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Episode 12 – The Magic of Coincidence
The real match between Akagi and Urabe has finally begun (and Osamu seems to have disappeared. Maybe he hooked up with Fake Akagi and headed out for a quick beer). Just to recap, Akagi has just rejected Urabe’s 2 Man, refusing to accept a Man Gan Ron in favour of his 4 An Kou Tsumo. Urabe interprets Akagi’s strange decision as a sign of a weak gambler and bad judgement. Akagi has thrown away a direct hit on Urabe for a 4 An Kou that might not even happen.
The round progresses. Akagi discards the 2 Man he just drew, throwing away a Man Gan Tsumo. It’s the 4 An Kou or nothing.
Urabe draws and is again in Ten Pai, this time for a 6 or 8 Man. His hand has recovered from his 2 Man discard and is now in pretty good condition. Akagi must’ve been insane to let the 2 Man pass, and now Urabe will make him regret that decision.
Akagi draws a 6 Man, one of his winning tiles. Ishikawa looks on. Akagi only has two draws left, so he really ought to forget about his 4 An Kou and just Tsumo with the 6 Man already. Besides, from the look of the pond, that 6 Man is probably Urabe’s winning tile, so Akagi can’t discard it-
Akagi picks up his 6 Man and discards it.
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The crowd, including Urabe, is dumbfounded by Akagi’s idiotic move. Just about everybody knew that Urabe was waiting on a 6 Man, yet Akagi still discarded the winning tile! What Akagi is doing makes no sense. Akagi plays, as Urabe puts it, “like a drunk bastard, with no sense of judgement”.
What’s done is done. Urabe declares a Ron. It’s a Chin Itsu hand (a hand that consists of only one suit) and a Man Gan. 12,000 points. The difference between Akagi and Urabe is now over 70,000 points, thanks to Akagi’s seemingly moronic decisions. It’s a hopeless situation for Akagi and the Kawada Group.
There are only two games left. The side player to the right of Akagi accidentally miscounts the tiles in the wall and flips the wrong tile, a Pei, as the Dora indicator. Akagi points out his mistake and the man hastily flips that tile face-down, flipping the one beside it. 5 Pin. All is now right in the world and the next game begins. Ishikawa notices that Akagi is still calm and collected enough to notice little things like that despite the odds against him. Is Akagi plotting away, brewing a major upset?
Akagi gets a crappy hand, but makes it into Ten Pai. Just when Ishikawa thinks that there’s no point in winning with such a weak hand, Akagi Kans his set of 4 Sou. Another Dora indicator is flipped because of the Kan, and, surprise, it’s a 3 Sou! Akagi’s sucky hand has suddenly gained four Dora. If he declares a Riichi, then his hand becomes a Hane Man (12,000-18,000 points). Akagi has a 3-way wait; it’ll be easy for him to draw the winning tile…
Akagi declares a Riichi and discards his… 7 Sou. Poof. No more 3-way. Akagi is waiting on a Pei.
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Ishikawa has no idea what’s going on in Akagi’s head. There are already two Peis in the pond, and the last one, as we all saw earlier with the flipping mistake, is in the dead wall. That Pei is the third dead wall draw. There is no way for Akagi to draw the Pei. It’s an empty wait. There are no winning tiles. Ishikawa doubts Akagi’s abilities for a moment, but then decides that Akagi must’ve done it for a reason. Ishikawa tries to figure it out himself. It seems that the only way Akagi would win in this situation would be if somebody declared a couple of Kans and then dealt the Pei from his dead wall draw. Unfortunately, it looks like nobody wants to declare Kans and add any more Dora tiles.
It’s impossible. Urabe is dealing safe tile after safe tile. He’s playing an easy game with no thinking involved, or so Ishikawa thinks.
Urabe is actually a bit worried. Akagi’s Kan and Riichi look dangerous and he doesn’t know what Akagi is waiting on. Urabe is in Ten Pai, but it’s a cheap hand and not worth winning from. He takes it apart to deal another safe tile, but he keeps drawing the same kinds of tiles. Before long, Urabe ends up with two sets of four: four 5 Sou and four 8 Sou. This is bad news; he can’t discard these risky tiles, but if he Kans them and draws even more risky tiles from the dead wall, then he’ll just be adding Dora tiles to Akagi’s hand.
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But hang on! All is not lost; there are only two turns left in this game. If Urabe can survive those two turns, then he’s fine. He discards his 9 Sou and it passes. One turn left. He draws a 3 Sou. Risky tile. However, he has a trick he can do! He Kans his 5 Sou and draws a 4 Pin from the dead wall. Hmm, that tile hasn’t been dealt yet, either, and is therefore a dangerous one, too. Urabe has no choice then; he Kans his 8 Sou.
And draws the Pei from the dead wall.
Well, since everybody saw the Pei in the beginning of the game, Akagi should remember that, too. There is no way he’d be waiting on a Pei since there are two in the pond and one in the dead wall. Plus, the Kans have prevented Akagi from drawing his last tile because they messed up the draw order. A plan with no drawbacks!
Urabe discards the Pei.
