Calm down, there's no wind.
You're hallucinating!
Help me!
Help me, please!
Don't touch it! Sahara, hold him!
I can't!
Not on a bridge like this!
He fell!
Someone help me.
Help me!
Dear God, I'm sorry.
I promise to mend my ways, so stop my knees from shaking!
Calm down!
I don't need anything.
I'm being pulled!
No, don't touch it!
Don't!
What the hell.
Get away from me!
Boss.
This is sickening.
Kaiji, help me.
Mister.
Idiot!
Be a man!
No one can help.
We're on our own.
The only way is to make it across on our own!
I'm gonna do it!
Let's go.
Let's go, mister!
Kaiji, Kaiji.
I can't go anymore.
The image of them falling... I can't get it out of my head.
My knees won't stop shaking.
Don't you want to live?
Thank you.
If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even...
Mister, just calm down.
Slowly, you can do it.
Good, there you go.
You can do it.
Kaiji.
Kaiji...
I'm entrusting you with this.
If it isn't too much,
please exchange this and give the money to her...
to my daughter who's seen nothing but misery.
She's still living a life of debt.
It's all my fault.
She's by Shin-Tomishita station...
What're you saying?
You're gonna make it!
Give her the money yourself!
I already know!
There are 2 types.
Those who cower in these moments, and those who rise up.
I'm the weak type.
I can't do this.
Just standing here like this is more than I can handle.
But you're different.
Shut up! Pull yourself together!
Please.
After you cross, go to Shin-Tomishita station,
to a pachinko parlor called Parlor Oasis.
She works there by the name Yasuda.
Her name's Hiromi Ishida.
Please give her the money.
Now go, hurry!
Don't worry about me. Just go!
You have to win.
That's what life is about.
I failed.
I lost,
and led a meaningless, worthless life.
You can't live a life like that!
Win.
You have to win, Kaiji!
Hurry, go!
It wasn't meaningless.
You're wrong.
It wasn't meaningless.
No such thing as a worthless life...
He fell.
Without a word.
That timid, frightened man...
In order to...
spare me from panic,
he fell without saying anything.
I'm gonna make it!
No matter what!
I can see it.
Almost there.
Kaiji, you there?
I'm here, Sahara!
I'm fine!
I'm right here.
Kaiji,
I understand now.
I'm alive.
I'm alive right now!
Yeah.
Our lives up until now may have been garbage...
But we're alive.
We're alive, dammit!
We'll win.
We'll win, then start anew!
A new start...
It'll be a new start!
That's right.
And this time,
we're living our life for real!
Sahara!
I did it!
We did it!
Sahara,
We opened it. This is our breakthrough.
Now let's go.
Behind that door is our future.
Wait.
Something...
Something's not right.
What're you talking about?
No!
A windblast, caused by the difference in air pressure...
Sahara!
Impressive performance.
What a feat.
An incredible feat.
The first ever to make it across this bridge.
That was quite a show, Tonegawa.
I shall bestow on you class A citizenship
in our kingdom.
Thank you.
Such drivel!
A show?
A stinking show?
You know how many people just died?
Pay up.
And no excuses.
Pay me 20 million!
No.
From your prize of 10 million,
we deducted the 9,246,800 you owe,
leaving you with 753,200 yen.
750,000?
Fine. I'm fine with that.
I won my freedom.
But this other voucher...
Imbecile!
What good is a dead man's voucher?
You asshole!
How am I supposed to face everyone like this?
How could I explain this How could I explain this
Tonegawa, you dirty asshole!
Kaiji, enough! At least you get to go back.
So you're one of their cronies?
The money isn't for me.
I promised to deliver it to that man's daughter.
Unlike rich sleazebags like you,
he thought of someone other than himself
at the very last moment.
He's a finer man
than you'll ever be!
He showed in his final moment...
His will! His strength!
It wasn't a worthless life.
He wasn't a loser.
No, he won.
He won, dammit!
Get him out of here.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The poor covet money, hoping to become king,
but in doing so merely strengthen the position of the king.
It's a vicious cycle from which there's no escape.
The only thing that can threaten the king's position
is an act of desperation immune to the lure of money,
like a sudden act of violence.
The game you're about to play is a microcosm of such a society.
E-card.
E-card?
Over here, sit.
E-card involves 2 hands totaling 10 cards.
Each player receives 5 cards.
The emperor side has 4 citizens and 1 emperor.
The slave side has 4 citizens and 1 slave.
The game play is simple.
