What does this button doAUGH I MADE A TOPIC WHAT NOW??? [Looking for Psychological/Gambling Anime]

[Dr. Cakey]

Because I've been on this site for two years and never made a topic. It joke. vrey funy

Anyway, I finished up Kaiji recently, and I've also read about half of the manga Liar Game, and I'm looking for something similar to those. An anime about somebody doing brain-things with their mind. Not Death Note, not Code Geass (obvious suggests are obvious), I mean a straight-up...thing like Kaiji or Liar Game. Preferably something I can either stream legally or buy the DVDs of. And by "preferably" I mean "only".

Or, failing that, it's on Youtube or Dailymotion (I just found Akagi on Dailymotion, by the way, so anyone who suggests that is a cheater).

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

People doing brain-things with their mind...

I recently watched Hyouka. It's an anime about a guy who solves minor mysteries using his skills of detection. It's not bad, but the fact that's it's another one of those "school life" kind of animes really holds it back.

Also, I don't know if you've watched it, but if you saw Kaiji you should also see "Kaiji: Hakairoku Hen."

Honestly, I'm actually at a bit of a loss trying to come up with anime that fit the bill for you. I've seen more than a few, but I'm having a hard time remembering many of their names.

Also, I suggest you watch Bakemonogatari. It's not exactly what you're looking for, the characters aren't incredibly cerebral, they aren't solving mysteries, or figuring out puzzles or anything, but it's an anime I feel like you would enjoy. It's an anime where the dialogue comes first, second, and third, and the action comes fourth, and I think it's quite well written and interesting to watch.

 

[DoPo]

Well, since you already found Akagi, instead of recommending it, I'll just share my experience with it: be warned - it may get boring. Since it's only about Mahjong, and I never played it, nor do I know anything about it, the commentator was not much help with his constant harping on and on about "Oh my God Akagi pulled of and his opponents have SO MUCH TENSION!" which I don't feel since even though the subtitled version offered defintions about each , it still felt artificial. Eventually I tuned out all of it and still watched it, it was OK, but a lot of boring bits during play, to be honest.

Anyway, another anime I'd recommend is One Outs. Now, this is fun, even though it's about baseball (I know fuck all about it, too). Here is the premise - there is a gambling game called one outs which...is gambling on baseball. Not an official match, mind you, just a batter faces a pitcher and people place bets on whoever wins (the batter does a strike, or the pitcher takes the batter out). That's the short of it and there is this guy Tokuchi Toua who is REALLY good at that game, he's a pitcher and has never lost, since he exploits the psychology of his opponents. Anyway, he joins an official baseball team and then goes on to do the same against the opponents AND the owner of the team - instead of a normal contract, he basically makes a bet with the owner - for every strike he does, he gets money, for every on he misses, he loses a lot more money. It's really funny to see him in action - it's more light hearted than Kaiji but I found it really enjoyable.

 

[madwarper]

Gambling? Can't help you there. Psychological? Have you read Heads?

Spoiler

Guy gets shot in the head during a robbery and goes comatose. Then, undergoes an experimental surgery to replace the damaged portion of his brain with a slice from "Donor X". As he recovers, he tries to maintain his anonymity, while figuring out the truth behind "Donor X" as he begins to lose himself.

 

[Keoul]

Detective Conan?
It's just a detective doing detective things like solving murders, personally i got bored after a while because it got pretty predictable and they never showed some key evidence to the viewers that the characters saw just for the sake of a great reveal.

Ghost in the shell
Has it's moments, not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for but you should check it out. It's quite "thinky", especially during the later episodes.

 

[Legion]

Aww, when I saw gambling in the title I thought I was going to get to talk about Mardock Scramble.

Spoiler: Because about a third of it is spent in a casino.

Well I did anyway.

I guess Heaven's Memo Pad could count. It's about a girl who runs a NEET detective agency. I am not sure I'd normally recommend it seeing as I thought it was just okay (like a few other anime's it really needed to be double the length to flesh out the characters), but she is a little like L from Death Note.

It is available in the US to buy, although seemingly only on Blu-Ray.

 

[ItouKaiji]

Since you like Liar Game I'd check out One Outs, both the anime and the manga. Same author as Liar Game. You might also want to try out Shion no Ō although that's more of a mystery than a high stakes game. There's also Gambling Legend Tetsuya which is more about how to cheat and not get caught but there are definitely some psychological moments there.

If you want something deeply psychological and really disturbing then you can try Bokurano.

Death Billiards came out earlier this year. It's only one episode but it's a very good watch and I'd love to hear other's thoughts on the ambiguous ending.

Oh and avoid Togainu no Chi like the plague. It's awful.

There's also Higashi no Eden. Watch the 11 episode series but skip the movies which suck major ass and give a cop out ending.



