A Bold and Risky Live-Action Adaptation

Bet (2025) brings the high-stakes gambling world of Kakegurui to life (again) in the latest live-action anime adaptation from Netflix. Bet is an American live-action adaptation of mangaka Homura Kawamoto’s manga series, which is developed and directed by Simon Barry. The ten-episode series features a diverse main cast that includes Miku Martineau, Ayo Solanke, Eve Edwards, Clara Alexandrova, Hunter Cardinal, Anwen O’Driscoll, Aviva Mongillo, Laura Afelskie, Dorian Giordano, Emma Elle Paterson, and Ryan Sutherland.

The plot centers on Yumeko Jabami as she enters the high-class boarding school, St. Dominic’s Prep, where the global elite conducts underground gambling to determine the school’s hierarchy. Yumeko’s mysterious transfer into the school shakes things with her gambling prowess, but it also catches the ever-watchful eye of the Student Council. Yumeko is still a compulsive gambler or kakegurui at heart, but she didn’t enroll in the school just to gamble. Yumeko is there to enact revenge for her parents’ murder.

The source material for Bet, Kakegurui, is not a stranger to its fair share of adaptations. This is why it was surprising to hear there would be another live-action adaptation, but this time with a twist. This time, the Kakegurui story unfolds as a live-action episodic series set in America that does not aim to be a one-to-one adaptation. Instead, the show is a reimagined story more tailored toward Western audiences as it tries to balance the original series’ chaotic energy, high-stakes tension, and over-the-top dramatics in a real-world setting.

Overall, Bet’s reimagined adaptation conveys the core structure and plot of Kakegurui, with Yumeko arriving to shake things up, threatening some of the school’s status quo. This brings a lot of attention from the powerful forces controlling the school. There are some genuine efforts to capture the series’ look and feel through makeup, costume designs, over-the-top gambling games, and the sadistic “Housepet” system from the source material.

Bet (2025) shakes up the source material in a reimagined world.

Unfortunately, some character design choices are a bit cringeworthy and might have been better off if they stuck with looks that were more honest to the source material’s designs. Nonetheless, Bet takes a lot of liberties with its story and characters to ante up the drama and reshape some characters while still paying homage to the source material.

Miku Martineau is an excellent casting choice for Yumeko. Martineau’s performance captures and balances Yumeko’s signature bubbly charm and unsettling intensity while grounding her in a more emotionally layered story. Bet’s take on the character aims to shape Yumeko as a more emotionally complex and sympathetic character by building off of her original mysterious past and adding the element of revenge to her character arc. This version of Yumeko draws from her mysterious past in the source material. These new elements and motivators add depth to the character.

Yumeko is a significant departure from the anime and manga, where her actions are primarily fueled by her love and addiction to the thrill of gambling. However, this version of Yumeko’s character offers an opportunity to build upon her mysterious backstory. Especially since the anime did not explore Yumeko’s desire for revenge or whether her parents’ car accident was murderous. So, the changes in Bet (2025) make quite a few big and bold creative swings that add more emotional weight to the story, even if it does stray from canon.

Yumeko is not the only character who strays from her canon roots, as there are other notable differences amongst this reimagined cast of characters. For example, unlike her anime counterpart, Yumeko is not accompanied by Ryota in this series. Instead, her friends and classmates are replaced by Ryan Adebayo, a young British Nigerian student, and an original character, Chad, a book-loving computer wiz and reluctant bookie.

The Netflix adaptation tries to capture the surreal tone of Kakegurui.

Chad’s addition to the story gives Yumeko a trusted confidant who helps her investigate the death of her parents. Meanwhile, Ryan, similarly to Ryota’s character, is portrayed as the supportive friend who has a crush on Yumeko and wants to help her by any means necessary, even if that means going along with her risky decisions. Eventually, Yumeko’s revenge mission strains both her friendships, which leads to tension and drama between her, Ryan, and Chad.

The changes and additions that Bet makes to its cast reflect the show’s effort to expand upon the surreal tone of Kakegurui and focus more on character-driven drama. The show explores the philosophical and societal themes around gambling, greed, debt, and power, similar to the original series. Similarly to its inspiration, Bet uses new and original gambling games as narrative devices to explore power dynamics, manipulation, and emotional trauma. The show’s somewhat grounded approach caters to its Western audience and reframes the stakes through more personal conflicts while still paying homage to Kawamoto’s work.

Another big reimagining is the show’s focus on romance. The romance was never a central focus in Kakegurui, aside from Ryota’s crush on Yumeko and some hinted-at romantic relationships between a few other side characters. The original series kept its focus on psychological tension and suspense. Bet focuses on romantic subplots, which drive characters’ motivations and provide more depth and insight into them.

Not every new development is necessary. 

One of the more bizarre romantic plots is that of Dori (a reimagined version of Midari) and Chad. Dori’s obsessive stalking and one-sided feelings towards Chad are very cringeworthy and unnerving. Eventually, the characters understand one another and form a friendship that shows that beneath Dorir’s abrasive nature, she secretly yearns to be loved and accepted.

Although some of the romantic dynamics feel natural and add some entertainment value to the story, not all of them feel necessary. However, if there is a second season of Bet, it will be interesting to see where these relationships go.

Simon Barry‘s direction gives Bet a steady, watchable pace. The writing for the show especially shines when it leans into the psychological warfare between certain characters, most notably Yumeko and the Student Council President Kira. Kira and Yumeko’s interactions are some of the most suspenseful and entertaining, with mind games, high stakes, and shifting power dynamics that ramp up as the series closes on its climax. Yumeko’s revenge plot and her parents’ secret past drive the season’s overarching mystery. But her evolving rivalry and relationship with Kira truly anchors the show and its finale.

If you are looking for an accurate retelling of the Kakegurui anime and manga, Bet (2025) is not it. But it is a surprisingly entertaining reimagining of the source material. There are a lot of changes to the characters and plot, some cringeworthy, others not so bad, and some that explore characters in a new light, which makes this live-action adaptation watchable.

Bet (2025) releases exclusively on Netflix on May 15, 2025.