In its latest attempt to adapt anime into live-action, Kakegurui. The original manga was written by Homura Kawamoto, illustrated by Toru Naomura, and published in 2014, proving so popular that an anime was released in 2017, animated by MAPPA and directed by Yuichiro Hayashi, followed by a Japanese drama that aired in 2018. While fans were hoping for a new anime season, they got Netflix’s Bet instead.

Bet follows a lot of the story beats presented in Kakegurui, following the protagonist Yumeko Jabami as she enrolls in an exclusive school that is both prestigious and yet notorious for its seedy underground gambling ring that governs the student body’s overall hierarchy. She brings her intellect and wit along to win each casino game, turning the tables against her opponent to raise herself among the ranks in hopes that she will uncover more about the school and the mystery surrounding the unexplained deaths of her parents.

In a trailer presented on Netflix’s official social media platforms, fans got their first look at what the live-action has in store for them. While there are some parts that are familiar, mainly the story and characters presented in the narrative, the adaptation took on a whole new creative direction in redeg the cast’s appearances and changing up the motivations of Yumeko's desire to thwart the school.

7 Yumeko Jabami

The Protagonist and Self-Aware Compulsive Gambler

Yumeko is the driving force in Kakegurui, a transfer student who came out of nowhere and yet seems to have such an affinity for gambling that she’ll pick up on any challenge that’s thrown her way and overthrow her opponent in one fell swoop. Often mistaken as someone who is sweet and innocent, the student body quickly finds out just how far her love of gambling and high stakes goes. In the anime, Yumeko is voiced by Erika Harlacher and Estelle Link in the English dub and by Saori Hayami in the Japanese voiceover.

Kakegurui also already had a live-action that was aired shortly after the anime took off, with Minami Hamabe playing the part of Yumeko during its run. For Netflix’s newest live-action, Bet has cast Miku Martineau, who has portrayed an excellent rendition of the protagonist fans have come to know and love through her short screentime presented in the trailer released thus far. Her appearance nearly matches to a T and her enthusiasm for winning is on the mark when it comes to portraying Yumeko in a perhaps more subtle way than what the anime and manga depict.

6 Ryota Suzui

The Proverbial Straightman Trying to Help Yumeko

Ryota is the first character to Yumeko and her endeavors, no matter how maniacal she can be when it comes to gambling. Suffice it to say, he’s the first friend she makes at the academy. Griffin Burns and Adam Gibbs voice Ryota in the English dub, and Tatsuya Tokutake voices him in the Japanese version. Mahiro Takasugi portrays Yumeko’s classmate in the Japanese drama.

Ayo Solanke will be playing Ryota, renamed to Ryan for Bet’s live-action adaptation. His role in the story will be to fill the audience in on the background and rules in St. Dominic’s. Netflix will be raising eyebrows since Ryota is relegated to a Pet status when Yumeko first meets him, acting as a slave for his other classmates as a student in debt. The trailer also depicts a questionable scene of Ryan running from his classmates with tape tied over his mouth. The optics for changing Ryota to a dark-skinned character represent poor decisions made by the showrunners.

5 Mary Saotome

The Brash But Strategic Villain Turned Ally

Audience’s first look at Mary Saotome may not paint her in the best light, as she is the sole reason Ryota is demoted to Pet status. Her pompous attitude, coupled with outright using him as a servant, did not bode well when Yumeko overturned the tables and the class against her after winning their game. While she eventually does come to be one of Yumeko’s confidants, fans see her at her lowest in the beginning episodes and chapters. Kira Buckland and Christina Kelly voice her in the English dub, and Minami Tanaka voices her in the Japanese rendition.

Aoi Morikawa plays Mary in the Japanese drama, and Eve Edwards will be taking up the role in Bet. Since Mary’s name doesn’t originate from Japan, Netflix’s live-action adaptation may keep it for this installment. Originally, Mary is meant to be a contrasting gambler to Yumeko; she plays more on strategy and tactical advantage rather than leaving anything up to chance. While her new actress can still represent that, it doesn’t help that she too, like Ryoma, is relegated to a Pet after losing to Yumeko and is seen in the trailer acting as a stool for Kirari.

4 Kirari Momobami

Cold Mastermind Behind The School’s Massive Changes

Kirari is a very elusive figure at the beginning of Kakegurui. She becomes the student body president after winning a game with the previous holder and has completely restructured the school with the Pet status and the Life Plan implementation, essentially commandeering a student's future based on the debt they now owe the school. Michelle Ruff and Olivia Swasey are the English voice actors for Kirari, and Miyuki Sawashiro voices her in the Japanese version. Elaiza Ikeda plays her in Kakegurui’s first live-action and looks remarkably like her anime counterpart, capturing her ethereal essence perfectly.

