Bet Review
Director: Simon Barry, Jacquie Gould, Craig Wallace and Joyce Wong
Date Created: 2025-05-15 17:06
3.5
Bet Review: This Netflix drama series is directed by Simon Barry, Jacquie Gould, Craig Wallace and Joyce Wong. It is the adaptation of the Japanese manga Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler by Homura Kawamoto. Miku Martineau stars as the fearless yet mysterious Yumeko, joined by Aviva Mongillo, Anwen O’Driscoll, Dorian Giordano, Hunter Cardinal, Alex Hook and others. The show comprises 10 episodes, each about 40 minutes long, and the show is set in an elite school where gambling is not a game, it’s life.
The show centres on Yumeko, a mysterious new transfer student to an elite boarding school. This school is not your regular school, Here, gambling decides your popularity, power, and place in the school hierarchy. And for Yumeko, the more she disobeys, the more she gets under the skin of the student council, and it’s made clear that she’s not in school because people think she is, but because she has her own agenda. With every bet she makes, the stakes get higher.
Bet Review
The show is fast-paced, flashy, and twisty. It’s the excitement of games mixed in with the drama of high school. And while far from perfect, Netflix’s Bet did a decent job of reeling me in right through to the end.
So, let’s just start with the casting. Miku Martineau’s performance as Yumeko is just perfect. You would not look away from her; she has a wonderful screen presence. She’s got charm galore and more than a touch of danger and mystery to the role. Yumeko is the type of character who is sweet on the surface, but there’s more to her.
The visuals are very impressive. The gambling scenes are shot in a way that makes them so cinematic and engrossing. The suspense, created by the lighting, angles and the background score. There were moments where I could’ve sworn I was watching action blockbusters.
And, of course, the games are the biggest part of the fun. The series starts with a card game and becomes larger and ultimately riskier bets later on. The pairing is always on one’s toes. Even though I didn’t necessarily understand the rules all the time, I loved the vibe of the scenes. The thrill of risking one’s odds of either winning or losing everything on a single bet? And that’s what makes this show so captivating.
The Bet series is not just about gambling, it’s about pushing back against unjust systems, peer pressure, forced assimilation and power. The school setting allows the show to explore teen themes, including bullying, issues with popularity and competition. Instead of the usual classroom fights, the brawls are over high-stakes games. It’s unique and innovative.
One thing that I liked the most was the revenge angle. Yumeko here has an incentive to gamble, she’s not only betting for bet’s sake. This makes her something more than a professional gambler. Now she is a symbol of defiance against the school’s rulers.
Also, the music and editing deserve a mention. The music adds to the tension, especially at the end of every game. The editing is swift and riveting. It is almost never going slowly or boring. But some of the supporting cast’s acting was a bit overdone or wooden. There were times when the scenes felt excessive or hammy, particularly when the characters were trying to demonstrate the extremes of emotions. They’d act the way someone mimicking an anime face would act, instead of just playing the scenes for real.
In this YA series Bet, some of the games weren’t realistic, and it was confusing moving from card games to real-life challenges. There were moments when I forgot whether I was watching a teen drama, just like Squid Game. Some viewers may be confused by the change in tone.
Lastly, the cultural setting might be odd for readers of the original manga. Having said that, this is a Western adaptation of an ultra-Japanese tale, so clearly there is some of the original brunt and crack not translated into the new concoction. There has also been some online discussion about whether the show should have stayed all-Asian, given the source of the manga. For me personally, the diversity of casting brings something fresh, but I get some of the hesitations here too.
Summing Up
I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece, but it did hold my interest till the end. All things considered, Bet on Netflix is a good show that mixes style and suspense. It’s flashy and melodramatic and full of twists. It’s that kind of show, the sort that doesn’t want to take itself too seriously but definitely wants to be a fun day out. If you like high school drama with a dark twist or just psychological mind games, this show might be for you.
Bet 2025 is now streaming on Netflix.
