Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai (Akagi)

While mahjong is a game that is often played with family and friends, it is also a game that is played in the darkest corners of society. Nangou is a compulsive gambler who has accumulated debt over three million yen. In a last ditch attempt to clear his record, he decides to wager his life on a game of mahjong with the mafia. Unfortunately, as the game progresses, Nangou only moves further from the prize and closer to death.

When all hope seems lost, the game parlor is suddenly intruded upon by Shigeru Akagi, a young boy on the run from the police. Desperate to turn the game around, Nangou hands the game over to Akagi after teaching him a few of the rules. The mafia can only smirk as Akagi sits down to play. However, they soon come to learn that Akagi is a natural-born gambler. An imposing figure who does not fear death. One who is destined to become a legend.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:

Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Akagi, Shigeru

Main

Hagiwara, Masato
Japanese

Washizu, Iwao

Supporting

Tsukayama, Masane
Japanese

Hirayama, Yukio

Supporting

Sato, Ginpei
Japanese

Ichikawa

Supporting

Tanaka, Hideyuki
Japanese

Narrator

Supporting

Furuya, Toru
Japanese

Ryuuzaki

Supporting

Nakata, Kouji
Japanese

Yasuoka

Supporting

Genda, Tesshou
Japanese

Nozaki, Osamu

Supporting

Satou, Yuudai
Japanese

Urabe

Supporting

Kazama, Morio
Japanese

Nangou

Supporting

Koyama, Rikiya
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Maruyama, Masao

Producer

Tamura, Manabu

Producer

Nakatani, Toshio

Producer

Kobayashi, Mikiko

Assistant Producer

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Opening Theme

"Nantoka Nare" by Furuido

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Ending Theme

	1: "Akagi" by MAXIMUM THE HORMONE (eps 1-13)
	2: "S.T.S." by Animals (eps 14-26)

Reviews

Jan 12, 2008

bigjig

Recommended

Akagi is based around its titular character gambling his way to the top of the underworld, his enigmatic prowess for mahjong often turning the tide of certain defeat into victory. Akagi is a cold, relentless character. He cares little for money or for his own life. In the heat of the gamble he stops at nothing less than completely crushing his opponent's will to win...

Akagi is the first Nobuyuki Fukumoto manga to get the anime treatment and the anime has been executed surprisingly well. It is with reason that I say, 'surprisingly'. When considering Fukumoto's original, while particulary famous in Japan and Korea, you can't ... help but think that it would be very difficult to animate it well enough to make it appeal to a wide audience.

Firstly there is the subject matter, Akagi (the anime), as with a number of other works by Fukumoto, basically involves Akagi (the character) playing a couple of games of the Japanese version of mahjong, gambling for keeps. Next Madhouse have kept (thankfully) with Fukumoto's original art style, with all of its unconventional flourishes (read; big noses etc.). And finally, the lead character, Akagi, is not exactly the easiest character in the world to relate to. In short, he is out of this world, nothing short of a true "God of Gamblers".

With all of this in mind it is 'surprising' just how intense this anime is. In the next couple of paragraphs I'll try and breakdown how this anime overcomes all of the above, making it one of the most original, mind-numbingly insane animes in a long, long time.

Firstly the mahjong. I have to admit that when I first started watching this anime I knew nothing about mahjong in general, let alone the Japanese version. The good news is that it doesn't really matter. The basic goal of the game and the rules are subtly explained as the anime progresses, and while it does help learn a bit about the different 'hands' everyone is going for it is definitely not a pre-requisite. You see, mahjong is game based on points so it is always pretty obvious who is in the lead, what kind of a hand Akagi needs to win the game etc. The finer points of mahjong all seem to come in to place as the games progress. The anime's direction involves a lot of internal dialogue. The audience is always privy to each characters' thoughts, allowing them to (conveniently) tell the viewer what kind of tile the character in question is waiting for, the number of points the hand they are going for will land them etc.

Fear not, I can wholeheartedly say that the mahjong in this anime does not form an obstacle in the enjoyment of the anime in any way, shape or form. Like me, you'll probably get really into the game as you watch - The danger associated with having to throw away your tiles (with the possibility of the tile being picked up and used by your opponent as his victory tile) makes the game, and this anime truly absorbing to watch.

The mahjong battles are awesome, leaving you on the edge of your seat the whole time, however the real reason that the mahjong battles draw the viewer in is the interaction between characters, or more specifically, the carefully constructed psychological battles that are played out before our eyes.

The characters cannot be mentioned without some reference to the drawing style, which plays a large role in creating the tone of the series. As with anything Fukumoto, the character designs do take a little getting used to. Yes the characters do possess noses so large that Pinocchio would be put to shame. Yes the characters in general are kind of... angular. Yes there are no busty 2D babes providing you 13 year olds with fan service - Okay, deep breaths, deep breaths... If you watch this anime past the first episode you will (hopefully) realize that these features ARE NOT necessarily bad things.

Firstly the originality really makes it stand out, and as you watch further into the series you begin to realize that the character designs do actually really suit the whole grim, macabre feel of the anime - hey, we're talking about a bunch of men gambling with more than money, with their very lives here - it's not exactly The Brady Bunch... Trust me, by the time the anime ends you will think that the character design presented in Akagi is the ONLY true way you could represent the vile, ugly nature of underworld thugs. Personally, I love Fukumoto's ouevre. The characters are very expressive and the drawing style is perfectly combined with Hideki Taneuchi's brooding score to paint an intensely bleak pictue of the Japanese underworld circa the 1960's. I'm giving art and sound a 10.

