Saki

Saki is a good anime, really enjoyable to watch and what is more interesting is the way that you see the Mahjong and how this girls plays the game, and how they feel about the game, is really interesting and really good.

The music is good and the animation in my point of view is excellent, the storyline is entertaining and the characters unique.

I really recommend this anime to watch for those that loves mahjong specially hahaha.

I don't want to tell about the story to much, i prefer that you find it wield you watch it.

Enjoy.

When I first heard of 'Saki', I wasn't expecting much from it. I passed it off as a hideous moe version of Akagi, but for some reason, it stuck in the back of my mind. The basic synopsis sounded just like that of Akagi: "Mahjong genius kid comes out of nowhere and takes the mahjong world by storm". However, there is one obvious difference between these two anime series. Akagi is about the darker side of mahjong, the underground gambling world, so the general feel of the show is very serious and intense. Saki, on the other hand, is about a bunch of uber-kawaii schoolgirls. I mean, the art is obviously done by the same people who did the intro for the PS2 port of Arcana Heart: everyone's ridiculously shiny and constantly blushing.
One of the things I like about Saki is that it doesn't try to be Akagi. Though intense when it needs to be, it is overall a light-hearted and fun watch. This mood is amplified enormously by the brilliant soundtrack. The music just fills you with energy and rarely seems odd or out of place. I found the story to be quite simple and fairly predictable, but this is made up for by the excellent characters and the interesting ways that they interact with the rest of the cast. Most of the characters fall into archetypes that aren't exactly new, but each character is wonderfully portrayed, and it gives a fair amount of screen time to the supporting cast, so you get multiple perspectives of the story. This is definitely a good direction to go in for an anime that doesn't have so much to offer as far as plot goes. My jaw never dropped from a shocking twist, but it was apparent from the start that it wasn't intended to be a deep or complex anime. I'm not saying that there isn't drama, but some of it was a bit cliche. I'm glad that it didn't try to be anything that it's not, but still, there could have been a bit more to it.

Overall, Saki is a solid anime and should not be overlooked.

At first I thought Saki was going to be completely boring and just like a regular anime out there. But, I was totally wrong. As I started watching it I fell in love with it! Even though I watched the series I still didn't understand Mahjong. Well, that's because Mahjong is complicated (in my opinion). Saki has definetly has comedy. To me I thought it was really funny because I laughed my head off during alot of the episodes. In the end when I figured that Saki only had 25 episodes I was literally crying inside! But I heard there might be a second season so I'm really hoping there is one! Saki truely is one of the best animes I've seen so far. And trust me I've seen ALOT of anime in my lifetime. This anime is really recommended~!

~*~LOVE IT ~*~ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^

Intro: I'm usually a very picky person when it comes to anime. Out of the series that I've started this is the only one that has managed to not only hold my attention but made me want to buy a membership so I wouldn't have to wait for the new episodes. [I've been watching since before the membership deal]

Storyline: This anime is fantastic because unlike normal slice-of-life animes this one gives you a glimpse into the lives of numerous characters rather than someone placed in for just one episode. But I digress. This anime follows the life of a girl named Saki Miyanaga who was forced into joining the Mahjong club by her friend Suga. She claims to hate Mahjong because of the punishment she recieved from her family when she used to play and keeps her score at an even plus minus zero every game. A feat that even the pros have difficulty accomplishing. Impressed by her skills, Nodoka Haramura [A fellow first year and previous middle school Mahjong champion] convinces her to join and the two set a goal to make it to the Nationals together.

Characters:The fact that the character list is so extensive is another reason why I love this anime so much. The main characters are the members of the Kiyosumi High School Mahjong club and include, Saki, Nodoka, Yuuki, Mako, Hisa and Suga but the characters extend to Mahjong Club members of different schools including Ryuumonbuchi and Tsugara and each character possessing specific skills and playing styles. Such as Momoko from Tsugara Academy has the ability to make her discards invisible to most players. Hisa from Kiyosumi plays best when she is at a disadvantage, and Ryuumonbuchi's Koromo has beaten even a pro player. This anime does have lots of implied shoujo-ai. Which means girl love. More than friends, but not really dating or kissing. Yuri means lesbian like in the anime Kanamemo [name drop] which Saki isn't, but it's heavily implied.

Music and Animation Both were beautifully done. Wonderfully drawn and fun characters as well as pleasing music that flows beautifully throughout each episodes including two amazing openings and three endings. The third being my favorite. Although, the special ending shown at the end of episode 25 left me hungry for more and ready for the second season.

Overall: In conclusion I found the anime very good. Fantastic characters, good plot, amazing music and just beautifully done.
I was so blown away by this anime I'm going to try and learn how to play Riichi style Mahjong. 4/5