However, Kaiji is the best of them, it's even better than Akagi, but there is stuff out there to find. However, you did say Kaiji, but there's also a second season, not sure if you've seen both but the second season is just as awesome as the first.

 

[chickenking9]

There are two I would recommend, Gamble Fish, it's all about gambling though, there's not a lot of psychological stuff in it.
Another one i would recommend is Life is Money, it's very similar to Liar Game, but the art style ridiculously grosteque and overboard, i thought it was great.

 

[ItouKaiji]

Oh right since you're a Kaiji fan you might like this.


Actually there are a lot of cool fanmade Kaiji videos out there. Some really weird ones too.

This could totally be the next arc for Kaiji. (It's not, if they ever make a Kaiji season three then it will be Minefield Mahjong which will be awesome).

Also you should try reading Fukumoto's other works. Kaiji and Akagi are the most famous but I can also recommend Buraiden Gai, Tobaku Haouden Zero (which is the most like Kaiji), Seizon Life, Confession, Saikyou Densetsu Kurosawa and Ten - Tenna Toori no Kaidanji (another one with high stakes games).

 

[Dr. Cakey]

People doing brain-things with their mind...

I recently watched Hyouka. It's an anime about a guy who solves minor mysteries using his skills of detection. It's not bad, but the fact that's it's another one of those "school life" kind of animes really holds it back.

DAMN YOU HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!

Yeah, it's been vaguely on my radar for a while. I think I saw it floating around somewhere, too.

Also, I don't know if you've watched it, but if you saw Kaiji you should also see "Kaiji: Hakairoku Hen."

Somehow Making a Six Hour Pachinko Game Seem Even Longer: The Anime.

Honestly, I'm actually at a bit of a loss trying to come up with anime that fit the bill for you. I've seen more than a few, but I'm having a hard time remembering many of their names.

I know what you mean. I feel like I should be able to find what I'm looking for but, noep.

Also, I suggest you watch Bakemonogatari. It's not exactly what you're looking for, the characters aren't incredibly cerebral, they aren't solving mysteries, or figuring out puzzles or anything, but it's an anime I feel like you would enjoy. It's an anime where the dialogue comes first, second, and third, and the action comes fourth, and I think it's quite well written and interesting to watch.

Bakemonogatari is kind of brilliant. But I've seen it, and it's not what I'm looking for, so...next person!

Anyway, another anime I'd recommend is One Outs. Now, this is fun, even though it's about baseball (I know fuck all about it, too).

Youtube has way more stuff than I thought...it's like The Cull never happened.

Detective Conan?
It's just a detective doing detective things like solving murders, personally i got bored after a while because it got pretty predictable and they never showed some key evidence to the viewers that the characters saw just for the sake of a great reveal.

Ooh, Funimation is streaming Conan, now. Definitely something to keep in mind, at the very least.

Ghost in the shell
Has it's moments, not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for but you should check it out. It's quite "thinky", especially during the later episodes.

I don't watch crap*.

*Yes I do.

I guess Heaven's Memo Pad could count. It's about a girl who runs a NEET detective agency. I am not sure I'd normally recommend it seeing as I thought it was just okay (like a few other anime's it really needed to be double the length to flesh out the characters), but she is a little like L from Death Note.

It is available in the US to buy, although seemingly only on Blu-Ray.

I believe that by the Laws of Anime, "NEET" + "detective" + "girl" = +5 bonus to final score. I've seen the first episode, thought it was okay, and Alice was kawaii desu uguuuu etc., so even if it's not exactly what I'm looking for I'll keep watching.

And Hulu is your friend. *checks profile* Correction, Hulu is my friend.

This could totally be the next arc for Kaiji. (It's not, if they ever make a Kaiji season three then it will be Minefield Mahjong which will be awesome).

That does sound awesome. And a third season could totally happen, too.

There's also Gambling Legend Tetsuya which is more about how to cheat and not get caught but there are definitely some psychological moments there.

If you want something deeply psychological and really disturbing then you can try Bokurano.

Death Billiards came out earlier this year. It's only one episode but it's a very good watch and I'd love to hear other's thoughts on the ambiguous ending.

Apparently Youtube's reputation of rigorously policing its content has been greatly exaggerated. I like you, Google. That's why I'm going to kill you last.

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[WouldYouKindly]

Spice and Wolf is very thinky. Also pretty funny and occasionally cute.

Think like you replaced action in a standard anime with medieval economics. Some arcs are better than others, but suffice it to say, there are mysteries unraveled, trump cards played, and fortunes never quite made.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Spice and Wolf is very thinky. Also pretty funny and occasionally cute.

Think like you replaced action in a standard anime with medieval economics. Some arcs are better than others, but suffice it to say, there are mysteries unraveled, trump cards played, and fortunes never quite made.

Yes, I can definitely recommend this.

There's also another anime by the same guy who wrote Spice and Wolf that's quite similar, but I really can't remember the name of it.