Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
JoeGar96
I really like gambling anime and among those were some really great mahjong anime like Legendary Gambler Tetsuya and Akagi, which I watched and thoroughly enjoyed without knowing the rules to Mahjong. I decided to learn richi mahjong as a result and now that I have become reasonably cocmpetant I wanted a new anime to watch and see if I appreciate it more now that I know the game.
I really didn’t know anything about Saki other than it being a Mahjong anime I knew nothing about it. Its actually not really a gambling anime, whilst mahjong is a gambling game, its not played for money just friendly points, and it comes off more as a sports manga with highschool girls trying to get to nationals with their respective clubs.
The plot synopsis isn’t really much more than that, its about a girl na…
Read at the sourceAgent_Redacted
Probably one of, if not the most intense 38 episodes I've ever seen in my life. An anime about this thing called "mahjong" where all the girls blush too many times it's already considered as a soft yuri at this point.
Story : 10/10
Despite the fact that I don't know shit about mahjong ( had to watch a few videos and guides because the anime explanation wasn't enough ). Watching Saki felt like eating mapo tofu for 15 hours straight. It's so hot damnnnnn. I think I'm still burning.
Art : 10/10
Eh its ok. The breasts of a certain someone is too large though. Don't really know if i should appreciate that or not.
Sound : 10/10
OPs too good. EDs are even better. Yeah, it's perfect.
Character : 10/10
It's pretty much OP MC. However, all the characters doesn't really feel left out so…
Read at the sourceJrDetectiveUBet
Such a disappointment.
Over 38 episodes, story never concludes.
Yuri for no reason.
Magic for no reason.
Artificial intensity for no reason. Mahjong is obviously a fun game, or no one would bother playing it. The creators of this anime went through a lot of trouble building a method to accurately animate all the tiles with high fidelity.
Then they invalidated those efforts by making this a show about magical girls who interact in public virtually naked from the waist up (and sometimes the waist down) and hold hands and blush between matches instead of making a show about Mahjong that WOULD HAVE BEEN INTERESTING just by virtue of showing how the game is played.
And tacos. Don't forget the tacos.
I still have no idea how Mahjong is played, and I WANTED to know.
Read at the sourcegyrfalcon02
I hear lots of people saying that many characters' development are unnecessary, that the mahjong matches are boring, or unrealistic... Let me rant for a bit and I'll get to the actual review.
In reality, the diversity of all the characters makes it all more realistic. I used to play in chess tournaments, and ended up knowing and befriending most of the people playing against me in the tournaments. It's very hard to know nothing about them except their name and their face, so I believe the addition of the opponents' backgrounds is very realistic and necessary.
Second of all, most of those reviews come from people who have never played mahjong, but I have played many times and can assure you that some powers are possible given enough skill. You can calculate what tiles or how many tiles are…
Read at the sourcepikachu2510
I started watching this anime because i wanted to watch another mahjong anime as the only one i've watched before was "Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai". I have to say I'm disappointed in this anime.
This review is solely based on the first season of Saki as i never watched the sequel nor do i plan on watching them.
Plot - 4
I think this is a very average kind of plot and not really unique in any sense, i was hoping that since Saki always gets a score of ±0, it would make the plot more interesting but overall its kind of average. The fact that the anime doesn't really explain the basics of mahjong makes me rate this plot lower than average though. People that don't have prior knowledge to mahjong are probably going to have no clue how this game works. In addition, although t…
Read at the sourceHaXXspetten
There once was a woman named Saki
Who used to think Mahjong was yucky
But her friends got the chills
When she showed off her skills
She was so unbelievably lucky
Then the Mahjong club was reinstated
In a manner that made it seem fated
And Saki fell in love
With a woman part of The same club and she wished that they dated
So with that comes the start of our story
As they all began playing for glory
When the hour was nigh
They held their heads up high
And they joined the prefectural tourney
Then the girls started showing their powers
And they played like in god mode for hours
There was also in store
Yuri service galore
They were clearly no innocent flowers
But even with a blushing red face
They still played at ridiculous pace
While maintaining their grace
With the skills of an ace
They a…
Read at the sourceJacobski
I went into this show about a year ago, with not many expectations. And since Zenkoku-Hen is coming up in the following month I thought it was time for a short review.
