Akagi!

[RainyDZ]

I love Masato Hagiwara's voice.It suits Akagi perfectly well. Once(since Akagi aired) he was in this Japanese celebrity Mahjogg contest called Warepon(wearing the Akagi T-shirt),and from first round his tiles came out amazingly,winning streak from there..and of course was the top. People were like 'OMG there really is an Akagi!'

Ah... hearing Akagi's voice again is enough to relax me... >__< I am a sucker for the seiyuu's soft and quiet voice, it's almost as if he is whispering right next to my ears... (Okay, enough fantasizing already, wake up, you fangirl.)
Masato Hagiwara also is the voice actor of Takuya Shirakawa in the critically acclaimed "The place promised in our early days". In case if the name doesn't ring a bell, he is the one wearing glasses, very smart as well. No wonder I thought I heard his voice somewhere before....

And if you have seen Zettai Shounen, you may find Ayumu Aizawa's voice very appealing, (he is the lead character) At least I did fall in love with his voice. It has the the same qualities as Akagi's: very smooth and serene, (and sexy... XD )

[sukreih]

Zettai Shonen I stopped watching after episode13.It wasn't bad.I don't mind those relaxing and quiet stuff,I guess I was just tired at that time.Ayumu's voice was perfect for the whole atmosphere of the anime.

Yea,the friend with the glasses.I wasn't aware of that. I was thinking about renting the movies he starred in.(as you know he's originally an actor)
Hagiwara also dubbed this famous Yon-sama actor from a Korean soap opera called 'Winter Sonata'.Someone showed me a clip of it and there was Hagisan(read as 'Akagi')'s voice saying the lines 'I need you.Please marry me' and I was going LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL (<-mind of a fangirl)

[Rainy]

Yea,the friend with the glasses.I wasn't aware of that. I was thinking about renting the movies he starred in.(as you know he's originally an actor)

Sukreih, You simply MUST watch "Beyond the clouds" movie, it's made by the famous director of "Voice of the Stars". I can not stress this strongly enough: A must watch for any anime fan.

Talking about Winter Sonata, the show that swept through Asia couple of years ago. A friend of mine watched it, and her tears just wouldn't stop.... She said it's THE supreme tear jerker. Well.. I couldn't bring myself to watch it since I can't bear tragedy. The only thing I do remember though is the male lead character, again, he is bespectacled, and his female fans are practically going crazy over him... for a good reason.
The female lead is very pretty as well, can you *believe* she is in her 30s??!! >__< She seems at least 10 years younger.

[sukreih]

Originally Posted by Rainy

Sukreih, You simply MUST watch "Beyond the clouds" movie, it's made by the famous director of "Voice of the Stars". I can not stress this strongly enough: A must watch for any anime fan.

Of course I watched it ! Who wouldn't watch such a great film?I just didn't know they were the same voice actors.Srry for not clearing that up. I saw Voice of the Distant Stars,Her and her cat,and Beyond the Clouds.

Yon sama is that popular,eh? I remember seeing him on TV when I was about 11..I didn't expect him to grow that popular.Personally I don't like Korean soap operas(they all have the same pattern it's boring) so I didn't bother watching.The actress for the female leading role is popular as well..it's just that I don't know a lot of celebrities.Well,Madonna is hot in her 40s.Thing is she's very very(x100) scary.

[AnimePlus]

Originally Posted by Rainy

Sukreih, You simply MUST watch "Beyond the clouds" movie, it's made by the famous director of "Voice of the Stars". I can not stress this strongly enough: A must watch for any anime fan.

I agree that these are fantastic movies but I don't know if they are for everyone. Beyond the Clouds just doesn't have a lot of action in it, this was no problem for me because I loved the visuals and plot but I can easily how people could call it boring.

[eSremmetje]

Hi, maybe just a little bit offtopic but it is somewhat generally about the Mahjong game being played in Akagi.

