The final batch of episodes from Kaiji, the underrated classic of the mid-2000’s, has finally released on Hi-Dive, concluding the first season. Picking up right after narrowly surviving the bridge walk as the only survivor, Kaiji finds his winning voided by a brief moment of hesitation, but is given a new chance to claim what he came for: a card game (made for this story) called E-Card, with deceptively simple rules but unforgiving punishments. Not only is Kaiji playing to earn ludicrous amounts of cash, he also has some literal skin in the game. Specifically, his left ear has a drill attached to it, with the bets per game also being bets of inches the drill will move. Locked in a game of cards and wits with Tokugawa, who looked down on him during the previous two lethal games, Kaiji must control his mind and somehow read the mind of his opponent if he wants to get out of this predicament in one piece.And after that…? Well, there’s only so much I want to give away here. Because having finally done a watch through of this series, I’ve found the core hook of Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is seeing just how far Kaiji himself will go to get what he wants, even when he really should leave well enough alone. Basically, he’s every gambler that thinks they’re on a hot streak, thinking they’re in the clear, but wouldn’t it be cool to get ONE more win and get EVEN more? After the first arc involving Rock Paper Scissors cards, Kaiji finds himself in greater debt than when he started. Then after managing to survive crossing the beams, he still has his debt, but at least he has his life, unlike the rest of the competitors that got to the second stage. Kaiji does have more moral reasons for continuing besides settling his financial debt; honoring the dying promise of another competitor who he saved previously, avenging those who died by humiliating those who put them there, and his own dignity as a human being, among others. However, what the show drives home, again and again, is that as long as Kaiji is playing the game of those keeping him and others down, he is always at their mercy.Despite this, what makes Kaiji compelling as a protagonist, even when he puts himself in these situations, is a surprising amount of empathy for those around him in the same situation. Kaiji, to be blunt, does not like people, but paradoxically, he does seem to believe in people, often at great cost. The few times we see him outside of the games, he keeps to himself, doesn’t really socialize, and tries to keep a low profile. Though when he is in the games, even when he is in fierce competition with others, he sees them as other human beings who are simply trying to survive, just as he is. As mentioned, this backfires on him sometimes. He’s betrayed by those who take advantage of his kindness, those he tries to save or keep away from the games sometimes end up dying around him, and his efforts to help others by winning enough money for himself and them just end up dragging him down. And yet, he will shed tears for those he sees being put down by the higher class. But Kaiji himself is no fool. Er, well, he’s not a total idiot, nor is he a people’s hero. He’s simply someone who has somehow maintained his humanity even under the most intense circumstances.Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is a certified underrated classic that has managed to stay under the radar of many anime fans for nearly twenty years, likely in part because of it lacking an official release or dub. Despite its age, it’s held up surprisingly well, with no real signs of its original release date glaringly apparent. It is a story of struggling to stay above water in a world controlled by those who play with the lower class like toys, which is probably something that has only grown more relevant in recent years through other shows such as Squid Game and just…you know, the state of the world. I feel like a lot of that speaks for itself, haha. With the dub for the first season now complete, and hopefully one for the second season on the way, perhaps there will be renewed interest in adapting more of the manga, which is still coming out with new installments to this day! Also, if you see the E-Card game and think “hey, this would be fun but I don’t want to gamble a body part”, there’s actually a working online version. In the meantime, I’m headed to Vegas. Don’t worry, I have a system.