High Card

Ah yes, Kakegurui X Kingsman, who would've thought that the combination of both entities would result in one of the best original anime from this season, that sadly doesn't capture the general audience's attention. And when all hope seemed lost of how everything was going at its ridiculous pace, the upcoming Season 2 announcement straight from AnimeJapan 2023 comes to up the ante, and frankly, I couldn't be more happier that High Card is getting more content to finish up it's supposed "first half" of the story in this season. But let's back things up. High Card may be an original anime at first sight, butit's actually a mixed-media project from the minds of Homura Kawamoto, Hikaru Muno, and TMS Entertainment, with collaboration with anime producer Kadokawa and pachinko/pachislot developer Sammy Corporation. Though you will know that TMS Entertainment is the main studio of backing, one name in particular will stand out. And that person is mangaka Homura Kawamoto, the author of Kakegurui, which if you've seen the MAPPA-produced shows of the TV series comprising 2 seasons back in Summer 2017 and Winter 2019, plus the Kakegurui Twin spin-off that was recently released on Netflix last August, you'll know that Homura Kawamoto is famous (or infamous, rather) for his over-the-top edgy, psychological thriller impulse that the gambling series is known for. And said gambling creator is back again in his new endeavour: the multimedia franchise that is High Card, with the project's focus showcasing the poker motif throughout the series, similar to the gambling theme in Kakegurui, with everything from the title to the names of fictional locations referencing some form of playing card game. And he's not alone, for Hikaru Muno, Kawamoto's brother and author of the Kakegurui LNs, has also joined him in the project, while TMS Entertainment will oversee the project with the illustrator Ebimo, who developed the character designs. And oh my gawd, it looks goddamn nice and striking. As compared to Kakegurui's school setting where the gambling takes place, High Card takes the typical Japanese school out of context, throws that onto the garbage bin, and injects a world that wherever people go, lives are at stake. That's because the series revolves around a special secret deck of 52 cards called “X-Playing Cards”, held by the mysterious Kingdom of Fourland's royal family. And as discoveries come and go, each card in the deck gives its owner (or “Player”) a very specific superhuman power or ability to whoever uses them. Some cards for example, gives its Player the ability to turn anything he touches into marbles, or extreme luck. And if this reminds you of the Kingsman franchise, then good, it’s supposed to. Kawamoto and Muno put their foot on the forefront that their series is heavily inspired by said movie franchise, with the idea being to create something that would appeal to global audiences. That’s also why they chose to set the series outside of Japan – a globe-trotting series, introducing characters from different cultures. The lead protagonist of High Card is Finn Oldman, a scrumpy young lad trying to raise funds for his orphanage before their heartless landlord clears them out of the building. Undetermined to have his spirit be broken for the orphaned children, he hitches a ride to the imitation of the Las Vegas casino to steal money from unsuspecting rich people so that he could pay up and make his Sun Fields Orphanage live to see another day. But rather than money, Finn suddenly gets involved in his own thievery that he didn't expect to be larger than life: a playing card that involves not the stake of money, but of lives. And with explosive suddenness, he gets embroiled in the battle over the X-Playing Cards, which the cards were before, stolen not too long ago and scattered across the land. Being armed with this, he becomes affiliated with High Card, the special private intelligence service group tasked by the King of Fourland to recover all 52 cards, while working undercover as salesmen for the luxurious Pinochle car company. The correlation of both High Card and Kingsman can be defined as such: Finn Oldman is the Gold Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, a skilled pickpocket with great eyesight and focus allowing him to think multiple steps ahead, wielding the 2 of Spades with the ability of "Neo New Nambu," which summons a loaded Nambu revolver into his hand, and can also summon extra bullets into his free hand. Chris Redgrave is the Red Harry "Galahad" Hart, a flirty womanizer and skilled driver with a sweet tooth, wielding the 5 of Hearts with the ability of "Calorie's High", allowing him to convert excess calories to heal injuries instantly that would otherwise prove fatal. Leo Constantine Pinochle is the Navy Blue Chester "Arthur" King, the 14-year-old son of Pinochle's CEO Theodore Constantine Pinochle, being the manager of the Old Maid branch office, with an abrasive demeanor that often grates on his colleagues. However, his position in society and his money puts him at the top of High Card, considering that his father is also the head of High Card, working directly under the King of Fourland. He wields the 7 of Diamonds with the ability of "Never No Dollars", that allows him to instantly swap any amount of money physically nearby for an object of equivalent value. He's constantly tapped together with his butler Bernard Symons: he is Merlin, the administrator for High Card, who does everything from serving tea to servicing cars at Pinochle's Old Maid branch. Wendy Sato is the Grey Roxanne "Roxy" Morton, the daughter of a master swordsman from the Far East, and the accountant for Pinochle's Old Maid branch office. She wields the Ace of Spades with the ability of "Love and Peace," a large sword with a mind of its own that summons her sadistic side, and goes away once the power is under control. Vijay Kumar Singh is the Green James "Lancelot" Spencer, the highly intelligent PhD student at the University of Cribbage and the system manager-cum-cook at Pinochle's Old Maid office, with his aloof personality making him difficult to