Akagi

Look, I'm not a Mahjong fan. Actually I don't even know how the fuck you play it. Not even after watching Akagi. They don't explain shit, so what kept me watching this show? The suspense and the main character. Akagi offers nothing special. Decent art, good but non memorable sound effects and soundtrack, a somehow passable plot. But boy did they do great on the suspense and the main hero.

It all starts with one 13-year-old, Akagi, walking one night into a Mahjong bar. He offers a man to take his place at the table in order to win the debt that man already accumulated. Although not familiar with the rules and playing for the first time in his life Akagi wins, thus the legend begins. What follows next are a couple of matches, a total of 4-5 throughout the series. Each time there is something special about the game, and each time Akagi must use his mind games to win and destroy the enemy.

The art is kind of good. Not bad, not extraordinary. They really didn't have anything to draw, as the whole action happens at the Mahjong tables. I can't comment on how well they drew the tiles or the table, so I'm going to stop here.

The characters development is weak. Extremely weak. No side plots, no background story, nothing. We don't see any action outside the bars. Nothing about the characters themselves. Just plain Mahjong. There is really no point in watching this show if you don't like board games. It's like One Outs (I think the same Madhouse department created both), but this time it's Mahjong and not baseball. Or if we put it chronologically, first they did Akagi, and then decided to do the same thing but with baseball. If you enjoyed One Outs, you should give Akagi a chance, as the suspense and the mind games are kind of similar although One Outs offers a little more consistency and plot development, but if you are looking for something ore than that, look elsewhere.


Art 7.5/10
Sound 8/10
Storyline 8/10
Characters 8.5/10
Overall 8/10