06th Feb2023

Why is Gambling so Popular in Anime?

by James Smith

Though gambling is prohibited by law in Japan as it stands, a movement has been afoot in recent years to perhaps overturn this restriction, which has been in place since the eighth century. The popularity of this pastime among Japanese people is likely due in large part to the fact that it is often depicted in media like television series, movies, novels, and most notably anime, the country’s multi-billion dollar animation industry. If you’re unfamiliar with Japanese culture and are curious about the presence of adult themes like gambling in anime, then read on to discover more about Japan’s tangled connection with games of chance.

What Is Anime?

Anime is shorthand for a form of Japanese animation or works that heavily draw from that tradition. Anime’s visual style is immediately recognizable and iconic. You’ve definitely seen descriptions of enormous eyes, untamed hair, extra-long limbs, and other identifying features. There is a wide range of emotions in anime, and the characters’ exaggerated designs help them convey these feelings more effectively.

The technical animation gimmicks, such as vivid lighting, dazzling colors, and heart-wrenching close-ups and zooms, all contribute to the anime’s emotional impact. Anime is beloved by many not only because of its unique visual style but also because of the depth of its characters and the excitement of its stories.

How Can A Cartoon Show Gambling?

While it’s true that most western countries target children when marketing and creating animated programs, this was not always the case and is certainly not true everywhere.

In the 1930s, cartoon characters like Betty Boop often encountered adult-only situations, such as gambling or striking bargains with the devil. Since adults often prefer live-action entertainment and animation has been limited mostly to a younger demographic, major western animation studios have increasingly shied away from such subject matter in recent years.

In Japan, however, and especially with anime, this change never occurred; animated programs are still made with a wide range of viewers in mind, and many people in their forties and beyond enjoy watching and reading about anime’s colorful cast of characters and exciting adventures. It’s not so much the fact that the show is animated as what is animated within the show that differentiates it for younger viewers and those of a more mature demographic.

Gambling in Anime

Now you know that anime is a kind of Japanese animation that can also be aimed at mature viewers. Anime, like other types of entertainment, attempts to explore ideas with which its viewers may identify or that they find intriguing.

As we’ve also seen, many types of gambling are illegal in Japan. However, this doesn’t stop the Japanese from being attracted by this otherwise pleasurable pastime, and many prefer to satisfy their cravings for games of chance at pachinko parlors or on reputable websites like https://www.japanbets.com/. And for those who prefer a more passive approach to gambling or who are just fans of the thrill of the odds, there is anime. It might be that the forbidden nature of gambling in Japan is what makes it so intriguing to the Japanese public.

In general, anime likes to take everyday concepts and either show them in a clean, grounded way or push them to their logical (or illogical) limit. This might lead to the release of titles like “Legendary Gambler Tetsuya” about a man who becomes famous as a great gambler and travels the nation playing Mahjong and eventually becomes unbeatable. On the other end of the spectrum, we might find anime such as “Death Parade”, in which a person’s place in the afterlife is determined by a series of chance-based games they play in a limbo-like area styled like a bar, with the bartenders being those that judge their ultimate fate.

Final Thoughts

Given anime’s popularity for all ages in Japan and, more recently, across the world, it’s not hard to see how the shows might have initially approached gambling themes in order to satisfy a widespread curiosity of the Japanese people and have now graduated to actually fueling said curiosity and enthusiasm.

All we really know is that anime is a very cool art form, and we thoroughly enjoy the fact that it’s not restricted to subjects such as “why sharing is good” and “why lying is bad” like most other cartoons, and it’s not afraid to tackle more mature themes and subjects.

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