Slight Spoilers of Netflix Bet’s Ending Late in the Article
Netflix’s seriesBetmay have entered on some rocky ground after its first trailer hit the internet, with anime fans seething at how this live-action adaptation ruined the originality and complexity ofKakegurui, but the series is doing fair numbers with itsreviews leaning towards a more positive reception. Sites like IMDb still rank it at a 6.2, RottenTomatoes has it at a 75% reception with the audience, and even here, Bet has been at a solid 7/10 since the episodes premiered. Down in the comments and personal ratings, however, is where things really get interesting.
By now, it is clear thatBetnever set out with the intention of being like Homura Kawamoto’sKakegurui – Compulsive Gambler, despite using the characters, a few story beats, and the author’s name as an homage or nod when crafting Yumeko’s undercover last name. Director and writer, Simon Barry, crafted Netflix’s live-action todeliver a teen drama and crime thriller better suited for Western audiences that banked on camp and cheeky tropesused by other successful adaptations like Wednesday.
Reviews That Hate Netflix’s Live-action Kakegurui Hate Bet and Those Who Like It Still Find Flaws
Netflix’s Anime Adaptation Bet Isn’t Perfect Even by Those Who Love It
Bet’shigh rankings are justly earned as the live-action takes advantage of some amazingly choreographed camera shots shown throughout the series as it attempts to capture that same energy that comes from manga and anime.The show’s visual effects spice up the games while still informing the audience about the stakes and where each player stands after their turn. And while thecasting changes to Kakegurui threw off fans initially, there are some solid costume choices like Eve Edwards' design for Mary and Miku Martineau’s perfect casting as Yumeko.
Image via Netflix
Yet for all of the good aspects thatBetbrought, Netflix wasn’t confident enough to outright state that the show would be doing its own interpretation ofKakegurui. This led to massive comparisons being made between the manga, anime, Japanese drama, and Netflix’s live-action that nearly tarnished the release of the show as soon as the trailer came out.Casual viewers and anime fans were divided, with most followers of the original not caring for the adaptationand seeing it as a detriment to the source material, believing that funding could have gone into the anime’s next season.
Evenviewers who did end up likingBetstill found issueswith the live-action surrounding the character’s motivation changes, the underlying murder mystery plotline, and the overall writing that detracts from the superb acting abilities of its cast. There are elements in the show that give away that Bet’s writers are trying too hard to cater to a younger audience by introducing familiar verbiage and switching Itsuki Sumeragi’s to Suki, who isn’t liked by casual viewers or anime fans.
This show was like a weird fever dream. The plot is an absolute mess, and the character motivations jump all over the place, and yet my eyes were glued to the screen. Hilarious at some parts, comically strange at others. I genuinely enjoyed watching it.
-TheJammy98
The odd thing about Netflix’sBetis that the show is doing pretty well for itself among audiences, but each praise seems to come with a “but this…” and “except that…” with an overall resounding “If you don’t take it seriously, then you will find you can enjoy it all the more.” Anime fans believe that if you detach it from the original source and view it as another spinoff, it becomes redeemable.
Even Reviewers, While Heaping Praise, Can’t Endorse Bet to Viewers
Outlets like Decider, Common Sense Media, andVariety have expressed that there is something to appreciate about Netflix’sBet, yet it doesn’t fully deliver on one key premise: what makes this show unique enough to stand on its own? There are deep topics that are touched on in the show surrounding the elite class, hierarchy, and what power means in a society based on how it’s represented at this one prep school.
Yet a lot of those subjects are sidelined or undervalued byBet’sshowrunners writing it off as father issues, crypto schemes, and barely veiled mysteries of who is after Yumeko Kawamoto by immediately panning towards the schemer in the next scene.The series itself almost doesn’t take itself seriouslyby making Yumeko’s murder attempts much more comedic than they perhaps meant to be and ending the show with the infamous Rickroll meme, just in a Japanese cover.
Overall, Bet has an interesting premise. Barry offers audiences entry into a sinister world driven by greed, power, and the desire to subjugate others. Unfortunately, there are many missteps… this Americanized adaptation feels wholly unnecessary… and doesn’t add anything distinctive or worthwhile to Kawamoto’s manga.
- Aramide Tinubu at Variety
Netflix’sBethas received plenty of positive comments about getting the right setting, nailing many of the costume designs in regards to the school outfits, and really honing in on the camerawork and visual effects, tipping its hat to shows like Scott Pilgrim.But the games aren’t creative, the mysteries don’t run that deep, and the characters' dialogue can become off-putting. Many fans praise the guillotine scene and its replication in the live-action because it embodies the mentality of the characters the closest and is the only game taken directly fromKakegurui.
Netflix Should Have Gone All-in On Bet as a Parody of Kakegurui
Bet is Distinctive and Could Have Stood on Its Own as a Spin-off
Betsold the dream on the teen drama gimmick by including everything that would have hooked fans in from the get-go, with the inclusion of a cheesy romance, a prom dance, and a sinister plot broiling underneath it all. Yet by relying heavily onKakegurui’sname to bring in viewers to the live-action, it set itself up to be poorly received by anime fans. Comparisons were going to draw away from what made Bet a hit among its core audience.
Netflix andBet’sshowrunners should have leaned in towards what the show actually was,a parody ofKakegurui. It strays so far from the source material by including original characters, a separate plot that changes Yumeko and Kirari’s motivations, and changing the games the school plays that if it were going to go that far, it may as well swing with full force and change up the narrative completely. Then, proceed to sell it as a spin-off, something thatKakeguruihas never been afraid to do, given its prequel, Japanese drama, two movies, and spin-offs from other characters’ perspectives.
IfBetwas going to take the chance to make a live-actionKakeguruiby not following the same story that’s been done before in several other iterations, it should have sold that premise to its audience to manage their expectations from the get-go. By clinging to the original source, it was bound to get slack for not directly following Kawamoto’s manga, making all of its easter eggs andhomages toKakeguruimore of an insultrather than a clever nod.
