Kakegurui Episode 9: Dreaming Woman

It’s idol time! Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ

I wouldn’t say I’m an idol super fan, the only idol series I follow religiously is Love Live! (shoutout to Sunshine’s second season this upcoming Fall). Though the idol industry is toxic, idols themselves are pretty cute even when they sing generic cute songs. So I think it’s extra fun that Yumemi is not the typical cutesy idol. However, her plans of having Yumeko sleep her way up the ladder and debut in a porno in the Life Plan she had in mind shows how messed up she is, with the sure way of ruining Yumeko’s life. An idol doing porn? There have been scandals in the idol industry and I can write a whole essay about the toxic, gross, and restricted nature of the idol industry, but that’s not why I’m here.

Of all the gambling games we’ve had, this one was more simple and not as exciting. There were a total of 9 different games, all of which have something to do with an idol’s skill set such as singing, dancing, acting, etc. The girls needed to channel their inner idol and win each game, and when they win they would place an emblem on a tic-tac-toe board and just like tic-tac-toe the one to get three across or diagonally would win. But a twist here was that they’d use the audience to judge them on certain games by rolling dice that would determine a seat number, and the person in that seat number would be the judge. Of course Yumemi has the advantage here, what with her already professional skills as an idol and the auditorium being filled with some members of the Council and the entirety of her fan club. She has the advantage but she purposely makes herself lose in some games so Yumeko has the lead, just so in the end she can make a crazy comeback and win just so she could make Yumeko look like a fool. That, and entertainment’s sake.

I say this time around the games weren’t exciting because they really weren’t and we never got to see too much. We did get a duet later on with the girls, but we never got to hear Yumemi or Yumeko sing their songs in the first game. Later on we got a game of Old Maid, then a guessing game where the girls would have to guess the birth month of an audience member that was chosen. This was a little better because it was literally a game of chance, but knowing how predictable this anime is, I knew that Yumemi would not get anyone from her fan club or the council members, all of whom she’s memorized the birthdays of. Knowing that Suzui, Mary, and Itsuki were there, I wondered “Okay but what if one of them is chosen?” And no later when I thought that…

The look on Yumemi’s face and her reaction was priceless though. Yumeko definitely did this on purpose as she had a chance to look at the game rules beforehand so she was able to make plans of her own victory and manipulate the dice in order to get one of her three friends. Yumemi overthinks when she sees Yumeko write a 6, but in actuality Yumeko didn’t even know Mary’s birth month. However, she was closest to March as Yumemi guessed September and Yumeko June, making Yumeko win the entire gamble. And the condition she made beforehand, revealing the recording was still on the table.

Yumemi does what she promised and the recording plays, surprising everyone. But her fans love her so much and are so dedicated that they don’t even care and cheer for her. Which leads to a supposed happy ending and music number! *＼( *ω*)┓

But Yumeko brings up the torn note, implying that someone purposely tried to bring down Yumemi. The whole thing escalates into something huge, and the person accused of doing this is no other than Manyuda, who I also guessed because he is the one that planned everything. He goes on stage to say that there’s no proof, but Yumeko brings up the prospect of gambling their claims. Manyuda really has no desire but Yumeko just makes things enticing.

I wonder what kind of gamble Manyuda will think of. Because no offense, this guy is kind of…plain. Isn’t it kind of mean that the only guy on the Student Council has the most plain design of them all? Sure, Sayaka doesn’t stand out too much but she’s had more screen time than him so we already kind of know what kind of a person she is. Plus, the long side ponytail is a little eye catching. But this guy, just who is he and what can he do? What’s his schtick? I’m actually looking forward to the next episode just to find out!