u/ApprehensiveGrab6086

https://preview.redd.it/nrhtzstr67bh1.png?width=571&format=png&auto=webp&s=42a91350f1782192ee1ef0b61ff503527c9f8a10

This is not Baku having a feet fetish, I just wanna clarify that, if you already knew sorry for sounding assertive.

This is based on a famous saying in Japan where looking at someones feet means exploiting or taking advantage of someone once you find out someones weakness.

So this is Baku taking the Idiom of looking at someones feet, where you scam a person when they are in a time of desperation literally as a form of mockery.

It originated as in pretty old times in Japan, Inn's would look at a travelers worn out shoes to determine how much they can charge for their place.

In Usogui the core theme is regarding how no gamble, or game exists in isolation, and that there is always a greater force (specifically of violence and brute force) which influences the games.

I feel like this is reflected in the strategies Characters execute in the gambles where they play outside of the rules, highlighting the struggle to maintain the rules in a gamble as a referee while also showing the inevitability of loopholes in games.

I dont see a lot of this in other gambling manga, since once the rules are established people just play within them.

Some examples I found are:

Minotaur Labyrinth where Baku utilized the intervention of a referee to create a M-point gap that should have been logically impossible game mechanic wise from Amako's perspective

Air Poker where Baku communicates to Hal via transmitting sound through the building structure. Its not a intended game design but the game had to be hosted in a physical building, so it didnt exist in isolation which allowed for this transmission to happen.

Most obvious example being Second Surpassing the Leader, where Baku rigged the entire game to create a occurrence that was not supposed to happen.

Yea might be obvious but I thought it was a cool point in Usogui that I havent seen yet.