Who doesn’t love a good wager? Characters gambling anime with money or their lives in intense situations, which can include playing mahjong against gangsters or breaking an opponent’s mind!
While gambling is generally banned in Japan, it doesn’t stop fans from falling in love with high-stakes stories.
Goo Ranking asked the Japanese community to rank the best, and while most are obscure works focusing on mahjong, there are a few internationally loved stories and yes gambling anime.
- 10. ACMA:GAME – 30 votes
- 9. Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryu – 34 votes
- 8. One Outs – 36 votes
- 7. Usogui – 54 votes
- 6. Gin to Kin – 71 votes
- 5. Legendary Gambler Tetsuya – 75 votes
- 4. Liar Game – 172 votes
- 3. Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai – 195 votes
- 2. Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 445 votes
- 1. Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor – 551 votes
10. ACMA:GAME – 30 votes
Mangaka: Meeb (writer) / Kouji Megumi gambling anime
Status: Finished (198 chapters)
Quick Pitch: Oda Teruasa is gifted with smarts, looks, and wealth, making him the perfect scion of the powerful Oda Group. However, his life is tossed into disarray after getting caught up in a nightmarish game with the son of the Belmont mafia family.
9. Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryu – 34 votes
Mangaka: Junichi Nojo
Status: Finished (72 chapters)
Studio: Gainax / Magic Bus
Episodes: 3
Quick Pitch: Ryu can be found playing mahjong against gangsters and other unsavory people. He is a peerless talent and seeks the thrill of winning by “ron” against underground opponents.
8. One Outs – 36 votes
Mangaka: Shinobu Kaitani
Status: Finished (175 chapters)
Studio: Madhouse
Episodes: 25
Quick Pitch: Toua Tokuchi is a master at gambling and mind games with an unbeatable reputation in “One Outs,” which is a simplified version of baseball.
Hiromichi Kojima recruits Toua to pitch for the Saikyou Saitama Lycaons, the weakest team in the country.
To make things interesting, Toua proposes an unusual contract: every out gains him 5 million yen, but every run allowed loses him 50 million yen.
7. Usogui – 54 votes
Mangaka: Toshio Sako
Status: Finished (541 chapters)
Studio: Not revealed
Episodes: 1
Quick Pitch: Baku “Usogui” Madarame is a brilliant gambler who uses his own life as a wager. These deadly gamblers are monitored by the Kagerou organization, which serves as a neutral party. However, Usogui’s goal is to outmaneuver Kagerou for total control.
6. Gin to Kin – 71 votes
Mangaka: Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Status: Finished (108 chapters)
Quick Pitch: Morita has trouble finding success, and he takes his frustrations out in gambling. One day, he meets Ginji, who is a fixer with connections to the underground. This new world is filled high-stakes gambling and people corrupted by greed.
5. Legendary Gambler Tetsuya – 75 votes
Mangaka: Fuumei Sai (writer) / Yasushi Hoshino (artist)
Status: Finished (339 chapters)
Studio: Toei Animation
Episodes: 20
Quick Pitch: The people of Shinjuku find themselves struggling to survive after WWII came to an end. Many people lack the money to buy necessities, so they turn towards gambling for survival war anime.
Tetsuya doesn’t mind the situation since he’s been easily defeating opponents…until Boushu-san arrives. After a thorough defeat, Tetsuya realizes he still has much to learn about mahjong.
4. Liar Game – 172 votes
Mangaka: Shinobu Kaitani
Status: Finished (203 votes)
Quick Pitch: Nao Kanzaki is an honest college girl who receives a mysterious package containing 100 million yen and a note stating she is a contestant in the Lair Game Tournament.
The game revolves around obtaining another contestant’s money, with the loser bearing a debt equal to their loss. When Nao’s money is stolen, she asks a con man named Shinichi Akiyama to help her retrieve it.
After defeating their first opponent, the duo vows to advance through the tournament to free their opponents from their debt and to defeat the Liar Game organization.
3. Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai – 195 votes
Mangaka: Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Status: Ongoing
Studio: Madhouse
Episodes: 26
Quick Pitch: As a young boy, Akagi interrupts a mahjong game while fleeing from the police. One of the patrons is destined for a victory, so he turns his game over to Akagi and quickly explains the game’s rules.
It’s quickly discovered that Akagi is a natural-born gambler and makes it his life’s work to mentally break hardened gamblers.
2. Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 445 votes
Mangaka: Homura Kawamoto (writer) / Toru Naomura (artist)
Status: Ongoing
Studio: MAPPA
Episodes: 12
Quick Pitch: Hyakkaou Private Academy is an institution that only admits the wealthiest students. A student is not judged by their academic achievements or athletic ability, but by their skill at high-stakes gambling.
The student council rules with an iron fist, but transfer student Yumeko Jabami is going to show them what real gambling is.
1. Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor – 551 votes
Mangaka: Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Status: Ongoing
Studio: Madhouse
Episodes: 52
Quick Pitch: Kaiji is a good-for-nothing loiterer who wastes his life drinking and stealing hubcaps. Just when he thinks life couldn’t get worse, he is tricked into repaying a friend’s debt to the yakuza.
Faced with choosing to work at a labor camp for 10 years or boarding an illegal gambling cruise, Kaiji decides to test his hand at gambling.
