Saki (a.k.a. lesbians playing mahjong)

Since that new Saki spin-off is airing this Spring, might as well make a thread for the series in general. You can talk about the manga or the anime here.

I'm currently watching the first season and really liking the mix of cute slice-of-life and the SERIOUS BUSINESS mahjong. Why am I enjoying this so much even though I can barely follow all that mahjong talk? Why won't Saki and Nodoka make out already?

It is quite a fun series.

And I know I watch it for awesome Hisa moments. Even though I understand nothing about what's happening with the Mahjong. NOTHING.

I just watch for the girl with most special effects as she makes her moves. She's surely winning.

Also TACOS.

Mahjong AND Tacos!?!? Why haven't I heard of this before???

Going to read...

..nnnnnnnn-now!

Is it really "lesbians playing mahjong"? or just "implied lesbians playing mahjong"?

^ the second, or "everyone playing mahjong is a girl and there's a lot of subtext if you're looking for them".

edited 5th Apr '12 11:11:14 AM by nightwyrm_zero

For the most part this is true... but I will still swear black and blue that Yuki and Momo (from Tsuruga Academy) are dating as opposed to every other lot of subtext which are just schoolgirl crushes.

, Thanks, I've been meaning to watch the first season for a long time, I'll try to catch up before this second season ends.

Just finished the first season. , There's so much subtext between Saki and Nodoka that I swear it's crossing over into text-text. I'm also frustrated at the lack of resolution and the cliff-hanger ending; goddammit, I want to know more about Saki's sister! Otherwise, this was a really fun ride; I'm looking forward to that spin-off story.

Also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but Nodoka's online avatar looks like episode 12's Madoka, except with a bigger bust size.

edited 5th Apr '12 11:13:52 PM by LiberatedLiberater

Just finished reading up to the end of the prefecturals, and the subtext is so obvious I think I'd see it even if I hadn't read this thread first. (And I'm usually blind to subtext)

So, first episode of the spinoff has aired. Still has plenty of lesbian subtext and What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?, though the more energetic main characters give it a somewhat different tone. Also less teasing almost-fanservice, but I'm not about to complain about that

So, first episode aired and I think it's a good introduction. It had a lot of energy and certainly put me in a mood to see how those girls will make it to the Nationals.

Now, the only thing I worry about is the girl's skill in Mahjong... Their best player has the luck bending skills that Saki displayed but it wasn't presented in an awe inspiring way. I guess I'm hoping they can give each girl a personal flair or skill which they'll use in their matches like Saki and her luck bending, Nodoka and her super analysis, Hisa and her risk taking and ruthless manipulation of her foes and such.

To be fair, the crazy awesome presentation of skills didn't really crop up in Saki until they hit the prefectural tournament

I see Nodoka's "character trait" is still her boobs even in middle school.

I can't wait to see all that Earth-splitting mahjong once the show gets rolling. Great intro to the series, though I'm gonna miss the old cast. I hope this spin-off will be as good as the original. Shame it's only 12 episodes though...

, Oh, it was middle school. My bad.

edited 10th Apr '12 12:55:10 AM by LiberatedLiberater

Elementary school? I recall a flashback to middle school, but not anything before that for her. Is the anime different in this manner? :/

The first part the girls were looking to go to that middle school when they had just met and had their first game, Ako had eyes on Nodoka's bust size even then.

The episode Time Skip ped so much it was hard to keep track of what was what. (Nodoka stayed 3 years and left at the end of her second year in middle school.)

I like the first series! I await to see how this series does.

And for anyone wondering, this series is a PREQUEL of sorts to the original Saki series. This takes place 3 years before the events in the first series, and this one even takes place in a different location, with different characters except for Nodoka.

...thread title's a tad fanon.

edited 10th Apr '12 8:34:55 AM by kyun

_{Dang it, looks like I'll have to look for a new site to read manga...}

Achiga-hen does start 3 years prior to the original, but, IIRC, most of it takes place alongside the original. So Achiga-hen is a side story, rather than a prequel.

edited 10th Apr '12 9:25:12 AM by Pokénatic

Achiga-hen side A chapter 9 is finally out.

Teru continues to pound everyone into the ground with her tornado arm without missing a beat. Kirame and Toki try to work together to topple her, but to no effect. Who can blame them though? By now, Teru can only be likened to an unstoppable force of nature.

Kuro, on the other hand, continues to absorb the brunt of Teru's onslaught. I'm beginning to feel sorry for her.

Yep. At this point, Shiraitodai's 100,000 point lead means that everyone else is now effectively playing for second place.

edited 15th Apr '12 11:59:50 AM by qilin

Hey spoiler tag that for those who are just watching the anime.

Damn, this anime is going fast.

Episode three just blazed through what I thought would be like... twelve episodes. Or rather, in one episode they blazed through what the original series spent a two cour anime to show.

Seems like they intend this to be Saki second season, instead of merely a spin off.

Wow, that was fast. I had the stupidest grin on my face seeing the old cast in this episode. This pacing is weird; while they're getting to the main stuff quickly, I can't even remember the main cast's names — the series didn't spare much time establishing their characters. I hope the next few episodes can flesh out the characters more.

And damn, I can't wait to see the old cast in action again!

I also love how the main cast have absolutely no idea what they're up against.

edited 24th Apr '12 4:52:19 AM by LiberatedLiberater

I found it especially funny how the Achiga girls seemed to be ready to wet their drawers when Saki passed by... A Saki I might add that, as revealed in the main manga, was just lost and looking for the girl's toilet for the umpteenth time.

I tried watching the first episode of the first series, but it was nothing like Akagi so I stopped watching.

> dropping Saki before you get to SUPERPOWERED LESBIAN MAHJONG

ISHYGDDT