This is probably one of the most charming anime series I have EVER came across. The characters are fantastic, the OST is good and helps to build a very unprecedented amount of both suspense and action during the Mahjong games (A game myself, that I didn't know any of the rules of till I went into it). The animation looks pretty nice overall, with the characters, setting and the Mahjong games being well presented. Glossy MMM is a superb opening track for the 1st season. While the plot lacks some level of depth, it's very simple to follow and doesn't stop it from being up there with some of my favourite shows of all time.
Read at the sourcepowerofemo
Now, I should make one thing clear. I dont have a clue how to play Mahjong. I know nothing of the rules, and even after watching the anime, i still dont. When i first started this anime, I had no idea what i was getting into. Boy, was i impressed. As far as the story goes, the anime uses a typical storyline, a group of high school students, aiming for the Nationals at some sort of sport or game. The characters are great. We have the main character, Miyanaga Saki, who grew up hating Mahjong. As the story progresses, she grows to love mahjong more and more. Same old, same old. She has this ability to score a +/- 0 every game in Mahjong, which apparently, is even harder than winning. Her skill is crazy, to the point where people call her a national class monster. Haramura Nodoka, another main…
Read at the sourceonesnowyday_
Well, where should I start? Imo, this is one of the most enjoyable anime I've watched. Let me first say that you DO NOT need to know about mahjong to watch this. The anime actually does a good job in making it fun to watch even if you don't know how exactly the game works. If it were the manga you were reading that might be a different idea, but the anime is pretty simple. Other than the mahjong element, it is a very moe anime :) You get to know a lot of characters and of course you'll have your favorites. (mine was Takei Hisa :3) I just felt that this anime caught my attention very easily because of the way the animators make it so intense. You just get really caught up in the moment. The only thing I didn't like was the yuri. But its not like its really a main point, so it didn't bother…
Read at the sourceMoonfrostGirl
You are probably thinking it sounds really boring, but in all honesty it's one of the best anime I have ever watched in my opinion. It takes mahjong to the level of superpowers, but not in the pathetic, stupid way some animes do. You don't have to know a single thing about mahjong. You get to know the characters, come to love them, and feel like you are at the table playing with them. You get excited when they get stronger, are amazed by the opponents strenghth, and feel everything the protaganist does. Don't forget to add in a yuri comedy, a club, and a bunch of girl fun. You end up with a anime that keeps your attention and you wanting more. I loved it so much that I learned how to play mahjong because of Saki. If you love any kind of anime where the protaganist has some kind of power an…
Read at the sourcekururugikai
I have to admit I watch Saki with exactly zero knowledge about Mahjong.
saki is a anime series that tells the story of the game mahjong.
rather, japanese mahjong.
when we think about mahjong, then we would normally think that it is a boring game and only played by a particular age group.
(for anyone who loves mahjong, I'm sorry.
but need I remind you, this is the view of ordinary people, not the view of you as a mahjong lovers)
however, saki make the audience see things differently, because it makes the game of mahjong that the added element of action and miracles.
thus resulting in different things when watching it. The mahjong games are SO MUCH FUN to watch!
the scenes when they play the game of mahjong, seemed like a amazing "battle" scenes.
I even felt a sensation that is usually giv…
Read at the sourceSt-Hubert
Tacos... And yuri pairings.
Mahjong is a side dish.
Once upon a taco bell, in the world of Saki, existed Yuuki. She loved Tacos. They were so good. In fact, they were soo good that they gave her the ability to play Mahjong. But the taco gods were not that generous. Indeed, they put a terrible curse on her. She would only be able to play decent mahjong during the east wind. During the other periods she would just play like a toddler. In addition to the curse, she was also forbidden to have lesbian relationships with the others. CAN YUUKI ESCAPE HER FATE? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON SAKI.
Read at the sourcedlarbthd
"Tsumo, Rinshankaihou"; you expect to see this virtually at all mahjong matches in "Saki".
Personally as a Japanese mahjong player, it is at the extremes of "unrealisticness"; having Rinshan-Agari almost at will [refer to Saki -Portable- PSP Game in wikipedia]. But when it comes down to simply enjoyment, I'd say a pretty good anime.
Story: 8
Simple but coherent and well-structured (may be because I read the original manga in Japanese) it has a story and a goal that Kiyosumi Kou-kou aims at, and seemingly intense mahjong uplifts the atmosphere with players giving away some ulti-rare yakus. Sub-stories about relationship between the girls fits in quite well with the story as a whole. Points are lost from showing too much about second season in the last episode, which hasn't come out in 20…
Read at the sourceFauxAzn
Want serious Mahjong? Try Akagi instead. Saki plays it fun and easy, preferring thunderous entertainment over logic, plausibility, and critical thinking. This FUNtastic underground gem needs more love. MAL already has plenty of lengthy reviews for Saki, so I'll keep this one to the point:
Pleasant Surprise #1:
For such a seemingly low-budget title, it's voiced by an all-star cast of seiyuu.
