This review is spoiler free unless stated otherwise. Img800https://tiny.io/i/L4KGtV0.jpeg Overview Gambling is an unexplored art with boundless potential for thriller media I mean it pushes people to their most raw unadulterated forms. Those who triumph are usually those who can keep a clear and rational state of mind nothing exemplifies more than Gambling Emperor Legend Zero. Im going to avoid mentioning Fukumotos other works throughout this review as I feel it would be cheap but yes its similar to Kaiji. Its a bunch of high stakes gambling death games that force the psychology of the players into uncomfortable positions ultimately creating an intense battle where youre not sure as to where the outcome will lie. Well even if you are sure you wont know how its going to happen. Gambling Emperor Legend Zero has a rather onthenose but ultimately strong premise. Some smart guy and his gang of suicidal lackies are invited to a death game for a trillion yen I mean boom bucket loads of fun pretty much guranteed. For a quick comparison the structure isnt all that dissimilar to YuGiOh. Players are forced onto this secular location where they visit various locations of their choosing competing with or against other players to win the prize. For the specifics however we begin to vary. Within Dream Kingdom where they choose to gamble there are some very intentional set rules. To win the game one must collect three rings. There are four total types of challenges: J or Junior Safe Mild and Hard. If you lose any competition that isnt Junior rank you are automatically disqualified from the game. In mild games you may win bigger rewards but youre almost guaranteed injury. In hard difficulty its near certain death. Naturally this leads to many ways different players tackle the challenge set in front of them I wont spoil it but its pretty interesting. Setting Stakes Img800https://tiny.io/i/SKREjUf.jpeg The greatest problem many thrillers face is the natural element of plot armor. At the end of the day your protagonist has to come out alive for the story to continue. This seems like it would make most highstakes gambling boring and pointless as youll always know the outcome but there are many methods Gambling Emperor Legend Zero employs to get around this. The most immediately notable being in the puzzle format. If you turn your gamble into more of a mystery as youre forced to guess how the protagonist will solve the problem thats automatic curiosity and engagement. Even without stakes the gamble will be satisfying as long as the answer subverts the viewers expectations. Zero does this in spades though thats not the core gimmick for those gambles because it adds another layer. Exploring the psychology of characters in such a perilous situation is inherently intriguing and the manga takes advantage of this. The characters reactions and thought trains are fun to follow in their own way they add stakes by seeing how secondary characters will develop and fare. Which is another thing most of Fukumotos works know how to do: kill off secondary characters and ruin the main character. If the gamble is life or death its entirely possible for well developed side characters to get the axe as is it possible for the protagonist to lose limbs or all of their progress. This unpredictability adds a sense of importance and thrill to every game confounding upon the satisfaction of the conclusion. However a core perforating issue remains with this strategy: the characters. If the writing isnt strong enough to get you invested in the characters then of course you wont care about what happens to them or how they think. The Characters Img800https://tiny.io/i/j2UQzy5.jpeg Fukumoto isnt known for his incredibly nuanced and memorable characters but most would agree his protagonists are always striking so how does Zero hold up? Well hes damn entertaining. Hes a calm and rational genius who reigns over most in the battlefield but he isnt perfect to the point where he makes no mistakes and he has a kind and selfsacrificial side to bolster his likability. Not to mention carry the theme of camaraderie. In a setting like this you would expect a lot of betrayal but they shockingly opt for more friendshipbased endeavors. Fortunately it isnt beaten into the ground like your average battle Shounen so its actually a nice and quaint addition to the themes. So basically Zero serves his purpose at both being compelling to watch and being a thematic vessel. Escaping the narrow view of the protagonist many would argue Fukumotos works begin to falter but I would argue that isnt the case here. The secondary cast all have their own traits that make them unique and compelling. Zeros friends may at first seem onenote and in many ways they are but they provide for good commentary. They latch on to Zero and support him even if they cant ultimately do much for him which is really pleasant. Hiroshi has his own arc separate to