Next, on to Akagi the character. He is a prodigy, an enigma - put bluntly, you are going to have a hard time understanding what he is going through. This is both a good and a bad thing. In a way his absoluteness, his superhuman insight wraps Akagi in a veil of mystery and, to paraphase the Fonz, is what gives him 'his cool'. On the other hand, when the anime ends you feel like you still don't really know anything about him at all. His existence in the anime is kind of like that of a mystery film. He reveals a little of his character, answering one question, only to pose two more...

Now I like a piece of entertainment that doesn't completely reveal itself to the audience, making each and every one of us think for ourselves about the story's meaning, about what happens next. With Akagi however, this is taken to the extreme. The anime just kind of ends (mid-match). I know, that this is not really the fault of the animators as the original manga had still not ended its run. (At the time of writing the manga is up to 20 volumes and is still ongoing - the anime version of Akagi ends at the start of volume 13). Having said that though I kind of wished that the animators would have veered from the original manga a bit towards the end, to give it a proper ending.

For me personally it is such a shame that such an epic anime ends with not a bang, but a whimper, and it has a point taken off it for that... I hold out hope that there is a second season (it doesn't look likely though).

While my review does end on kind of a sour note, let it be known that up until the ending this anime is pure gold, definitely a must see. If it is the mahjong or the character design holding you back, I urge you to give it a try - if you dismiss this one on face value you'll only be missing out on one of the most original, nail-bitingly intense anime series around. (No real biggie:)

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Dec 25, 2010

DueTomorrow

Mixed Feelings

I have a real problem with this series and it has nothing to do with Mahjong, Yakuza, nor the art. It's the Dragonball Z syndrome I dealt with during the last half of the series.

Let's start back from the top. Akagi was great fun for someone like me that either just learning Mahjong to someone that's a seasoned player. It's got its feet on the ground better than Saki does while still putting the game on a grandiose scale.

Now, I can't go far into this review without mentioning how horribly outdated the art is. What makes it better (or worse) is ...

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Sep 12, 2010

Darklonestrife

Not Recommended

Oh, Akagi... Akagi, Akagi, Akagi... What can I say? This is the first Anime that I have ever seen that dealt with gambling. The means of gambling is with a game called Mahjong. I did not know the fundamentals and basic rules of Mahjong when I watched this. Looking back at it, I certainly wished I had taken the time to learn Mahjong. The reason for this is because all Akagi did was left me with numerous boring moments, frustration, and a bitter taste in my mouth. And maybe, just maybe I could have appreciated and enjoyed Akagi a little bit more, but it's just ... not that great folks. I'm sorry. On to the review...

STORY... As mentioned earlier, the plot revolves around Mahjong. There are a total of 3 arcs, if I remember correctly, and within each arc, the ante is raised to a higher level which keeps things interesting. The setup of the plot to me was great, but the execution of the plot was not well done. There are numerous instances wherein there is internal dialogue. It happens when the players are thinking to themselves. For example, what's their opponent's next move, what's the best move for them, and when they start panicking. Now, these are great ways to build "on the edge of your seat tension" and it works for the first few episodes, but they just overdid it with the rest of the episodes. Imagine taking 2, sometimes even 3 whole episodes just for a single round. There were so many times I tried so hard not to fall asleep while listening to the characters' internal dialogue. It's slow paced. Eventually, you'll come to find out it's not if Akagi will win, it's HOW he will win, meaning you know what's going to happen= predictable. And to make matters worse, Akagi has a very UNSATISFYING ending. Let's go to the next category before I start ranting on other details as to why I dislike Akagi. Haha...

ANIMATION... I had no particular problems with the animation. It takes some getting use to, but it's quite good. The character designs appropriately fit the dark gambling atmosphere and great detail was put into the Mahjong tiles, giving viewers a better feel for the game of Mahjong. The movements of the characters is also fluid such as when slamming Mahjong tiles on the game table. That's pretty much it.

SOUND... The soundtrack is actually quite decent. The opening theme is just alright, but the first and second ending theme are definitely much more likeable. The background music also appropriately fits the dark gambling atmosphere. The producers did right in this category.

CHARACTERS... This is THE ONLY strong point of the series. The main character Akagi is actually quite really cool. He has a natural born instinct for gambling and he has this dark aura about him that terrifies his opponents. Maybe it's because he's emo? Just kidding. Haha... It's probably due to the fact that Akagi is never satisfied with just winning. He always wants to bring about the demise of his opponents by mentally breaking them down and then taking absolutely everything the opponent owns until there's nothing left. It's play hard, gamble harder. However, the series does not go into any background information as to why Akagi is the way he is nor does he undergo any character development. But I get the feeling it'd be wrong for me to hold that against this series, so I won't. There are some side characters, but they are totally insignificant.

OVERALL SCORE: 4/10= Below Average

STRENGTHS
+ Likeable main character.
+ Animation is fluid.
+ Decent soundtrack.

WEAKNESSES
- Predictable.
- Incredibly slow paced.
- Too much internal dialogue.
- Horrible ending.

Note: You can still somehow enjoy Akagi without completely knowing Mahjong, but good luck to you. If you're curious about Mahjong, then be my guest and watch this. But if you're just a regular viewer, (such as myself) take my word for it and avoid this one. There is another gambling series that is so much better than Akagi. It was made by the same producers- the series is called Kaiji. Read my review on Kaiji and see the difference. I recommend this series ONLY to viewers who are curious about Mahjong.

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Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai

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