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(All episodes watched): The one thing that leaps out at you about this show is the detailed facial expressions of the characters when they are experiencing intense emotion, which bring their obsession with gambling and addiction to it to life. The orgasm-like experiences they undergo leave you thinking that surely these people are patently insane, and you may be right. Some of these characters are so repulsive and disgusting that it's a tricky business keeping the show fun. Just playing Roulette or poker would quickly get dull, so as was the case with season one different strange games are organized as characters challenge each other. For example, the game in episode two in which the loser might just get a finger chopped off. Apparently the student council president, and de facto leader of the academy, is gambling with her position. She has been challenged by relatives and rivals for her position, and what better solution than to organize a contest in which whoever wins the most special tokens while gambling gets the job? Whereas the theme of season one was clearly this newcomer teaching supposed experts that they don't know squat about extreme gambling, here it seemed less clear what was going on. To a certain extent the same theme is still underway, but it sort of seems like a new truckload of opponents has been brought in to give Jabami and her allies people to fight. I may be wrong, but I sort of got the feeling that the makers of season one didn't expect there would ever be a season two, and therefore were unprepared for it. I started rewatching season one on a whim, and sure enough it seemed more colorful and outlandish. But that doesn't mean season two isn't well worth watching. These new opponents have some charisma and style and are interesting--like the expert actress who takes on Jabami and the idol Jabami gambled against in season one. In more than one competition, I was somewhat confused by how the game ended--the winner was obvious, but what trick (if any) was used to win? Then there is the tax paying game, in which contestants need to trust each other in order to win, and a strange game in a strange tower in which you might just lose your life. The biggest surprise in the final episode was that the story is nowhere near over. I had assumed that we would learn who won the election and will be the new head of the school, but no, it is still underway. And even if there had been a winner, if it had been anyone other than Jabami or an ally the story would likewise be incomplete. Perhaps a third season is in the works, which would not be bad news. I liked season one better, but this was still a fun show. My favorite line: "Why am I surrounded by these fucking weirdos!?" --Yumemite Last updated Tuesday, May 07 2019. Created Wednesday, January 23 2019. | ||||||||