Zero and Yuuki ends up proving his worth in ways. This way each character has their individual story purpose making the writing more cohesive as a whole. However I would be remiss not to mention the most striking characters: Zenzou Mr.Kotarou and Suezaki. The antagonist being a batshit crazy egotistical near pointlessly rich and sadistic old bastard is great. Not only does it serve as some fun semicommentary on how the rich abuse and exploit the poor but his senile behavior has a rich presence to it. Hes a pretty fucking scary dude this leads to natural character intrigue. Mr.Kotarou the antagonist for the quiz show game has a different appeal. While he is not necessarily threatening his wild design and wacky personality harbors a unique charisma you can only see in characters like that. His dialogue is perfectly constructed to accentuate a liveshow tone doubling his characterization. Finally Suezaki isnt an antagonist but fuck is he cool. Hes just a slimy sort of snake that somehow keeps finding himself in Zerorelated positions which is inherently epic. I cant really say much as to his writing but youll see what I mean when reading. Finally the tertiary cast can be pretty great. Characters like Itakura Shirube and Gotou have moments of their own which add to the character drama. Even if you likely wont remember them long after reading the manga they add much needed flavor to Dream Kingdom. I would go over their individual feats but Im not here to waste your time so Ill go over the more interesting shit individually instead. Obviously being the games. Individual Gambles Each gamble is pretty unique with every single one presenting some sort of mysterious tribulation to overcome for our protagonist and at times the viewer. This segment will analyze each game with spoilers so feel free to skip below. Numbered Balls Img800https://tiny.io/i/mZJj6lE.jpeg As a starter gamble this is rather simple but its the perfect lesson in critical thinking and sets the tone for whats to come. Not only is the gamble threatening and actually effective and weeding out halfhearted losers but it hoists the theme of logic and rationality being the key to solving problems. The solution is simple but no one blinded by fear or greed would think of such a thing. Which is also a nice sheet to introduce Shirube as a genius while retaining the mystery he had for earlier chapters. Finally the closing statement of the game was quite nice. Mitsurus death provided ample motivation for Zero to move forward while setting up how dangerous this world can be. Pretty much a perfect intro gamble though the latter half of the series doesnt bring up Mitsuru which spoils this slightly in retrospect. Hopefully we will get a mention in part two. Chisel Hands Img800https://tiny.io/i/g82ddm6.jpeg This gamble pulls back the stakes and risks only Zeros fingers which makes a real threat present for our protagonist as opposed to later ones which only offer death. This also further established how dangerous a place Dream Kingdom is using the guy who played before as an indicator. Speaking of indicators the signs for the gamble were laid out pretty cleverly. Peppering enough clues for the viewer to have an idea themselves while leaving it obscure enough to not be easily findable is ideal and they delivered. I never would have even thought about the fridge even if Zeros earlier dialogue lines aroused suspicion around the fingercutters face. Having him shy away from the face confounds upon his niceness as well subtly building upon his character. On top of this it also showed that the game runners are not above cheating which will come into play later. Fantastic game for establishing Dream Kingdom as a setting. Mystery of the Triangle Rooms Calling upon basic mathematics is something Zero does often and fuck does it make me feel stupid. I mean cmon I would never even think to calculate the angle of a triangular room much less be able to calculate it accurately. Despite my own ineptitude this is what makes games like this fun. The solutions are incredibly creative and out there but logical and simple when you get down to it. Its just within the situation youre clouded by your own perception which is what most of these games test you for. Can you get past your own emotions and bias to think critically? Though it takes him a while to figure things out Zero usually can which is just fun to see. The lastminute factor can be a bit repetitive but is still ultimately satisfying for each outcome. I think the other teams added a fair amount of interesting completion to the gamble as well so yeah. Pretty great followup to the last two. Quarter Jump Out of pure curiosity Zenzo pit Zero against Shirube fuck does this set up Zenzos wild card element well which will be perfected by the ending. Bar the awesome introduction the gamble itself is incredibly unique and creative. A blindfolded battle where the player is forced to choose