Sunday 9 August 2009

Saki - Episode 19

Come the end of the last episode, we were left teetering at the brink, with the end of the Mahjong qualifying tournament final literally a few hands away and Koromo still holding a pretty solid lead. However, with Saki smiling like some kind of crazed, sockless genius, things were never liable to be that clear-cut for this episode....


First and foremost though, the start of this episode refocuses on Koromo once again, as we finally come to understand what drew her into the world of playing Mahjong in the first place. In short, the whole idea came originally from Touka, who gathered people around Koromo and encouraged her to play Mahjong in the hope of finding her some friends. Of course, up until now Koromo's terrifying performances at the table have hardly given her opportunity for friendship, but will things be different this time around? For a while it looks as though we may never find out, as Koromo's emotions boil over to such an extent that they course a power outage at the competition venue.

However, the lights soon come back on - Not just at the venue, but also in Koromo's head, as she snatches another victory and makes the chance of victory look even more bleak for the other three. Saki is still smiling though, and as we enter the final hand so she pulls off a combination of ridiculous power to claim victory at the death, while also giving us a tale of happy ever afters for the other players - Kana doesn't get punished by her teacher, Koromo makes some friends (and discovers some others that she actually had all along) and Yumi and Momoko... well, who knows, but it all seems happy enough.

So, at long last, the qualifying tournament is over, although it seems to come at an odd time for the series, with only seven episodes left to run. This almost certainly (particularly when coupled with the runaway success of Saki in Japan) means that we'll be seeing a second season of the series, but on the less positive side I suppose there will be a fair amount of filler to round out the season, starting with a swimming pool-based episode by the look at it. Well, after getting so swept up and carried away by the excitement and tension of recent episodes, perhaps I need a break from such "high-pressure" stuff as well... Regardless, the past few episodes have been fantastic viewing if you can put the slightly ridiculous nature of the whole thing to one side, and I for one have surprised myself with how much I've grown to love it.

10 comments:

Krungie said...

This whole episode, my heart was beating so fast!!! And once again, I'm left shaking and its very hard to type out this comment....

This time though, Saki doesn't end on a cliffhanger! What a surprise.... The next episode, as Hanners said, is a swimming pool ep, which might suggest a little Nodo-chest action.... heheh lucky Saki...

Koromo doesn't look so evil after her true story was revealed, so she's on my list of fave anime characters. Kana's eye is not black after this episode, and Momo once again gave some water to Yumi!!!

I'm eagerly awaiting the episode where Saki and her sister might meet. Although the dialogue might be a bit corny, the mahjong match between the sisters(a high chance it will happen) will be exciting!!!

*Thanks to Hanners for a well-versed opinion.

Kage said...

@Krungie

Next episode is TERU!! In the preview, you see a picture of her.

I'm excited even for a swimsuit episode now. Oh, Gonzo/Magic Picture or whatever. You really know how to tease me.

Krungie said...

Heheheh you're excited at the swimsuit?!?!?! And I know! The mahjong match b/w Nodoka, Saki, Teru and sm1 else is gnna be fun!!!! Heheh im excited bout the swimsuit too!!!!!

Kage said...

@Krungie

Well, no. Hrm, maybe I phrased it wrong. It's more like the fact that TERU WILL BE THERE (probably) makes me excited about the episode, DESPITE the fact that it's a swimsuit episode.

*grin* I'm a fan of the mahjong, and the cute yuri scenes are nice. I'm not a fan of the fanservice shots, esp. since most of them seem a little odd.

camarilla said...

I think we will have the individual tourneys to round out the season, only a guess. I am sure we will see another season of this.

Anonymous said...

Korome is just plain cute~! I really like her~!

Next week my main is takei hisa in swimming suit~! My favourite character among all~!

Detective Kitty said...

another season will likely come and if it doesn't then the producers know how to end something horridly...not they havn't with other animes like inuyasha and skip beat.

This episode was one of the best. I mean we all waited a full week in hopes to see Saki kick some butt and win the final game like we all knew she would. And I have to say when it came, it came in a very satisfactory way.

I really enjoyed learning about Koromo and her sad past, I didn't hate her because I knew there had to be an evil character in an anime to make it good, but to see it ending in such an adorable way made it all better. And Koromo was liked better too.

Happy endings for the other characters made this episode heart-warming as well so know I shall be awaiting the nationals. Of course if I have to wait till a second season then I will but if the producers don't make them I will be awefully mad...

Anonymous said...

those rediculously large breasts are getting on my nerves.

Peter S said...

I dunno, if I was Saki's opponent and she announced that Mahjong was fun, and then whipped out the super-killer hand that beats you, I'd want to strangle her ...

Krungie said...

@ Peter S

Hehehe same...their dialogue is way confusing... "Mahjongs fun, but now im gonna make you piss ur pants with my awsome hand!!"

@ 1st anonymous

Takei Hisa FTW!!!!! shes my fave too.... Saki's not nice mahjong, Nodo-chan's breasts are overkill, Kyouta is useless, Yuuki and Mako suck at mahjong....hehehe and Hisa's tile slams are cool, not gay like the other ppls....