Special screening event of MBS / TBS Winter 2018 drama "Kakegurui"

The special screening event of new MBS / TBS Winter 2018 drama "Kakegurui" ws held at Gaga's HQ on 8 January which was attended by Hamabe Minami, Takasugi Mahiro and Morikawa Aoi. The drama begins its run from 14 January and 16 January via MBS and TBS respectively. The story is set in the prestigious private school Hyakkaou Gakuen where its students' hierarchy are decided by how well they gamble. The victors will be able to get control over others while the losers will be subjected to harsh treatment and lose their money. Jabara Yumeko (Hamabe) is a new transfer student at Hyakkaou who looks pure and innocent on the surface but is actually someone who relishes in the thrill of taking on risks through gambling. As a result of her sharp observation powers and memory, she disrupts the hierarchy within the school as she overcomes the challengers sent by the student council to defeat her and drives them to destruction. Takasugi plays a student in Hyakkaou named Suzui Ryota who is meek and doesn't have any talent to speak of. As such, he is at the lowest end of the hierarchy for domestic animals known as Pochi. When Yumeko transfers to the school, Ryota becomes her partner and is saved from his terrible fate in school thanks to her presence. He is also the only person who is not caught by the madness engulfing the students who are obsessed with gambling. Morikawa plays Yumeko's rival Saotome Meari who later becomes her ally. Meari behaves over-bearingly towards others and is the top gambler in her class Year 2 Hana. She is the one who defeats Suzui and gives him his Pochi tag before taking on Yumeko when she just transfers to their school.


Hamabe revealed that she was shocked to be offered this role but she is enjoying the experience of playing Yumeko whose character is different from her appearance and will try her best to show the wealth of facial expressions which the latter has especially when gambling. During the filming, Hamabe tried not to watch her own acting during the monitor checks because she didn't want to be scared by her expressions which would cause her to hold back in order not to look so horrible. The cast also "complained" about their director Hanabusa Tsutomu for causing them to burst out laughing and forget their lines during the filming even though the atmosphere on the set was very good.

Takasugi said that he has never played a character like Suzui who is so timid and always screaming. He tried to prepare for his character by looking at Fujiwara Tatsuya's acting and tried to practise his lines at home loudly. However, he didn't dare to raise his voice too much for fear of being complained by his neighbours but for now, he was relieved that there were no complaints.

As for Morikawa, she tried to behave like a queen just like her character during the filming and was praised for her skills in handling the poker cards and chips. She revealed that their gambling instructor had taught them various techniques so with intensive practice, she was able to achieve this in a matter of days.

When asked if there were any episodes in their lives where they were faced with a gamble, Hamabe said that going to a new hair salon was a gamble for her because she found it difficult to communicate with the hair stylists and had ended up once with her fringe cut till it was too thin. Takasugi also echoed her view and said that he tries to put on earphones to prevent salespersons at shops from approaching him. Hamabe added on that since she is shy with strangers, she would always get out of a clothing store if the salesperson tried to approach her even though she was fully aware that this was part of their job. Takasugi then added on that when he went on a cycling trip with his friend from Omotesando in Tokyo to Kamakura in Kanagawa which was more than 100km long to and fro, he was also faced with the decision of whether to turn back but ended going ahead with it and spent a total of 13 hours cycling. Last but not least, Morikawa said that when she went for the model audition for fashion magazine "Seventeen", it was a gamble which paid off since she was selected in the end.

Sources: Natalie / Eiga.com / Oricon