Kakegurui

Kakegurui is an American-Australian animated series which aired in first-run syndication as part of the Bear Bones Lineup, airing for two seasons from 2001 to 2004. The series is produced by Bear Bones Productions in cooperation with Bear Bones Australia.

Setting
The series is set in Hyakkaou Private Academy, a high-class elite school housing the children of Japan's most wealthy and influential people and with many future leaders and professionals among the student body. However, the student hierarchy in this school is not determined by academic performance or athletic ability, but rather by gambling. Students are ranked by their monetary contributions to the student council, which fuels an intricate gambling system where students freely bet their fortunes against one another after class. Those who win earn popularity, prestige and connections, while those who lose and fall into debt become "house pets" slaves to the whims of the remainder of the student body, nicknamed "Doggy" or "Kitty" depending on gender and identified with a collar-like tag around their necks. Pets who are unable to clear their debts by the graduation receive "Life Schedules" which dictate their futures as they pay their debts with their lives.

Plot
Second-year transfer student Yumeko Jabami is beautiful, cheerful and intelligent at first glance, but deep inside she is a compulsive gambler who gambles for the thrill of it, unlike students that do so for financial or social gain. Unrestrained by rules or logic, and with an exceptional observation ability to see through gambling scams, she quickly disrupts the hierarchy of the school, drawing the attention of the student council who frantically tries to shut her down.

Characters

 * Jess Harnell as Ryota Suzui
 * Anndi McAfee as Yumeko Jabami
 * Lauren Tom as Mary Saotome
 * Tara Strong as Kirari Momobami / Ririka Momobami
 * Carolyn Lawrence as Sayaka Igarashi
 * Cathy Cavadini as Runa Yomotsuki
 * Cheryl Chase as Itsuki Sumeragi
 * Candi Milo as Midari Ikishima
 * Ashley Johnson as Yuriko Nishinotouin
 * Hynden Walch as Yumemi Yumemite
 * Tom Kenny as Kaede Manyuda
 * Julie Nathanson as Terano Totobami / Sumika Warakubami
 * Debi Derryberry as Yumi Totobami
 * Mona Marshall as Erimi Mushibami
 * Cree Summer as Miyo Inbami
 * Grey DeLisle as Miri Youbama / Rei Batsubami
 * Jeannie Elias as Nozomi Komabami
 * Maggie Roswell as Miroslava Honebami
 * Billy West as Ibara Obami
 * Lacey Chabert as Rin Obami
 * Jim Cummings as Jun Kiwatari
 * Olivia Hack as Nanami Tsubomi
 * Lori Alan as Kumagusu

Development
Yail Darlene originally created the series as a pilot short for Bear Bones Productions in 1997. While the Bear Bones staff did like the short, the studio's pipeline for producing series was full at the time, and rejected producing a full series based on the short.

In October 1999, Darlene was asked by Bear Bones Australia to adapt the short as a full series through their studio. The series began production in December of 2000, with production concluding in April 2001.

The second season, retitled Kakegurui XX, began production in June 2002, and was completed in March 2003; the season began airing in September of that year, airing until April 2004.

Home media releases
Artisan Entertainment released both seasons on DVD in 2004 and 2005. Lionsgate released the complete series in 2006 and individually re-released both DVD sets in 2011 for the tenth anniversary of the series.

In June 2017, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced that the series will be released on DVD and Blu-ray, to promote the series 20th anniversary. It was released in November 2017.

The series was added to Amazon Prime in 2019, and through other streaming services through FilmRise in 2022. It is present in its original 16:9 presentation used during production and not the cropped 4:3 presentation used for television broadcasts.