Saki is a manga series that, of all things, deals with mahjong. It's an unlikely concept for a series, but it's done surprisingly well, even if there are significant flaws in its execution.
The plot is essentially about five girls from a small town high school competing in a mahjong tournament(and one guy who is neither skilled enough or the correct gender to participate in the girls only tournament). The eponymous main character used to hate the game because her Dysfunctional Family made it a very unpleasant experience for her, but when her parents separate and her sister Teru stops talking to her, she hopes to reach out to her sister and reunite her family through mahjong.
Familiarity with mahjong is helpful for understanding what is going on. However, the series does explain things as they become relevant, and one group of scanlators provides extra pages with mahjong rules.
There's a wide variety of interesting characters, with quite a few different motivations for entering. Some schools qualify for underdog status as much as the main characters do, while many of the stronger teams have sympathetic motivations, such as helping a friend(who may or may not be more than a friend, as many of the girls are quite close to each other). It's quite easy to sympathize with those who would be considered the antagonists, and many viewers like the rival teams more.
The major flaw in this series is the pacing. Several chapters in a row, comprising months in real time, will be devoted to a single mahjong match, and since there are five matches per tournament round, the story has spent years on the national tournament. Some chapters cover as little as a single hand of mahjong. The "Are we still on Namek?" meme often comes to mind, and it results in little progress on wider storylines, such as Saki's efforts to reconcile with Teru. Even if you're a fan of mahjong, it's likely that you'll find yourself wishing that the matches will end and the story will get on with the plot.
All in all, Saki is quite enjoyable, provided you're patient.
An unlikely concept done well, but not perfectly
Saki is a manga series that, of all things, deals with mahjong. It's an unlikely concept for a series, but it's done surprisingly well, even if there are significant flaws in its execution.
The plot is essentially about five girls from a small town high school competing in a mahjong tournament(and one guy who is neither skilled enough or the correct gender to participate in the girls only tournament). The eponymous main character used to hate the game because her Dysfunctional Family made it a very unpleasant experience for her, but when her parents separate and her sister Teru stops talking to her, she hopes to reach out to her sister and reunite her family through mahjong.
Familiarity with mahjong is helpful for understanding what is going on. However, the series does explain things as they become relevant, and one group of scanlators provides extra pages with mahjong rules.
There's a wide variety of interesting characters, with quite a few different motivations for entering. Some schools qualify for underdog status as much as the main characters do, while many of the stronger teams have sympathetic motivations, such as helping a friend(who may or may not be more than a friend, as many of the girls are quite close to each other). It's quite easy to sympathize with those who would be considered the antagonists, and many viewers like the rival teams more.
The major flaw in this series is the pacing. Several chapters in a row, comprising months in real time, will be devoted to a single mahjong match, and since there are five matches per tournament round, the story has spent years on the national tournament. Some chapters cover as little as a single hand of mahjong. The "Are we still on Namek?" meme often comes to mind, and it results in little progress on wider storylines, such as Saki's efforts to reconcile with Teru. Even if you're a fan of mahjong, it's likely that you'll find yourself wishing that the matches will end and the story will get on with the plot.
All in all, Saki is quite enjoyable, provided you're patient.