The live action adaptation of Japanese manga Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji opened in Japan this year to great success. The film, titled Kaiji, was released on October 10 and made over 995,000,000 (11 million US) in its first week and a half in theatres. It enjoyed a modest 2 week stay at the #1 spot and as of last week, remains in the box office top 10.With numbers like that, it must come of no surprise to find out a sequel has been planned for 2011.
Kaiji is based on Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s manga, which was also adapted into an anime series in 2007. The title character Kaiji Ito is young, down on his luck, and trying to find a way to make ends meet. Japan is on an economic downturn and unable to find a steady job, he spends his days wasting away on booze and nefarious doings. His only discernable skill is his knack for gambling, which only surfaces to help him out of the roughest of spots. His life is greatly complicated when femme fatale Endo (Yuki Amami) shows up and demands he repay a large loan he owes in name only. Lucky for Kaiji, he is given options as to how he can repay. He can spend the next 11 years in servitude, or try his luck for one night on a gambling ship where he can clear his debt. Of course, he chooses the latter and is introduced into a high-stakes game that proves to have consequences more serious than he could have imagined.
The movie generated heaps of buzz when it was announced that Death Note stars Tatsuya Fujiwara and Ken’ichi Matsuyama would both have roles in the film and be reunited on the big screen. No word yet on the possible plot details for the sequel, but fans of the film will be glad to know Tatsuya Fujiwara is set to be returning in the titular role.
