Based on the manga by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, which began in 1999 and ran for 48 volumes and inspired some live-action features, Sentai Filmworks previously acquired the two seasons of Kaiji to its back catalog pickup list which saw an April 20th, 2021 release on Blu-ray. The two series, Kaiji Ultimate Survivor and Kaiji Against All Rules previously saw a pickup for streaming by Crunchyroll way back in 2013.
Now, as we get closer to the end of the year and you sometimes get places doing some fun and silly ways of revealing things, Sentai has a brief and amusing Twitter video (See below) with ADR director Kyle Jones where they “accidentally” tease that an anime dub is in production for the show with plans for a 2022 release. That would mean the previous subtitled-only Blu-ray set sold really well and that there’s a market for this there – and through streaming where the need for content is always strong.
Check out our review of the series.
They’ve acquired the show with rights to it in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Central America, South American, South Africa, Spain, and Portugal.
Produced by VAP (Elfen Lied, MONSTER), Nippon Television Network (Parasyte -the maxim-, Run with the Wind) and Madhouse Studio (No Game No Life, DEATH NOTE), Kaiji is directed by Yuzo Sato (GOKUSEN, Bio Hunter) with series composition from Hideo Takayashiki (Maison Ikkoku, ONE OUTS). The series stars Masato Hagiwara (Mr. Tonegawa – Middle Management Blues -, The Place Promised in Our Early Days) as Kaiji Ito, Toshiharu Sakurai (Love Lab, The Heroic Legend of Arslan) as Mamoru Ando, and Naoya Uchida (Naruto Shippuden, VINLAND SAGA) as Yuji Endo.
Hi, Sentai social media team here, you DIDN'T see this! @KyleColby 👀 #AnimeNews pic.twitter.com/y5CqMSNGHf
— Sentai 💚 (@SentaiFilmworks) December 16, 2021
Plot concept: Kaiji Ito has serious issues. Not only is he a social misfit, but he’s also a deadbeat petty gambler. After he gets duped into co-signing a loan for his friend, he’s stuck owing the Yakuza millions! Things start looking up when he’s given the opportunity to win his life back by gambling with other lucky participants on a mysterious casino ship, but he quickly realizes that more than just money is at stake. Soon Kaiji and the other contestants discover the depths of human depravity when there is nothing left to lose — except their lives.