers were also deceived, as the floating sums played along with Yumeko and Mary’s game. We were not allowed in until Sayaka announced the final results, where Kiwatari comes last and with a huge debt. Poetic justice? Maybe. Yet, Yumeko displayed once again that she is fond of the thrill of the game. Not the money, not the fame, just the thrill. She also has a weird sense of justice that works in her favor. Her mentor-like scene with Tsubomi was more than effective.

Fear. Loss. Rage. Frustration

Tsubomi was little more than a slave. Livestock owned by the more powerful. She once had long beautiful hair she was really proud of. Of course, jealousy and cruelty rarely couple with happiness. As soon as she became livestock, her hair was cut off by Kiwatari and his merry band of idiots. Since then, she bottled up her emotions to cope with being treated as an animal. After an impressive monologue by Yumeko, the little sheep became the wolf, or better yet, the livestock became the owner, as Tsubomi was in fact the woman the title was referring to, the woman who became human.

Episode Highlights

Fan Service: It’s hard to choose from the many highlights of this episode, but there are three scenes that were carved in my mind. The accidental oppai groping from Tsubomi and Yumeko groping Mary from behind. The series is so heavy in sexual innuendo that these two scenes seem like a children’s program in an adult channel.

Kiwatari: You can’t imagine how much I enjoyed that little prick getting owned. His inconsiderate bullying and sense of entitlement elevated him to the first place of my ‘persons I resent in this anime’ list. Of course, we have half a season yet, and I guess I will resent more people as we head to the finale.

Violence: Sayaka-san warned the big bully that violence is out of the question. When she attacked the girls, I first thought that Yumeko was going to showcase her athletic abilities, but it was Sayaka herself who electrocuted the bastard to the floor.

Sayaka Has a Crush: Sayaka is a bit fond of the President. We haven’t seen much of her yet, but our last encounter with the teal-haired crazy just confirmed that her level of insanity in on par with Yumeko’s.

Themes & Trivia

Title: Kakegurui is staying true to its main theme of misconception. Every week, the title suggests to a woman becoming something or that the episode will be centering on a certain woman, this ‘The Woman Who Became Livestock’ and ‘The Slit-Eyed Woman’. In both cases, as in this episode, the title does not appear at the beginning of the episode, but rather on the crucial point in which the reason for the episode having this title becomes apparent. The one who became a human in this episode was not Yumeko, as I hastily assumed in my last review, but Tsubomi, one of the countless students who live under the tag of the livestock in a system that sadly resembles real life.

Comments

Have I mentioned how fond I am of Yumeko? I want to know more about her past and why she came to be the gambling beast she is. Of course, that doesn’t have anything to do with the story at hand, but it would have been great if we could get a few glimpses of her past.

Are We Friends?

Of course they are! Mary, Yumeko, and Suzui are the trio we have been waiting for. Together they will go all the way to the top and defeat the evil president. Not that the rest of the school is not full of evil dicks, but someone has to be eviler than the rest. I hope Mary pays off Yumeko’s debt, even if I suspect that she has no such plans. She wants to keep on playing with the Student Council for a few episodes more.

Did you like Episode 5 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!