Forum: Anime - Saki: Achiga Hen - Episode of Side-A - 3rd Season? - AniDB (2024)

UPMLUHWLUVUR

UPMLUHWLUVUR

You believe that based on what?

UPMLUHUVUR

Well, I doubt they would've done a spin-off with a different manga-release cycle and an anime, plus another spin-off to Saki all at once if they didn't plan to somehow expand the Saki-franchise ... question now of course is - how successful is their attempt?

Either way, I wouldn't be surprised by a second Saki season at some point.

UPWLUR

1) While Achiga-hen was indeed weaker than the first season, it had Teru, who was a treat as enjoyable as Koromo, if not more, Toki, who is just awesome in every way imaginable, and it had Subara! perfectly voiced by Arai Satomi. Those alone make it worthwhile.

Now, onto the topic: A third season, while plausible even at this point of time, seeing as a match has just ended in the manga recently, it's only Kiyosumi's second match in the nationals. And the first one they have won offscreen! So if a third season is made in the near future, it will be a one cour series, depicting a single game. I don't see that happening but I am fairly sure that in light of Achiga-hen sales, a third season will be made at some point, most likely ~2 years away from now, once the half-final match is finished in the manga.

UPMLUHWLUVUR

UPMLUHUVUR

UPWLUR

UPMLUHWLUVUR

Can you post a pic of the "miko" outfit? You have me interested

UPWLUR

UPMLUHWLUVUR

3rd season will be in 2014. That can be any month in 2014, even in December.

I doubt manga artist will be doing more pages than he is curretly though (Saki main story is progressing at SNAIL pace and chapters are 10-15 pages ). It's not even laughable .

If some kind of miracle occurs though, I would love 3rd season to be final (ie. Miyanaga family reconciles and they live happily ever after ) - and stretching the series for more than 3 seasons is rarely a good idea...

UPMLUHUVUR

Well, Saki in all likeliness isn't going to play Teru in the final and how could the series end without their direct confrontation? There's also a lot of hints in the manga towards the individual national tournament and even beyond that, so it's rather unlikely it'll end within the next few years

End of 2014 would mean something like additional 30-40 chapters. But ~64 to 110 aren't animated so far, so even spring 2014 could very well work. Definitely plenty of material for another season either way. I just doubt anything much will happen concerning the "plot"

UPMLUHWLUVUR

If you are referring to Onjouji Toki, why do you find her awesome? I like this story cause it is interesting see how they play out the story during matches and how they beat one another. But, not remembering everyone's abilities, hers is just a big cheat. She isn't a strong player she just has an offball ability that allows her to basically look at a your hand. Teru's play was interesting because she's a good player that even when interrupted didn't falter and still won the hand even if it wasn't a higher play. I feel Hanada was more interesting because she actually had a strategy to interrupt Teru.

I'm asking sincerely, I basically got annoyed with Toki by the end (partly cause of them dragging it out).

UPWLUR

It's her character that I found awesome, not her power/playing ability. Her dynamic with Ryuuka, the subtle teasing/trolling, and most of all, her decision to go for Teru rather than securing her team in the second place. Yes, it was reckless and went completely against the logic of team play - had Toki played to maximize the distance between her and third place, rather than minimizing the distance between her and Teru, her team would likely finish in second place overall. Basically, it was a serious tactical mistake, all things considered - Toki played for herself, as she would in the individual tournament, and jeopardized her team's chances as a result. However, there is a point many tend to ignore - Senriyama was already second in the national rankings by this point. Toki played as she did because nothing less would suffice if they wanted to move up. It's that single-minded determination, refusal to remain content with second place, struggling to move forward despite risk to herself that I found awesome... well, it comes down to pride on a personal level, yes, but it's well within acceptable margin here to describe Toki as simply "proud" rather than "arrogant". Then there's also the fact that she struggled to play mahjong, even going to training camp despite the doctors' warnings, and made the team regardless of debilitating health issues, which I found rather endearing.

And regarding Toki's mahjong skills, they aren't that bad. Yes, she would not be the team's ace (that would most likely be Sera) without her ability. However, she was shown to be on Senriyama's third team - in other words, within the top-15 of the strongest school in Kansai, second strongest nation-wide - two years ago, before her accident. The previous year, she wasn't on the first team despite already having the ability to see one turn ahead. This means that her skill has increased since then. So while foresight is a strong contributing factor, it isn't the only thing Toki has going for her.

UPMLUHWLUVUR

Oddly enough. ferian, my bro. I wholeheartedly agree with you here. They're actually two of my favorite characters in general.

Toki and Ryuuka are easily two of the best characters int he Saki universe. They seem much more genuinely real people compared to the others. Toki honestly cares for her friends, but knows she's not actually better than them. Like you said she holds delusion that she's the best, not arrogant in any way. At some point she even said it would be better if Ryuuka had her power, showing she's willing to sacrifice herself for the good of her friends.

