A Rundown of the 10 Best Gambling Anime Shows

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 02/24/2023

Jane Shaw Senior Editor See Full Bio

We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.

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Best Gambling Anime Shows

Anime is one of the most popular forms of TV in the world, and according to recent statistics, some 3.5% of people around the world watch anime on a regular basis! Whether it’s Death Note or Naruto, there are thousands of different anime shows worth watching! However, if you’re looking for the best gambling anime, you need to look for specific shows – and that’s what we’ll be covering in today’s post.

• The Best Gambling Anime
• The Top 5 Gambling Anime Shows
• Kakegurui – The Compulsive Gambler
• Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji
• Legendary Gambler Tetsuya
• Touhai Densetsu Akagi
• Saki
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Best Gambling Anime

The best gambling anime is always going to be subjective; what some viewers love, others will hate. Plus, with hundreds of different options to choose from, picking the best out of these options can be difficult. That’s why we’ve put this page together – to show you a rundown of our favorite anime shows.

Top Gambling Anime: Our 5 Picks

When it comes to the top gambling anime, we’ve rounded up five of our biggest favorites. Whether you’re into success stories or heartbreak failures, these five shows capture the very best of gambling anime and feature various types of gambling games. If after reading this page you’d like more information on some popular casino games, check out our guide to the best US online casinos.

Kakegurui – The Compulsive Gambler

When it comes to the top gambling anime show, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat Kakegurui – The Compulsive Gambler. As the name suggests, the show focuses on a compulsive gambler called Kakegurui. The show aired between July 1, 2017, and September 23, 2017, and there were 12 episodes in total. It’s available to watch on Netflix, and it’s well worth watching, in our opinion.

The entire series focuses on the gambling manga series of the same name that was originally written by Homura Kawamoto. The anime is set in Hyakkaou Private Academy, which is a high school where the students are judged on their gambling skills – and nothing else!

While this may not be the best show in terms of responsible gambling, it’s very well-written. The goal of the unique gambling school is to produce future world leaders and diplomats who can defeat enemies in a wide variety of different gambling games. The students are tasked with bringing their own money to the school – and they either win or lose!

The plot line is amazing, it’s fast-paced and action-packed – and if you’re looking for high-quality anime with gambling, then we strongly recommend checking out Kakegurui – The Compulsive Gambler.

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is one of the older good gambling anime shows that appears on this list, and it was aired between October 3, 2007 and April 2, 2008. Of course, we all have heard of Kaiji – who first made an appearance as a manga back in 1996 when he was created by Nobuyuki Fukumoto – and until 2017, he regularly appeared in print format.

However, Madhouse eventually picked up the franchise, and they adapted the manga series into a 26-episode anime TV series, aptly called Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor. Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor follows the life of Kaiji Itou – the show’s protagonist – and he’s one of the most unlucky men you’ll ever meet. He’s conned by a “friend” into building up huge amounts of debt, and after coming to the realization that his life is in pieces, Kaiji attempts to sober up and turn things around.

In order to do so, he joins an illicit, underground gambling ring that’s housed on a giant cruise ship. During Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor, you’ll see a lot of gambling – with many different casino games making appearances – and all this forces Kaiji to quickly adapt to his new lifestyle. It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and there’s tons of danger – so if you’re looking for one of the top 10 gambling anime shows, Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is well-worth checking out.

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya is a popular gambling anime show that aired between 2000 and 2001. There are 20 episodes in total, and the show originally debuted as a series of manga which was called The Legend of the Gambler: Tetsuya. Legendary Gambler Tetsuya, however, follows the life of Tetsuya, a gifted gambler in a post-World War II Japan, who plays mahjong full-time in Shinjuku City.

While he’s considered one of the best players in the city, it’s not his mathematical abilities or skills at the game that allow him to win consistently. Instead, it’s his ability to control his opponents’ minds – and he uses clever mind-games. He also cheats his way to victory in a large number of matches – stating that it’s only cheating if he ever gets caught!

What’s really interesting about Legendary Gambler Tetsuya, is that the show is actually based on a real-life story. Takehiro Irokawa, who was awarded the nickname Hourouki Mahjong did exactly the same thing back in the day – and Legendary Gambler Tetsuya was created to tell his tale.

If you didn’t know, after the end of World War II in Japan, thousands of illegal mahjong parlors appeared. It was, apparently, a way for disgruntled locals to spend their time as they felt hopeless and embarrassed. These emotions are cleverly brought out in the show, and everything from the presentation of the characters to the way the transitions are developed perfectly set the tone.

Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai

Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai is another gambling anime show that’s available to watch on Netflix – although surprisingly, it’s quite old, running from 2005 to 2006. The show is, again, set after Japan’s defeat in World War II, and it centers around the devastation caused by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai tells the tale of a protagonist called Shigeru Akagi, a young boy who goes up against hardened Yakuza members in a game of mahjong – only to defeat them, all at age 13.

Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai also tells the tale of how Akagi helps a compulsive gambler. The person he helps has accumulated some three million Yen in debt, and in a desperate attempt to help him clear his debts, Akagi puts his life on the line, again, defeating the mafia in a nail-biting final game of mahjong where he wins the lot.

While it sounds like a perfect story, there’s more to all of this than meets the eye. Akagi has his own problems; he’s on the run from the police during the series, and the gambling elements are perfectly intertwined with scenes of him almost being caught and only just narrowly avoiding the police. Since Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai came to an end, there has also been a live TV drama about the show which aired between 2015 and 2017.

Saki

Saki aired for just six months in 2009, although there were 25 episodes made – not bad for a show that only ran for half a year. It’s currently available to watch on CrunchyRoll, and it’s a fantastic anime all about gambling.

Saki follows the tale of a schoolgirl called Saki Miyanaga, and she absolutely despises mahjong as the game’s affected her life negatively from the very beginning. However, at school, she’s introduced to the local mahjong club by one of her friends, and her previous hatred for the game turns into genuine love as it’s revealed she has extraordinary talent for it.

Hisa Takei, the president of the mahjong club, quickly notices the young girl’s talent, even though she tries to cover it up. One of the reasons why Saki is such a strong mahjong player is her very unique playing style. This style ends up allowing her to win the respect of Nodoka Haramura, a very talented member of the club, the previous year’s champion.

Throughout the 25 episodes of the show, Saki soon overcomes her hatred of mahjong, and decides she wants to set out to achieve a new goal; to win the national competition. Teaming up with Haramura, they tackle the feat together – and form a surprising friendship along the way!

That’s five of the best gambling anime shows – and if you’re interested in learning about more, check out the table below:

If these anime shows inspire you to gamble online, then make sure that you always practice responsible gambling, and only use legal and licensed US casinos.