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Winning a game of Mahjong is hard; getting the same score every time is practically impossible. So imagine the surprise of the school Mahjong club when Saki Miyanaga walks in and does just that. Despite her dislike for the game, her talent is obvious and it's up to the club members - the top-heavy Nodoka, the energetic Yuuki, the cunning Mako and the permanently in control club president Hisa - to persuade her to join the club and help them reach the Nationals. But even then, will their combined skills be enough to overturn some of the toughest high school players the country has to offer?
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Kojirou-sensei, the rather indifferent teacher and coach of the school kendo club, is in financial dire straits. As a result, he makes a bet with his fellow kendo coach and former upperclassman to see who can assemble and train the better female kendo team, with the prize for Kojirou being a year's supply of food if he wins. Motivated by the idea of free food for a year, he begins to teach the club seriously; however, most of its members have already graduated, and so he is tasked with assembling members in addition to training them for the competition with his rival. While dealing with his eccentric students, he slowly rediscovers why he loves kendo and what it truly means to be a teacher.
Both series are focused on a group of highly competitive high school girls. One is about mahjong while the other is about kendo, but the overall mood of the stories is the same. There is light-hearted comedy and all the tension of last-minute underdog wins that you would associate with these type of shows. While watching both of these series, you will pick up on some terminology and the rules of the games as well.
Both shows are about a group of moe doing what they like. They are extremely similar in terms of plot and characters, but Bamboo Blade has a slice-of-life vibe that isn't really there in Saki (at least not as much). Both shows also feature hints of shoujo-ai, though it doesn't really go far in any of them.
Superpowers with [Mahjong/Kendo], because sprouting angelwings while in "the zone" is awesome. Both Saki and Bamboo Blade are anime about a high-school club with mostly girls, shooting for their dreams with the club and having a good time together. There isn't anything more to the shows, but that's all they need. Saki has a higher "moe-factor" than Bamboo Blade though, but as long as you don't mind that difference, both shows are two of the same kind.
Both animes are coming of age sports animes where a shy girl who is amazing at one sport learns that it is not only a chore but also meant to be fun and is a great way to make friends
One stormy night, a desperate man finds himself playing Mahjong with yakuza thugs; the prize is his life. He is losing, and death seems certain, until a teenage boy stumbles out of the darkness into the Mahjong parlor, drenched in rain. Allowed to watch, the boy soon offers to play in place of the marked man, and that night, a legend is born. After his first taste for Mahjong, Akagi Shigeru finds himself entangled in the dark underworld of Mahjong gambling: for money, reputation, and lives.
If you really like Mahjong but without the kiddy themes and humor replaced with high stakes gambling and jaw-breaking suspense (like Kaiji), try Akagi.
The obvious connection here is mahjong, but both of these shows are very interesting to watch for anyone interested in playing mahjong in real life. Both play the Ricchi style of mahjong, but Saki focuses on rare, higher end hands while Akagi deals with more realistic hands while psychologically manipulating your opponent or slight-of-hand. Saki's setting is high school tournament while Akagi deals with the underworld and criminal games. Both are very interesting for anyone who is interested it learning new hands, or just enjoy watching mahjong.
When Shion was a young girl, her parents were brutally murdered; and the sight of their dead bodies in a pool of blood caused her to lose her voice. Years later, Shion is now a young woman who was raised by Shinji Yasuoko, a professional Shogi player, and his wife. Shion has become a Shogi player just like her adopted father, and is working her way towards becoming a female Meijin – a master of the sport. With powerful opponents and sinister strangers around every turn, and her parents’ killer still on the loose, Shion’s path to glory has never seemed more challenging!
When i saw Saki, it immeadiately brought to mind Shion no oh. Both feature female protagonists playing board games (Shion has shougi and Saki has mahjong) with a skill thats unreal. These shows parallel each other in afew ways. Each show the heroines using friends, family and rivals to help push them to greater heights. Another way there similar is that in some way their family is in some way responsible for why they play the game (Shion has a much darker undertone than Saki though) Also, each one showcases a mildly romantic undertone that seems to go hand-in-hand with the game (Although Saki has a definite ecchi feel and focuses more on female relationshiops).
Even if you dont have an understanding of either game, both shows can have you glued to your computer until the last move is finished
Shion and Saki are strangely alike... And at the same time, they're not. If you liked one because of the family drama, you should check out the other. If you're just into board games, you should check the other out as well.
While examining an old Go board in his grandfather's basement, twelve-year-old Shindo Hikaru is possessed by the restless spirit of Sai, an ancient Go master who has waited for over one thousand years to play the Hand of God: the perfect move. Sai convinces Hikaru to act as a vessel for making his moves, but it is soon clear that Hikaru also enjoys Go and wants to play his own games. Moreover, the rules of Go have changed since Sai's time, and Go players from all over the world are now much stronger, having had the benefit of hundreds of years of evolution and experimentation by the masters before them. Can this unlikely pair form a successful partnership and rise to the top of Japan's Go community, and can Sai finally play the Hand of God and find some peace?
Both feature a protagonist in a board-game sports context (one has go, the other mah-jong) with classic shounen-sports challenges and obstacles, along with a rival of the same gender who can also double as a love interest. When I watched Saki, the first thing that ran through my head was, "This is just like Hikaru no Go, only with girls instead of guys, and mah-jong instead of go."
Raimon Middle School's soccer club is led by the boisterous and determined Mamoru Endou. Armed with his grandfather’s notebook on special training and a fierce spirit, Mamoru desires to lead the team to victory, but there’s just one problem: the team is weak, unskilled, and disheartened. However, when several new members come on board, including soccer star Shuuya Gouenji from Kidokawa Seishuu Middle School, things begin to look up for the team. With ruthless opponents to defeat, special moves to acquire and the Soccer Frontier tournament to win, Mamoru and the gang will kick and block their way to victory!
Both series are feature a tournament, and crazy, unrealistic, but nevertheless enjoyable "finishing moves" that completely blow away the opponent teams and viewers. The main characters are also talented in their sport (Endou in soccer, and Saki in mahjong). There are slight plot differences, but the overall enjoyment, and the feeling of wanting the character to succeed remains.
