Ranked #1774

Saki: Achiga-hen - Episode of Side-A

After watching the original anime adaptation of Saki: The Player almost two years ago, I found myself drawn to the series. I have enjoyed simple and easy mahjong games since my early childhood, and upon having first seen the series, I was surprised that something like it could become so...intense.

Achiga-hen revolves around the old classmates of one of the main characters from the original series, Nodoka. The girls manage to put together a mahjong team and dream of reuniting with Nodoka by entering (and subsequently winning) mahjong competitions. The series is chalk full of over exaggerated (in a tasteful sense that helps make the series what it is) mahjong matches, which can become seemingly repetitious to some, but also with friendship; this is what Achiga-hen provided that the original did not. Where the original series, not during tournament matches, focused mainly on the yuri relationship between Nodoka and Saki, along with several of the other girls (like Yumi and Momo), Achiga-hen had no such shoujo-ai undertones and barely any fan service. Nothing against said undertones, but I felt that the story was more refreshing without them. The closest to a yuri relationship throughout this anime was Toki and Ryuuka, which to me was not much of anything; again, just friendship. Outside of the mahjong competitions and practice, the main plot was simply "sweet" and "fun," almost "cool" in a relaxing sense. Achiga-hen, aside from the shoujo-ai, did not supply the comedy and hilarity that the original did, making it almost a "toned-down" sequel/spin-off. One could watch it as a series all its own. The plot provides enough new material to allow one to do so, even though it involves a lot of characters from the original series.

As for the characters, one thing that I definitely like about Ritz Kobayashi and her story is how she is able to incorporate so many different characters into it. Where the original series had about 50+ characters, Achiga-hen has at least 70+, if not more. A lot of characters from the original series made cameo appearances, even the Ryuumonbuchi and Tsuruga crowds, which, for someone who saw the original series, made it all the more fun to see some familiar faces alongside some new ones. The Achiga girls made pretty good leads, despite most of them not being extremely interesting or having any spectacular powers like Toki (who can see one, and eventually two and three, turns into the future). They were all pretty cute and you could tell one from another easily, something which the Saki franchise also does quite nicely. Aside from the seven leads, a few other important characters (like Ryuuka and the rest of the Senriyama team), and the characters from the original series, everyone else is filler. The other members of most of the opposing mahjong teams are all one-sided characters who only appear a few times and are never really elaborated on. Despite this, everyone has a completely unique character design and traits that make them legible from other characters, even if their most memorable quality was how silly their hair was styled or, in one team's case, the interesting headpieces that they sported. I know that one such quirk that struck me as very silly was one of the professional players that helped train the Achiga girls; she was dressed in a frilly pink dress and had short brown hair, a frilly bow wrapped around her head and covering one of her eyes. The point was to distinguish her from the other filler characters, make her stand out and be remembered for something, and by golly; she was. That is just the simple charm to the series.

The art is cute; it's moe, a word that I know some people cringe to. Most of the settings and characters were colored in bright or soft pastels, making it obvious that this is, by no means, a dark series. The character designs, despite all being unique in some sense (as I mentioned before), were not stunning or gorgeous; just cute. Simple as that.

The voice acting and music, like the art, was decent. The only three big names that I noticed out of the cast of main characters was Kana Hanazawa, Aoi Yuuki, and MAKO, but throughout the supporting cast, there were several well-known seiyuu mixed in, mainly voicing characters from the original series, but still present none the less. The opening and ending themes were all nicely done and well-suited to the atmosphere of the story. I know that I found myself playing "Futuristic Player" on repeat several times, even now as I am writing this.

Overall, I enjoyed Achiga-hen more than the original Saki series. The friendship aspect of the plot was what, I think, really made a difference to me. I was disappointed in the final episode not concluding the story, "3 extra episodes" supposedly in the works that will do so. As to when these will be released, no one knows for sure at the moment, but I know that until they finally come out, I, for one, will be awaiting their release. My best advice that I can give to someone looking at starting the Saki series, but is unsure about the shoujo-ai and such, is to start with Achiga-hen instead. Is it as original/funny/dramatic as the original series? Perhaps not, but one thing that it definitely is, is an enjoyable and cute watch. read more

A couple years ago when I started Saki, I didn't think I would enjoy a series about mahjong because I knew next to nothing about mahjong but Saki sure did change my mind. So when Saki: Achiga-hen was announced I just had to watch it, even though it focused on another set of characters. Although it was not as well done and as memorable as the original, it is still an enjoyable series and very entertaining even if you have no knowledge about the game of mahjong.

Compared to the original season, Achiga-hen is much shorter in length so the pacing of this season is extremely fast until the last couple of episodes which is a major weakness. The fast pacing allows the story to progress faster than the original season (as this season just blazed by the prefectures). However, the reason why the original season is so enjoyable, is because of the intense rounds of mahjong that happen. These matches were very enjoyable to watch because of the epic battles between characters where each displayed their play style and their super natural ability (if they had one). In Achiga-hen we get very little of that until they face off against Senriyama in the quarter finals. During this time, the series really starts to pick up because we get to start seeing some action. The actual story itself is nothing spectacular but it is still fun to watch these girls on their journey to the final table and the struggles they endure to get there.

The girls of Achiga aren't as overpowered, and aren't as thoroughly explored as the girls in Kiyosumi. I think Shizuno is supposed to be the main character but we only get to see her play in one hand. Out of all the main characters in Achiga-hen, Kuro is the only one that develops at all (as we see her overcome one of her hurdles in life) which makes her stand out a bit from the other main characters. However the character that stands out the most in this series is Toki, who is a side character, the reason why she stands out the most is because we get to see her past, how she became part of Senriyama's team and her relationship with Ryuuka. She also makes all the matches in this series fun to watch. Other than that no other character is explored that much, making this cast of characters not very memorable. However each character is still likable, fits well in the series and each have their own unique playing style(even though I don't know what some of character's playing styles are).

The art is different from the original. The colour tone is a bit lighter and the character designs look cuter. In my opinion, this style of art actually fits the series. However the art is still nothing spectacular and nothing really stands out. Here's a fun fact, if you watch the animation of both seasons, you will see that they are nearly identical.

The sound is also done well, each of the voice actors do a good job voicing their characters, they all match their personalities. The opening Miracle Rush really fits the series because this season is more light hearted than the original. There are two endings for this series, SquarePanicSerenade which is very similar to the ending of the original series, which is sung by the voice actors of the main characters which is used when the mood of the episode is light hearted and Futuristic Player, a more serious ending which is used when the mood of the series is more serious. Both endings fit the series but are not too memorable.

Overall, the series is still very enjoyable, unique and still has that Saki charm. It's fun to watch but not as well executed as the original season because of the horrible pacing. Also I still can't wait for the last 3 episodes. read more