| “ | ” | |
—Sayaka Igarashi to the students of Debt Swapping Game. | ||
The Girl Who Became a Pet is the fourth episode of Season One of the Kakegurui animated series. It is produced by MAPPA and aired in Japan on the 22nd of July, 2017.
Summary[]
Yumeko and Mary square off against two others in a game of Indian poker after being given a chance to minimize their colossal gambling debts.
Plot[]
Ryota prepares a sum of one million yen for Yumeko to get back on her feet during her next gamble, to which she rejects politely. She reveals that the Student Council has yet to collect debts from her and Suzui expresses shock as the Council is known for being ruthless in collecting money. Yumeko later shows Suzui a booklet titled “Life Contract Form” which was issued by the Student Council.
Meanwhile, Sayaka approaches Runa, who is busy playing with her game console, and reports to her that Mary wishes to see her. Mary storms in, upset that she has also received a Life Contract Form. Runa remarks that the Form dictates all that the Student Council wants her to do during the course of her life, including her marriage, and Mary is to abide by the Form. Mary opposes but Runa intimidates her, telling her that there are numerous ways to force someone to do something. Before Mary leaves, Runa threatens her to pay up, or start brushing up on her man-pleasing skills should she be unable to.
Ryota reads Yumeko’s Life Contract, horrified. Strangely, Yumeko brushes it off, smiling at how the Academy never fails to intrigue her. On the way to class, Ryota and Yumeko are confronted by Jun and his friends, who beckons Yumeko to follow him, Yumeko does as he wishes and soon finds herself in a quiet alley. Kiwatari demands that she her takes off her clothes. Yumeko removes her jacket, taunting them, but later stops to decline his request politely, telling him that she is not inclined to show her body to a stranger. Angered, Jun pins her to the wall by her neck and threatens to violate her. Ryota rushes to help her but is stopped by his friends. Before Jun can take action, Midari of the Student Council beautification committee steps in.
She offers to stop the fight and suggests to offer herself to Kiwatari. However, she suddenly whips out a revolver and points at him, recounting that there is one bullet in the chamber and they should engage in a gamble. Should she pull the trigger and nothing happens, Jun can do as he pleases but if otherwise, he would be shot. She proceeds to taunt him and asks him to shoot her instead. If no bullets are fired, he has to stop bullying Yumeko but should the revolver fire, he can do anything. Disturbed, Jun and his friends leave. Ryota rushes to Yumeko's side, checking in on her. But Yumeko, still cheerful as ever, dismisses the event and thanks Midari for saving her and promises to repay her kindness before leaving.
Back in the school hall, Jun snickers to his friends at how mad Midari is. They come to the conclusion that all the Student Council members are eccentric. A girl approaches them with a stack of paper issued out by the Student Council and hands them one before leaving hastily. Jun skims through it, then gleefully remarks that thanks to the Council, they could earn more money.
In the girl's washroom, Midari pounds the walls of the cubicle in frustration, cussing. She is evidently upset at how Jun and his buddies teased her and left without gambling. Her eyes wander to the revolver in her hand and she slowly aims it at her head, determined to pull the trigger just once. She pulls it and emerges unscathed. Thrilled, she starts laughing maniacally, while the prospect of escaping death brings her pleasure. She finally exits the cubicle, mumbling to herself about how she had yet to thank Yumeko.
Shaken by the earlier events, Ryota is determined to pull Yumeko out of the housepet status and offers to find her a chance to gamble. He notices the papers issued out by the Student Council in her hand and she explains that the Great Debt Repayment exercise is happening soon.
Mary herself, sees the flyer, and heads towards the Great Debt Repayment Hall. In the Hall, dozens of students are gathered. Sayaka announces on the stage that the exercise is meant to help students clear debts that they have amassed but are unable to pay. They will be playing the "Debt Exchange Game."
She explains that the game will be played in groups of four and based on the outcome of the game, they will exchange debts. The first player will be the one with the lowest debts, while the fourth player has the highest debts. Their respective debts will be changed in that manner. Players can win exemption from their debt if they win. Sayaka remarks that it is a second chance for all the students.
Upon hearing this, Mary snickers and calls her a hypocrite. On the other hand, Yomeko, standing right next to her, says that she feels that it is a generous offer, scaring Mary who was unaware of her presence. Mary proceeds to show slight disdain towards the other girl for dragging her into her current status but Yomeko tries patching things up enthusiastically.
Sayaka then distributes the forms to the participants and instructs them to write down their debts and to whom they owe it to. She continues by saying that the Council will clear all debts for people who owe money to multiple individuals. Mary, on the other hand, is cynical and feels that the Council is simply returning the money they exploited from students with debts so as to earn gratitude. Sayaka then announces the groupings. Eventually, Mary and Yumeko are grouped together, much to Mary's utter disappointment as Yumeko's lofty debt of 31 million will prove to be unbeneficial to her should they be sorted together.
