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

They actually predicted your woes, which is either a really good sign or a really, really bad sign; all the cast's names are listed along with their pictures in the intro so that you can remind yourself every week.

Yeah, unfortunately, none of the five girls have done much yet, so it seems natural that it is hard to remember their names.

If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.

I think we have a serious entrant in the 'Least Probable Wardrobe to be Featured in a Largely Realistic Setting' category.

edited 29th Apr '12 5:27:39 PM by Savoie

To be fair, the poor creators must eventually run out of character designs. I mean, there have been on screen easily more than a hundred different girls in the run of the two series.

And finally some matches! It was short but enjoyable and I hope that the next match we get to see the five girls playing since they are going against a team that has had some scenes.

I also hope we get to see Saki and her team playing before the finals.

edited 29th Apr '12 10:51:35 PM by daltar

If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.

Finally, some action! Achiga's next opponent looks to be interesting; next episode seems to be back to high gear for the series. Is it just me, or does Saki's voice sound somewhat different from the first season?

Oh, and according to the tournament bracket◊, if Achiga wins, they'll be facing Shiraitodai, Teru Miyanaga's team. This should be fun.

edited 1st May '12 10:45:57 AM by LiberatedLiberater

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People have noted that, technically, Achiga doesn't have to win against Shiraitodai (and really, I don't think they can), just get to second place so that they can go against Kiyosumi (as two teams advance per side). This means that the team that they REALLY have to beat is Senriyama.

It would directly interfere with Saki's storyline where she's aiming to play against her sister, so one of them is going to have to give.

Achiga will most likely have to fight hard to score second place with Teru's team coming out on top. There is no way the Achiga girls can defeat the team with Teru on it. For Saki's story she needs to face her unbeatable sister... and that really loses a bit of importance if Teru is defeated beforehand. Especially by the Achiga girls which to date their strength has been told rather than shown as we have not seen any of their matches.

If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.

And so, episode 4 finally brings Achiga to the national tournament. It was nice to see familiar faces every now and then, though the lack of Hisa saddens me.

For now, it looks like they'll be facing of against Senriyama in the next episode. Of course, I don't think it'll be a cakewalk either. Toki is being hyped up to be a pretty tough opponent... but then again, Bansei was as well. I should just shut up now.

Anyway, from he look of things, this anime should be able to reach and overtake the manga, which releases a new chapter each month (with only 9 chapters so far), very soon.

Just curious who's everyone's favorite character in both series?

I like Yuuki the most in the original she was funny.

I've only seen the first ep of Achiga but the main character wasn't bad.

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Hisa was my favorite in the first series. She's awesome.

If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.

sounds like a good manga were is it online?

With the power of a dragon I can make up for my inability to spill.

There's a scanslation of it on goodmanga.net.

My favorite character from the original would also have to be Yuuki. As for Achiga-hen, I don't really have a favorite character yet.

edited 3rd May '12 6:55:56 PM by Pokénatic

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For anyone interested in the manga, there are scans in mangareader.com or you can always go to the original translator's site, /u/.

Hisa is probably the coolest character in the original with her crazy mahjong luck, as well being such a smooth talker.

Teru would have to be my favorite in the spin-off for being an unstoppable force of nature.

edited 3rd May '12 7:48:25 PM by qilin

Wait, Achiga-hen has chracters?!

I concur. We haven't seen enough of the Achiga girls. We have their basic personalities... but nothing to really make them shine.

If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.

See my complaint from the previous page. From the original, Hisa, Saki and STEALTH MOMO were my favorite characters.

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Momo was my definite favourite, but I liked a lot of the rival characters in general. Kiyosumi kind of bored me, though

Funny how STEALH MOMO, whose ability is to not be noticed was sooo memorable.

If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.

About time we got to see some actual superpowered mahjong and not Kuro's crap ability. Crippling Overspecialization indeed. Yuu doesn't seem to be that way, though.

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Yuu's ability is very similar though, as you'll see. It doesn't have as narrow a focus as Kuro's, and doesn't seem to have a drawback (unlike Kuro, who mentioned that she just CAN'T discard doras because in the following games she won't be able to get any) except that she has to take of more and more of her warm clothes (muffler, gloves, etc) for it to be effective.

You kinda have to feel for Kuro for being beaten so soundly, but yeah. Being unable to discard her dora turns her "power" into a crippling handicap. Just think, if Toki was able to crush her to this extent, what would happen if she took on Teru at her current level. She's way out of her league.

As for Yuu, her ability isn't as much of a point-scorer as Kuro's dora magnet, but it's much less exploitable. Her weaknesses aren't as easily cut, so I have better hopes for her match. After all, she isn't playing against Toki.

This match would have much more weight if we didn't already know which two schools are advancing.

You mean Kiyosumi and Shiraitodai?

Achiga's place in one of the slots is supposed to be a given (as it's their only way to meet up with Nodoka), but the manga is great at making readers question whether or not it's possible especially since the last chapter has them at last place yet again, while Senriyama has at least a 30000 point lead over them.

Yeah, against Teru, EVERYONE is just gunning for second place at this point.

edited 10th May '12 6:04:26 PM by MyssaRei

The way the stories are set up, the finals match is likely to be:

1. Kiyosumi (main character team)

2. Shiraitodai (main rival team)

3. Achiga (spin-off main character team)

4. Esui or Rinkai (foreshadowed rival team from 1st season montage)

Of course, the way things are looking, I'm not so certain about Achiga's place in the finals anymore. The current semi-final match is turning out into nothing short of overkill... And it's still in the vanguard match!

edited 10th May '12 7:31:31 PM by qilin