Kaiji 2


Kaiji 2 is a 2011 Japanese live-action film based on Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji, the second part of the manga series Kaiji, written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. It is the second film of a trilogy directed by Tōya Satō and premiered in Japan on November 5, 2011. It was followed by released in 2020.

Cast

Kaiji 2 was announced in November 2009. Kaiji 2 was theatrically released on November 5, 2011 in Japan. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 25, 2012.
The film was screened at the anime convention AM² in Anaheim, California in June 2012.

Reception

Box office

Kaiji 2 was Japan's nineteenth highest-grossing film of 2011, earning at the Japanese box office that year. The film also grossed $68,175 overseas in Singapore, bringing the film's international total gross to $21,068,175.

Critical reception

In a review of Kaiji 2, Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter felt little suspense and satisfaction with the characters and the actors' performance. She wrote that the cast "cranks up their acting" but due their "cardboard" roles they "have no hopes of being more than that". Lee expressed no excitement in the "character reversals", pointing out that they have become quite common in the survival game genre, with works like Liar Game or The Incite Mill, stating "no matter how many times the key persons in Kaiji switch their allegiances, it no longer surprises." Nevertheless, Lee praised the camera movements, music and sound levels, ultimately calling the film a "geeky but still entertaining sequel to the crowd-pleasing "gambling" genre."