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Episode 3 – Strategy of the Maverick
The legendary night, Round 8, continues. Since neither Akagi nor Yagi try to win, the game inevitably ends in a draw. Because it’s a draw, they have to show each other their hands. It becomes clear that Yagi passed on his winning tile to undermine Akagi’s confidence. Akagi is not impressed and practically says so. Ryuuzaki is getting worried, but Yagi is sure he has everything under control. He knows Akagi’s weakness!
After Akagi wins a whole bunch of times, Yagi finally gets a chance to take advantage of that Kan business from the previous episode.
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He cheats, sticking two Dora (hand value multiplier) indicator tiles, two 7 Sou, into his wall (and the Dora tile is the tile that comes after the indicator in the Mahjong tile set). Yagi waits until Akagi does his Riichi. Then, he Kans the Dora tiles, 8 Sou, in his hand, allowing him to flip the other indicator tile, another pre-arranged 7 Sou. That, combined with his Riichi, gives Yagi an instant killer hand. The other players gang up on Akagi, changing the draw order, and he’s forced to deal Yagi’s winning tile because of the Riichi he’d called in the beginning. Now Yagi’s in the lead by 4000 points. Akagi isn’t bothered and flat-out declares that he’s going to be more direct. Shake, Yagi, shake.
Last round. Akagi seems to be going for a quick game by calling the other players’ tiles early on. It looks like he’s going for a Man zi straight hand, so the side players are intimidated into dealing safe tiles only. It’s just Akagi and Yagi now. Akagi’s called three times, so Yagi thinks that the kid could win at any moment. He has to do something!
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Akagi isn’t, in fact, one tile away from winning. He draws from the wall and then does something seemingly stupid; he Kans his 4 Man tiles, leaving him with a single tile wait. And then he knocks over his remaining tile. He manages to cover half of it with his thumb, but it’s clearly a Man zi. It’s obvious to the other players that Akagi is waiting on a single Man zi tile, at least for this turn. He couldn’t possibly be waiting on anything else, right? Right.
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Of course it’s a trick. He stuck a 4 Sou tile into his Kan and left one of the 4 Man out. He then knocked the Man zi over on purpose. Akagi is actually waiting on a 4 Sou. And it just happens to be the Dora tile.
Yagi, thinking that the Dora tile is safe, discards it from his hand. Akagi has a good chuckle. Ron. Game Over.
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Or not. Akagi wants to keep going, double or nothing. With their reputations on the line, the yakuza can’t do anything other than accept the challenge. They start another session and Akagi continues to chip away at Yagi, getting into his head and manipulating his game with ease. Finally, the rep player can’t stand it anymore and falls to pieces, dramatically collapsing face-down on the Mahjong table. Game Over.
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The rep player is catatonic, but Akagi still refuses to quit. He wants to double up again! Akagi wants to continue until there’s nothing left. He wants to continue… until they see the depths of hell.
Ryuuzaki refuses to do it right now, using the rising sun as an excuse. Akagi presses the issue, but Yasuoka cuts in and reasons with him. He’ll set up a rematch for Akagi and bring in a yakuza boss to witness it, to make sure they get their winnings. Akagi doesn’t seem particularly happy, but doesn’t say anything, basically relenting. Finally.
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And as the sun rises in the azure sky, Nangou and Yasuoka leave the Mahjong parlour, watching as Akagi walks towards the horizon, alone.
Who was that strange boy?
Where did he come from?
Where is he going?
Where are his parents?
It’s a mystery.
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OPINION
Great episode. Cool zooming shot of Akagi, complete with blue Flames of Doom, reflected in Yagi’s eye. It’s amazing how clear that reflection is, taking into consideration the fact that they’re at least a metre away.
I’m surprised that Akagi can actually be shocked. It’s normal for the other characters to have that gobsmacked expression on their faces when they’re playing against Akagi, but for Akagi himself to get owned was a nice treat. Good use of Akagi’s Kan weakness. The caterpillar cheating and silent communication between the other players was smoothly done. Too bad Yagi only had that one trick up his sleeve. Did he really expect to win from that alone? He was depending on that one opportunity far too much and, once he’d used it, that was the end.
This is the first time we get to see Akagi do something that reeks of “cool” instead of “shameless cheater”. Well, unless you count misdirection as cheating. Either way, Akagi’s “Heh heh heh, Ron” makes me smirk every time. There’s just something about Akagi as a character. Casually betting Nangou’s life to see how far it can take him… Akagi’s such a bastard that it’s fun watching him scare people and wreak havoc. And he doesn’t know when to quit. His opponent is traumatised, unresponsive, and his limp form has to be hauled out of his chair, but Akagi still wants to keep going?
And poor Yagi Keiji. Sometimes I wonder if Akagi has some otherworldly power that actually breaks people whenever he wins. Surely, collapsing like that is not a normal reaction to losing a match, is it? At least nobody’s lost any fingers. Yet.
Comments
Eris_sama
21 Oct 2006, 13:36
Well written summaries and analysis. Good thing this is a short series. I bet it took a lot of time.
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