Useless or necessary?
Ryota Suzui is one of the main characters of Kakegurui. The anime tells us a story about a peculiar academy, where students have implemented a gambling system, which allows them to get a high societal position. While presented as a main character at first, Ryota later gives way to the much more eccentric Yumeko, who easily steals the spot. But does it make Ryota any less important?
That’s true that when fans think of Kakegurui, Ryota is not the first person that comes to mind. And some viewers claim that he does practically nothing in the series, despite a couple of moments when he’s actually useful. However, this is an opinion not shared by everyone. Ryota does play an important role in the anime, and we’re going to discuss it now.
Kakegurui is packed with madness, only Yumeko herself would be enough to feel it; her insanity permeates her every action, and she lives for the risk, gambling brings her great joy and excites her to no end. So there’s gotta be a counterbalance to this level of craziness. And the balance, as the fans think, is Ryota.
The boy is a rational thinker, he shows no signs of insanity and he’s just as disturbed by the things happening on the series as a regular sane human being would be. This doesn’t only make him a good balance for Yumeko-like characters, but also turns him into a relatable character for the audience. Ryota’s reserved nature only makes the impact of him actually choosing to take a risk and be like the rest of the characters stronger.
Yumeko doesn’t care about the consequences of her gambling, it’s the thrill of the moment that she desires. We’re used to watching her put everything on the line and let luck decide her fate. Ryota is nothing like that. He’s logical and reasonable, he knows what losing will bring him, so seeing him gamble to help his loved ones makes us understand how much he really cares.
Ryota is also a necessary character viewpoint-wise. We can’t hear Yumeko’s thoughts and the girl remains a mystery to the audience, so the boy is the person who conveys the thoughts to the viewer.
Ryota’s presence in the series serves as a balance and comparison to everything and everyone surrounding him. No matter how much we all love seeing a bit of insanity on our screens, if a series has nothing else to offer, the viewers might get bored, and the series itself might become one-dimensional. And Ryota is exactly the power that saves Kakegurui from this outcome.