Kakegurui XX (2019)

[賭󠄀ケグルイXX]

Director: Yuichiro Hayashi, Kiyishi Matsuda
Studio: MAPPA
Starring: Saori Hayami, Miyuki Sawashiro, Minami Tanaka
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
After Kirari Momobami dissolves the student council, she holds a contest for the presidency, bringing in members from the branch families of the Momobami Clan to join the competition.

Impressions:
This season is a bit of a mixed bag. I like that there's a big prize and a group of powerful opponents to go up against, but the competition isn't built to fit in twelve episodes, so instead the showrunners decided to introduce the anime-original Rei Batsubami, running her character arc parallel to the main story and until she takes center stage for the season climax. As I haven't read the original manga, I can't really compare, but the final two-parter is noticeably weaker than the other matches. Speaking of the other matches, the games are generally better than the previous season, so that's fun. I wish we had a little more attention paid to whatever Mary and Ririka were up to, though. Suzui is mostly a non-factor, not that he was too interesting to begin with. For the most part, the things that are good about the series are still here, stronger in some places and weaker in others. I think it's enough to satisfy most fans, but manga readers may not appreciate how the adaptation has struck out on its own. I'm still going to recommend it for a watch, so give it a shot.

Rating:
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