First, the slave side picks a card and puts it face down.
Next, the emperor side picks a card and puts it down.
Then the cards are shown.
A citizen against a citizen is a draw.
A citizen, of course, beats a slave.
An emperor beats a citizen.
The name E-card comes from
the letter E, as in emperor.
The slave has nothing.
He is oppressed, with no reprieve. Yet he has nothing to lose.
Therefore, a slave beats an emperor.
One warning, though.
In the past, some intimidated players have given up on strategy,
putting cards down randomly.
Such conduct is not allowed in this game.
You must look at the card before putting it down.
Got it.
We'll play 3 rounds.
As for the rate,
a slave win pays 10 to 1.
10 to 1?
The slave side faces steep odds against the emperor side.
Therefore, if you win with a slave, you're paid 10 to 1.
A slave win pays 10 to 1.
3 rounds.
If I win them all, I'll have well over 20 million.
You won't win.
Why don't I give this beginner...
Kaiji, sir.
Why don't I give this beginner Kaiji a handicap?
You can choose whether you'd like the emperor or the slave.
I...
am a slave.
What?
For all 3 rounds, if it pays 10 to 1.
What if you lose?
If you run out, you're going back underground.
I know.
Then let's play.
10 to 1 for the slave is certainly tempting.
But it's too big a disadvantage.
Like having to go first.
The emperor side gets to read the slave side's expression.
And the odds of winning with a slave is only 1 in 5.
Go ahead, Kaiji. Choose your card.
Okay, show.
We begin with a draw.
Next card.
Okay.
Draw, again.
Go ahead, choose.
Come on, emperor.
I'll kill him with the slave.
Gimme the emperor.
Come on, come on...
"Come on, emperor!"
You're willing it so intensely,
I can't help but hear it.
"Come on, emperor!"
How could you...
Your card must be a slave.
If so...
It really is so pitiful, being a slave.
Barely put up a fight.
Truth is, I can read people's minds.
Impossible! When you put down the slave,
you leaned forward a bit further than you did before.
So, would you like to bet the remaining 50,000?
Or maybe just 10,000?
What a trifling, boring match!
You could've let him win first to bait him into a huge loss,
make him bet his finger or heart
in a game of life or death!
I'm terribly sorry, sir.
You there. How old are you?
Me, sir?
I'm 39.
In that case, I will loan you 390,000.
The collateral is you, yourself.
130 years of underground labor.
Against expectations,
I'll go for it right away.
What's he looking at?
He didn't look at me earlier, either.
But why?
Isn't he supposed to check my expression?
Not his own cards, either.
Lower?
Come on.
Put your card down.
Sure took long enough to choose.
After such long deliberation,
hard to say what you chose.
Tough one, but I'd have to go with...
this one.
Sorry, kid.
The slave...
was eaten...
by the citizen.
2 straight losses.
You're finished.
Kaiji.
Off you go, back to the underground.
Walk.
Something feels wrong.
Was the game fixed? But how?
The cards looked legit.
Not a person or camera behind me.
If there was one person who saw my cards in that room...
I'm so glad.
When you made it across the bridge,
I thought I'd underestimated you,
but I was right.
You're garbage.
You belong down there.
Looks good on you, this brand.
A permanent brand labeling you a loser.
Wait.
I know who it was.
The one person who saw my cards...
It was...
me.
It was me.
And during the game, he was looking at...
That's right, his watch.
But wait, that watch...
In room 5014, he wore a different watch.
Why would he switch his watch?
It can't be...
Listen up.
Don't even think about escaping.
Every move you make
is being monitored 24 hours
by the microchip under your brand.
Bastards.
Those bastards.
Cheating bastards!
What're you doing?
They made me bet my remaining life,
and then cheated me, dammit!
Crying again.
Look, I understand how you feel, but...
So what if I cry? I'm finished.
I'll be underground 'til the day I die...
I'm finished.
No, wait.
Time to go.
Get up.
Wait, can I go to the bathroom?
Fine.
Lady.
You there?
What do you want? You can't escape.
39 year-old lady,
what's your name?
What's this about?
Would you mind...
loaning me some money?
What did you just ask?
I can win.
I know I can win.
I can beat their scheme.
Scheme?
You're his assistant,
and you didn't know this?
I'm not his assistant.
We were colleagues.
Look, this is a voice from above.
The fact you're here right now is a sign that I should win,
to avenge the death of Ishida and Sahara,
and defeat Tonegawa.
Look...
I'm doing it. I have to.
