Bet’ on Netflix: Plot Twists, Cast & Know All About This ‘Kakegurui’ Series

He enrolled in youth acting intensives—not the kind where everyone hugs it out, but the kind where you’re told your cold-read was “technically fine” and “emotionally vacant.” It was brutal. The switch from stage to screen didn’t feel like an upgrade—it felt like being thrown into a new sport with different rules. Subtlety wasn’t a footnote—it was the whole page. The ensemble cast of Bet reads like an anime convention after three Red Bulls, but Solanke’s chemistry with Miku Martineau’s Yumeko is grounded, tense, and human. He’s said in interviews that their dynamic was “built off eye contact more than script cues,” and that tracks.

When parody becomes performance

If Netflix’s Bet sounds like a fever dream filtered through a poker table and a manga panel, that’s because it pretty much is. Ayo Solanke doesn’t just survive this high-stakes teen chaos—he detonates expectations from his very first scene. While the series itself splits audiences faster than a bluff gone wrong, Solanke’s character, Ryan Adebayo, is a wildcard worth watching. His performance doesn’t just anchor a slippery narrative—it elevates it. This chapter dissects how Ayo Solanke turned a supporting role into a slow-burn scene-stealer, all while the roulette wheel of Bet keeps spinning.

Lagos roots without the drama

From the mixed reviews, it can be inferred that it is possible for the show to gather enough strength for some more seasons. Provided Netflix pays heed to the criticisms and stays true to the core concepts of the original manga while treating issues with care, all-out respect, and adaptation appropriateness. Immensely promoted for their quantizing visuals and slick cinematography, Bet was conceptualized by Simon Barry-the same mind who also gave us Warrior Nun. Dramatic lighting and insane close-ups all throughout gambling scenes yield an atmosphere of heightened tension and suspense as the psychological stakes are being asserted. Yumeko becomes friends with Ryan (Ayo Solanke), who becomes a housepet after losing a round of cards to a council member named Mary (Eve Edwards). She also meets Michael (Hunter Cardinal), who refuses to participate in the wagering madness and encourages Yumeko to do the same.

The characters in manga stories are designed to be over-the-top and at times are more known for their quirkiness than any kind of depth of character. How to translate that into a live-action series that doesn’t feel cartoonish is tough. A good example is Bet, an adaptation of a manga about a high schooler who is a compulsive gambler going to a prep school full of people wagering their parents’ money. The ensemble cast is diverse, featuring Ayo Solanke as Ryan Adebayo and Eve Edwards as Mary Davis. Clara Alexandrova stars as the fierce student council president, Kira Timurov. Each character conveys depth in the storyline, reflecting complex social structures in the school.

• He’s not dabbling—he’s building something that could easily stand on its own.
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• Which, in a digital landscape of overly managed personas, makes him far more watchable off-screen than most of his peers onscreen.
• Each character conveys depth in the storyline, reflecting complex social structures in the school.
• In a world where appearance and health go hand in hand, our platform leads the revolution, delivering the latest trends, research, and expert advice directly to you.
• In a school where everyone is high-gloss insanity, he walks like he’s just trying to get to math class without being decapitated.
• And Ayo Solanke’s role in A24’s Altar seems positioned to pivot him from emerging talent to serious contender—without the usual award-season desperation.
• Like many of his castmates, his audition script used a placeholder name — “Harry” instead of Ryan — to conceal the true identity of the project.

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Bet’ On Netflix, Where A Teen Goes To A Boarding School Where Gambling Is A Way Of Life

He’s just a believable teenager who happens to be stuck in a death maze with a psychotic clown—and who doesn’t miraculously develop plot armor halfway through. There’s a danger in treating manga tropes with reverence—they become parodies without punch. Solanke sidesteps that trap by playing Ryan with dissonance. In a school where everyone is high-gloss insanity, he walks like he’s just trying to get to math class without being decapitated. It’s not that he’s unaware of the drama; he’s just exhausted by it.

Racing & Games

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• His earliest years, as he’s mentioned in interviews, were filled with extended family, unpredictable power cuts, and the occasional bootleg DVD of a Nollywood horror movie that left a permanent mark on his imagination.
• His acting wasn’t “inspired” by his roots so much as complicated by them.
• Solanke’s Ryan Adebayo isn’t the hero Netflix usually casts, and that’s precisely the point.
• They zigzag between prestige and pop, art-house and streaming spectacle.
• Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Analytics Insight, or any of its affiliates, officers or directors.
• These are fairly outlandish ideas to transplant into the more relatable real-world setting that the live-action treatment creates, which is probably the show’s biggest problem.

