Source: Anime News Network
Series: Saki (咲)
Genre: Slice of Life, School, Mahjong, Yuri?
Animation Production: Ganzo
Number of Episodes: 25
Synopsis:
Miyanaga Saki is a first year high school girl whose family would get angry if she won the family mahjong games. But losing would also have its consequences. Because of this she develops a new way of playing that allows her to stay on the thin line between winning and losing, the +/- zero score, an almost impossible score. In a game that relies mainly on luck, the +/- zero score is harder than winning, but Saki can achieve this every time. Having always hated the game, her friend from middle school, Suga Kyotoro, forces her to play in the schools mahjong club. Her developed skill and superhuman luck has made her a worthy mahjong opponent, even to the middle schools national mahjong champion.
Main Characters and Cast:
Saki Miyanaga: Kana Ueda – Saki is a first year high school student who has the ability to break even after every round of mahjong. She decides to join the Mahjong Club in order to go to Nationals in order to see her sister Teru, who is the favorite to win that tournament. Her skills comes from reading the intangible aspects of the game, such as the opponent and flow. A mahjong move that she tends to favoris Rinshan Kaihou (“A flower that blooms on top of a mountain”) because of the connection it has with her name, Saki (“to bloom”).
Nodoka Haramura: Ami Koshimizu – A first year student with a great love for Mahjong and one of the new recruits for the Kiyosumi Mahjong Club. The reigning Middle School National Champion, Nodoka is often revered by fans and players alike as a genius. Despite her fame, it is noted that her gameplay is flawed due to her making common mistakes and this does not improve until Takei Hisa gives her the idea of holding onto her favourite penguin doll, Etopen, to make her feel more comfortable.
While Nodoka’s real-life gameplay is still improving despite her great skill, her true strength lies within her online persona. Known as “Nodocchi”, she is famed for being even more skillful than most pros, being able to make the most complex decisions within a split second and rarely, if never at all, making any misplays. This fact alone casuses Ryuumonbochi Touka, one of the players from the current reigning champion team, Ryuumonbochi High School, to become very worrisome.
Nodoka is a very pragmatic girl, refusing to believe in any supernatural factors or superstitions involving Mahjong and dismissing them as coincidences. She believes strongly that it is skill, not luck, that determines a winner. She believes in logic so strongly that she even reprimands Takei Hisa on her risky playstyle and can’t comprehend how or why she plays like this.
She is best friends with Yuuki, having known her since their first year in Middle School and understands her the most out of everyone. She is also growing closer with Saki, despite her initial contempt for her. Ever since they promised to work harder in order to reach the Nationals Tournament, the pair have grown to become close friends.
Yuuki Kataoka: Rie Kugimiya – Yuuki is a high school first-year student who attends the same school as Saki and is a member of the mahjong club. She is highly skilled, though cannot stay focused and makes more mistakes as the game progresses, so she is made the first to play at the mahjong tournament. She is often seen eating tacos, which increases her skill when playing mahjong. Additionally, food with names similar to tacos, like takoyaki can increase her skill partially as well.
Mako Someya: Ryoko Shiraishi – A second year student and member of the Kiyosumi Mahjong Club, being the first member to join under Takei Hisa’s leadership. Her family runs a mahjong cafe, which was former mahjong parlor. Being surrounded by Mahjong ever since she was young, Mako is familiar with many scenarios during the course of a game and is able to recall them during gameplay when taking off her glasses.
Hisa Takei: Shizuka Itou – A third year student and the president of the Kiyosumi Mahjong Club. She is also the president of the Student Congress Coucil at Kiyosumi High School, heavily emphasizing the “Congress” part of the name.
A very intelligent and confident girl, she is able to effectively read the weaknesses and strengths of people, inside and outside of Mahjong, and apparently is a seasoned veteran of Mahjong, even to the point of being on friendly terms with a Professional Mahjong player. She is also able to comprehend concepts quicker than most.
Her playstyle revolves around taking chances; while risky, she takes her time, waiting for effective hands that often come out of nowhere, surprising her opponents and taking advantage of their cautious playstyle. She always takes in the flow of the game in stride, finding opportunities in what other players may find to be dead-end scenarios. Despite the risks she takes, she prefers to play this way, believing it to truly reflect who she is and that she wins more easily when betting against the odds.
Touka Ryuumonbuchi: Minori Chihara - One of Ryuumonbuchi’s four heavenly kings. Comes from a very rich family and loves being in the spotlight which leads her to hate Nodoka because of her popularity as the middle school champion.
Koromo Amae: Kaori Fukuhara – Premier member of the reigning champion Mahjong team, Ryuumonbuchi, and one of the most idolized yet feared players in the game. She is said to be possessed by a demon when playing; she even outranked a professional Mahjong player at a previous tournament.
She is Touka’s cousin, their relationship akin to those of siblings due to the amount of time they have spent together. She prefers to not be seen as a child, despite their small stature and her childish personality. She acts in a very friendly manner, always wanting to make friends with everyone she meets and in hopes of being treated lovingly.
**I was feeling lazy this time. Source for character Review: My Anime List **
Personal Thoughts:
This series was better than I expected. It had well developed characters and a fun story. The Mahjong explanations were excellent and helpful. There were plenty of cute characters and lots of funny moments. One of the few things that was a bit annoying was the amount of blushing, but was easy to get over. Being an avid Rie Rie fan; I was slightly disappointed in her performance for this series. Yuuki was cute and likable, but Koromo was an even better character. I liked nearly all of the main characters, but unfortunately was not fond of Nodoka. Overall I would recommend this series to anyone that likes comedy, school life and doesn’t mind a bit of yuri.
Rating: Rating: 
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Opening Theme:
Glossy – Miyuki Hashimoto
bloooomin’ – Little Non
Ending Theme:
熱烈歓迎わんだーらんど – Kana Ueda, Ami Koshimizu, Rie Kugimiya, Ryoko Shiraishi and Shizuka Itou
残酷な願いの中で – Kana Ueda and Ami Koshimizu (episodes 7,10,16,18,22)
四角い宇宙で待ってるよ – Kana Ueda, Ami Koshimizu, Rie Kugimiya, Ryoko Shiraishi and Shizuka Itou
