Story:
+ Simple and straight through story
+ Easy to swallow and get into
+ The mahjong games are SO MUCH FUN to watch and the show has PLENTY of them
- It tries to create drama that just doesn't fit in sometimes
- It can get really corny when it comes to character development
- Game time gets interrupted right in the middle in favour of "development" time from time to time.
Art
+ Cute character designs
+ Bright and very nice colour palette
+ Special effects used on mahjong games are very cool to watch and greatly increase enjoyment
- Animation quality can get poor at times (but not very often)
Sound
+ An all star cast of seiyuus makes the show very fun to listen to
+ The background songs used for the mahjong games are upbeat and GREATLY increases the enjoyment of the matches
- I wasn't a fan of the OP and ED songs but they are not bad
Characters
+ Large cast of characters and all with different personalities. You are bound to find someone you will like.
+ Every character is likeable and they are all unique in skills (mahjong POWERLEVELS)
+ When a series is able to match up 2 or more characters in a game and make you go "OH SHI- THIS MATCH IS GOING TO BE EPIC" every time you know the show has succeeded in creating their characters
- If you are not into yuri moments, you might feel ackward watching this because girl on girl moments happen.....A LOT!
- Although the show succeeds in giving most of their characters reasons to move forward and continue playing. Sometimes some of those reasons can get a little corny (but its not a big issue)
Enjoyment:
THIS SHOW WAS SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH, every time a game was going on the show suddently became so entertaining that the episode would end and you wouldnt feel like u had just watched 24 minutes of Saki. Even though the show could have some improvements I cannot complain about the work GONZO and Picture Magic has produced here.
Overall: Saki is not a masterpiece, it does not have amazing production values, nor does it have a compelling story....however what it manages to produce is a level of entertainment that just leaves you wanting to have more. The ability of taking a generally quiet game like mahjong and turn it completely over the top and extreme and yet still keep it from becoming chaotic is 1 of the reasons why Saki is a show that everyone should give a try at one point, it will surely entertain you.