I know (I just found out) that they play the japanese version of Mahjong, and not the chinese version. This game really attracts me, as it inflicts the need of insight in the other players' playstyle and the board. I say board because I also play some poker, but this attracts me more because it has more depth to it. More possibilities and tricks. Thus I want to learn this game, not because of the gambling but because of the thrill this game can give you, just as how playing poker can give me a thrill when having a hand and a good read on the other players. This game goes just a bit further, because you are actually creating your hands from the board instead of somewhat relying on dealt hands. (Even though you can turn your hand in your own favor in poker, but that's because of the gambling opportunities.)

So my question is, where can I learn how to play this game? I prefer to learn it offline, but I think that there are little to none people living near me who also play this game and read this forum. So maybe someone has a client or a website which features the ability to multiplay the japanese version of the game. Because I think the chinese one is more complex. (Plus I want to have more understanding of what happens within the anime )

[sukreih]

I know a good online site that teaches Japanese Mahjongg:
http://learnmahjong.brinkster.net/re...jong/intro.htm
Personally I think this site's very friendly

I usually play Mahjongg online on SEGALINK, of course you can play it for free when you register.Thing is it does all the point calculations for you,and gives you the timing when you can Pon,Kan,or Chi or Ron/Tsumo. But it's really great for beginners like me since you can learn from those Perhaps we can play together sometime.

For offline Mahjong..someone know a good place in Canada? lol


PS.Someone watched ep.24?It was AMAZING.

[eSremmetje]

Wow, thanks for the links sukreih. But I don't know how to register on the segalink page, I even haven't installed the J-IME yet so all the characters are just questionmarks here. Also, I want to watch the raws, but I cant find any good torrents for them. Where can I find those?

Thanks in advance.

[sukreih]

I'm terribly sorry I have NO IDEA on where to find raws related to Mahjongg.I would be quite happy if someone knew any.

However,I have raws of MAHJONGG SAKI,a sorta Mahjongg cheating lesson shown in 'Tetsuya'(another Mahjongg anime) featuring real people.If you're interested,I can send it to you via msn or something.But it's strictly about cheating.
Also the first 'Akagi' DVD box is coming out this 24th..special feature includes a Mahjongg match between Hagiwara Masato(Akagi)/Genda Tessho(Yasuoka)/Kazama Nobuo(Urabe)/Fukumoto Nobuyuki(the author).Though I doubt anyone will rip it.


and SEGALINK really helps a lot.Registering isn't that hard,so go for it!

[eSremmetje]

Hi, I took the freedom to add you to my MSN. Because it might be my lack of the japanese knowledge, or it might be the lack of my insight in how that website works, but I am not able to find the place where I can register

[poseur]

i thought this show would be pretty popular because of the devious ingenuity of the main character, Akagi

but hey seems like there's only one fansub for it, TheTriad...gogogo

and the forum thread seems pretty deserted

[sukreih]

Yea it acutally is pretty popular..in Japan that is;(according to 2ch,even CLAMP watches Akagi hehe)
Triad has subs only up to episode 5..and I watched the last episode yesterday;

I agree too bad the thread is deserted.
It's just that Mahjongg is not popular in NA.and the fact that the author is not well known either.(he's really famous in Japan,thing is his works are really hard to translate in English.)

btw spoilers for episode 26 and after:

Spoiler:

THERE DEFINATELY WILL BE A 2ND SEASON.
the last scene features an older Akagi(in his 50s),in the same scene as in the last scene in the theme song.Plus,the match between Washizu is not completely over yet.

[poseur]

do you know some of his other works (english title is possible)..........i might try searching for them

[sukreih]

=Author:Fukumoto Nobuyuki(福本 伸行)=
Notice the all titles are names of the main chracters.If you're not into Mahjongg that much,try reading Kaiji or Kurosawa.(Gin to Kin is also good)
I think Kaiji is the most well-known Fukumoto manga anywhere.

Akagi [アカギ]/1~18
---
The comic book itself isn't finished.Running for...over 10 years?

Ten [天]/1~18(fin.)
---
Another nice mahjong manga,one of Fukumoto's early works.(you notice the dramatic change in pictures :P) Akagi is featured as a sub character.