between four voices calling him to each side. Thats just an awesome premise as it provides for some psychological leeway as each person does their best to tempt Zero over. As a viewer of the game we hold an omniscient perspective and get to see the behind the scenes of the tricks employed as well which I believe was the right call. Its just interesting to see how Zero dismantles each and every possible answer systematically and within the time limit. From Goudos temptation to the antics with the mirror every conclusion Zero comes to makes perfect logical sense and avoids relying on intuition. It was a battle hard fought Shirube clearing it in under a minute sets him up as a real threat even more so than before. Not to mention it bolsters Zeros trait of kindness as he gives Shirube a hint beforehand. Overall though theres not much to analyze the game was pretty thrilling and had a variety of interesting strategies to unveil while supporting the characters core traits. Likely my favorite game overall. The Witches Massacre This one purely exists to exemplify mob mentality and how fear in one person can bring an entire group of people down. While this can be seen in plenty of shows that entail a group of normal people fighting a larger entity its done really well here. Zeros deepens mistrust and makes you think some of them may actually be killed as the stakes of what exactly will happen are unsure. The games themselves werent super interesting as they were just mathematics but it was easily made up for by the reactions of the crowd around them. Itakura and Suezaki get to show off their guile by wheeling the crowds within this round as well. So yet another thrilling ride with some unexpected twists and turns that will keep you wanting more. Quiz Show Img800https://tiny.io/i/R0kQnNo.jpeg As a game some view this as rather lacking which is somewhat justified. Though the concept of the main questions putting points into either raising or lowering and having anchor questions decide whether it gets lowered or raised is cool some of the questions are simply inane and pointless. Sometimes thats the point like with Kotarous hair but why the hell does Zero know about a ramen bowl? I ultimately cant complain however for as discussed earlier damn does Kotarou steal the show. His pathetic jabs and jibes are hilarious to see along with watching Zero slowly dismantle his sadistic nature. I mean he literally psychoanalyzes the fact that he was bullied in the fight. Zero fucking destroyed Kotarous ego which provided for good comedy while making a compelling dynamic especially considering Kotarou held power in the situation. Another thing they bothered expanding upon here was how every individual mind helps in some way highlighting Zeros naive but commendable philosophy of helping people if possible. Suezaki and Yuuki may not have been great but they ultimately did their best and helped the team in some way. While not as dark and grim as it could have been I think this somewhat more optimistic message is pleasant. Ring Finding Ending on a rather weak competition the solution for this one was a bit gimmicky and intuitionbased. The stuff surrounding it makes up for it however. Zeros selfsacrificial strategy to get into the challenge was rather smart while once again showing how kind he can be. Not to mention his triumphant exit with the three ringlets in tow was incredibly gratifying to see after all that happened for once again he had won at the last minute. That kind of wraps it up nicely in its own way. Thematics and Ending While Zero is a more Shounenesque approach to Fukumotos usual Seinen formula it still explored gambling as an art in plenty of nuanced ways. Mostly showing the danger of mob mentality and true genius lying in ones ability to stay calm not letting your emotions cloud your judgment you can see what I mean if you read the gambles above. While Zero doesnt abandon a logical thinking path he also cares deeply about the people around him and retains his sense of morale. Thats pretty cute as a theme and manages to give off friendship in a nonhamfisted way. I wish they would have leaned a little bit harder into the rich abusing the poor and what that implicated however. Theres plenty of ways to explore that but I suppose thats for Fukumotos other works. As for the ending yeah it was a massive fucking cliffhanger but it was nice. Its a good setup for the next part and it really cements Zenzos character to be as bat shit crazy as he is. Cool shit. Conclusion While not every gamble was perfect each one had its own unique idea to put on the table ultimately creating for an entertaining thrillride that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The characters were developed well for their short amount of time and I could not be happier with the product overall. This is an easy recommendation from me so make sure to check it out. See you guys in the next review.