(CR) Saki

[tjalorak]

Originally Posted by Proto

Well... it would be cool if they made a Saki-Nodoka-Koromo-Mihoko-Yumi 5 man team, but that wouldn't be a school tourney anymore.


Then again there's always the possibility of they making a singles tournaments instead of a team one, but even the manga hasn't gone that far.

Re: team
Quick question, who's Yumi? Mihoko is Geass Girl, right? Also, it's possible that poor Nodoka and Saki would never have anything to do. Koromo would just kill everyone before it gets to their turn. :P

Actually, if I were to do it, I'd line it up (captain to vanguard) similarly although with Saki - Nodoka - Hisa - Koromo - Mihoko. Both Hisa and Nodoka are good but they particularly thrive in situations where they get to play fast and everyone else needs to get big hands and hence, are slower. With Mihoko and Koromo first, this team would get a huge lead such that Hisa and Nodoka would be even more effective. Saki comes in and cleans up.

The biggest problem with this line up is that if Mihoko and Koromo DON'T get a huge lead, Nodoka and Hisa play such that they won't get a ton of points during their rounds. This means that assuming the uber powerful player is the captain, Saki wouldn't have a huge lead which means it'd be a pretty even fight. Well, that's why you'd have Saki just in case, but then the first four rounds were a little worthless in getting your team a comfortable margin.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Proto

NOOOOOOOOOOO. Don't break my illusions and wishful thinking D:

Sorry about that. Oh, by the way, the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist either.

Originally Posted by tjalorak

Re: team
Quick question, who's Yumi? Mihoko is Geass Girl, right? Also, it's possible that poor Nodoka and Saki would never have anything to do. Koromo would just kill everyone before it gets to their turn. :P

You're right about Mihoko, and Yumi is the purple-haired girl (captain?) in the fourth school in the final - Tsuruga Academy. Alternatively, Saki=Yumi, Nodoka=Kanako, Yuuki=Touka and Hisa=Rei.

Koromo was stated to be the Ryūmonbuchi taisho, so she would play last - the same as Saki. Of course, this would be sort of obvious even if they hadn't said that , just as it'd be impossible for Saki's team to lose before she gets to play.

Originally Posted by tjalorak

Actually, if I were to do it, I'd line it up (captain to vanguard) similarly although with Saki - Nodoka - Hisa - Koromo - Mihoko. Both Hisa and Nodoka are good but they particularly thrive in situations where they get to play fast and everyone else needs to get big hands and hence, are slower. With Mihoko and Koromo first, this team would get a huge lead such that Hisa and Nodoka would be even more effective. Saki comes in and cleans up.

The biggest problem with this line up is that if Mihoko and Koromo DON'T get a huge lead, Nodoka and Hisa play such that they won't get a ton of points during their rounds. This means that assuming the uber powerful player is the captain, Saki wouldn't have a huge lead which means it'd be a pretty even fight. Well, that's why you'd have Saki just in case, but then the first four rounds were a little worthless in getting your team a comfortable margin.

From the anime, we don't know what Hisa's play style is. She was only going for short hands so that Nodoka and Saki wouldn't have to play too long, and she would probably do something quite different if the circumstances were different. Nodoka's play style is very different from Hisa's as well. What she's good at is making decisions and discarding her tiles very quickly. What this shows is that she's very fast at weighing her odds, and increases her chances of going for risky big hands - a polar opposite to Hisa's low-risk strategy.

The only character we've seen so far who really does go for fast hands is Yuuki, and that's because she's bad at counting points (Given the complexity of the Japanese rules, who can blame her? ), and because she quickly runs out of steam/taco power.

Also, going by pure speculation, Teru is definitely going to be in the taisho position. And she's going to be the best player.

[Littm]

Btw, Saki should be 13 or 24 episodes ?

[tjalorak]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

You're right about Mihoko, and Yumi is the purple-haired girl (captain?) in the fourth school in the final - Tsuruga Academy. Alternatively, Saki=Yumi, Nodoka=Kanako, Yuuki=Touka and Hisa=Rei.

Hrmmm. I have no idea what her power is.

Koromo was stated to be the Ryūmonbuchi taisho, so she would play last - the same as Saki. Of course, this would be sort of obvious even if they hadn't said that , just as it'd be impossible for Saki's team to lose before she gets to play.

Saki has to show off her uber-hax power and see how it matches up against Koromo's.

As for taisho... Hrm. Okay. Yeah. I guess they're differentiating between taisho as the round order (i.e. going last) versus being the leader or president of the club as in Hisa or Mihoko.

From the anime, we don't know what Hisa's play style is. She was only going for short hands so that Nodoka and Saki wouldn't have to play too long, and she would probably do something quite different if the circumstances were different.

I wish we could have seen her plaaaaaaaaaay. I want to see her own people.

For some reason, I thought that was just her usual style of play but you're right that it's possible she just wanted to get the round over with. They were up pretty big by then anyway so it doesn't matter much to get tons of points.

