(CR) Saki Zenkoku-hen (National Tournament Arc)

[Bladezer]

Well, I've enjoyed this season a lot so far, really glad Mako's match got expanded.

Just wish the animators hadn't tried to make it seem like that Mihoko was picking up the little aspects of Hisa, that only Mako should be able to spot since she has been with Hisa over 2 years. My main point with this is that close friends who you've been with for years are able to easily read you, so Mihoko who has only recently started something of a friendship with Hisa shouldn't have spotted things Mako should have, since Mako is pretty much Hisa's best friend.

Also I believe it is Yukari Tamura, who is playing Hayarin, and her voice really fits with Hayarin's personality. Although now I want to see her say 'should I cool your head a bit', to some of the younger players and destroy them in a game of Mahjong.

[tsunade666]

Originally Posted by Flower

Kinda scary to think Saki went all scary without taking off her socks and feeling unconfident about herself though. In other words - Whaaaaat?! Th-there's MORE?!

this is one of the reason why I don't like her that much. She has confidence issue or more like family issue that has been brought up in the game. She's insanely good player but her mentality is crippling her. She is easy to be scared or easy to be swayed. Her scores and playing style varied in the series.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

this is one of the reason why I don't like her that much. She has confidence issue or more like family issue that has been brought up in the game. She's insanely good player but her mentality is crippling her. She is easy to be scared or easy to be swayed. Her scores and playing style varied in the series.

Hmm... this may be one of those situations of one person's honey being another person's gall. This acchiles heel or weakness is for me the most interesting part about her, and its resolution is the meta plot of the entire series, I feel. But if someone doesn't like that they don't like it, I guess. ^^

[tsunade666]

Originally Posted by Flower

Hmm... this may be one of those situations of one person's honey being another person's gall. This acchiles heel or weakness is for me the most interesting part about her, and its resolution is the meta plot of the entire series, I feel. But if someone doesn't like that they don't like it, I guess. ^^

well think it from the perspective of someone who love the game and gave it their all like with toyone, kyouko and kasumi. specially kyouko. who had done her best. And saki just said that she is scared after the game the manga didn't help too because it didn't expand the last one and just ended it with saki winning after kyouko wins. its like to me that -_- "let's just get it over with" specially kyouko where she thinks saki is underestimating her and doesn't see her as a threat.

I can get it understand the part that she plays so she can talk with her onee-chan but its just pretty .... I don't know the word >_> annoying? or irritating to someone who had done their best and isn't a monster like her, who honestly wants to play the game to ended up loosing with her.

I don't know why but to me its like she is not seriously playing the game.

she said she is having fun. the saki tanoshii is a pretty well known meme that starts with koromo's game but.... well its hard for me to explain but her attitude just feels wrong for me.

[panzerfan]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

I don't know why but to me its like she is not seriously playing the game.

she said she is having fun. the saki tanoshii is a pretty well known meme that starts with koromo's game but.... well its hard for me to explain but her attitude just feels wrong for me.

I think it has to do with the fact that Saki is not actually playing the same game of mahjong as with the other players. She is playing with the very players as her pieces as well. To Saki, the tiles are accessories to the games afoot. One example is how that she didn't look or feel the 1 man tile when she picked it up...

It sort of bothered me that Saki didn't really seem to have that 1000 point assumption about herself when she faced Koromo, but she had that mentality in this quarterfinals. In some ways, Saki was lying to herself about the actual situation. Most of us honestly think that Saki can outright dominate just with the kind of hands that she had, but Saki didn't see it that way.

[night_sentinel]

Originally Posted by panzerfan

It sort of bothered me that Saki didn't really seem to have that 1000 point assumption about herself when she faced Koromo, but she had that mentality in this quarterfinals. In some ways, Saki was lying to herself about the actual situation. Most of us honestly think that Saki can outright dominate just with the kind of hands that she had, but Saki didn't see it that way.

