is a 2011 Japanese

live-action film Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

based on ''Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji'', the second part of the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''Kaiji'', written and illustrated by

Nobuyuki Fukumoto is a Japanese manga artist well known for his work including unique and original gambling ideas, deep psychological analyses of characters, and distinct artstyle. Yakuza and gambling are recurring themes in his manga. In English-speaking countri ...

. It is the second film of a trilogy directed by Tōya Satō and premiered in Japan on November 5, 2011. It was followed by '' Kaiji: Final Game'' released in 2020.

Cast

Tatsuya Fujiwara is a Japanese actor. Internationally, he is best known for his leading roles as Shuya Nanahara in the '' Battle Royale'' films, Light Yagami in the ''Death Note'' films, Kaiji Itō in the '' Kaiji'' films, and Rikuhiko Yuki in Hideo Nakata's ''Th ...

as Kaiji Itō *

Yūsuke Iseya is a Japanese actor, director, artist, and businessman. Career Iseya co-starred with Arata Iura, Yui Natsukawa, and Susumu Terajima in Hirokazu Koreeda's ''Distance''. He appeared in Takashi Miike's '' 13 Assassins''. He has also appeared in f ...

as Seiya Ichijō *

Yuriko Yoshitaka is a Japanese actress. She has played numerous roles in film and television, including lead roles in ''Snakes and Earrings'', ''Yurigokoro'', and the NHK asadora ''Hanako to Anne''. Career At age 16, her first year of high school, Yoshitaka join ...

as Hiromi Ishida *

Katsuhisa Namase is a Japanese actor, known primary for his roles in Japanese television dramas. His roles are often positions of authority, such as managers, principals, or police officers, but many of these characters also share a certain kookiness and incomp ...

as Kōtarō Sakazaki *

Teruyuki Kagawa is a Japanese actor, kabuki actor and boxing commentator. Biography Born in 1965, his parents are the kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III and the cinema actress Yuko Hama. His grandmother is the film actress Sanae Takasugi. In the Kabuki world ...

as Yukio Tonegawa *

Suzuki Matsuo is a Japanese theatre director, actor, novelist, and screenwriter. Career Born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Suzuki started his own theatre troupe, Otona Keikaku, in 1988 and was joined by such talent as Kankuro Kudo and Sadao Abe. He won the Kishida ...

as Taro Ōtsuki *Hayato Kakizawa as Murakami *

Ken Mitsuishi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Chaos'' and '' Tokyo Playboy Club''. Filmography Film ;1980s *'' Tora's Tropical Fever'' (1980) *'' Foster Daddy, Tora!'' (1980) *'' Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'' (1981) *''Tora-san, the Ex ...

as Kōji Ishida *

Tarō Yamamoto is a Japanese politician and former actor, who is the founder and current leader of the anti-establishment political party Reiwa Shinsengumi. Yamamoto served as a member of the House of Councillors from 2013 to 2019 and was a candidate in the ...

as Jōji Funai *

Kyūsaku Shimada is a Japanese actor. History Shimada was originally part of the Tokyo Grand Guignol Theater group, formed by artist Norimizu Ameya. He stayed with the group until its dissolution in 1986. One of the productions the group undertook was an adaptat ...

as Yoshihiro Kurosaki *

Maxwell Powers Maxwell Powers (born December 27, 1983) is a Japanese voice actor born in the United States. Known for his work in ''Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress'', '' Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion'', ''Pokémon'', and '' Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Ti ...

as Swamp (voice)

Soundtrack

Yugo Kanno is a Japanese composer and musician known for his work on many television dramas, anime series, and movies. Biography Kanno was born in Saitama, Japan. He attended junior high school in Kawagoe before later moving to Takanezawa for university. ...

composed the music for the film. The original score was released on November 2, 2011.

Release

''Kaiji 2'' was announced in November 2009. ''Kaiji 2'' was theatrically released on November 5, 2011, in Japan. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 25, 2012. The film was screened at the

anime convention An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...

AM² AM² (Which is pronounced: "A" "M" "Squared") was a three-day anime convention held annually in the summer at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Programming The content provided by AM² covers a range typical to anime convention ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

in June 2012.

Reception

Box office

''Kaiji 2'' was Japan's nineteenth highest-grossing film of 2011, earning () at the Japanese box office that year. The film also grossed $68,175 overseas in Singapore, bringing the film's international total gross to $21,068,175.

Critical reception

In a review of ''Kaiji 2'', Maggie Lee of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' felt little suspense and satisfaction with the characters and the actors' performance. She wrote that the cast "cranks up their acting" but due their "cardboard" roles they "have no hopes of being more than that". Lee expressed no excitement in the "character reversals", pointing out that they have become quite common in the survival game genre, with works like ''

Liar Game ''Liar Game'' (stylized as ''LIAR GAME'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shinobu Kaitani. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from February 2005 to January 2015. It was adap ...

'' or ''

The Incite Mill is a 2010 Japanese psychological thriller directed by Hideo Nakata. The movie is based on Honobu Yonezawa's novel ''The Incite Mill''. Plot Ten people are promised a dream job that pays 112,000 yen ($1,236 US dollars) per hour, no experience or ...

'', stating "no matter how many times the key persons in ''Kaiji'' switch their allegiances, it no longer surprises." Nevertheless, Lee praised the camera movements, music and sound levels, ultimately calling the film a "geeky but still entertaining sequel to the crowd-pleasing "gambling" genre."

References

External links

Official website

* * {{Kaiji Films about death games Films set in Japan Films about gambling 2010s Japanese-language films Kaiji (manga) Live-action films based on manga Toho films Films directed by Tōya Satō