Nodoka's play style is very different from Hisa's as well. What she's good at is making decisions and discarding her tiles very quickly. What this shows is that she's very fast at weighing her odds, and increases her chances of going for risky big hands - a polar opposite to Hisa's low-risk strategy.

... Oh. You're right. That's why Nodoka went for a high-risk the first hand instead of getting a tsumo, right? OTH, despite that, point wise, it doesn't seem like she's getting a ton of points though. She was getting around 1k-3k from people and ended up +25k. Is that a lot point wise? It just seems it's not very big, but then again, maybe it's just in comparison to Saki and Koromo (because those two are crazy good).

Also, going by pure speculation, Teru is definitely going to be in the taisho position. And she's going to be the best player.

What is there to speculate about? If it were any more obvious, there would be big flashing neon signs whenever Teru appears with the words "Final Boss! Final Boss!"

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by tjalorak

... Oh. You're right. That's why Nodoka went for a high-risk the first hand instead of getting a tsumo, right? OTH, despite that, point wise, it doesn't seem like she's getting a ton of points though. She was getting around 1k-3k from people and ended up +25k. Is that a lot point wise? It just seems it's not very big, but then again, maybe it's just in comparison to Saki and Koromo (because those two are crazy good).

From what the president said, it sounds like Nodoka plays the odds like a computer. Slowly but surely, over the course of many hands, she gets, on average, more points than her opponents.

Saki, OTOH, is the type that reads minds and knows exactly what other players have and what they're going for (and thus, their future discards). And, more amazingly, she knows what's going to come up in her wall... but that's just a perk of being manga protagonist, I guess. If she was in Yugioh, she'd be drawing tiles that no one's ever heard of before and that'd spell an instant win for her, even from a desperate situation. So she can control the score.

[Proto]

Sorry about that. Oh, by the way, the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist either.

I reported that as untagged spoiler (no, not really), you evil admin!!! ;p

Anyway, I'd really like for Gonzo to just cut it off after they reach the manga and just wait for a future season to continue the series, but then again that is not Gonzo's tradition I guess...
ehemm... *proto out*

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Littm

Btw, Saki should be 13 or 24 episodes ?

It should be a 2-cour show, so that'd be 24-26 episodes.

Originally Posted by tjalorak

As for taisho... Hrm. Okay. Yeah. I guess they're differentiating between taisho as the round order (i.e. going last) versus being the leader or president of the club as in Hisa or Mihoko.

I don't know if there's such a thing as a Mahjong team tournament, but a lot of the conventions are based on kendo tournaments, and the titles (and their sequence) are the same as for kendo teams.

Originally Posted by tjalorak

I wish we could have seen her plaaaaaaaaaay. I want to see her own people.

For some reason, I thought that was just her usual style of play but you're right that it's possible she just wanted to get the round over with. They were up pretty big by then anyway so it doesn't matter much to get tons of points.

Considering that Hisa knows a Mahjong pro and her insight, it wouldn't be surprising if she's quite a good player. Still, it'd be wrong if she overshadowed Nodoka and Saki, so there's a limit to her skill, and we probably will just see her pull off some cool moves.

Originally Posted by tjalorak

... Oh. You're right. That's why Nodoka went for a high-risk the first hand instead of getting a tsumo, right?

That's not quite what she went for. On her first hand, she had a choice of the obvious safe move to go for about 1000 points or going for a 1-9 straight for 2000 points. As the commentary went, was it better to go for a 50% chance for 1000 points or 33% chance for 2000 points? What that said about Nodoka was that she managed to figure out the more ideal move very quickly - something reminiscent of Nodocchi. If she had had a tsumo instead, that would have been a 100% chance for 1000 points, and she would have taken that.

Originally Posted by tjalorak

OTH, despite that, point wise, it doesn't seem like she's getting a ton of points though. She was getting around 1k-3k from people and ended up +25k. Is that a lot point wise? It just seems it's not very big, but then again, maybe it's just in comparison to Saki and Koromo (because those two are crazy good).

She had a decent score: a typical two wind game would start off each player with 25,000 points. If they used regular scoring, she'd have a +40. I think that part of the point here is that, even though they're supposed to be really good players, their opponents are no slouches either.

It's the Ryuumonbuchi lead who's really impressive: she managed to knock one of her opponents down 100,000 points in a two wind game.

Originally Posted by tjalorak

What is there to speculate about? If it were any more obvious, there would be big flashing neon signs whenever Teru appears with the words "Final Boss! Final Boss!"

Yeah, that's been pretty obvious since the third episode.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Saki, OTOH, is the type that reads minds and knows exactly what other players have and what they're going for (and thus, their future discards). And, more amazingly, she knows what's going to come up in her wall... but that's just a perk of being manga protagonist, I guess.

That doesn't seem to be the case in the anime (yet) - if it were, she shouldn't have gotten utterly crushed in the cafe. She just seems to be really lucky to the extent of pulling a Rinshan Kaihou whenever she needs one.