Beyond the Bet: Exploring Solanke’s Expanding Filmography

Bet might be developing into something more compelling than a simple live adaptation. This would allow it to stand on its own for new viewers as well as longtime Kakegurui fans. As the owner of the biggest betting company in Nigeria, Kunle is no doubt one of the most influential people in the Nigerian sports industry today. However, the current CEO of Bet9ja betting company is Mr. Ayao Ojuroye and he’s different from the owner who is Kunle. Now to the main question – who is the owner of bet9ja?

• Yumeko becomes friends with Ryan (Ayo Solanke), who becomes a housepet after losing a round of cards to a council member named Mary (Eve Edwards).
• She also meets Michael (Hunter Cardinal), who refuses to participate in the wagering madness and encourages Yumeko to do the same.
• For now, Ayo’s back to auditions, but he’s also working on his own short film Island, exploring his skills behind the camera.
• Ryan begins the series as a believer in the school’s ruthless hierarchy, but that loyalty fades fast — especially when he finds himself aligning with Yumiko.
• Ayo Solanke doesn’t just survive this high-stakes teen chaos—he detonates expectations from his very first scene.
• The premise revolves around Yumeko Jabami (Miku Martineau, Kate), an enigmatic transfer student who arrives at St. Dominic’s Prep with a mind to take down its dominant and corrupt Student Council as revenge for her parents’ murder.
• While the series itself splits audiences faster than a bluff gone wrong, Solanke’s character, Ryan Adebayo, is a wildcard worth watching.
• There’s no mysticism in Solanke’s Lagos Nigeria chapter—just ordinary life.

The “Kakegurui” Connection: Adapting Manga to Live-Action

That contrast gives the Bet Netflix episodes some badly needed grounding—and elevates the absurdism from cosplay to commentary. According to Ayo Solanke in a behind-the-scenes featurette, Ryan was intentionally designed as “the one kid who didn’t want to play, but had to.” That tension between survival and complicity is where the performance lives. Solanke discusses how he pushed for less exposition and more ambiguity—fewer speeches, more loaded glances. The writers obliged, letting the actor shape the emotional rhythm of scenes that could’ve easily been swallowed by stylized excess. Ten episodes seems like a lot, arguably too many, but they’re all under 40 minutes and breeze by with so much going on, especially since the outcome of the games keeps upending the social dynamics and raising the stakes.

Ayo Solanke stops by to chat about his breakout role as Ryan in the hit Netflix series BET. Ayo shares how his life has changed since the show hit the global Top 10, what it was like stepping into a complex character, and how fans have connected with Ryan’s emotional journey. While undeniably successful in attracting attention, the adaptation has received criticism from purists in the manga audience. Some feel that by diverting from the source material, especially with character building and cultural nuances, the adaptation has never stood the rightful claim of being a legitimate one. For those not in the know, Kakegurui (賭ケグルイ, Kakegurui –Compulsive Gambler–) is a Japanese manga series that began its run in Square Enix’s Gangan Joker magazine in March 2014. It was later adapted in 2017 by the legendary studio MAPPA with a follow-up series arriving two years later.

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If the first episode is any indication, episodes will consist of one face-off after another, characters giving sneering and sniveling speeches, and lots of expositional dialogue of the type that weighed down the first episode. It’s easy to categorize actors-turned-directors as restless or ambitious. In Solanke’s case, it reads more like necessity. When the roles aren’t giving you what you want, you make your own. Enter The Island—a short film that isn’t looking for mainstream applause, but one that makes its own weather in the indie space. If you’re looking for something to confirm or deny how much Simon Barry’s ten-part series adheres to the source material or butchers it beyond all repair, sorry – you’re not going to find it here.

Miku Martineau como Yumeko

Having said all this the character drama is still very much present. These are fairly outlandish ideas to transplant into the more relatable real-world setting that the live-action treatment creates, which is probably the show’s biggest problem. This is because most of Bet’s high-school social dynamics are filtered through the extremely exaggerated lens of high-stakes gambling games and anime-esque stylistic flourishes. Logically, this means that several students are in considerable debt and forced to become “house pets” – in other words, slaves to the wealthier students. Set in St. Dominic’s Boarding School for Girls, where gambling dictates the social hierarchy.

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It’s easy to see why Netflix found the series ripe for adaptation, especially as it carried the anime and could see first hand how popular it is. With a premise that’s easy to translate, whether it can capture the spirit and style of the original remains to be seen. Hopefully they’ll embrace the series in the same way Netflix adapted One Piece and not their bland version of Death Note.

