Kakegurui Season 3 is a necessity simply because the anime left fans hanging in the middle of the election story arc and Kakegurui Twin was only a spin-off prequel. But how long will audiences need to wait for the anime production committees to make the gamble?
Although Kakegurui XX felt like it ended halfway through a full season’s story, it turns out there’s a very good reason that animation studio MAPPA ended the story that way. The anime simply caught up with the story from the source material, which means that Kakegurui XXX couldn’t be greenlit for production quickly back in 2019 unless the anime resorted to a lot of filler episodes and anime-original content.
Thankfully, as of early 2023 Anime Geek is predicting that there are barely enough manga chapters available for making Kakegurui Season 3. (Please see the predictions section below for more details.)
The second big obstacle is financial. Kakegurui XX was actually a surprise since sales of the first season’s Blu-Ray/DVD box sets essentially belly-flopped back in 2017 since the first volume sold less than 1,000 in its first week.
Regardless, it’s possible that simply being a popular Netflix exclusive will be enough for the Kakegurui XXX anime TV show to be renewed. Years ago, Blu-Ray/DVD sales used to be the primary source of revenue for the anime industry, but in recent years streaming income became the deciding factor in an anime’s success.
With Netflix’s support, it’s fully possible that Kakegurui Season 3 could be produced. When Netflix secures international licensing for an anime, oftentimes the season will release on Netflix Japan as episodes are broadcast on Japanese TV stations.
Then, the international release will come out within six months after the anime releases its finale episode in Japan.
Netflix’s Kakegurui Season 2 is keeping to this historical release schedule. Kakegurui XX first aired in Japan starting January 2019 and the ending, Episode 12, was released on March 27, 2019. The Kakegurui XX release date on Netflix U.S. occurred June 13, 2019.
Updated May 24, 2019: Added Netflix’s confirmation of Kakegurui XX’s release date for international audiences.
This article provides everything that is known about Kakeguirui Season 3 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Kakegurui Season 3 release date predictions
As of the last update, animation studio MAPPA or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Kakegurui Season 3 release date. Nor has the production of a sequel been announced.
Once the news is officially confirmed this article will be updated with the relevant information. In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Kakegurui XXX premiere date will occur in the future.
When Kakegurui XX was first announced in 2017, only three manga volumes were released. By 2018, the manga was up to Volume 10, but even with five volumes (and presumably the creator’s notes) available as source material to work with MAPPA ended up relying on filler.
Therefore, it can be inferred that the manga will need to be up to at least Volume 15 for a third season to be produced unless the decision is made to diverge completely from the manga. The waiting game might be preferred by some fans rather than end up with yet another anime that diverges completely from its source material.
New manga chapters are released monthly, and new volumes are released about two to three times a year. Since Kakegurui Volume 16 came out in September 2022, it seems possible that Kakegurui Season 3 could be announced in the future.
The biggest holdup is that the election story arc still hadn’t been resolved in early 2023. It’s possible the producers are holding back until the manga provides a good stopping point for the anime.
Kakegurui manga compared to the Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler anime
The story for the Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler anime is based on the Kakegurui manga series by writer Homura Kawamoto and illustrator Toru Naomura.
Started in 2014, the manga is released in Square Enix’s Gangan Joker and the books are up to Volume 16 as of September 22, 2022.
Kakegurui Chapter 96, which will be included in Volume 17, started a new story arc about the past of Souko Jabami, Yumeko’s sister.
Starting in 2015, a spin-off began serializing. Called Kakegurui Twin, the prequel tells the story of Mary Saotome a year prior to when Yumeko Jabami transfers into Hyakkaou Private Academy. The manga also spawned a four-panel (4-koma) comedy spin-off in 2017.
The official English translation for the main series is being released by Yen Press. Fortunately, it’s not too far behind the Japanese language release. By May 23, 2023, the English manga will be caught up with Volume 16.
Anime adaptations of manga series will often rearrange the ordering of events but in the case of adapting the Kakegurui manga, the anime relied on a lot of original content.
For the ending of the first season, original creator Kawamoto wrote Season 1, Episode 12, which had Yumeko gambling directly against student council president Kirari Momobami in order to provide a final confrontation that provided some sort of plot resolution.
With the exception of the ending, the first season followed the manga pretty closely.
Volume 5: Chapter 27 and Season 1 Episode 11 both ended with Kaede losing both 10 billion yen and his council seat when he gambled his entire life schedule.
Similarly, Kakegurui XX remained faithful to the manga up until the ending but the ordering of events was switched.
For example, the title for Season 2, Episode 6, The Hollywood Star, comes from Chapter 56 of Volume 10. Then you have Season 2, Episode 10, The Logical Girl, whose title from Chapter 33 of Volume 6. In the middle of that all, Episodes 7 and 8 covered Chapters 45 through 49.
Rei Batsubami is an entirely anime-original character that was apparently introduced for the sole reason of providing an original story for Kakegurui XX with Episodes 11 and 12.
Oddly enough, Batsubami’s backstory was wedged into a single episode even though the character was one of the most interesting characters this season.
Worse, the grand finale ended on a coin toss instead of a more interesting gamble, which meant Batsubami’s story concluded with an anticlimactic ending that didn’t feel impactful.
That left Kakegurui XX feeling like it finished the show on filler since the main plot involving the election was left unresolved.
Still, studio MAPPA must be given points for working well with a bad hand. When the ending of Kakegurui XX aired in Japan even the manga hadn’t concluded the election story arc.
Therefore, it could be argued that the second season set up the conditions for Kakegurui Season 3 while buying time until the manga has enough content for a new season.
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Kakegurui Season 3 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!