Netflixintroduced its audiences to the epic live-action adaptation of theanimeseriesKakegurui, titledBet, in May 2025.The show does its best to stay true to the anime in its own ways, but ultimately it takes various liberties with the story and its characters. The 2017 anime follows the gambling-obsessed teen Yumeko Jabami (Minami Hamabe) as she transfers to a school filled with those in love with high-stakes games. There, she meets characters who challenge her with their own intense addictions to betting.
While the essence of the thrilling anime is there—with high-stakes gambles and psychological battles—Betproduces a more campy feel, reimagining the anime’s character arcs and introducing a more grounded aesthetic that reflects the teeny vibe of the show. It also tones down a lot of exaggerated quirks seen within the anime.Some of the more noticeable changes areBet’smore Western setting with the introduction of a diverse cast of characters, and the reinterpretation of the protagonist, Yumeko’s (Miku Martineau) demeanor—reining in her manic energy and toning down her unhinged qualities.These changes and those compiled in this list, create a new story with its own captivating thrill.
6New Characters and Expanded Backstories
Theteen psychological drama,Bet, introduces a host of new characters, and more fleshed-out backstories for its large cast that was never seen in the anime.The anime,Kakegurui, instead, offers its viewers a closer look into the student council cast and school setting, allowing for a much more focused plot.Bet’screators didn’t limit themselves in that regard, heavily adding to the anime’s roster in both cast and plotlines.
Prime examples of Netflix’sBetintroduction of adding new characters are Michael (Hunter Cardinal) and Chad (Dorian Giordano). Michael is an entirely original character of the series, who is a student shrouded in mystery as he lurks and operates in the shadows. Chad is a new character who primarily figures in Dori’s (Aviva Mongillo)—Midari Ikishima’s (Mariya Ise)— subplots and a few school council moments. Beyond the new students within the live-action series,Betalso expands the backstories of characters known from the anime, highlighting their family backgrounds.Yumeko’s revenge plot, which is driven by the revelation that her parents were murdered, is the best example of this.The series presents flashbacks of Yumeko’s family moments, including involving a sister, whereas the anime never reveals any of her relatives. The changes, with added characters and expanded backgrounds, allowBetto lean fully into its role as a murder mystery and teenage drama.
5Altered Gambling Games and Pacing of the Story
Kakegurui’selaborate gambling games and intense competitions are the biggest highlights for fans of the thrilling anime. The anime skillfully adapts high-stakes gambling moments from the manga, portraying matches with deep psychological plays that can span an entire episode.Theanime’s live-action counterpart,Betmakes several changes to both games and their pacing, condensing matches to fit Netflix’s episode format.
Some of the more thrilling and iconic anime gambles are still depicted in the live-action series but occur differently. A major example of this is the infamous “Finger Guillotine” game that involves Midari and Yumeko challenging another opponent in a deadly finger-cutting standoff. WithinBet, the game is rewritten to involve Yumeko versus Mary, completely removing Midari from the scenario.At similar moments, games are newly added or completely remixed to fitBet’s35-minute episode window, particularly when it comes to resolving part of the murder plot.WhileKakegurui’splot and pacing allow for more complex cheating expositions and internal monologues, during one game,Betpacks numerous, and often dramatic, events into each episode, all while attempting to persevere the extravagance of the gambles.
4New Emphasis on Romance and Pairings
Thethrill-bound animeKakeguruiis notorious for its epic gambling mind games and exciting psychological battles, but definitely not for its romance.Any signs of anything romantic are rather minimal and fan-made. There may be hints of a one-sided romance between Ryota (Tatsuya Tokutake) and his crush Yumeko, but majorly nothing of the sort can be seen within the anime. Netflix’sKakeguruilive-action series,Bettakes a different turn, upping the romance factor by many paces, with multiple romantic subplots.
