I initially approached Kakegurui with relatively low expectations. I basically just wanted low-brow shock-value comedy. The animated adaptation certainly delivered that in spades, but I was surprised to find that it is also a sophisticated political satire. This (short) video essay offers a synopsis of how I read Kakegurui considered specifically as a political allegory.

The world of Hyakkao Private Academy seems like a grotesque culture of removed gamblers, but it's also a reflection of a modern social economy where elites use the illusion of risk as a mask to disguise the iron fist of power. Yumeko, meanwhile, enters this world as something of a revolutionary figure because of her ability to deconstruct this illusion while at the same time rejecting the values that prop it up.