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Jun 15, 2010 4:08 AM
#1

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Apr 2009
5714
THIS IS A MANGA ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING BEYOND THIS CHAPTER.
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What a sad chapter, Akagi's death was really awesome.

Overall a great series, it started rather slow but turned into an epic story.
Steel Ball Run anime when?
Dec 28, 2011 4:21 PM
#2

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Feb 2010
783
Loved this series. Absolutely brilliant.
Apr 15, 2014 5:29 AM
#3

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Oct 2012
190
Simply amazing ending..

It's sad that quite a few people I know skipped Akagi/Ten series because of their lack of mahjong knowledge or the first few volumes being pretty dull(with Akagi being too heavy on mahjong and Ten being too dull at start)..

But it realy picked up the pace when akagi finally showed up, and still kept great since, even though akagi disappeared from east/west eventually.

If we judge by mahjong - I prefer the Akagi series, especially the game against washizu was realy interesting(and I bet it still has something to offer - at the time I am writing this akagi series is still ongoing, but washizu battle is about to end) mahjong wise.

But this amazing piece of work puts quite a lot of attention to gamble itself, not only mahjong. We also get to see quite a few unique type of games - like 2 player mahjong and the nine. (I am not even sure Akagi played 8th piece because of Alzheimers.. maybe it was his spirit of gambling till the end?)

I am realy sad to see such lack of discussion here :( This certainly deserves more attention, but I guess mahjong is too hard to learn, especially when it's simply to read one piece of manga.
Aug 13, 2015 1:28 PM
#4
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Jan 2012
352
nice manga
Aug 23, 2017 3:34 PM
#5

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Sep 2016
4486
an OK manga, Ten doesn't deserve to be the MC tbh, he is really boring. hiroyuki is more MC than him. Akagi is great here, although doesn't feel as invincible as in his manga. pretty epic death and his final messages to his buddies, especially to hiroyuki.
CrossAnge

Hey guys check my profile for current airing season anime recommendation (guaranteed best taste)
Aug 21, 2018 12:05 AM
#6
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Jul 2018
564612
It was funny to see Ten and Hero also taking piece of Akagi's grave as good luck charm even though they looked down on people who did the same. I would take it too lol, Last panel was awesome. GOAT.
Mar 31, 2020 1:09 PM
#7

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Jun 2016
3391
This was a ride. Ten catered to my changing tastes in storytelling, speaking to me with the heavy tone and interesting characters while rarely forcing them to be exuberant. Rather letting us take them in as they are and that being enough. There was a sense of quietness which resonated with me through the tension and the heart. I remember thinking this was something special, getting a warm feeling while I read the Sawada arc, or finding the Christmas chapter so sincerely charming. That stuff never left. Ten also encouraged me to learn mahjong a few volumes in, enjoying the game and learning it while reading the manga which inspired me to play even more mahjong. I was using skills picked up from observing Ten and the gang, and my friends even started playing with me. It was definitely a positive addition to my life over these last few months. In a super great way, some say learning mahjong teaches life skills, and the mahjong lessons Fukumoto gives are in turn literal life skills which by playing with them in mind, we ingrain.

I can dig into why I loved the characters, them being unique and playing off each other, expressing themselves in and out of the game. They ultimately made for my favorite Fukumoto cast in the sheer number of characters I ended up loving. Akagi as an ideal, a nearly impossible to reach but still deeply human representation of cutting to the center of "life", Ten offering another take on that and being an endearing boy himself, Hiroyuki as a window for us to relate and grow with; likely to become someone like him if we play our cards right. Harada and Soga as ‘villains’ or more likely endearing antagonists, Soga’s respect of Akagi culminating in one of my favorite Fukumoto moments ever, and Harada’s pragmatism, arrogance and tenacity being countered by his desire for something more- his request for a final match. Everyone was great and my reactions expressed that. The final arc only added to them, well maybe excluding Ken but he got his spotlight when he sacrificed himself against Harada!

I was honestly worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy Ten all that much because, I don’t remember specific plot details, I don’t remember many specific moves made in gambles, these things fade in the long run. What I remember most is the characters, the feelings, and most importantly, what I learn. In this way, I thought this work could never surpass something like Kurosawa which speaks in such broad strokes and influenced my life so greatly. And maybe it can’t but this ended up serving as a great companion piece to it. Throughout the parallel between the illogical world of gambling and the real world, rejecting logic and following intuition or direct logic(that of the heart) for what we want to do, believing in and giving up as inseparable, winning or losing as ourself, and literally all of the final arc. Stuff like separating life from its luxuries, the success, common sense, logic, failure, myths of normalcy or ‘proper’, allowing oneself to become a worthless person. Even facing death. These are things that I think chisel out the theories that are so powerful while putting them into practice in the likes of Kurosawa, and it gives us more of a grip on how to look at life through the ideas shared. And that’s hardly mentioning the emotional highs of final arc of Ten which, while hyped up, did not disappoint at all. I cried like I don’t normally cry when it comes to manga, to the beauty, the kindness, the futility, the empowerment, the connection; Harada-Hiro and blacksuit-Soga and Akagi-Ginji are special highlights in that avenue. It was.. good.

Although this chapter may have been slightly heavy handed to be totally honest, let’s all take a chunk of Akagi Shigeru with us too. Let’s step in the grass with our socks on and keep our spark burning.
Dec 22, 2020 12:22 PM
#8

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Mar 2017
852
Wow, I'm stunned. I had to read through this final stretch of the manga without stopping, and it hit me hard. This manga is a masterpiece, and Akagi is a legend. I cried so hard when I was done reading, and staring at that beautiful last drawing.

I feel like I've learned this important lesson from other Fukumoto works before, but I couldn't help it and forgot again and again... if there is one true meaning of life that is indisputable, it is that it's about living! Keep the fire burning. Work has been fine for years now, but for 10 months or so, when Covid has really started to affect my life, it has been kind of suffocating for me too. I've also grown very distant of my friends and I am incredibly lonely all the time. But I know that there's nothing really standing in my way of changing that - only myself.

So I will carry a piece of Akagi within me, too. It sure as hell doesn't help me with my Mahjong skills (lol) but maybe it will be a reminder to always live life as my authentic self.

I'll give this a 10/10 for now, but maybe I will have to reduce it to a 9/10 later. I have to sleep over it and compare it to some other masterpieces first. But either way, this manga left an impression!
Mar 28, 2021 6:27 AM
#9
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Jul 2018
564612
11/10 made me cry, would read again and love it.
Oct 30, 2021 2:47 PM

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Jan 2021
23
Wow... just wow. Great ending.

Also love how everyone voted 5 out of 5

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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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