Akagi chuckles softly. That was it. He tells Urabe that he can’t break through Urabe’s defences by reason alone; instead, he’ll break him with the “force of coincidence”. Urabe is helpless when things just happen by chance. This, combined with reason, is what Akagi will use to crush Urabe.
Akagi gathers his tiles. A whopping ten Dora, plus the Riichi, makes his hand a San Bai Man (24,000-32,000 points). Akagi wasn’t just waiting on the Pei; he was waiting on Urabe’s Kans. Akagi’s strategy was one based on “coincidence”.
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The difference between Akagi and Urabe is now 22,500. Akagi is the dealer and, since this is the last game, will be in first place if he gets a direct hit on Urabe with a Man Gan or better. Fujisawa, Urabe’s boss, is concerned. Can Urabe make it through? Urabe reassures his boss; Akagi’s bizarre win was just a fluke. He won’t deal into Akagi’s hand again, so Akagi can’t get into first even if he Tsumos with a Man Gan hand. Akagi won’t win with just one game. One arrow won’t do the job; he’ll need two, minimum. If his hands suck, then he might need a third or even fourth arrow. Urabe, on the other hand, will win if he gets anything at all. All he has to do is play a fast game. He tells his boss not to worry. Fujisawa backs off, apparently reassured. He’ll leave everything up to Urabe.
Akagi just sits there, watching and smiling. Urabe frowns. He’s not going to let that damn brat have his way.
The last game begins. Urabe has a good hand and it progresses smoothly. He’s in Ten Pai with a Tan Yao (all number tiles, no 1’s or 9’s) waiting on a 2 or 5 Pin. He’ll show Akagi that you don’t have to be flashy to win!
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Akagi declares a Kan on his 7 Sou. He flips the next Dora indicator. It’s a 6 Sou. Akagi’s just gained four Dora, no cheating. Akagi is just that lucky.
Akagi chuckles creepily to himself. He’s going to kill Urabe with the first arrow.
Urabe is worried. Now that Akagi has what could be a big hand, a Tsumo might actually get him into first place.
Urabe draws a Chun. From his pond, it looks like Akagi’s going for a Tan Yao, but he might be going for the bonus tiles, too… The Chun is risky. Urabe deals his 2 Pin.
On the next turn, Akagi discards a Chun. The Chun is now a safe tile.
Urabe needs a number tile (other than 1’s and 9’s) to restore his hand, but he draws a Haku. He discards the Chun and is now waiting on a Haku that he must draw himself. He decides that there’s a good chance that Akagi has a 6 Man (the first Dora) in his hand. All those Dora, combined with the bonus tiles or a Tan Yao, would mean a win for Akagi whether he got a direct hit on Urabe or not.
Akagi calls a 2 Man and discards his 6 Man, a Dora.
Urabe concludes that Akagi must be in Ten Pai, but he can’t figure out what’s in his hand. Tan Yao? Bonus tiles? The next player also discards a 6 Man. Urabe also has one in his hand and wonders if Akagi has the last 6 Man in his. However, Urabe draws the last one. Akagi does not have any of the first Dora tiles. In that case, Urabe concludes, his hand must be a Man Gan.
A few turns later, Urabe has to make a decision. He needs to deal either the 8 Sou or the Haku to stay in Ten Pai, but they are both risky. However, since Akagi’s hand is only a Man Gan at most, Urabe is okay as long as he doesn’t deal into Akagi’s hand. Akagi’s freak luck seems to be weakening, and being forced to discard the 6 Man to salvage his hand is proof of that. Urabe is sure that Akagi’s hand is in bad condition. He’s not going to deal into Akagi’s Man Gan hand, and he’ll make sure of that by breaking his own Ten Pai. Urabe deals his 4 Pin. Akagi seems surprised. Urabe is now playing a defensive game. He’ll deal nothing but safe tiles, sacrificing his own chance to win.
Urabe won’t even try to beat Akagi in this game. Since Akagi’s luck is failing anyway, Urabe will wait until the next one.
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On the thirteenth turn, Urabe draws the third Haku. Akagi clearly has no bonus tiles, either. Therefore, he must have a Tan Yao, making all of Urabe’s Yao Chu tiles (1’s, 9’s, and word tiles) safe to discard. Urabe has only three draws left to go; he’s made it. He discards the Haku.
Ishikawa calls to Akagi, worried. The game is almost over. Akagi, however, isn’t the least bit concerned. “You’ll never know what happens until the very end,” says Akagi softly. Akagi draws a 7 Pin and discards a Haku. Akagi’s not finished yet. He’s going to freeze Urabe dead in his tracks.
Urabe draws a 4 Man, a risky tile. That’s okay; he’s got two safe tiles left, as well as the Yao Chu tiles he kept in reserve. He discards his 5 Sou.
Is there any chance that the game will end with Urabe dealing into Akagi’s hand?
A side player deals a 7 Pin. Akagi declares a Pon on it.