BettakesKakegurui’sintense gambling duels and adds a layer that allows the possibility for sparks to fly. Characters like Mary (Eve Edwards) and Riri Timurov (Anwen O’Driscoll) are seen to be romantically involved, having a genuine bond, within the series, a more bold deviation from the anime. Even Yumeko seems not exempt from the romance bug. Though it’s not made explicitly clear,Betfeatures moments of heavy attraction between her and Ryan (Ayo Solanke), as well as charged moments filled to the brim with chemistry with Kira (Clara Alexandrova).Incorporating romance is the most obvious move when creating a teen drama, as it forces new viewers—especially those familiar with the genre—to find the series more engaging.The new romantic aspect within the live-action provides emotional hooks that go beyond the series’ appealing gambling antics.
3Midari’s Character Toned Down (No More Psychotic Thrill-Seeker)
Fans ofthe beloved animeKakegurui, have often witnessed the psychotic thrill-seeking, Midari Ikishima, revel in the absolute chaos of high-stakes gambling.The anime character is known as a masochist who loves risking her life, even famously carrying a revolver for quick bouts of Russian roulette. Her live-action counterpart, Dori Ahlström, has varying eccentric qualities but is comparatively a rather harmless character.
Unlike her unpredictable and borderline-psychopathic anime counterpart, Dori is a much more dialed-back character, standing as a video game expert, whose “craziness” is portrayed in a goofier, and much less violent, way.The live-action series even dares to give Dori her very own love interest, going a long way to humanize the character.This deviation from the exciting anime is a likely attempt at subduing the over-the-top character she is within the anime series, allowing her to appeal to a slightly broader audience. Midari’s extreme qualities would have likely not translated well within the campy live-action, as doing so could have shifted the tone and veered into rated-R disturbing territory. This change allows the series to be an enjoyable teen drama with a somewhat lighter tone.
2Yumeko’s Revenge Plot Replaces the Pure Gambling Thrill
Within the psychological thriller,Kakegurui, Yumeko stands as a thrill-seeking compulsive gambler, whose motivation is a clear love for high-stakes games. Her attention turns to Hyakkaou Academy purely for more high-stake betting, with no grand plans beyond her insatiable need to gamble.Netflix’s campy show,Bet,does something drastically different with the character, giving her a revenge plot and a mystery to solve.
InBet, Yumeko attends her new school with the intention of investigating her parents' murders, after previously being expelled from her previous school for gambling. The teen drama utilizes Yumeko’s love of gambling in a way to gather information about her parents’ murder, in order for her to get her revenge. This thrilling deviation changes the core story of fun gambling antics to a more mystery revenge thrill. The arc totally changes the tone of the series, compared to its anime counterpart. Yumeko goes from unpredictable, almost supernatural in her obsession with gambling, to an avenging sleuth, providing viewers with a protagonist with a hero mission that its anime originally lacked.
1Westernized Setting & Diverse Casting (Goodbye Hyakkaou Academy)
This change is one of the more obvious ones, asBetgives Kakegurui a cultural shift and relocation. The series uproots the elite Japanese school and starts anew on fresh soil in a Western setting – St. Dominic’s Preparatory, an exclusive North American boarding school.Thedeviation from the psychologicalanime, which features an all-Japanese student body, is clear inBet, which presents a larger and more diverse, largely non-Asian cast.
In order to present this Western-oriented show, many characters and identities saw a few alterations, from ethnicities to names and even genders. One particular and blatant example is the meek Ryota Suzui, who, portrayed by a black actor, becomes Ryan Adebayo.
Even the show’s star, Yumeko, saw a name change—her surname going from Jabami toKawamoto—reflecting her revised heritage.Although the overhaul of the setting and casting is a bit jarring for Kakegurui fans, the creators ofBetlikely hoped for the show to be more relatable and marketable to its Netflix audience.New viewers may not mind the more Westernized change, as it features such a diverse cast and leans into more Western tropes, allowing it to come across as edgy or a fresh take on the high school thriller genre. However, for fans of the anime, the campy, Western high-school setting is a bold and rather obvious change.