Saki is a bit out of touch with the strength of her opponents. Its a bit more obvious with the early matches of Season 1 where she seems to think that everyone is a Teru tier opponent. Its gotten a lot less obvious in time but its still there. Saki OVERESTIMATES people much to her detriment.

Originally Posted by tsunade666

well think it from the perspective of someone who love the game and gave it their all like with toyone, kyouko and kasumi. specially kyouko. who had done her best. And saki just said that she is scared after the game the manga didn't help too because it didn't expand the last one and just ended it with saki winning after kyouko wins. its like to me that -_- "let's just get it over with" specially kyouko where she thinks saki is underestimating her and doesn't see her as a threat.

Yeah. I guess that can be pretty annoying. But, I think this is more in line with how to play the captain position decently. From my perspective the Captain more than any position need to keep a hidden trick up their metaphorical sleeve. You never know when you will need them. ^^

Take note that Kasumi and Toyone can be accused of the same in their previous matches. That is how they kept their abilities hidden after all.

And I think that is the point, Kyouko may see Saki underestimating her. But, the anime made it painfully obvious that Saki is actually the one who isn't. Those aside glances. lol

Like a previous poster have said above me, I'm actually tickled that this episode is titled "truth" and then it aired on April Fool's day. Considering the whole captain match is so shrouded in misleading lies and this is the key to solving them, I'm more than a bit amused.

[King-Slayer]

This episode reopened old manga wounds from a while back. Still very very very very very angry at Saki for the way she played the last bit of that match.
The rest was awesome and I can't wait for the last episode.

[Triple_R]

Nice finale, in most respects.

But first, let me get the more disappointing aspects out of the way.


Primarily, I'm disappointed that Miyamori didn't advance.

They were my favorite team of Kiyosumi's three competitors, and it wasn't even close, really. So yeah, I'm definitely sad to see them go.

Aside from that, I had no major disappointments with the finale. I would have preferred if they kept the OP instead of the ED if they had to drop one or the other due to time restrictions, but that's obviously a very minor thing.


Now, the positives...

The ending of the match was very nicely handled. It's funny how dramatic Saki's final hand victory was given the low point total for it, lol.

Toyone's crying was very emotionally compelling - It definitely gave me "the feels". It's very cute how this insanely tall, strong, and stylish young woman is nonetheless a total fangirl of all of her strongest competitors and she also has such a friendly and innocent personality. Toyone captures sportsmanship and love of sport really well.

Then, there was the aftermath sections. First of all, I'm glad there was a proper aftermath. The episode didn't feel rushed at all. If anything, the Eisui aftermath bit erred on the side of dragging a bit, but I'll take that over a rushed final episode.

I loved the Miyamori aftermath bit, including Eisui's part in it, which was a very nice touch. It's good to see the two "losing" schools get over it pretty quickly, thanks to their own private beach episode (I wonder if that'll be on the DVD/Blu-Ray )

I really liked the meeting between Miyamori's coach and Achiga's coach. Between this anime and Achiga-hen you get a great sense for how the mahjong world in this show is both big and small. Big in its total scope and fandom and cultural impact, but small in just how very interconnected all the players/coaches seem to be (I still chuckle over Six Degrees of Nodoka Haramura ).


As for Saki... Well, I can sort of understand her getting shook up a bit by going up against two superpower-wielding opponents in Toyone and Kasumi, and hence reverting back to her fear-based +/- 0 playstyle (especially since it ultimately didn't stop her team from moving on anyway).

However, I find it pretty hard to understand how it was Kyouko that Saki seemed most scared of.

I suppose you could say that Kyouko showed good tenacity, good resiliency, and good tactical mahjong play. And I suppose if Saki somehow picked up on all of that (which would be borderline mind-reading, but Ok...), then she might find this strength a bit intimidating.

Still, pretty weird...

Ritz really does write to the beat of her own drummer, for good or for ill. The good thing here is that aside from the absolute basics (Kiyosumi, Shiraitodai, and Achiga will be in the finals), you can never be too sure of what's going to happen next in this story. And that can be exciting!