Gin to Kin(Silver and Gold) [銀と金]/1~11(fin.)
---
Stock brokers,poker,Mahjongg,horse race bets,survival..
One of the main character is another devious ingenuine character(although with a complete opposite genuineness) named Hirai Ginji.The story is mainly focused on Ginji's partner Morita,an admirer of Ginji who wants to be called 'Kin(gold)' sometime.Morita is a genius himself with all the luck he can get,but the book's still intruging to read cuz he's just a rookie in the 'business'.(one of my favourites too )

Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji [賭博黙示録 カイジ]/1~13(fin.)
Tobaku Hakairoku Kaiji [賭博破戒録 カイジ] /1~13(fin.)
Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji [賭博堕天録 カイジ]/1~5
---
The longest running series which won the Kodansha awards in 1998.They're just in the planning procedure to anime-ize this.It's all about gambling.It will be easier to adapt than Akagi or ten Since it doesn't feature Mahjongg.

Buraiden Guy [無賴傳 ガイ]/1~5(fin.)
----
Fukumoto's 'Shonen manga'.Story about a mischevious boy called Kudo Guy,who's framed for murder and taken to an isolated place called the 'Human Institute'.No gambling,short and a very good ending.

Saikyou Dentetsu Kurosawa/[最強伝説黒沢]/1~8
---
Fukumoto's black comedy,very heartbreaking to see but funny at the same time.(you'll know what I mean once you see this)
And no gambling here

[abysZZZ]

FUKUMOTO's raw manga is out.
NEED FANSUBING.




datorrents.com

[Gryff]

Akagi is a nice show, its a shame it seems to have a low leechercount and that the triad subbers seem to hate it

[sukreih]

FUKUMOTO's raw manga is out.
NEED FANSUBING.

I might consider it after the finals.(that means after April 30th)
Thing is I don't know anything about torrents and downloading or whatsoever.I have all his books,so translation won't be a problem,trouble is subbing it.

Akagi is a nice show, its a shame it seems to have a low leechercount and that the triad subbers seem to hate it

Yea shame,eh? I hope Fukumoto's works will gain more popularity once the Kaiji anime comes out.

[poseur]

well this is pretty nice too,

small tight community that like the show cuz of its true worth

at least no flamers or whiners...

@sukreih

thx for the info, will try to source for these comics (jap/chin comic supply in australia is scarce and i dun like to read online)

[ddraggy]

I've watched up to episode 6, and I must say that Akagi is an excellent series. Episode 4 was a bit of a shocker (in a good way!)

Spoiler:

So that's what 13 year-old Akagi gets up to when he's not playing mahjongg

And wow, he sure was happy to have a gun in his face. Is he really that psychopathic or is he just faking it to scare the toughs? Then again, Akagi thinks nothing of shooting people and torturing them until they pass out from fear... Scary kid. It's surprising how well blood dripping down his face suits him.

He really is a lot like MONSTER's Johan, except Akagi's nowhere near as patient or angsty For the sake of the world, it's probably a good thing that Akagi seems to have settled on mahjongg. I wonder, will the Johan comparison still hold in later eps?

[sukreih]

Originally Posted by ddraggy

I've watched up to episode 6, and I must say that Akagi is an excellent series. Episode 4 was a bit of a shocker (in a good way!)

Spoiler:

So that's what 13 year-old Akagi gets up to when he's not playing mahjongg

And wow, he sure was happy to have a gun in his face. Is he really that psychopathic or is he just faking it to scare the toughs? Then again, Akagi thinks nothing of shooting people and torturing them until they pass out from fear... Scary kid. It's surprising how well blood dripping down his face suits him.

He really is a lot like MONSTER's Johan, except Akagi's nowhere near as patient or angsty For the sake of the world, it's probably a good thing that Akagi seems to have settled on mahjongg. I wonder, will the Johan comparison still hold in later eps?

Look forward to episode 8,10 and 14,and 26. You'll see how twisted and insane this guy is :P Though I'm assuming you'll have to wait a long time til the fansub comes out

@poseur:good luck!you won't regret reading Fukumoto's works,once you get over his rather unique drawings,everything will be just fine.