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That one call has screwed up Urabe’s plans. Akagi might have a three-colour three-of-a-kind. Akagi might be on a single wait. Urabe’s “safe” tiles, based on the assumption that Akagi had a Tan Yao, are no longer safe. Urabe has no safe tiles. He draws a 7 Man. Since Urabe already has a 7 Man in his hand, that means that Akagi can’t have three 7 Man tiles in his. Therefore, he can’t make a three-of-a-kind with the 7 Man unless Urabe deals it.
Urabe smiles. He’s not going to deal the 7 Man. He deals the Pei from his hand. Since Akagi is going for a Tan Yao or three-colour three-of-a-kind, he can’t use the Pei. “I made my getaway for this game,” Urabe declares smugly.
Akagi is still smiling. “Oh, really?”
“Eh?”
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“It’s still too early to tell,” he replies. He knocks over the two Pei tiles in his hand. “Pon!” Akagi discards his 3 Man. He is now on a one-tile wait. Akagi’s single remaining tile sits ominously on the table.
Urabe is in a panic. Akagi has no specific hand going. However, the Pon has changed the draw order. Urabe will end up making the last draw. Is Akagi going for the Hou Tei win, that is, by winning on any tile involved with the last draw of the game? The hinted bonus tiles, Tan Yao, three-colour three-of-a-kind… those were all bluffs. Urabe shakes his head vehemently, refusing to let Akagi’s freakish game of coincidence get to him. He needs a safe tile. Everything will be all right as long as he draws a safe tile…
It’s a Xia.
Akagi hasn’t dealt it.
It’s a dangerous tile.
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Akagi declares the game over. He knocks his one tile face-down and gets up to leave, telling Ishikawa to take care of the rest. Ishikawa stutters that they still need Akagi here; it’s not like Akagi knows if the game will end here!
Akagi says that it will. Ishikawa is still confused, so Akagi lays it out for him.
“I placed a spell on that single wait,” says Akagi. “Urabe will pick the corresponding tile from his hand and deal into mine.” He laughs. “That’s all there is to it, Ishikawa-san. No problem at all.”
Urabe, Fujisawa, Ishikawa, and the nameless side players all stare in disbelief at Akagi’s single tile. But, in the next moment, the whole room will fear Akagi.
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OPINION
That has got to be one of the most evil cliffhangers I have ever seen. We all know what’s going to happen, but, dammit, I want to see it now, not next episode! Cruel bastard of a cliffhanger, but so very Akagi.
One of those little things that bother me is when minor characters just disappear from the episode without explanation. Where did Osamu, Akagi’s Number One Fanboy, run off to? Where’s Brush-head? Where’s Dirty Cop Yasuoka, Brush-head’s useless manager? Where’s Nangou? Could it be? Could it really be that these people have something to do besides watch Akagi play Mahjong?! *gasp*
Too… much… Mah… jong..! I’ve read over my summary and can barely make sense out of it. Well, I had a good go at the thing, and that’s about the best I can do.
I get the impression that Akagi could’ve ended the game at any time if he’d just stuck with a straightforward style. However, he seems to like playing in the most convoluted, drawn-out manner possible to achieve a win. You know, I don’t think he ever intended to win with that 4 An Kou. Too easy. Akagi’s not happy unless he’s hanging on by a thread and the other guy has a huge head start. A win just isn’t a win unless his opponent is totally shattered afterwards, and the best way to break someone is to play like a drunk bastard. Sometimes I wonder if Akagi’s opponents would fare better if they were out of their minds to begin with.
Urabe has fourteen tiles to choose from. How likely is it that he’ll discard the one tile that Akagi needs to win? There’s no guarantee that the tile is even in Urabe’s hand. Maybe it’s in a side player’s hand. It could still be in the wall.
Pffft. This is Akagi we’re talking about. The answer is obviously 100%. There’s no beating that demonic Akagi magic.
Comments
zzo38
27 Jan 2007, 18:45
I like this one! These are real tricks to win Mah-Jong! Well, if Urabe has no chance of winning and playing defensively, then maybe another player will discard it. Maybe he want to win with so much money that there isn’t enough money in the entire world to pay it off. Actually, I think this show is good. Too bad is not playing this show in Canada…
ddraggy
29 Jan 2007, 20:32
It’s the last draw in the game. If Urabe doesn’t discard Akagi’s tile, then they’ll have to start over again.
Heh, assuming the wager doubles every session, how much Mahjong would they have to play before there really *isn’t* enough money in the world to pay it off?
I doubt any station would air Akagi; it’s too different and the Mahjong stuff probably wouldn’t translate very well… good thing I’m not depending on television stations to get Akagi 🙂
juzMe
17 Mar 2007, 06:38
🙁
I WISH FOR A SEASON 2…
>.<
ddraggy
18 Mar 2007, 09:48
Don’t we all. Too bad there’s not enough manga to finish off Washizu.
Ah well, at least Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji will be out someday, possibly.
Erik
20 Apr 2007, 15:16
It is a shame that Akagi has not received the attention it should. But, as ddraggy stated, the Mahjong rules would probably not translate very well.
The too much Mahjong statement is right on the mark. Trying to watch Akagi with only a basic knowledge of Mahjong is pretty daunting, and will result in a plethora of Internet searches to get the rules memorised and enjoy the anime even more.
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