Still, a shame that Miyamori isn't moving on...


On the whole, a very good Saki anime. I'd probably give it 8/10 overall, and consider it a little bit better than Achiga-hen, but not quite as good as the original Saki anime.

[eavein18]

Am I the only one who feel pity for Saki ^^;

She won, but she apologize, cried and said she might not win next time....

I was like -> *sigh* God, what can I do to help this child

[Dist]

Wait what .. Ep13 is the last one? I thought this goes on for 24 episodes? What's the point to even end it right now with only half of the Nationals done thru? Or not even half, not sure about that but yeah ..

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by eavein18

Am I the only one who feel pity for Saki ^^;

She won, but she apologize, cried and said she might not win next time....

Well, I can see why people would be very frustrated by Saki.

It would be like 80s Wayne Gretzky crying over how scared he is of the Calgary Flames. So scared in fact that he couldn't bring himself to shoot the puck, and relied solely on his passing game.

Or 80s/90s Michael Jordan crying over how scared he is of Charles Barkley, and so he had to have Rodman run interference for him just to get through the game. I mean, really now?

It's honestly almost absurdly hilarious, lol.


That being said, when you approach it seriously, you have to feel sorry for the girl. She's obviously been traumatized by her family issues, which ties directly into mahjong. Freud would have a field day with the Miyanagas, lol.

[The Green One]

Saki is an emotionally shattered wreck that hides behind the veil of a Mahjong super monster who's hidden behind the veil of a dorky dojikko. She doesn't socialize well when she does at all. There are a lot of issues underneath the surface that we've only just begun to see.

[Azure_yo]

Originally Posted by eavein18

Am I the only one who feel pity for Saki ^^;

She won, but she apologize, cried and said she might not win next time....

I was like -> *sigh* God, what can I do to help this child

of course it is to reach her goal she must lose point to the one who won't overtake her in point and that person happen to be Kyouko who block/counter her Kan from the very first hand, and won 3 consecutive game after that, if you remember the east 1 of the 1st half than her fear has great base, just like with Yumi she is got so scare for several round but Koromo overpower able to shift her fear to her

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

...That being said, when you approach it seriously, you have to feel sorry for the girl. She's obviously been traumatized by her family issues, which ties directly into mahjong....

Yeah - this pretty much sums it up for me here.

I can understand why people might be tearing their hair out though. Heck, even Nodoka got frustrated with Saki in the early eps of S1.

Many people are impatiently waiting for the meetup and face-off between Saki and Teru so this whole thing can be more fully brought to light (though perhaps for different reasons and angles holding weight for different viewers).

[Triple_R]

[badjoke] Maybe Teru adheres to the Vince Lombardi philosophy, as famously explained by one Homer Simpson.

"If you lose, Saki, you're out of the family." - Teru Miyanaga

Well, Teru now says that she doesn't have a sister, so...

Is it any wonder why Saki gets terrified when losing simply seems possible to her?! [/badjoke]

[larethian]

Originally Posted by Dist

Wait what .. Ep13 is the last one? I thought this goes on for 24 episodes? What's the point to even end it right now with only half of the Nationals done thru? Or not even half, not sure about that but yeah ..

I haven't started on the manga yet, but my understanding is that there isn't enough source material for another cour.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by larethian

I haven't started on the manga yet, but my understanding is that there isn't enough source material for another cour.

Correct.

At present the manga is only up to the Hisa's match in the next round.

[panzerfan]

Originally Posted by The Green One

Saki is an emotionally shattered wreck that hides behind the veil of a Mahjong super monster who's hidden behind the veil of a dorky dojikko. She doesn't socialize well when she does at all. There are a lot of issues underneath the surface that we've only just begun to see.

This is precisely my sentiment about her which makes her stand in utter contrast against any other sports protagonist. She is this paradoxical being that contradicts herself on and off mahjong. I feel like a broken record player by repeating how that we really don't know Saki.

