(L) Saki manga

[Serperior]

I forgot to mention, Shindouji will be in a great position next chapter. Awai is a dealer for their counted Yakuman key. If Shizu doesn't breakfast the key, Awai will be in trouble.

[thenightsshadow]

Originally Posted by The Green One

Wouldn't it be funny if Achiga won the championship and took down both Kiyosumi and Shiratodai? That would be quite the twist, the decoy protagonist for the upset.

I've been secretly hoping for that, actually.

[King-Slayer]

Originally Posted by The Green One

Wouldn't it be funny if Achiga won the championship and took down both Kiyosumi and Shiratodai? That would be quite the twist, the decoy protagonist for the upset.

No it would not and any way its kinda sad that Achiga is ending next chapter but it was good while it lasted.

[atua]

Awai might have good offensive strength, but is her defence paper thin, or what? At this point, given current chapter spoilers...

Spoiler:

She's been direct hit by every single person on that table, by Ryuuka multiple times. And these weren't puny hands either; Shizu's hand was 8k and the other two's hands have been 10k+. I can't think of another "national class monster" whose defence is this weak. Teru rarely plays into anyone thanks to her mirror ability. Koromo has her tenpai detector. Jindai doesn't either when she's in god mode. I can't think of Saki playing into large hands either.

[The Green One]

Originally Posted by atua

Awai might have good offensive strength, but is her defence paper thin, or what? At this point, given current chapter spoilers...

Spoiler:

She's been direct hit by every single person on that table, by Ryuuka multiple times. And these weren't puny hands either; Shizu's hand was 8k and the other two's hands have been 10k+. I can't think of another "national class monster" whose defence is this weak. Teru rarely plays into anyone thanks to her mirror ability. Koromo has her tenpai detector. Jindai doesn't either when she's in god mode. I can't think of Saki playing into large hands either.

Awai's problem is that she is INCREDIBLY overconfident. All others that aren't Teru are peons in her opinion and are treated as such. When her current opponents proved that they aren't the lightweights she's used to tearing apart she finally starts getting serious but the others have enough skill to fight back.

Sure Awai is strong but even she can't deal with all three of them ganging up on her at once, while she focuses on one opponent the others start slashing at her unprotected back and do damage.

[teja208]

Fun while it last, I had enough of Achiga for now. We need to move on to other group of new characters for a change. It would be great if Ritz and Igarashi plan on making another Saki side story center on indivudual only competitors. In a perfect world, I wish for a story about Tsuki Mako and her friends. Something tells me appearence wise that this girl is something else.

Poor poor Awai and her paper thin 5-6 shanten defense. It's so weak that all three of her opponents this round has a mean of bypassing it. Though unfortunately, I don't think Saki is one of them.

[Proto]

To be fair Awai only seems weak compared to the other monsters in the series because it's the first time that a monster has been paired with 3 people that can all counter attack, showing that the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 players is not as big as we had been led to believe.

[Used Can]

The problem with Awai is she got overconfident. Even the biggest monsters like Teru and Koromo went serious from the get-go. Yet, she let Himeko do as she pleased during the beginning. She also failed to play defensively, so that when Ryuuka got her power-up, Awai could do nothing about. Then, when she decided to go serious, she focused solely on Himeko that Shizuno surprised her.

That said, Awai has a really silly weakness.

[teja208]

Originally Posted by Used Can

The problem with Awai is she got overconfident. Even the biggest monsters like Teru and Koromo went serious from the get-go. Yet, she let Himeko do as she pleased during the beginning. She also failed to play defensively, so that when Ryuuka got her power-up, Awai could do nothing about. Then, when she decided to go serious, she focused solely on Himeko that Shizuno surprised her.

That said, Awai has a really silly weakness.

Maybe one of the reasons she has weak defense is because she has gotten used to playing against opponents with bad starting hands.

[Used Can]

Originally Posted by teja208

Maybe one of the reasons she has weak defense is because she has gotten used to playing against opponents with bad starting hands.

That could be one explanation. Another could be (or an additional factor) that she's all about big hands, but she's not good at strategic/tactic playing.

[atua]

Originally Posted by Used Can

The problem with Awai is she got overconfident.

I don't think this is a a good explanation, when Koromo was so arrogant in the regional finals that she was calling her opponents "peons" to their faces. Regardless, she wasn't handing out wins left, right and centre like Awai seems to be doing.

Originally Posted by Used Can

That could be one explanation. Another could be (or an additional factor) that she's all about big hands, but she's not good at strategic/tactic playing.

Bolded for emphasis. When Koromo was in the Nationals last year, she was kicking enough ass for everyone to remember her the next year. All without ever using haitei. She's the type to win with big hands too, so she was getting them with her own playing skill. Likewise, Teru is all about strategic plays using the information gathered with her mirror. Awai's play reminds me of Toki; someone with a top tier ability, but only third-rate skills. That's pretty disappointing to me after all the hype about her.

Having said all that, I expect Awai (and Shizu, presumably) will be challenging opponents for Saki. Mostly because their skill sets seem targeted at Saki's weaknesses.

[Used Can]

Originally Posted by atua

I don't think this is a a good explanation, when Koromo was so arrogant in the regional finals that she was calling her opponents "peons" to their faces. Regardless, she wasn't handing out wins left, right and centre like Awai seems to be doing.

Koromo was arrogant, but she was playing seriously. Compare her to Awai, who was overconfident and didn't play at anything during the beginning.

You can act arrogantly, and still take things seriously. Awai didn't do that and now she's facing the consequences.

[Fragment off]

The real weakness in Awai defense is that she use W-Riichi as a skill , so she can't defend at all.

