Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji

**Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji** (賭博黙示録カイジ *Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji*) is the first part of Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Kaiji series. It was published by Kodansha in Weekly Young Magazine, starting February 19th 1996, ending in 1999 with a total of 13 volumes, and 158 chapters. It is immediately followed by Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji.

Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji was licensed by Denpa for an English release, translating the Omnibus releases as opposed to the original tankobons. The first volume was initially released at Anime Weekend Atlanta on November 1st, 2019. The book was fully released on December 10th of the same year on Amazon and in book stores

### Plot

Due to the current recession, Itou Kaiji is unable to find work, and spends his days on cheap gambles, drinking, smoking, and vandalizing cars.

One day a man named Endou Yuuji appears at Kaijis doorstep, informing him that a loan he cosigned for a coworker was never payed off, with the extraordinary interest increasing the amount from 300,000 yen, to over 3 million yen. With his coworker nowhere to be found, all the debt has now fallen to him.

Unable to pay the debt off, Endou informs Kaiji he can spend a single night on a gambling cruise, on the ship of hope "The Espoir", where if he does well he can erase all of his debt. To avoid working countless years to pay off his debt, Kaiji descends into the dark world of gambling.

## Gambles

* Gentei Janken (限定ジャンケン *Restricted Rock Paper Scissors*)
* Ningen Keiba (人間競馬 *Human Derby*)
* Tsusho Yusha-tachi no Michi / Brave Men Road (通称勇者達の道 / ブレイブ・メン・ロード *Brave Men Road*)
* E-Card (Eカード *E-Card*)
* Tissue Box Kujibiki (ティッシュ箱くじ引き *Tissue Box Raffle*)

## Manga Volumes

* Japanese Releases
* Japanese Omnibus Releases
* International Releases

While the original volumes have gone out of print, Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji has had a rerelease in the form of omnibuses, the first of which was published September 24th, 2003, the sixth and final volume was released December 19th, 2003, with the latest version being released October 24, 2018. The latest versions of this release are still in print.

English editions of the omnibus version of Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji are now in print. The first volume was initially pre-released at AWA on November 1st, 2019, with the official release happening on December 10th, 2019 (US/JP) and December 26th, 2019 (UK). The credits of this release note that they are based on the existing Highstone translation, which was exclusively released as E-books, the content of the translation however has changed substantially.

## Related Media and Spin-offs

The series was later adapted into an anime by Studio Madhouse in 2007. The anime was titled Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji - Ultimate Survivor.

On October 10th, 2009, Toho produced a live action movie based on Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji, titled Kaiji: Jinsei Gyakuten Game, directed by Toya Satou.

Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji has had a comedy spin-off, focusing on Tonegawa Yukio, and his struggles with middle management, before the events of Kaiji. The series, titled Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa, is written by Tensei Hagiwara, and illustrated by Tomohiro Hashimoto, and Tomoki Miyoshi, the first chapter releasing July 20th, 2015. The series is still in publication.

On June 29th, 2018, a Chinese film based on Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji's Restricted Rock Paper Scissors game, titled Animal World was made. The film was directed by Han Yan and distributed by Enlight Pictures.

## Video Games and Arcade/Casino Machines

 File:KaijiVRSteelBeamCrossingofDespair Switch Front.jpg | Kaiji VR: Steel Beam Crossing of Despair | Nintendo Switch

## Trivia

* Chapters 1, 22, 34, 50, 55, 78, 81, 100, 140 and 157 of this part of Kaiji included colour pages