Plus the massive yuri undertones between them didn't hurt.

What I did not really like was how Shizuno's character was handled. In the last match she was very antagonistic. She seen breaking the bond between Himeko and Mairu, and going against Ryuuka. Who was only trying to avenge her friend who put her health on the line to help the other two teams. Even Teru, the actual antagonist, showed more concern for Toki than Shizuno.

UPWLUR

I didn't mind this much, for quite a simple reason, too. That characterization was consistent. Shizuno's always been shown to be focused during her games. This trait is so at odds with her usual cheerfulness and airhead tendencies that it's become the primary association for me when I think of Shizuno. It's not like she had malicious intent; it's just that, to her, there was only the game, only the mountain of tiles before her, and nothing else mattered.

...As for favorite characters, though, it's Hisa for me, with no competition in sight at the moment. Can't wait for her rematch against Hiroe in the semi-finals.

UPMLUHWLUVUR

That's kind of why I didn't like her. She just does not care about much. Almost everyone else has a reason, or motivation when they play.

Kuro (another character I really like by the way) - Thinks of her family.
Yuu - Thinks about protecting her sister.
Ako - About the team.
Arata - Plays to be some form of strength for Harue

Shizuno just seems like a shallow character. Like she just does not care, which is kind of bad in it's own right. In the last match both the other teams were playing to protect some dear and personal to them. While she's just like "meh w/e, idgaf.". It does not help that she get very little screen time, most of the time the story just glosses over her matches. Pretty sure that was an attempt to hide her "power" till the last second.

But Hisa always seemed like of bland to me. She had like one major moment, and it was when she walked home alone with Mako. The time when it was night and they were walking down the road with just the street lights around them. I have not read the manga, so maybe she gets more developed then.

UPWLUR

Well, it was primarily the voice that got me at first. Itou Shizuka, yum~. Or that was the reason she had caught my attention more than the others, anyway. Her playing style is probably the main attraction. That her supernatural ability is fairly low-key added to the effect as well, since at the time I had not been a fan of those. As for her personality... I guess she does appear somewhat bland. However, there are enough small details about her to make an image. And yes, there is some more characterization present later in the manga but her quota of screentime is about the same as in the earlier parts (in my eyes: clearly not enough ). ...Well, and there's also the miriad of HisaXEveryone(or, more specifically, EveryoneEspeciallyMihoko) doujins.

On Shizuno: She is closest to a typical shonen protagonist who doesn't need a clear purpose to get stronger or a profound reason to aim for the top. I can't say I particularly like her but she doesn't annoy me, either. She's just... there, I guess. Of Achiga, Ako is my favorite, though for what reason (and whether there even is one) I cannot determine. Arata's backstory appeals to me the most, and the abundance of yuri undertones (she sleeps with Harue, dammit!) increases that appeal several times over. So why does Ako overturn such odds? Character design? Doujinshi? Hell if I know, but something does it for me.

UPMLUHWLUVUR

Ah. The voice, yeah. That's why I liked Kuro at first. Till she became a major source of the series' drama, then I liked her for that. But the characters you like not getting screen/panel time is always sad. Which why I hate the fact I knew from the very start that Toki's team was not going to advance past the semi finals. meaning she is not going to get much/any time back in the main series. I'm going to go ahead and assume you're thinking somewhat specifically of Hakka-ya lol. I've glanced over some of his works.

Yeah, she is kind of like that. Just seems odd that she alone does not really care, when everyone around her has strong personal feelings driving them.

Whoa Whoa whoa wait. When did that happen, I can't believe I would have missed that. Was it in the manga when they staying in the hotel?

Ako is a good character too, she also does not get a lot of attention. Her selling point though is her loyalty. She gave up going to the better school to play with her friends. That's pretty endearing in my book.

UPWLUR

http://mangafox.me/manga/saki_achiga_hen_episode_of_side_a/c007/14.html
Pretty much the only confirmation, and even that one is indirect. Nonetheless, my yuri goggles allow me to see the truth of the matter.

As for Ako: ah, right, loyalty... May be a large part of it, that. I know for a fact that it's a major reason I like Ryuumonbuchi. ...Might even be more important a reason than Touka's ahoge, actually. And yeah, Touka's ahoge is awesome.

UPMLUHWLUVUR

Wow. I need to go read the manga now, they totally changed that in the anime. She's just out of the shower, and the only visible bed looks to have no pillows on it... yup. That's subtle, and I love it.

Anyway, thanks for the heads up on that. Definitely going to have to read all the Saki series' now. Was going to wait till it was finished, but whatever.