[teja208]

Originally Posted by atua

I don't think this is a a good explanation, when Koromo was so arrogant in the regional finals that she was calling her opponents "peons" to their faces. Regardless, she wasn't handing out wins left, right and centre like Awai seems to be doing.


Bolded for emphasis. When Koromo was in the Nationals last year, she was kicking enough ass for everyone to remember her the next year. All without ever using haitei. She's the type to win with big hands too, so she was getting them with her own playing skill. Likewise, Teru is all about strategic plays using the information gathered with her mirror. Awai's play reminds me of Toki; someone with a top tier ability, but only third-rate skills. That's pretty disappointing to me after all the hype about her.

Having said all that, I expect Awai (and Shizu, presumably) will be challenging opponents for Saki. Mostly because their skill sets seem targeted at Saki's weaknesses.

Well, so much for her 100 years of highschool (ability). Maybe she needs another 100.

It's obvious even before this match that Awai is neither the most deligent nor the sharpest tool in the shred. I agree that even the somewhat childish Koromo is more inteligent than Awai when you considor how the former help out in Yuuki's power up.

Originally Posted by Used Can

Koromo was arrogant, but she was playing seriously.

I'm not sure whether Koromo is serious when she's toying with a certain catgirl though.

[Marina2]

Is there any spoiler on the current score?

Originally Posted by teja208

I'm not sure whether Koromo is serious when she's toying with a certain catgirl though.

Agree, if Koromo really played seriously back then, Kiyosumi will never proceed to national .

[tarajis]

So Shizu has her unique ability after all... no wonder we couldn't see a glimpse of it... she's just like a level 0 majhong player when playing with ordinary players but shines when up against ability users...

Now I want Rinkai along with Kiyosumi in the finals from Side B... I was rooting for Himematsu but knowing the monkey's ability I'll change my mind... with a Miyanaga monster, a Supernova and a God of Wind (I'm not quite sure if she's playing captain for Rinkai) on the table then we'll see the extent of Shizu's ability... well, we haven't seen what Usuzan has to offer but for now that will do... it's going to be a blast in the finale...


Wouldn't Shizu be screwed if she's up against non-ability skilled players on a table?

Another question... wouldn't she be blocking Kuro's ability when they play? I guess there are some conditions for her ability to be triggered...

[Myssa Rei]

tarajis: I'm not sure if it's an ability, or just a specific playstyle: see how the others called it "playing around" abilities, which kind of means she takes advantages of weaknesses rather than actually having a table-wide passive "No sell!" hax power.

[Sol Falling]

I don't know why people are saying that Awai's weak or a bad player. At the current stage, Himeko and Ryuuka's abilities are some of the strongest we've ever seen: Himeko is guaranteed to win where Mairu has given her a key, and Ryuuka's version of Toki's futuresight allows her to get the absolute best possible outcome for any hand she chooses to. The only thing preventing these powers from being completely unstoppable/overpowered is the fact that they are limited, so that they can only use them in certain rounds/a certain number of times. However, either of these powers are more than powerful enough to take on any monster in the series, Koromo or Teru included.

Despite that, after getting serious Awai is still getting haneman's/baiman's all over the place, and retaking Shiraitodai's top spot at the table. With this kind of monstrous firepower I think Awai is absolutely terrifying enough in herself. When I think about how the hell I would feel to be playing against Awai, without any of those abilities, I think Awai's abilities have the potential to be even more terrifying than Koromo's.

The only wildcard factor in this match is Shizu, who has managed to sneak by without too many point losses because everybody else is getting Rons as opposed to Tsumos. It appears to be that Shizu can somewhat protect herself against other people's abilities, but in fact against Awai that does not mean much (because she can just aim for other players, which Awai has been doing). No matter what Shizu does now, I don't think she has any chance of disrupting Awai''s supremacy in first place. This is what's somewhat frustrating to me about her character/Achiga in general, because they just do not seem to be a team/characters designed to 'go for the gold' or aim or first place. With Shizu's defensively oriented ability, it will probably be enough to edge out Ryuuka and Mairu, who have brilliant offense (even stronger than Awai's) but limited use. However, if Shizu/Achiga are lacking ambition enough to just be satisfied to with coming second, I would rather have one of the other school's who have both the weapons and determination to try to take it all.

[The Green One]

We still have Chapter 20 left, it would indeed be Achiga's crowning achievement if Shizu's unleashing doesn't just get her 2nd but edges out Awai to just barely snatch 1st. That would truly be impressive, as well as liberate Achiga from their in-universe status of lucky placeholders.

Awai will have plenty of time to be a true monster in the finals which she'll go all out from the start, especially if Shizu humiliates her by snatching away 1st. That'd be a way to set up a dramatic Side A rivalry to take into the main series.

By the way, here's something to help keep track.

[atua]

Originally Posted by teja208

It's obvious even before this match that Awai is neither the most deligent nor the sharpest tool in the shred. I agree that even the somewhat childish Koromo is more inteligent than Awai when you considor how the former help out in Yuuki's power up.

I always got the impression (from her archaic word choices/speeches with the butler guy) that Koromo, whilst childish, is actually quite intelligent and literate. She gives me the impression of someone who reads a lot of old/historical novels or poetry in her spare time.

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

Despite that, after getting serious Awai is still getting haneman's/baiman's all over the place, and retaking Shiraitodai's top spot at the table.

Well the game is still very much up for grabs at this point. No one is disputing Awai's offensive capabilities. But winning a few haneman/baimans, just to squander them by playing into another person's hand is counter-productive. Sure Himeko might get her keys, and Ryuuka can see her ideal winning hand, but neither of that means Awai has to play into their hands. Making your opponents' life difficult by forcing them to win with a tsumo should be the obvious thing to do here. Moreover it splits the payout three ways, instead of paying it all yourself.