This brings me back to that scene where Achiga girls ran into Saki. I think that people's perception of saki's viewpoint in relation to how others see the same world would have changed significantly after having seen the Nationals arc. I for one was actually wary when Saki mused if she was seeing things after her encounter with Shizu... for Shizu's sake, not for the demon lord.

And about the manga. We have gone through roughly 3 years worth of material in the course of 13 episodes. First season of Saki went through the first 4 years with extra thrown in, and the manga is now in its 9th year.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by The Green One

Saki is an emotionally shattered wreck that hides behind the veil of a Mahjong super monster who's hidden behind the veil of a dorky dojikko.

That's very nicely and succinctly put. Puts it all in a nice nutshell, really.

Originally Posted by Flower

Yeah - this pretty much sums it up for me here.

I can understand why people might be tearing their hair out though. Heck, even Nodoka got frustrated with Saki in the early eps of S1.

Oh, it's not hard to see why Nodoka would be frustrated.

Saki's psychological issues means she's not playing at 100% efficiency, or even close to it. Let's say she's playing at 50% efficiency, just to pick a nice easy percentage.

That means you're team's top player, and one of the superstars of the game, is only giving you half of what she's capable of. That alone means that easy wins turn into tight match-ups, and tight match-ups are likely to be losses. All for reasons of psychology, not talent.

For someone as psychologically firm as Nodoka, that must be tremendously frustrating.


Mind you, the person who should be the most frustrated is Hisa. Her two star players both have potentially major issues - One refuses to accept the existence of mahjong superpowers, and the other is terrified of just solidly above average players.

So for Hisa, you have two excellent players, but you honestly have to be deeply worried about how they're going to perform from match to match. Is this the day that Nodoka gets brutally exploited due to denying mahjong superpowers? Is this the day when Saki crumbles at the table from her fear?

Hisa should get a job as a sports psychologist after player/coaching this team.

[tjalorak]

I really liked the expanded moments on Hiroe. Gave her some depth to back up that arrogance. She really is a cool Captain in her own way, accurate in her prognosis of her teammates' strengths and weaknesses, supportive, but not overbearing. She takes on the burden herself, drawing the attention of opponents and then actually succeeding in grabbing points and getting her team a lead so that her teammates aren't pressured so much. In ep. 11, her comment to Kyouko that the match is just beginning (so put it behind you, and keep going), cheering on Kyouko's win, and then in ep. 12, while everyone else is freaking out over Kyouko's South 3 play, she watches on calmly and smiles before seeing the tile draw. That moment was great. Plus her enthusiastically reassuring Kyouko on making it through, even if in 2nd place. Really cute and indicative of the strong friendship between Kyouko and Hiroe, both as 3rd years nominally leading the club.

Jindai's moments were neat too - telling her club to put their faith in Kasumi (Kasumi came oh-so-close to securing her team's entry too) and then wanting to go to the beach too. She comes off a lot more sympathetic and sweet than in the manga (albeit because the manga doesn't expand as much on her scenes).

Expansion on South 4 was great as well, seeing what everyone was going for and the various tenpais, Kyouko's desperate defending at sanshanten, and then Saki being Saki.

Kyouko wise, eh, Saki doesn't seem to like the analytical players who can peer into her playstyle and motives (Saki likes to hide in the flow, mahjong wise, as she observes but isn't she herself hiding as well in her personal life?), and Kyouko came closer than most to figuring out what Saki was up to. Unlike the other two, Kyouko didn't give up on understanding Saki or trying to beat her. IIRC, the manga translated this as Kyouko is the most "resilient," which seems to be more suggestive of the right connotation than "toughest" or "most powerful."

Other than that, bahaha, loved the shot of Megan sitting in her room (eating ramen, of course, hah!) and watching the news report - and preview of ... SATOHA. Satoha! *_* You glorious player. I'm so sad we'll have to wait like a year+ for your match.