Netflix's anime library is constantly growing, with movies and shows consistently having new additions, and one of the most popular animes, Kakegurui, has grown a large fandom for its unique premise and highly expressive cast. While Kakegurui fans continue waiting for a season 3 announcement, they will be happy to enjoy Kakegurui Twin, its spin-off series, coming to Netflix in the fall.
Kakegurui is an anime series based on the manga Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler and, as is common with anime, follows transfer student Yumeko Jabami at Hyakkaou Private Academy. The hook or premise of the story is in the manga name, gambling. A student’s status at the school and their quality of life is determined by how much money they are able to accrue via gambling. While Kakegurui Follows Yumeko, Kakegurui Twin follows her friend Mary Satome.
Kakegurui Twin takes place one year before the events in the first episode of Kakegurui. It's a prequel series and a spin-off something that is not uncommon for anime fans to receive, that gives more insight as to who Mary is and why her personality was so vile in episode 1. After all, Mary was also the first person to ever oppose Yumeko at the academy and the first to be defeated by her.
The trailer opens with new character Tsuzura Hanatemari offering a brief explanation of Hyakkaou Academy's gambling system and structure. Tsuzura is Mary’s childhood friend and we then see her being mistreated only to then see Mary save her. Later, fans see a series of scenes from the upcoming season that cannot be talked about without spoiling.
Being a common theme with spin-offs, the introduction of Kakegurui twins is eerily similar to its pilot series Kakegurui. In the same way Yumeko joins the school and enters a gambling game to free her friend who was made into a housepet, Mary Satome does the same for her friend Tsuzura Hanatemari. However, from there we see the difference. The show keeps the same aesthetic and appeal of the original in the trailer, but Mary uses different tactics from Yumeko. While Yumeko, like other anime protagonist, won't stoop to dishonorable tactics, Mary is not above cheating and uses every advantage she can to win in these gambling games. We get that sense in the show as she develops a group of allies to assist her rise to power. Also interesting is how Tsuzura Hanatemari has yet to appear in the mainline series, leading us to believe she is no longer at the academy. The only mention of her is Mary clutching the hairpin that belonged to Tsuzura.
EIther way, this news has gotten many fans excited. Mary Satome was the most popular character in Japan’s first popularity poll and it's easy to see why. People tend to love villains turned hero stories as we see with characters such as Vegeta in Dragon Ball and other popular shows. In addition, the fact this is a character who is willing to cheat and play dirty in order to achieve victory for a noble cause is something fans take a liking to, as opposed to Yumeko who wins by simply being more intelligent than her opponents and outwitting them.
While many are looking forward to this new show, some have not expressed the same level of enthusiasm. It’s not uncommon for people to ignore spin-off series that don’t impact the main series even when there are connections or important story beats. Even so, many will be tuning into this series very soon.
Kakegurui Twin will premiere August 4, 2022 on Netflix.
Source: Twitter/Netflix Anime