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Kaiji: Final Game

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Kaiji: Final Game
Film poster
Directed byTōya Satō
Written by
Based onKaiji
by Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Produced by
  • Keiichi Sawa
  • Yoshitaka Hori
  • Minami Ichikawa
  • Takeshi Kikukawa
  • Masatoshi Kakuda
  • Masatoshi Yamaguchi
Starring
CinematographyTakashi Ohara
Edited byTakashi Satō
Music byYugo Kanno
Production
company
AX-ON
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • January 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office$19.9 million

Kaiji: Final Game (Japanese: カイジ ファイナルゲーム, Hepburn: Kaiji Fainaru Gēmu) is a 2020 Japanese live-action film based on the manga series Kaiji by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. It is the final installment of a trilogy directed by Tōya Satō and premiered in Japan on January 10, 2020. Unlike the first two previous films, Kaiji and Kaiji 2, Kaiji: Final Game is not based on a specific part of the series and it is a completely original story written by Fukumoto.

Plot

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The story takes place in 2020 Japan following the Tokyo Olympics, as the nation experiences rapid economic collapse. Hyperinflation destabilizes society while government insolvency leads to widespread exploitation of workers. Kaiji Itō, living in poverty, struggles with daily survival when he learns his former overseer Tarō Ōtsuki has become president of the Teiai conglomerate. Ōtsuki recruits Kaiji to participate in "Tower of Babel", a high-stakes gambling event designed to entertain wealthy elites while offering desperate participants a chance at fortune. Subsequent games—including the asset-based "Final Judgment", the lethal "Dream Jump", and the modified "Gold Rock Paper Scissors"—test both Kaiji's gambling skills and his ability to survive Teiai's exploitative system. As the challenges escalate, Kaiji must rely on his wits to navigate the deadly games and confront the conglomerate's corruption.

Cast

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Soundtrack

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Yugo Kanno composed the music for the film. The original score was released on January 8, 2020.[1]

Release

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In May 2019, Kaiji: Final Game, the third and final film of Kaijis live-action trilogy. with a completely original story by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, was announced.[2][3]

Kaiji: Final Game was theatrically released on January 10, 2020 in Japan.[4]

The film premiered in Singapore on March 5, 2020.[5] It was originally planned to premiere in Malaysia on March 19, 2020,[6] but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the film opened on July 1, 2020.[7] The film was released in Indonesia on December 9, 2020.[8]

Novelization

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A novelization of the film written by Van Madoy was published by Kodansha on November 14, 2019.[9]

Reception

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Box office

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During the opening weekend, Kaiji: Final Game ranked at second at the Japanese box office, earning ¥362 million ($3.29 million), and earned ¥616 million ($5.60 million) from January 10–13.[10] The film stayed at second in its third weekend and earned an additional ¥198,153,400 ($1.81 million).[11] The film dropped to fourth in its fourth weekend, and earned ¥120,022,950 ($1.10 million).[12] The film dropped from eighth to tenth in its sixth weekend and earned ¥35,480,750 ($323,000).[13] It was the eighth highest grossing film of 2020, earning ¥2.06 billion ($21 million) at the box office that year.[14][15] It also grossed $14,608 in Vietnam.[16]

Critical reception

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Marcus Goh of Yahoo! Style rated the film 3.5/5, praising its strong start as a "mild political commentary on the labour market in Japan" and the thrilling Tower of Babel game. However, he found the later games lackluster and noted that some manga-inspired elements felt awkward with live-action actors. While he appreciated the film's faithfulness to the spirit of the source material, he felt it sometimes adhered too closely, creating awkward moments. Still, he concluded that fans would enjoy seeing Kaiji return to the big screen.[17]

Tay Yek Keak of Today called the film "enjoyably fascinating and intellectually stimulating", praising its expanded national-scale ambition. He noted that Fujiwara's Kaiji looks unchanged from the first film, with the only sign of the 11-year gap being the more subdued final game. While acknowledging its drawn-out runtime and Japanese cinema's trademark outlandish clichés, Keak found its dark financial apocalypse concept "grimly thrilling".[18]

References

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  1. ^ 映画「カイジ ファイナルゲーム」オリジナル・サウンドトラック (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  2. ^ Rafael Antonio Pineda (May 30, 2019). "Kaiji Gambling Manga Gets New Live-Action Film in January 2020". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Mateo, Alex (August 15, 2019). "Live-Action Kaiji Final Game Film Streams New Teaser". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "KAIJI: FINAL GAME". Nippon Television. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  5. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 19, 2020). "Live-Action Kaiji Final Game Film Opens in Singapore on March 5". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 26, 2020). "Live-Action Kaiji Final Game Film Opens in Malaysia on March 19". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 25, 2020). "Live-Action Kaiji Final Game Film Opens in Malaysia on July 1". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  8. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (November 27, 2020). "Live-Action Kaiji Final Game Film Opens in Indonesia on December 9". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  9. ^ カイジ ファイナルゲーム 小説版 (in Japanese). Kodansha. October 30, 2019. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  10. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 15, 2020). "Kaiji Final Game Film Opens at #2, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising Drops to #7". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 27, 2020). "Kaiji Film Stays at #2, My Hero Academia Rises Back Onto Top 10 Chart". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 3, 2020). "Live-Action Kaiji Final Game Film Drops to #4". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  13. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 17, 2020). "Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku Film Drops to #4, Kaiji to #10". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  14. ^ "2020". Eiren. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 31, 2020). "5 Anime Films Rank in Top 10 Domestic Films in Japan in 2020". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  16. ^ "Kaiji: Final Game (Vietnam)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  17. ^ Goh, Marcus (March 9, 2020). "REVIEW: Kaiji: Final Game boasts an anime feel but can be over-the-top at times". Yahoo! Style. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Tay Yek, Keak (March 5, 2020). "Kaiji: Final Game Review: Tatsuya Fujiwara Returns With More High-Stakes Games In Ambitious Sequel". Today. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
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