I can't let this slip away. You gave me this chance!
Excuse me?
Another round?
He wants to play the 3rd round, as planned.
Figured it out, has he?
But he has no more money left.
I've got money.
50 million yen.
So you've joined the slaves.
Just a discretionary loan from the funds entrusted to me.
You have no such thing!
They all belong to the chairman...
Interesting.
So you'll put your own life on the line, too?
Yes.
Tonegawa, play one more round with him.
Thanks, chairman.
I sure do look like an idiot.
That's why I'm always a loser.
Damn idiot!
Stop.
Are you crazy?
Damn right, I'm crazy!
You need to be crazy...
to kill the devil.
Only if I'm out of my mind
will I find victory.
Don't get carried away, fool.
Outstanding.
"Treasure the one life you have," they say.
Parents, teachers, TV commentators,
even singers and most other people say so.
That's the problem.
Life needs to be treated more recklessly.
Coddle it too much and it will grow stagnant and rot.
People today try to protect themselves so much,
they miss their chances
and end up regressing and rotting.
He's right.
In the end, games are about thrill.
It's the thrilling duel that makes victory sweet.
Even now, I can feel the chills in my body.
You know what I'm saying.
Don't you?
You little punk.
I'm juiced up.
Unlike you half-dead, money-grubbing zombies,
I'm alive.
Because I'm alive, I feel pain, fear, sadness.
I fight alongside others, watch them die,
and the thought of avenging them...
gets me fired up like this.
You understand? I'm alive, dammit!
This is what being alive is!
Had enough? You'll bleed to death before the game even starts.
Interesting strategy, I admit.
You'd stand a fair chance.
But I can't.
You understand?
If I loan you money, I'll be defying the top man in the firm.
So defy those crooks!
You said so yourself.
"Change your life."
I can tell.
You're a loan shark, but you're different.
Don't tell me you still think I'm a good person.
I do.
Or maybe not.
But let's fight.
Let's beat them together.
You change your life, too.
If you lose, I'd have to work underground, too.
Sure, but I won't lose. Trust me.
Why should I trust you?
Believe in me.
When in doubt, hope.
Following hope feels right,
even if we might sink to hell.
I promise you,
if we end up being sent down,
every month on payday,
I'll buy you a cold beer,
until you grow old and die.
So please...
It's Endo.
My name.
I'll hold you to it.
The beer.
What was I thinking?
A loss means 130 years of labor. In other words, death.
And I'll be ruined.
Must be because he's bleeding. This is useless now.
Until now, he's only won by cheating.
It's his first real fight.
If I lose playing the emperor side, it'll get ugly for me.
The emperor side has the overwhelming advantage.
So there's no need to rush.
Going by the book, start with citizen and wait for him to self-destruct.
No, that's why I should go with emperor.
An emperor first as a surprise attack.
No, wait.
What if he's expecting the surprise attack?
Any day, now.
Dragging your feet...
That's why that old man calls you boring.
I'll kill this punk.
He's dead meat.
No, calm down.
He may be provoking this.
As expected, Tonegawa feels it out with a citizen.
A draw, to start.
Hard to start with an emperor,
even if you know.
That's right, I know it's hard.
But here I come.
Shit.
You cocky piece of trash.
Trash like you can afford to be fearless
because you have nothing to lose.
But not me.
I have a life I've built up.
That corner...
Is that a bloodstain?
He forgot to wipe it?
Think.
What does it mean?
Only if I'm out of my mind
will I find victory.
He left the 2 cards used during the second round on the table.
A citizen and a slave.
Which means...
his blood fell on those 2, a citizen and a slave.
Then this card...
has a 1 in 2 chance of being a slave.
Come on, slave.
Come on, come on...
Come on!
Dammit.
But the next card with a bloodstain is the slave.
Kill it with a citizen, and I win.
No blood.
Which means...
It's a citizen.
I can win with the emperor now.
Wait, don't get ahead of yourself.
The bloodstain may not mean anything.
Even though the last one was stained,
he may have wiped the other clean.
The slave might not be stained.
If this card happens to be a slave
and I put down the emperor,
I lose.
Darn, it was a citizen.
The 3rd draw.
Only 2 cards left.
You better win, Kaiji.
There it is! Blood!
It's the slave!
Victory is mine.
With the citizen,
I'll slay the slave!
He stopped.
Wait.
Wouldn't he notice?
A small stain like that is easy to overlook,
but he sprayed the blood on, and he wiped it himself.
He has to know.
