Anime Casino Culture: Exploring the Influence of Japanese Animation on Casino Themes

Anime is a Japanese cultural phenomenon that has expanded its influence outside the country and impacted many spheres of life in other regions, including Europe and North America. Lots of people suddenly got obsessed with this Eastern genre of animated cinematography. The unique style of anime-inspired everything from stylized outfits and haircuts to video games and different forms of entertainment. The following guide explores its influence on the gambling industry and players’ preferences. Here’s how anime affected the casino and real-money gaming machines.

1. The Level of Influence on the Casino Sphere

Despite the huge popularity of anime in mass culture, it has a limited impact on gambling. The anime theme is employed by certain casinos and video slots, but we can’t say that it’s something mainstream. There are lots of other inspirations that had the same or bigger influence on the casino industry in recent years. Anime is only one of the many themes used by game developers and casino site designers.

Anime style is rare for European and American gambling sites, but it’s rather popular in the East, and, obviously, Japan. Many players consider it just as a part of a broader Asian gambling theme.

2. Casinos Games Inspired by Anime

There are at least a few dozen slot machines employing plots based on anime. These are games developed by such gambling industry giants as NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Wazdan, Play’N Go, and Red Tiger. You can play these slots for free or for real money. Just pick a reliable online game club on the BestCasinoPlay website and find anime-themed games in the lobby section.

Here are a few of our best picks for casino slot machines inspired by the Japanese animated cartoon industry.

1. Koi Princess

NetEnt’s Koi Princess slot machine is a typical Asian-style game flavored with anime elements. The most notable one is a figure of a princess-girl standing left to the reels. She is a player’s lucky charm who rejoices every time you get a win.

The game features a 96% house edge, which increases to 96.24% when using a bonus bet. Other notable characteristics of the slot include:

• 5 reels and 20 lines;
• payouts up to 500x per combination:
• 4 types of random features;
• 4 bonus rounds, including the Wheel of Fortune.

2. High School Manga

The slot from Wazdan is based on Japanese anime dedicated to high school relationships. This game is obviously targeted at young gamblers, for whom this theme may be evocative.

High School Manga is a 3-reel slot machine with 5 lines and 96.41% Return to the Player. The max win per combination reaches 150x your bet. A special Multiplier feature can double the winnings.

The game High School Manga employs a unique Wazdan’s Volatility Levels mechanics, which allows you to regulate the ratio between hit frequency and win sizes.

3. Kensei Blades

Video slot Kensei Blades by Betsoft is designed in the spirit of anime hack & slash fighting. The game is all about blades and magic items, which are the major symbols on the reels together with a mighty warrior Kensei and his companion Sakura.

Betsoft slot machine has the following features:

• 720 ways to win;
• 5 reels;
• payouts up to 20x per combination;
• up to 96 free spins per win;
• Wild symbols.

4. Moon Princess

The Play’n Go’s slot game Moon Princess was inspired by a popular Japanese anime franchise about girls magicians. It’s designed in bright colors with lots of pink, hearts, and dresses. There are three main characters in the game. They randomly change during the gaming process together with the background design. Each princess has her style.

The game allows you to win up to 5 000x your bet per spin. It also has 3 types of free spin rounds with a multiplier reaching up to 20x.

3. Gambling in Anime

While anime can be an inspiration for casino games, gambling may inspire anime creators as well. There are several popular franchises about gamblers in the library of Japanese animated cartoons. The must-see anime dedicated to gambling are:

• Kakegurui – an anime about an elite private academy where students’ hierarchy is determined by their gambling abilities;
• Usogui – a popular anime about the high-stakes gambling world and all its hazards;
• Kaiji – a captivating plot depicting a man in debt whose only chance to repay it is gambling.

4. Conclusion on Anime Casino

Anime is one of the many themes that impacted the gambling world. It inspired a few dozen games and several casino designs, but its general influence on the industry is not massive. This niche will be perfect for anime fans who like to play casino games.