When all the groupings are announced, Sayaka goes into details of the game. The participants will be playing Two-Card Indian Poker. Players will use a standard deck with face cards and the joker removed, leaving them with 40 cards in total. The dealer will deal the first card and players can look at it. Players, however, cannot look at the second card dealt. Instead, they have to hold it up on their forehead such that they cannot see it. The two cards make up their hand. The strongest hand is a 'pair', which has two cards of equal value, while the second strongest is when the suit matches. Finally, a 'pig' is the weakest where neither the value nor suit matches. If two hands are of the same type, the player with the highest hand wins. The Council has prepared four different colored chips, ten each. Each color is delegated to one player and its value is worth one tenth of the reported debt. The total value of the chips will be taken into account at the end of the game. The game will last ten rounds and each player must ante one of their own chips and can only bet a maximum of five chips.
Lastly, Sayaka includes that the Student Council will not intervene in any of the games, even if the players are seen cheating. However, cheating brought to their attention will be stopped but exchanges made will not be nullified. With this, Sayaka departs. Before leaving to their respective rooms, Mary hesitantly proposes a plan to Yumeko.
When they finally enter the room, the duo finds themselves in the same group as Jun and Tsubomi Nanami while Sayaka is their arbiter due to the particularly high stakes in their group. As they take their seats, Mary asks Jun where is housepet tag is and he tells her that he has a debt for 10 million yen to his friend. Jun confidently boasts about how he will definitely clear his debt via this event as he had already won thrice previously.
The game begins and they each pay their antes. After memorizing their first card, they leave them face down and hold the other above their head. For the first round, Jun is the dealer and decides to bet one of his own chips. Tsubomi bets one of her own chips and Mary thinks to herself that it is a wise choice as betting small amounts translates to lower risks. However, they cannot call for every round and should act cautiously. To her surprise, Yumeko bets one of her own chips and Mary retaliates instantly. Yumeko is quick to point out that she would have to call eventually but Mary decides to fold. The other players reveal their cards and Jun wins the round with a pair of same-suits.
For the second round, Tsubomi becomes the dealer. She bets one of her own chips. Mary and Yumeko both fold, while Jun raises four of his own chips. Upon this, Tsubomi folds. Hence, Jun wins the round and begins to mock the other players.
For the third round, Yumeko bets one of her own chips as she was dealt a strong card. Jun raises it by two of his chips. Yumeko asks if he is scared but the boy simply dismisses it as part of his plan. Yumeko's chips are worth the most and it would be unwise for him to bet her chips. He offers her a piece of advice, telling her to preserve her own chips. Yumeko, with a seemingly innocent smile, tells him that she intends to win before raising three of her own chips. Jun calls with two of his own chips. Eventually, Yumeko wins with a pair of four-ten hearts.
In the fourth round, Mary deals the cards. She glances at her card, the eight of spades, and decides to bet one of her own chips. Jun calls one of his own. Tsubomi folds and Yumeko bets one of Jun's chips. Mary contemplates the consequences if she loses. She would have to resign to the Life Contract, marry a politician and have his children. But while her future looks bright and fulfilling, she gains the steely resolve to live life as her own and control her own fate. On that impulse, she raises three of her own chips, each worth 5 million yen. Jun taunts her and haughtily mentions that he knows that Mary and Yumeko are working together. He calculates that Mary would only be willing to bet if she knew she had suited cards and decides to fold. Yumeko folds too. Mary, with a sly grin, questions Jun if he really thought that he was that sharp. She causally mentions how she had already caught him playing dirty before gleefully revealing that she had a pig. Jun is horrified, while Yumeko seems unfazed, delighted even.
Character Appearances[]
Differences between anime and manga[]
- When Jun confronts Yumeko, he does so himself in a hallway in the anime. In the manga, he gets one of his boys to fetch Yumeko to meet him. (Chapter 5).
- After Yumeko refuses to strip for Jun, in the anime he chokes her. In the manga, however, Jun grabs Yumeko by the collar (Chapter 5).
- After saving Yumeko from Jun, in the anime, Midari goes to the bathroom where she plays Russian roulette by herself and other activities. In the manga though, Midari simply plays Russian roulette in the same area where she saved Yumeko (Chapter 5).
- When Mary asks Jun why he isn’t wearing the house pet necklace, he goes on to talk about how he lied about his debt and that participating in the debt replacement game was easy money. In the manga, however, he goes on further to taunt Mary, Yumeko, and Nanami about their housepet status and states that if he were in their shoes, he’d kill himself. This entire bit is absent in the anime. (Chapter 6).