Hyakkaou Private Academy is a prestigious school with 122 years of tradition. Many of the children of political and business leaders from the upper class attend this school, which is ruled by a gambling-based class system with the student council at the top. Those who are good at gambling attract more popularity and funds, while those who are weak are exploited and persecuted. Furthermore, students who are in the bottom 100 in terms of the amount of "tribute" they pay to the student council are labeled as "cattle" with a tendency to be uncooperative, and are subject to discrimination that even robs them of their human dignity, making it almost impossible to climb out of that state.
7th place "Ryota Suzui" 5 million yen
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura/SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
The narrator of this work. A student at Hyakkaou Private Academy, 2nd year Hana class. Class representative Height: 173cm. In this work where insane gamblers are rampant, he is one of the few people with common sense. Although he is a kind and considerate person, he is also timid and has no gambling talent. He is a "conscience" in the work, and does not take revenge on Saotome Meari who has been reduced to "domestic livestock", and does not hesitate to return the 260 million yen check that arrived in his hands. Also, because of his modest position as a "third party", he is often treated as a mob character by others, but he does not seem to be dissatisfied with this. On the contrary, his kindness is a desirable human charm for Jabami Yumeko and Meari.
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
And what's even more rare is that, while most characters act "for themselves," he can act "for someone else." At first, he was defeated by Meari in "poker" and fell to the borderline worst 100, becoming "domestic animal Pochi." After that, she has a miserable school life, but the situation changes when Yumeko transfers to the school.
6th place "Saotome Meari" 8.8 million yen
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
The protagonist of the spin-off work "Kakegurui Twin". A student of the private Hyakkaou Academy, in the second year Hana class. Height: 162cm, birthday: March 8th. A beautiful girl with distinctive blonde twin tails. Contrary to her pretty appearance, she has a quick mind and is good at grasping the essence of games, giving her high specs overall. She has a haughty personality and a strong rebellious spirit, and she is willing to go against profits to seize her own future, showing her hidden ambition is hot. She usually speaks in a manner befitting a high school girl of her age, but when she is in a competition or angry, she speaks in a rough manner. At the beginning of the story, she is the one who made Suzui Ryota owe her 5 million yen, turning him into a "domestic animal."
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura/SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
Until Yumeko Jabami transferred to the school, she was at the top of her class, but soon after transferring, she faced off against Yumeko. Although Yumeko is forced to take on a debt of 1.2 million yen in the "voting rock-paper-scissors" game of this showdown, she sees through Meari's cheating and wins, leaving Meari with a debt of 8.8 million yen. Having been defeated by her in the "voting rock-paper-scissors" game, she falls under the "domestic animal Mike" and begins to be bullied herself.
5th place: "Saotome Meari" 49.6 million yen
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura/SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
A member of the student council at Hyakkaou Private Academy and president of the Traditional Culture Research Society. Appears from episode 3. A beautiful female student with distinctive slit eyes and kimono. In the research club's clubroom, a Pochi/Mike revival match called the "official match" was held, and he became Meari's opponent in the official match with a stake of 10 million yen.
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
Meari, who has become a "domestic animal," plays an "official match" with Nishinotoin Yuriko, a student council member and president of the Traditional Culture Research Society. She is unable to see through the cheating and loses again. And in the end, Meari suffers a huge loss of 49.6 million yen.
4th place "Ikishima Mō" 300 million yen
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
The protagonist of the spinoff "Kakegurui Mō". A student at Hyakkaou Private Academy, second-year Camellia Class, student council officer, and beautification committee chairman. Height: 170cm, characterized by an eyepatch on his left eye and numerous piercings. He is a particularly strange character in the series, which is full of eccentrics and oddballs. However, he has strong observational skills, such as being able to see through Igarashi Seika's true nature, and he even drove a wedge into the relationship between Jabami Yumeko and Suzui Ryota. He challenged Kiwatari Jun, who was getting involved with Yumeko, who had become "livestock," to a game of Russian roulette, and ended up chasing him away. When Yumeko thanked him for this, he became interested in her.
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
She had felt something was off since she was a child. No matter how much she won at gambling, she was never truly happy. She had been defeated by the student council president, Kirari Momobami, and it was confirmed that she had to pay 300 million yen. When the student council president asks if she has any hope of paying back, she replies that she doesn't, and Kirari sells her left eye for 300 million yen because she has never seen the back of an eyeball. Because of this, she has an abnormal desire to be conquered by a strong opponent, to lose, and to die or be hurt herself.
