Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor
DVD box set cover
No. of episodes26
Release
Original networkNippon TV
Original releaseOctober 3, 2007 (2007-10-03) –
April 2, 2008 (2008-04-02)
Season chronology
List of episodes

Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor is a Japanese anime television series, based on Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji, the first part of the manga series Kaiji by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. Produced by Nippon Television, D.N. Dream Partners [ja], VAP and Madhouse, the series was directed by Yuzo Sato [ja], with Hideo Takayashiki handling series composition, Haruhito Takada designing the characters and Hideki Taniuchi composing the music.[1] The story centers on Kaiji Itō, an impoverished young man, and his misadventures around gambling.

The anime was announced by Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine in 2007.[2] The series was broadcast on Nippon TV from October 3, 2007, and April 2, 2008.[3][a] Its 26 episodes were collected into nine DVDs, released by VAP between January 23 and September 26, 2008.[5][6] VAP re-released all the episodes on a DVD box set on October 7, 2009.[7] The opening theme is a cover of the Blue Hearts' song "Mirai wa Bokura no te no Naka" (未来は僕らの手の中, "The Future is in Our Hands"), by Masato Hagiwara (credited as Kaiji) with Red Bonchiris,[3][b] and the ending theme is "Makeinu-tachi no Requiem" (負け犬達のレクイエム, Makeinu-tachi no Rekuiemu, "Requiem of the Cowardly Losers"), written, composed and performed by Hakuryu.[1]

In the United States, Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor was streamed on the Joost service in December 2008.[10] In July 2013, Crunchyroll announced the streaming rights to the series.[11] In November 2020, Sentai Filmworks announced that they have licensed the series for streaming on select digital outlets and home video release.[12][13][14] It was released in Japanese with English subtitles on Blu-ray Disc on April 20, 2021.[15][16] An English dub for the first nine episodes premiered on Hidive on November 28, 2022;[17][18] episodes 10–15 premiered on February 21, 2023;[19] and episodes 16–26 premiered on August 4 of the same year.[20] A Blu-ray Disc set containing all episodes of Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor, with both the English dub and the original Japanese audio with English subtitles, is set to be released on December 10, 2024.[21] Anime Limited released a "Collector's Blu-ray" edition of Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor in the United Kingdom and Ireland on December 18, 2023.[22][23]

  1. ^ a b 逆境無頼カイジ (in Japanese). Nippon Television. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Loo, Egan (July 31, 2007). "Naisho no Tsubomi, Kaiji, Noramimi TV Anime Announced". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference episodelist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ カイジ – インフォメーション (in Japanese). Nippon TV. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  5. ^ 逆境無頼カイジ 1 (in Japanese). CDJapan. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  6. ^ 逆境無頼カイジ 9 (in Japanese). CDJapan. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  7. ^ 逆境無頼カイジ DVD-BOX (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  8. ^ a b 萩原聖人「カイジ」で歌手デビュー (in Japanese). Sponichi Annex. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  9. ^ ボンチリ (in Japanese). Preco Foods [ja]. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Loo, Egan (November 19, 2008). "Joost to Stream Kaiji, Buzzer Beater Anime in December". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 5, 2013). "Crunchyroll Streams Genshiken 2nd Season, Kaiji Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  12. ^ "Sentai Bets on Kaiji". Sentai Filmworks. November 18, 2020. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  13. ^ Saabedra, Humberto (November 18, 2020). "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Kaiji TV Anime". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  14. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (November 18, 2020). "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Both Kaiji TV Anime Series". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  15. ^ "Kaiji Seasons 1 & 2 Complete Series". Sentai Filmworks. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  16. ^ Mateo, Alex (April 20, 2021). "North American Anime, Manga Releases, April 18–24". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Pineda, Rafael (July 30, 2022). "Sentai Filmworks' Kaiji Dub Debuts on HIDIVE in Q4 This Year". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  18. ^ Mateo, Alex. "Kaiji Anime's English Dub Reveals Cast, November 28 Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  19. ^ Mateo, Alex (February 14, 2023). "HIDIVE Adds More English-Dubbed Episodes for Kaiji Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  20. ^ "Ready to Gamble? Watch the Entire Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor Dub! Where? On HIDIVE". Hidive. July 27, 2023. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  21. ^ "Kaiji: The Ultimate Survivor (Season 1) Complete Collection". Sentai Filmworks. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Osmond, Andrew (October 28, 2023). "Anime Limited Release Announcements Include Re:Zero Season 2 Collector's Blu-ray". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  23. ^ "Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor – Complete Season 1 Collector's Edition". All the Anime. Anime Limited. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).