I was first lured into Saki with the promise of mahjong. Of course it was a fairly transparent trap. High school girls playing mahjong? Really? I didn’t really expect much going into it. Hell, the first few episodes bored me to tears and I eventually dropped it right before the tournament started.

A few months later, after the PA anime thread devolved into people having their lives ruined after watching School Days, people started talking about Saki. Then I saw this and decided that I needed to see what the hell was going on in that show.

I like to describe the show as Code Geass with mahjong. You’ve got the same kind of ridiculous stuff going on in Saki. I mean, when you’re Geassing the mahjong table or going in and out of stealth mode, it’s not too far a stretch to start expecting someone to turn into a rocket, right?

The side characters really made the show for me. I mean, the Kiyosumi crew is just Saki, Nodoka, whipped dude, Tacos, glasses girl, and Hinagiku. Basically, everyone was just being awesome while Tacos had ADD and the guy was around being irrelevant. Most of the other major side characters had motivations and backstories that were far more interesting than any of the main characters. Not only that, but they pulled off some ridiculous crap.

Like Geass, Saki was a really fun show to watch, with each week bringing moments that would be discussed with incredulity. Unlike Geass, there’s not much more to it. Serious mahjong this is not. Of course, now I don’t know if I’ll be on board for a second season now that all of my favourite characters are out of the picture. I can’t envision Saki without Stealth Momo anymore-su.

Fullmetal Alchemist

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t that excited for this remake. It could have been that I wanted Bones to make something else (Ouran 2?). It could have been that I didn’t want to see the first bit of the series again. Anyway, all of that was rendered moot once I started actually watching it. I really, really like YUI and I really like her new song, which happens to be the OP. And I was reminded that I really liked FMA.

Saki

I was expecting this to be pretty bad. I think I like it though. Unfortunately, the mahjong terminology is pretty impenetrable to people unfamiliar with it. I have a really cursory knowledge of mahjong, but I don’t even think that if I knew how to play that it’d help with whatever ruleset they’re playing in. I can’t say I like Rie Kugimiya’s taco-girl voice, but otherwise, the cast seems pretty solid. Also, that mahjong table they have is pretty pro. This is also the first time I’ve liked GONZO’s CG since Last Exile. It fits with the intense mahjong playing pretty well.

Natsu no Arashi

This is confusing and weird. And not even SHAFT weird, just normal weird. I’ve got to watch more of this because I am lost.