Kaiji is an awesome movie. It shown how to play Jan-Ken-Pon (Rock- Paper-Scissors) in Japan which very popular games. Which under the debt pressure, he join the other play in Espoir ship (means Hope in French). This is where he lost, work underground as slave, pay with underground money called Peria, and challenge to join Brave Road (to survive and return above ground).When he made an final, he should play card with Tonegawa. Play E-Card (Emperor-Slave-Citizen) to win his freedom and clearing his debt. He lost because of Tonegawa using cheap trick. Using Chip that control and know the users heartbeat, but he lost cause Kaiji too excited winning the last round and make Tonegawa fallen on his own trick.

The problem with this movie is that it has to compact the material of 13 volumes of manga into a 2 hour long movie. The very format forced some of 'Kaiji's strongest points to lose much of its impact, namely the gambling aspect of what is a very brainy and interesting manga. The movie cuts down on the mental gymnastics that make Kaiji able to beat the odds in a believable way. As a result the viewer cannot quite grasp his genius as everything is edited to the point of losing coherence. The manga is plotted in such a way as to cover several arcs, each with its own crazily high stakes and particular flavor. The movie cannot frame a transition of the moments of the narrative without coming undone at the seams.Some choices in the adaptation were odd such as changing Endou's gender and changing the order of some events and there are other changes that may seem minor on the surface but end up diluting the tense do-or-die atmosphere that had readers of the manga flipping the pages anxiously and sitting at the edge of their seats. Such as the terrifying ear perforation device or the finger guillotine, both if which are completely absent in the movie.Kaiji's inner dialog is hyped mostly as an emotional appeal without the counterbalancing effect of his quick mind. The manga's eponymous hero is known for bursting into tears rather often but he remains a very clever young man whose gambles have plenty of reasoning behind them, the movie shows us only flashes of this. It is also unfortunate that some of the more intense moments of the 'Kaiji' saga take place in material that is not covered by the movie.The acting is solid, namely Fujiwara who plays Kaiji flawlessly, a completely different role of Death Note's Light that first introduced me to him. Having a woman playing a loan shark lends itself to romantic vibes but these never materialize.Fans of the manga may enjoy seeing Kaiji in 3D but this movie does not match the brilliance of the original work.

Generally adaptations from medium to medium in the world of film (i.e video game crossovers, remakes of older movies, cartoon remakes) are poor quality. As the original material adapts to its new format it becomes diluted. The work of the original creator is generally mangled to the point of no return.This film is a prime example.As far as some of the reviewers above who have made presumptions of Japanese culture portrayed in the film, stating that Japanese people don't 'act' like the characters portrayed in the film, are making ignorant remarks. The original piece of work (either the anime series or the manga) is a psychological thriller, with great attempts made at in-depth analysis of the thought processes of the characters. The commentary made on the greed of society as a whole is invoking.Bottom Line: Watch the anime if psychological thrillers are up your alley, its not drawn in typical cheesy anime style, nor is it cliché! Don't watch this film unless you have seen the anime, it will probably be a horrid experience! I recommend both Kaiji and the creator's earlier manga/anime Akagi. Both are extraordinary pieces of work in the otherwise cliché and worn out world of Japanese Animated television series.

This manga-to-screen adaptation by Toya Sato may have 'cult status' written all over it but only for its penchant to irritate and annoy viewers with all that sucks in terms of movie-making. Its sequences are all melodramatic - with the director trying to milk every scene for all the (fake) melodrama and bathos that it is worth.If there were a subtext or satire about how the dregs of Japanese society are caught in a self-imposed rut, it is overdone to the point of being ridiculous. However, if it is to reflect on the ridiculousness of Japanese TV game shows, it hits the nail on the head.The protagonist is Kaiji Ito (Tatsuya Fujiwara), a typical born-loser whose gambling habit lands him with a huge debt. His sins catch up with him when Rinko Endo (Yuki Amani) shows up with a list of his debts - and offers him a chance to repay them - by taking part in a winner-takes-all game on a darkened cruise ship. Those who lose the simple paper-scissors-stone game will end up working like slaves to build a ludicrous underground 'kingdom' planned by Endo's boss. Since every gambler is essentially a loser, Kaiji ends up in the slave detail. Still, since this is a gambling film, Kaiji gets a few more chances at getting out of his 'rut'.The main problem with this movie is that director Sato seems to be interpreting the manga comic for a bunch of morons instead of modern cinema audiences. Every aspect of the plot is over-explained and over-emphasised, stretching the film to an excruciating two-hour nightmare for viewers.Sato, a former TV director, allows Fujiwara to overact and over-talk like he is performing for a campfire. He prolongs every scene, especially the one involving the characters crossing a narrow beam suspended 200 metres above ground. There is nothing remotely realistic about the way the characters behave, especially at a time when their lives depended on it. There is no attempt made to provide backgrounds to Kaiji's character or any of the other cast members from the cult series Death Note. And if there are any funny moments, they are all unintended.Those who like to take a gamble on this movie may end up feeling like a loser, or worse, a sucker. - by LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)