[tjalorak]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Considering that Hisa knows a Mahjong pro and her insight, it wouldn't be surprising if she's quite a good player. Still, it'd be wrong if she overshadowed Nodoka and Saki, so there's a limit to her skill, and we probably will just see her pull off some cool moves.

And the OP hints to some relationship between Hisa and Mihoko.

It's the Ryuumonbuchi lead who's really impressive: she managed to knock one of her opponents down 100,000 points in a two wind game.

Well, Yuuki took 50k from her opponents and she basically stopped getting points after the east round. So maybe we can consider the Ryuumonbochi vanguard Yuuki x 2?

That doesn't seem to be the case in the anime (yet) - if it were, she shouldn't have gotten utterly crushed in the cafe. She just seems to be really lucky to the extent of pulling a Rinshan Kaihou whenever she needs one.

In the Beatdown episode, Saki says something to the effect of that woman took my tile (from the dead wall). Somehow, she knows what the tiles in the dead wall are.

[Proto]

Well, Yuuki took 50k from her opponents and she basically stopped getting points after the east round. So maybe we can consider the Ryuumonbochi vanguard Yuuki x 2?

Well, they will go head on later on the finals, so you'll be able to see how they fare against each other

[qmeister]

Originally Posted by tjalorak

And the OP hints to some relationship between Hisa and Mihoko.

They are both the Presidents of their respective clubs, though I wouldn't put it past them to have some history.

[Emerald Emblem]

Though the only thing that may not be as predictable, is how what's his face does in the male singles tournament.

[scr]

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

When a loli appears as a final boss, you know you're ****ed.

Especially if the game is an FPS.

Spoiler for my speculation about Hisa and Mihoko:

- Hisa is in the same year as Mihoko(?)
- Hisa said that she wanted to go to Kazekoshi
- Hisa probably knows Mihoko from middleschool, like Nodoka knows Yuki
- During middleschool, they wanted to go to the Highschool National together, the same as Nodoka and Saki.
- Due to circumstances, Hisa ended up in the backwater of Kiyosumi and dangerously close to giving up Mahjong.
- But Nodoka and Saki happened, and now Kiyosumi is aiming for Nationals.
- Hisa will end up fighting Mihoko (indirectly; they're not in the same battle slot)
- FOE YAY!

alternatively, it's just Club President vs Club President, both of them in their Last Dance

/delusion

[Willen]

Originally Posted by Emerald Emblem

Though the only thing that may not be as predictable, is how what's his face does in the male singles tournament.

We can assume he does well enough to make it to the Nationals along with the girls since he's The Watson and to some extent, compared to all the girls he's a You Suck or essentially the Audience Surrogate. Whenever things happen that demand complicated or detailed explanation of Riichi Mahjong rules or strategy, it's through him that we the audience get that info. Also, he's the one to express the things we the audience would like to do or say, like the bit at the end of episode 1 during the next episode preview.

Also, I find it constantly amusing that everyone forgets his name. Especially since he's the second character with spoken lines and he initiates the future events. BTW, his name is Suga Kyōtarō (aka. Kyou).

[FateAnomaly]

Considering that he is the weakest in the club, it will be a surprise if he does make it to the nationals.

Anyway, it seems a little weird that all the participants teams match are all females. Considering that mahjong isn't a physical sport, there shouldn't be a distinction between male and female. Not that i mind it though.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Willen

We can assume he does well enough to make it to the Nationals along with the girls

Not really. He could accompany them as their gopher, rather than a participant.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

Considering that he is the weakest in the club, it will be a surprise if he does make it to the nationals.

Anyway, it seems a little weird that all the participants teams match are all females. Considering that mahjong isn't a physical sport, there shouldn't be a distinction between male and female. Not that i mind it though.

I actually don't even know why that guy is even around. It's obvious he's never going to be as popular as any of the girls, he's useless as a Mahjong played and he never really does anything. He's like the Jar Jar of Saki.

[Duo Maxwell]

To tell us viewer that this world has male. And we need a punching bag for Yuuki.

[Willen]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Not really. He could accompany them as their gopher, rather than a participant.

I wonder if there are restrictions on non-participant's access to certain areas of the tournament facilities. I guess since he's a club member, Hisa would probably make him attend even if he failed to advance. It's not like he's constantly out of the running in the games at the club and during training. He seems to have a good grasp of scoring and strategy. I like to think that a little of the girl's talents rubbed off on him. And the men's talent pool could be much lower than the women's (i.e. no male Saki or Nodoka or even Yuuki equivalents).

Maybe I like to hope that he's not portrayed as the total loser like many of his analogs are in other shows. My male pride, perhaps?

[qmeister]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

I actually don't even know why that guy is even around. It's obvious he's never going to be as popular as any of the girls, he's useless as a Mahjong played and he never really does anything. He's like the Jar Jar of Saki.

He's a lot better than Jar Jar, at least he doesn't talk in a stupid or annoying way, and he's pretty strong (remember the mahjong table and the computer), not clumsy... Oh, he isn't emo at least.

[germanturkey]

i'm actually a bit upset that we didn't get to see Saki play in the most recent ep. oh well, she'll get her time soon enough..