Oppai Power Levels + TileSLAM = ???: Saki on NOT Redefining Mahjong

And so, the first season of the series ends…?

It’s quite a ride. Not that good, but interesting nonetheless. During my hiatus, the only prominent series that I said I’ll follow till the end was Saki. Maybe, for lack of a better show, or because the next season’s series lineup is made of ho-hum and fail. The episodes pass, the comparison to canon material deepens, and various innuendos regarding boobs and yuri scattered everywhere (with, of course, some interventions of Censorship-san from both the TV and DVD releases). And now, with the last episode symbolizing the final curtain fall, the anime gets the rest it deserves…

Or so I think.

Let’s not get slicey or dicey here. We need not try to define if Saki is enjoyable or appreciable (though Zeroblade helped a lot on thinking for this post). It both tried to define that, and after the final episode, I STILL didn’t think it did. Maybe the reason for garnering such an audience was because of its amazing tileslamming powers, or different moe factors like oppai power levels and cheesy scenes, or because it tried to tackle the smorgasbord of influences that affected the characters and their gameplay. But it didn’t effectively mix these factors with the plot the way Higurashi did, or the way CLANNAD did, or the way some other anime that had both moegasmic tendencies and a deep plot did. For me, it’s kind of hard to put a finger on it, compared to putting said finger on the chin to further think it over.

Still, the exquisite flavor that tries to link mahjong to personal life had me on my toes, even if it’s only for a fleeting moment. Why? Because it outweighs any other affection, any other suffering, or any other endeavor that you may get from a game. You don’t see someone like Miyanaga Saki, who’s desperate enough to think that playing mahjong would unite the divided family that often. You don’t see someone like Amae Koromo, who thinks that living the existence playing mahjong would stave off the loneliness of losing a family that often. “Playing to be the strongest” suddenly turns into “Being the strongest for my personal interests”.  And so, the opposite forces of the game and the influences behind playing it clouded the effect curiosity had on the series’ impression.

So like, here comes the yuri?

To somewhat distract me from this, a large platter of possible relationships and shippings are laid on my table, which, due to the nature of the show, are inclined to yuri. I don’t see how the competition sunk in, or how love for the similar sex suddenly blossomed from playing the game to the point of aggression and alienation. I think I already got warned by the first few chapters and episodes, but I really hoped that the impression of yuri on the first episode and the impression of mending internal affairs that was made bare on the latter parts of the series would remain equal. Seems I was wrong. It only added more confusion for the plot.

To somewhat distract me from this, the series employed powers of tileslamming destruction. From subtle ones like intuition and smoking trails for moves that make your opponents eat dust, to extreme ones that include Mystic Eyes of Move Perception, and Mahjong Phantasms that either make you play like an idiot, or just plainly destroy your mahjong world completely. These made the battles oh-so-exciting, ultimately driving the series audience into an awestruck frenzy. But to be frank, it’s plain pointless, even if you say these are special because of how these change the way the game is played. All the more confusion for plot.

Pick your poison, choose your destiny: Lack or abundance of chest area is irrelevant if we are to count personal preferences.

For now, I think I’ll have to dismiss Saki. Until the fated meeting of the Miyanaga sisters comes, I’ll try to somehow grasp a hold of the situation and not just stand dumbfounded watching one tileslam after another. Hopefully, someone would try to find the enlightenment I’m looking for. It will ultimately decide if watching it was out of enjoyment or appreciation.

Let the moegasms ensue until further notice.