We understand that every individual has unique needs and desires, which is why we approach each person with the utmost care and professionalism. A web platform dedicated to aesthetic surgery, dermatology, and beauty, where expertise meets innovation, and your desires and needs become our mission. In a world where appearance and health go hand in hand, our platform leads the revolution, delivering the latest trends, research, and expert advice directly to you. This website cannot be displayed as your browser is extremely out of date. Ryan begins the series as a believer in the school’s ruthless hierarchy, but that loyalty fades fast — especially when he finds himself aligning with Yumiko. While Ryan is inspired by Ryota Suzui from the Kakegurui manga, Ayo made a conscious effort to build a version of the character that stood on its own.

Social Media Presence: Connecting with Fans

After staking his claim as one of the few fresh faces to make a teen drama feel dangerous again, he’s shifting gears. What’s next isn’t just a continuation—it’s escalation. From an upcoming role in an A24 psychological thriller to the high-stakes return of Bet, Ayo Solanke’s future projects don’t follow a straight trajectory. They zigzag between prestige and pop, art-house and streaming spectacle. This chapter looks ahead, not with PR spin, but with a critical eye on what these choices say about where he’s headed—and who he refuses to become.

Beyond the Bet: Exploring Solanke’s Expanding Filmography

His earliest years, as he’s mentioned in interviews, were filled with extended family, unpredictable power cuts, and the occasional bootleg DVD of a Nollywood horror movie that left a permanent mark on his imagination. There’s a temptation to romanticize this phase as formative, but Solanke resists the narrative. His acting wasn’t “inspired” by his roots so much as complicated by them.

The Top Law Students

With a proven track record as a trusted advisor, we have played a pivotal role in groundbreaking transactions and resolved complex legal questions, shaping Uganda’s legal landscape. Solanke points to the final episodes, especially the scenes where Ryan defends Yumiko or squares off with Hunter Cardinal’s character Michael, as some of his favorite to shoot. The Netflix adaptation will comprise 10 episodes written by Simon Barry (Warrior Nun) and executive produced by Barry, Jeff F. ayobet King, David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg, Jon Rutherford and Nick Nantell. According to Hollywood Reporter, Netflix have announced the cast for their upcoming Kakegurui remake titled BET. Set within the grounds of an elite academy where social status is determined by underground gambling. The streaming platform’s recommendation algorithm must have played a large part in driving organic viewership to the series, indicating a fairly strong connection with teens and young adults.

As a director and writer, he isn’t flexing genre tricks. Just a visual puzzle with enough thematic weight to demand more than one watch. Solanke’s dip into horror didn’t come with the glossy prestige of a Sundance darling or the PR sheen of a studio reboot. Instead, he picked roles that could’ve easily sunk under cliché—and decided to mess with them from the inside. At 13, the Solankes moved again—this time to Canada, the land of maple syrup, healthcare, and the kind of arts programs that actually fund school theatre productions.

Latest from What’s on Netflix

Continue reading to find out more about him. There’s something almost too fitting about Solanke joining an A24 film. The indie studio has a reputation for picking actors who don’t need to shout to be heard. And Ayo Solanke’s role in A24’s Altar seems positioned to pivot him from emerging talent to serious contender—without the usual award-season desperation. Plenty of actors turn to directing for control. The film isn’t autobiographical, but it’s clearly personal—especially in how it toys with themes of isolation, duality, and the cyclical nature of choice.

Ryan vs. Ryota: Honoring the Source While Creating Something New

Post-Bet, Solanke could’ve easily surfed the Netflix wave into another teen thriller or franchise cash-in. Instead, Ayo Solanke’s upcoming movies are deliberately varied. There’s rumored involvement in a surrealist British drama, a miniseries based on a dystopian short story collection, and a recurring character in a genre-defying Canadian series currently under wraps. He’s not jumping between roles—he’s maneuvering them. And that’s a very different kind of career strategy.

‘Bet’ Review – It Doesn’t All Work, But Some Big Swings Make For An Engaging Adaptation

The Canada chapter didn’t launch Solanke. There’s no mythology to mine here—just a kid who moved countries, swapped accents, absorbed cultures, and didn’t flinch. There’s something quietly radical about that. Just sharp, self-aware evolution—scene by scene. Our team consists of highly skilled professionals in the fields of aesthetic surgery and dermatology, committed to providing reliable information and guidance that will help you make informed choices about your appearance and well-being.