Second place: "Jabami Yumeko" 310 million yen
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura/SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
The protagonist of this work. A student of the private Hyakkaou Academy, 2nd year Hana class. A transfer student of unknown origin, the representative of the Jabami family. Height: 166cm, a beautiful girl with long black hair cut in a princess style and large breasts. She wears a ring on the thumb of her left hand. Although she usually behaves in a ladylike manner, in reality she is a destructive gambling addict with an abnormal love for "extreme risk gambling". She is a natural born gambler who fully displays her outstanding abilities, including superhuman erudition, insight to instantly spot the cheating and schemes of others, a memory to remember even the most trivial details, and eloquent negotiation skills to manipulate others to her will. She is also skilled with her hands and has the skill to manipulate the rolls of the dice, but she has weaknesses in that she is slow to move and has little physical strength.
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
Soon after transferring to the school, she became popular in class due to her appearance, and when Meari challenged her to a "voting rock-paper-scissors" game, she defeated her. After that, she challenged Nishinotoin to a game of the original gambling game "Life or Death", but was defeated by cheating by the student council and ended up with a huge debt of 310 million yen. However, he considers even that situation to be his "right to challenge the student council members, who are top-class gamblers," and does not use the large sum of money he received from Meari to repay it.
2nd place "Kiwatari Jun" 310 million yen
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
A student of the Hyakkaou Private Academy, 2nd year Tsubaki class. Height: 183cm. Son of the prefectural governor, he has a strong sense of being the one in control. On the other hand, he is willing to mentally torture students but is reluctant to lay hands on them physically, and he mercilessly bullies and extorts students who he sees as "domestic animals." He appears at a debt settlement rally. Although he was not in debt, he gives 10 million yen to a friend, forcing him into a "debt" state in order to make money.
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
He cheated by using Nanami Tsubomi, a "domestic animal," but his trick was so childish that Yumeko and the others immediately saw through it, and he also fell behind in Meari's bluffs. Even after the cheating was tolerated, he revealed his hand himself, and was at the mercy of the others until the very end of the game. He fell victim to a plan set up by Saotome Meari and Jabami Yumeko and suffered a crushing defeat. Not only did he end up owing Yumeko an enormous amount of 310 million yen, but he also became enraged at Meari for making fun of him and tried to punch her, only to be held down by Igarashi Seika with a stun gun.
1st place "Maeuda Kaede" 3 billion yen
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura / SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
A student at Hyakkaou Private Academy, 2nd year Kikyo class. Student council treasurer. Height: 180cm, the only male student in the current student council. He has a cold personality and speaks harsh words even to his seniors. According to Igarashi Seika, he is obsessed with power. He is the mastermind behind everything that happened to Yumemite Yumemi. If Yumemite Yumemi were defeated, there would be fewer rivals in the power struggle, and if Jabami Yumeko were defeated, he intended to take credit for arranging the match. However, he is exposed as a suspect and is forced into the spotlight. Even so, it is within his expectations, and since he has no solid evidence, he firmly denounces her for doubting him, but Yumeko, who turns out to be a gambling addict beyond his expectations, challenges him to an "official match."
Source: Kakegurui © Homura Kawamoto, Toru Naomura/SQUARE ENIX, "Kakegurui" Production Committee
He was overconfident that "Yumeko should play an official match with the student council president," so he was stunned at the unexpected result, but he quickly recovered by taking her personality into account, and challenged the "Selection Poker" presented by the student council vice president. Midway through the match, Sumeragi Izuki is called in as Yumeko's patron, but he takes advantage of his position as accountant to secure 3 billion yen and Yumeko's gambling addiction, and takes control of the game with a "royal road" that takes into account her gambling addiction. However, he is allowed to borrow 10 billion yen using his life as collateral, and is forced to bet his life on the game. As a result, he is deceived and loses because he did not take into account that Izuki is not a "patron who just provides money" but a "gambler who takes on the game" (Furthermore, Yumeko points out that he was carried away by the heat in the venue and derailed from the "royal road"). He loses 3 billion yen + the power to decide his own life, and is fired from his position as an executive, causing his hair to turn completely white.
Summary
Among the many works that feature gambling as a theme, I don't think there are many in which the main character is in debt and gambles to repay that debt. Also, not only the main character, but other characters don't always lose, and there is a so-called revenge arc, so the story development is interesting. Be sure to check out the anime and the original work.
