In episode 25, 17 Poker ran all the way to its tenth and final game. According to the episode 25 synopsis on the official site, Kikuchi, sure he has already won, reveals that he used his sharp dynamic vision to follow the joker through the shuffle and control where it landed. Once the middle match is over, the captains' match finally begins: the Non-Spinning Roulette. There are only four pockets, and it is the players, not the wheel, who drop the ball. The game asks you to read your opponent while hiding where you dropped it, and Nao, who plays captain, is someone whose nerves show on her face and in her gestures.
The story begins when college student Nao Kanzaki receives 100 million yen and a mysterious invitation. According to the description of the Korean edition on Ridi, there is only one rule. On the day the game ends, 30 days later, you return the 100 million yen you hold. Take your opponent's money and the winner keeps 100 million yen, while the loser is left with 100 million yen of debt. Nao, who does not know how to doubt anyone, is cornered as soon as the game starts, and she turns to Shinichi Akiyama, who has just been released after serving time for fraud.
The original is a manga Shinobu Kaitani serialized in Weekly Young Jump from 2005 to 2015, collected in 19 volumes. It became a live-action drama in 2007, a live-action film in 2010 and a stage play in 2023, and in Korea tvN adapted it as a drama in 2014. This is its first TV anime. On the anime's official site, Kaitani wrote that the theme he started the serialization with was "the importance of trust." He added that in the 20 years since, through the pandemic and the explosive rise of social media, the world has become a place where trusting people is even harder.
Madhouse produced the anime. Yuzo Sato is chief director and Asami Kawano directs. Tatsuhiko Urahata handles series composition and scripts, Kei Tsuchiya the character designs, and Yugo Kanno the music. Sato said he had worked with Kaitani before, when ONE OUTS was adapted into anime. Saya Hitomi voices Nao and Takeo Otsuka voices Akiyama. The first cour opened with Yorushika's "Bubble" and closed with Lucky Kilimanjaro's "Asahi". The second cour runs between Kroi's "All in" and muque's "Still Not Enough".
In Japan the series has aired on the TV Tokyo network since 6 April, every Monday at 24:00. The official site lists two Blu-ray boxes, one with episodes 1 to 13 and one with episodes 14 to 26. Episode 26 airs on Monday 28 September at 24:00. In Korea the anime streams on Laftel, where new episodes go up on Thursdays.
To carry on in the manga after the anime, go by volume. According to Shueisha's description of volume 7, Nao, Akiyama and Fukunaga come out of the third round, the Smuggling Game, holding a huge prize yet formally counted as losers, and they take on an enormous debt to rescue the other players. In that state they enter the revival match held at an abandoned school, against the three players of the West team. 17 Poker, played with 17 cards, is in volume 8. After barely winning the revival match, the three add to their debt again to rescue the opposing team, and the fourth-round preliminary they face next, the Infection Game, begins in volume 9. The Korean edition from Haksan Publishing is complete in 19 volumes on Ridi.