Netflix’s Bet completely strips away all of Kirari’s mysterious nuance and opts to characterize her as a standard mean girl often seen in Western media stereotypes, with her quite literally looking down at all of her other classmates. Costume design opted for a more natural hair color and bright cobalt lipstick instead of her icy blue shade, that is subtle and matches her overall angelic aesthetic.

Appearances play a large part in Kakegurui, especially the first ones, because they are never entirely what they seem. Yumeko looks gullible and innocent yet takes advantage of the cheating going on in the gambling ring, Mary often outwardly taunts her opponents in a craze, yet she’s incredibly tactical in every move she makes down to her collaboration with Yumeko, and Kirari is an untouchable holy figure who is corrupting the school and dragging the students down to a hell known as debt. Bet loses all of those incredibly sharp details by making such abrupt changes to a carefully designed cast.

3 Ririka Momobami

The Silent More Covert Twin to Kirari

Fans of the original Kakegurui franchise will already recognize that Ririka is meant to be Kirari’s twin sister since they share many of the same features, yet Riri hides behind a full-faced mask. Her shy and quiet demeanor comes from her strict upbringing as her sister’s counterpart, though she does display to have quite the intellect when it comes to gambling. Riri is played by the same voice actresses as Kirari, and when masked, she is played by Maiki Kimura in the Japanese drama, but when revealed as a twin is also played by Elaiza Ikeda.

Anwen O’Driscoll steps in as Ririka Momobami, though her design as the character from Kakegurui is unlike any other interpretation that came before her. Her hair is pulled back and is noticeably lighter than the actress who is meant to be portraying her twin sister; her makeup matches, yet given its dramatic overlining and darker tones, makes her appear far more confrontational than Riri would ever emote in the manga and anime. Netflix has also equipped her with a facemask that does very little to serve as a representation of her erasing her presence around her sister.

2 Midari Ikishima

The Crazed Gambler Who Will Put Their Life On The Line

Midari is a very interesting character and serves as the audience’s first character, who showcases just how peculiar the student council is. While Yuriko Nishinotouin was introduced first, Midari completely spun the definition of irrationality in a way that rivaled Yumeko’s own obsession with gambling. Shortly after meeting the compulsive gambler, she later tries a game of Russian Roulette to see if she would potentially lose, the thrill of the gun’s click sending her down a rabbit hole to where she wanted to challenge Yumeko next.

Midari is voiced by Sarah Williams and Natalie Rial in the English dub for Kakegurui, while the Japanese voice is Mariya Ise. Her actress in the live-action is played by Miki Yanagi, while in Netflix’s Bet, Aviva Mongillo will take up the mantle as a renamed version known as Dori. While it’s clear the western live-action adaptation is taking creative liberties to stand out from the original source, Midari’s appearance in Bet is somehow faithful, since it's easy to recognize who is meant to be Midari from her reckless behavior and punk attire.

1 Runa Yomozuki

The Neutral Referee Who Enforces Order and Compliance

Runa’s role in the story is best seen when she’s refereeing matches later in the story, but her first appearances make her out to be aloof and unfeeling, carrying out the president’s orders and taunting Mary over her Life Plan. Otherwise, she’s a childish character who sticks to Kirari’s side and often plays video games or eats candy in the background. Brittney Karbowski and Kayli Mills voice Runa in the English dub, while Mayu Udono is her Japanese voice actor. In the Japanese live-action for Kakegurui, she’s played by Natsume Mito, who adorns her comfortable oversized cartoonish hoodie.

As of this writing, it’s hard to tell who is going to be playing Runa Yomozuki for certain in Netflix’s live-action since two characters are depicted to have that same child-like energy, one of which is barely seen in the trailer before the scene switches over. As Bet’s version of Kirari is placing her feet on Mary’s back, there’s a glimpse of a character in a panda hoodie and clunky bright pink shoes next to her, who could very well be Runa.

Fans' initial theories on who was playing Runa pointed to a young man depicted walking alongside Kirari and the rest of the student council, leading many to assume that Netflix had genderswapped a character out of a predominantly female-centric cast. The many changes that have come from Kakegurui’s newest live-action, Bet, have baffled and turned away a faithful fan base who only wanted to see the anime’s season 3, but were instead delivered a crime-solving thriller drama that was not asked for.