Pleasant Surprise #2:
Rather than play out as gagworthy as I expected, the hints of yuri actually spiced things up. Nothing is ever explicitly stated, everything is implied, and the light yuri factor whimsically floats in that fun stage before relationships get all dramatic and serious.
Pleasant Surprise #3:
The sheer number of characters with depth. Even some opponents come fleshed out with backsto…
Read at the sourceBlind_Guardian
Saki originally attracted me through its moe schoolgirl designs, as I've not the slightest idea how to play Mahjong (and I have to admit I have only slightly more of an idea now than I did before watching it). The mahjong scenes, interestingly enough, turned out to be some of the most riveting variations on 'battle' scenes I've seen in awhile. If lightning blasts and magical girls really popped put when people slapped down the tiles, I'm sure this game would be much more popular in the US.
In its two cours Saki develops a huge cast of girls, both Saki's teammates and their rival schools. I kept waiting for Saki and Nodoka to make their obvious yuri love official, but other than some suggestive scenes of sleeping together there's never even a kiss. There's a LOT of implied yuri in this ser…
Read at the sourcelasercannon
First off, don't bother watching this show if you know nothing about mahjong. You won't understand a thing. Yes, you could try to learn from the explanations the subbers provide, but honestly, it's going to be hard, and you probably won't enjoy it.
If you're familiar with a mahjong but don't know the Japanese variant, I'd recommend skimming over the basics of the scoring system on Wikipedia. Specifically, you should learn how riichi and dora work, and how payouts are handled. Knowing some of the rare yaku and yakuman hands can also help since they'll crop up a lot in the series.
Character-wise, there isn't really anything special in Saki. There are quite a few characters (roughly five for each of the four main schools, plus several unaffiliated characters), most of whom are girls. The m…
Read at the sourceThaiberium
The premise reminds me of another anime about a gifted individual who initially hated or disliked the gift that allowed them to do insane things. Saki is kinda like that. Though it may seem like a contrived coincidence, I actually do play Mahjong, using Cantonese rules though, with family for pocket money. If not for that link, I probably would not have picked up what my friend described as "Yu-gi-Oh with Mahjong".
Getting down to business, Saki's story is actually quite formulaic. Not that I dock points for that. Its all about the Mahjong tournaments. The preparation, the climax and the conclusion is logical. It makes sense since its an anime about Mahjong and what better way to see it being played than in a tournament. For me it was a foregone conclusion, but that is exactly why they ma…
Read at the sourceSkadi
I have to admit I went into my viewing of Saki with next to zero knowledge about the game of Mahjong, its terminology, or its rules. Besides a short wiki article and just the visual similarities to some domino games I have played before, most of it still is quite vague and mysterious. I was drawn to Saki by the cute character designs, a hint of yuri romance, and my own curiosity over the game of Mahjong.
Despite my curiosity, the idea of a 25 episode anime revolving around a table game doesn’t sound all that exciting. Most likely that is going to be the reaction of quite a few people who just give Saki a casual glance. However they would be wrong. Saki manages to take something that doesn’t have any real action or makes for an interesting spectator sport and injects energy and excitement…
Read at the sourcegame8910
What do you get when you take mahjong, you shoot massive amounts ridiculous special effects, you add a huge cast of high school girls, you give them POWERLEVELS, and then you make them 90% lesbian? Does it sound ridiculous yet? Regardless of how you feel about what I just described, Saki somehow managed to take all the above points, mush them up together, and regurgitate one of the most fun and entertaining show I've seen in a while.
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 f…
Read at the sourceImperturbable
Saki is exactly what you'd expect from a tournament-style "sports" game, minus exceedingly high testosterone levels, and plus lots and lots of moe. Now, Saki is about mahjong, which really... isn't a sport, but it's treated like one, and it's, as they say, serious business— every character lives and breathes mahjong.
The premise is not what you would call exceptional in any case. You have your protagonist who possesses remarkable talent, and through training and perservance, will become the best of the best. Who learns lessons through trials and tribulations, deepening and strenghtening bonds with teammates as time goes along. Your standard stuff.
So why should you watch Saki?
I think there are various demographics who would like Saki. Let's list them out first.
1. Sports/tournament-st…
Read at the source