This game is a matter of life and death for him.
There's no way he'd allow himself to leave a stain like that.
Not even garbage would make that mistake.
Now that I think of it...
That's right.
He swapped the slave with the citizen in his hand.
So both cards on the table when the blood sprayed on...
were citizens!
He used the same trick on the ship.
Count me in.
You are!
Trying to poison me!
This punk is scheming to kill me.
He's waiting for me to let my guard down.
Quietly waiting...
A snake! That's what he is.
A deceptive snake, waiting to eat me.
He acts righteous,
but he's a cowardly snake willing to do anything to win.
No mistake. The blood on that card is intentional.
Which means that this card is...
a citizen!
He realized something.
Sneaky, sneaky.
I see why he's made it this far. He's a formidable foe.
However...
That look...
He figured it out!
It all makes sense.
Unfortunately,
you're one step...
behind me.
No.
He's going to lose!
Die!
So close, Kaiji.
But your venom leaked.
Couldn't quite poison me.
Tonegawa,
I looked like a snake?
Damn right, you're a snake.
I see.
That makes you a snake.
A wordless mind game like this is like a mirror.
In trying to read the opponent's mind,
you end up thinking about what you would do yourself.
So if I looked like a snake,
you're a snake, too.
You're a sore loser.
You don't understand.
I'm thanking you.
Thanks for being...
a snake!
He did it.
But how?
A slave, why?
Didn't you swap it before the blood sprayed on it?
Sorry, but no.
All I did was...
pull the citizen and slave close to me,
then put a citizen card over one, only to pull it back.
That's all.
In other words,
I only pretended to swap.
He didn't swap them?
Impossible! How could this be possible?
Why? Why?
Why didn't you swap them?
That's easy.
Because I had faith.
Faith?
Clearly, you're brilliant.
Out of anyone I've ever met,
you have the sharpest mind.
A man like you would never fail to notice this blood.
Of course you'd notice.
And when you do, you'd be suspicious.
You'd scrutinize it,
realize it's a scheme,
and see through my plan.
You have to, because you're smart!
That's why you'd be suspicious,
and would recall
how I'd swapped cards on the ship,
and that I had the chance here.
Then you'd snicker,
"A fool he is."
You'd be completely convinced.
And why not?
After all, your opponent...
is just trash compared to someone like you.
Trash!
You'd gloat.
Because you're superior.
No trash has ever come close to beating you.
So I used your arrogance against you!
And this pathetic slave beat you!
I won.
I won, dammit.
500 million! I beat you!
You...
Goddammit!
I won!
Give me back my money!
All your money belongs to me anyway.
Give it all back to me!
You're nothing but a second-rate minion who fails when it counts!
You humiliated me!
I revoke your citizenship in the kingdom
and order you to a lifetime of labor underground! Take him!
Don't touch me!
I'll go myself.
I did it.
I won.
I won!
Damn, it's good!
So good it's wicked!
One more.
Eat all you want. My treat.
But let's take care of business first.
Here you go.
Here's 100 million.
Another 100 million.
The 50 million I borrowed,
plus the remaining half, for 100.
Received. Thanks.
Your beer.
One more toast.
Kaiji.
This stuff's too strong.
Sir?
Sir.
Where's Endo?
Your friend's already left.
Where's the money?
- Money? - 200 million.
200 million?
You're joking!
Endo!
What, that was real? a loser for life, but...
You're kidding me!
Dear Kaiji.
Again, congratulations on your return home.
I know I said you'll be
I take it back.
You certainly won.
But you've forgotten about 2 things.
The first...
is the interest on the 50 million loan.
The compound interest was set at 30% per 10 minutes,
and the principal, 50 million, was loaned for 68 minutes.
Therefore,
I've taken 197,774,090 yen with interest.
The second is the car damage.
Repairs cost 1.47 million including tax,
leaving you with 435,910 yen.
My 200 million...
The days I shared with you...
were quite exciting, like an adventure.
I'm sure it was nerve-racking,
but it was for me, too.
That kind of passion...
probably won't come by too often from here on.
I'm sure you'll be able to win again.
And one day,
I'm sure we'll meet somewhere again.
You're terrible, boss.
Who ever said I was a nice person?
To my beloved Kaiji,
Rinko Endo
Dammit!
Endo!
Subtitles: Arigon
Pachinko Oasis
Sorry, coming through!
Yasuda.
Someone just left this for you.
There. I delivered it!
Koji Ishida
Choose Teiai. Because the future is yours.