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OVERVIEW
Mahjong Legend Akagi. Also known as: Mahjong Legend Akagi – The Genius Who Descended into Darkness, The Legend of Mahjong: Akagi, Tohai Densetsu Akagi – Yamini Maiorita Tensai, 闘牌伝説アカギ 闇に舞い降りた天才, アカギ, or just plain old Akagi. How should I describe this series? Dark, atmospheric, psychological, noir. Occasionally chilling and violent. Stylish. The game of Mahjong (or Mahjongg) is the framework in which the story of Akagi Shigeru takes place. This is, of course, self-evident; his name is in the title. Akagi, through a combination of ridiculous luck, cheating, bluffing, incredible insight, and skill, crushes his opponents. He goes around gambling against progressively stronger people, risking life and limb for essentially no reason, and that’s just about all he does. Interesting hobby for a thirteen-year-old. As many have said, Akagi has balls of steel. Two huge balls. He is Mahjong Legend Akagi – The Genius Who Descended into Darkness. Well, you can figure out the main plot just from the title of the series. A Mahjong prodigy, Akagi, appears out of nowhere and becomes a legend in the Japanese underworld. The only point of confusion would be whether he becomes a legend among the Japanese mafia (aka yakuza), or if he literally goes to hell to kick demon ass. As one continues to watch the series, it seems that he may well do both. I’d go even further as to say that if Akagi ever got himself killed and went to hell, he would simply be going home, retaking his place among all the other demon spawn. And then the earth itself would crack open and spit him right back out, cigarettes and all… because he’s just too damn scary, even for hell. However, it may well be a different story if he ever makes it past his thirties… Based on the manga of the same name by Fukumoto Nobuyuki (福本 伸行), one of the first things you notice about this series is the art. Everyone is drawn with bold lines that look nothing like your typical mainstream anime. However, the look is quite faithful to the original manga and, at times, actually better. They really do look like that, but once you get over this: …everything will be just fine. STAFF Kanji provided by sukreih and the Akagi Guidebook
The voice actors in this series all do a top-notch job, even the minor characters. I’ve listed as many as I could identify in their respective character sections, so check there if you’re curious. Hagiwara Masato (萩原 聖人) is chilling as Akagi, and one can tell right off the bat that there’s something fundamentally wrong with that kid, if the fact that he grins like a psycho doesn’t give it away. Perhaps the biggest issue with this anime is the Mahjong itself. Though it’s still great fun to watch even if you don’t know the rules, it really helps if you understand what the hell they’re doing. I watch the Triad fansubs of Akagi, and they put a lot of effort into trying to make the Mahjong comprehensible. If you watch it twice and pay attention, you can generally figure out the reasoning behind each move. The problem usually lies in working out which tiles are which. Which design is Pin? Man? Sou? And that’s relatively easy. Good luck telling the Winds apart in the heat of the moment. Fortunately, they’re playing the Japanese version of Mahjong. Otherwise, you’d have to worry about Flowers and Seasons, too. Overall, this anime is pretty good in my opinion, and well worth watching. Come on, it’s 26 episodes. You can’t go wrong. SOUNDTRACK The soundtrack is one of the things that makes the anime. All you have to do to show this is to mute the audio while watching just about anything. If the anime is actually better muted, then it’s got some problems. Fortunately, Akagi has a pretty good soundtrack. The series doesn’t lend itself to soft music, but there are some softer tracks mixed in with the harder-edged. It needs to be harsh for some critical scenes, and the soundtrack delivers. Heavy on the bass, and best enjoyed through the speakers, not headphones. Jazzy.
Even if the opening and ending themes are not to your liking, the background music in the anime itself is good, edgy, and matches really well with what’s currently going on in the scene. Composed by Taniuchi Hideki, it’s rarely intrusive, but still good listening on its own. Excellent. Guess what I’m listening to right now as I type this. Go on, guess. Consider buying the Akagi OST, available from YesAsia (that’s where I got mine) and other anime soundtrack sellers. 35 tracks in all, including the opening and both ending songs. Well worth the twenty-odd bucks, in my opinion. I personally love the tracks that play when Akagi is about to do something incredible. You might like it too.
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