approach people. He wields the 3 of Clubs, with the power "Green Green," allowing him to communicate with nearby plants and control them. Pinochle has no short of enemies, ranging from threats from rival car company "Who's Who" seeking to crush Pinochle, to the Klondike mafia family who wants the X-Playing cards for their own nefarious ends. And it's people like these that get in their way: Norman Kingstadt, the flamboyant and charismatic CEO of "Who's Who" in a one-sided rivalry with his childhood friend Theodore. He is aided by Blist Blitz Broadhurst, his personal secretary and bodyguard, who prefers to keep a strictly professional attitude while on the job, constantly reminding the charismatic CEO about pay and labour regulations even as he works to collect X-Playing cards for him. Blist is also a Player, wielding the 10 of Clubs with the ability of "Million Volt," which lets him channel electricity through his body. Ban Klondike is the Dark antagonist Richmond Valentine, the head of the Klondike mafia family, though he appears to have a softer side when dealing with women and children, seeking the X-Playing cards for his own ends and has a shared history with Theodore and Norman. Bobby Ball, the one who started the battle of the X-Playing Cards against the unsuspecting Finn. The young and no-nonsense cruelty member of the Klondike family who works under the young executive Tilt servng as a mediating force for inter-family struggles, while managing the search for the X-Playing cards. This information is then disseminated to people like him to acquire them. He wields the 3 of Diamonds with the "Marble Rumble" power that lets him turn anything he grabs into marbles, which he can then use as projectile weapons. Honestly, the characters are what makes the series interesting, with their different Card abilities, as well as the usual poker sleight of hands that unleash powers beyond imaginability, such as the X-Hand of a deck of 4 cards in all suits to desire the user in granting any wish. And this is more so for Kawamoto, citing that “I want people to like the characters," when he asked what they were most looking forward for audiences to see. “We purposely made loveable characters. I hope that people will also love them like we do.” Muno also agrees in regard, citing that “In High Card, every single character has its meaning, has its job, has its reason to exist in that world. I would like people to find your favorite character. That’s something that we are looking forward to.” Something like Finn's rags-to-riches story of saving his Sun Fields Orphanage, that calculatingly and unconsciously involves the people whom he's close with, like director Lindsey Betz whom took him in when he lost his parents from a very young age from an unknown entity that killed his entire family, only to seek revenge by the way of using High Card as a platform to launch his investigation. Or in Chris's situation, to save a family member, as ought he was did when he was about to experience a near-death situation himself when he was young. The storyline and plot is clearly larger than life than what one would expect, and this being just the beginning to a much sinister story, I'm hoping that whatever Season 2 has in store, it's going to be just as great as how this season laid the foundation for the story to grow and behold. This is the first time in a long while that Studio Hibari has made a presence in the anime production landscape, the last being Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun a.k.a Clean Freak Aoyama-kun back in 2017, and the years after being co-collaborations for some OVA/ONAs in between. That's because its subsidiaries are the 3DCG studio Larx Entertainment, and the well-known Lerche, which has taken over the studio's productions since 2011. Since then, the main parent studio has had quite the absence for more than a decade since its active years before the 2010s, so for High Card to be its resurgence anime in 6 years, it's great to see what the studio is capable of in pulling off a modern anime after being out for so long. The TL;DR is this: awesome action, great and strong visuals to add to the constant never-ending world-building lore, that it's actually so clean and refined. This will be amplified in Season 2, and I'm looking forward to more consistency that's backed by the cool concept. The music is even better, I might as well say that it's the highlight of the anime itself. The man, the (not so) myth, the legend that is composer Ryo Takahashi himself, he has done some well-known works like Princess Principal and You-Zitsu a.k.a Classroom of the Elite to name a few. And to say that his music composition here is nothing short of magnificent, is truly an understatement, as next to one of my all-time favourite shows of last year (Healer Girl), High Card is action-packed, pumping beats that help the series truly elevate its high-stakes nature. Also, the OST here, it's my No. 1 top favorite of the season with FIVE NEW OLD's OP "Trickster" and utaite Meychan's ED "Squad!", both songs being absolute, ABSOLUTE hype bangers from Day One they hit the scene. A magnificent, outstanding debut for FIVE NEW OLD and Meychan's 2nd anime theme song (after Estab-Life: Great Escape) being an upbeat, squad-like catchy song that's easily worth the karaoke experience. All in all, if there was a negative to High Card, it would be how the story was weaved across these 12 episodes, with the uncertainty of an unsure stopping point. This is owed to subpar director Junichi Wada, which other than C2C's SukaSuka back in 2017 (which was a miracle in the area of flukes) hasn't had a hit series, and I'm sincerely hoping that whenever Season 2 rolls around, will his directorialship prowess be finally known if he's still one capable director of trust. Still though, this is hopium more than copium for me, and until Season 2 comes again in the future, this is yet another sleeper hit that doesn't get enough attention. PLEASE, for the love of God, watch High Card. It's definitely a better Kakegurui if you still feel sucker-punched about said series. Are you ready? It's Showdown!!