Long ass title, took half of my screen. Anyway, I thought really hard about what anime to review this time. I wanted to do something other than slice of life and youkai and ghosts and spirits. While racking my brain, I realized you can take everything out of me but slice of life.
I actually had to look at my MAL list to see if there was something else. And I found this. This anime is something I have been trying to make people watch. The manga is by same author as that of famous gambling manga called Kaiji. Unfortunately, while a lot of people know about Kaiji, very few people know Akagi.
Akagi is about our OP thirteen year old protagonist who doesn’t even fear death if he can get better bet out of it. The anime starts with a small fry called Nangou losing huge sums of monies at a mahjong parlor to the mafia. Of course, he wants to get back his money at least, but he keeps losing. Enters Akagi, running away from police who’re after him in another gambling case. In the last ditch effort, Nangou gives his turn to Akagi and realizes that he has found a genius who’s going to become a legend in the game of gambling.
I wouldn’t want to compare this anime with Kaiji but since both are written by the same person, I can’t help it. For the anime, there is no that weird “zawa zawa” sound in the back as in Kaiji. And the anime ends in one season with 26 episodes.
Animation will definitely put some people off. It took me some time to adjust with the characters and animation. Those exaggeratedly pointed chins are not my cup of tea. But cannot complain coz the mangaka makes all their characters like that.
Also, the anime is old (2005-2006), so the video quality you might find right now might not be as good. And, it is intense. Also, note that it’s rated R – 17+. There is quite some profanity and violence in there.
If you can move past all this, there lies a gem. As I said, the lead is just too OP, unafraid in the face of death. He would gamble even his life away just for kicks. Of course, I don’t endorse gambling myself.
But I did get so much confidence in myself for some reason after watching the anime. I think I should watch it again. You realize that absolute confidence in yourself (not empty narcissism just to be clear) makes other people falter before you. And I love these types of anime for that. One outs is another one but that’s for some later post.
Oh, the OSTs. Well, the OP’s mellow tone doesn’t really suit the anime but the lyrics are so philosophical and suit the anime well. Oh the irony in one sentence. The ED is definitely better.
You’ll also get to learn the real mahjong. Not the tile matching game we play on our PCs, but the one you see old ladies playing in K and C dramas.
Conclusion: This anime is definitely not for kids. Watch at your own risk. But enjoyment and plot and suspense and thrill and everything else is 100 out of 100. The ending is very satisfying too.
Final Feelings: ¡¡¡( •̀ ᴗ •́ )و!!!
Watch here: Crunchyroll / Youtube (Full 26 eps run)
Personal Front: I am sorry guys, I am out on this weekend and couldn’t really prepare much. So, if you spot some mistake or grammatical error, please do not fret (and leave me here all alone TT_TT).
Anyway, I am happy that I am going out with my friends, but I am pretty sure the weather is not going to favor us much. I would definitely like to use this chance to collect myself. And work harder after I come back. I hope things work out for me.
Oh btw, did I tell you guys this? I received my t-shirts and hoodie from the company? I did say I would do a separate post but doesn’t look like it. Anyway, they’re just company’s t-shirts and not anime merchandise. That was disappointing. On the other hand, they’re so soft and comfortable OMG. I am glad to get them after all. Definitely high quality stuff.
Today’s song: OP from the anime
Disclaimer: All videos and pics belong to their respective owners. None of them belong to me.