Sunday 26 July 2009

Saki - Episode 17

Episode seventeen of Saki takes us to the half-way point of the qualifying match's final round, but there's only one person at the table walking away for the break with a smile on their face, with Koromo having had a field day with her opponents, leaving them all looking decidedly depressed.

With that break underway, all three of Koromo's opponents find themselves being consoled by their team-mates, with Saki in particular getting some words of motivation from Nodoka as she finds herself lost on the way to the bathroom.


However, words can only do so much, and as we rejoin the action for the second half of this round things certainly don't get any better - Indeed, Koromo seems to be on a even more of a vicious run of form, targeting Kazekoshi relentlessly until she brings them to their knees with a total of zero points. Could this be Koromo's first major mistake however? Her choice to take Kazekoshi to zero points was at the expense of winning the game outright, and in the very next hand the situation is saved by some cunning play by Saki to bring the fourth-placed team back into the points; of course, as we already know from early in the series Saki is a dab-hand at losing points as well as winning them. Finally, Saki seems to have found something to enjoy in her game, which could spell trouble for the other prodigy at the table as the match continues next episode...

So, once again I've found myself getting caught up well and truly in the Mahjong side of this series, after some decidedly nondescript words of encouragement in that half-way break time. It was almost starting to get a bit dull watching Koromo wipe the floor with all and sundry (especially when coupled with her "moon power" or whatever which gave nobody else any chance of winning a hand effectively), but things have certainly taken an interesting turn right at the end to renew my excitement somewhat - Things could be about to get mighty competitive in the next episode.

6 comments:

Krungie said...

Here we go!!!!!!! Now this is the Saki I was expecting!

At the middle of the episode, I was stuck wondering, "Oh is it gonna be Koromo again?!"

But at the end i was surprised and very pleased at the outcome. Once again Saki proves to me why it is one of my favorite animes of all time.

Ha! Take that Koromo!

Anonymous said...

Saki is such a nice girl. GIving those points to Kana. I liked that twist at the end where Saki shows that she is better than Koromo in some ways.

The motivation speeches weren't a plus for me though. I don't enjoy lovey-dovey girls together. But Koromo and Fujita-pro was really cute. Especially pervert Pro!!! Lool!!!!

I am waiting eagerly for Saki 18!

Anonymous said...

AGGGHHH!!!!! I love this anime! I was watching it at 10 pm..... I just couldn't wait till tomorrow.

Of course I'll be replaying it tomorrow..... AGAIN!!!! Ha! love u Saki!

Anonymous said...

Do you know that I'm watching this exact episode again??!! Of course, this is not a bad thing. I just like reminiscing and replaying good episodes.....

As 1st Anonymous said, I'm not into the "lovey-dovey girls" either. But seriously, how could you resist rubbing such a cute Koromo!(she's only cute when she's not crushing her opponents' hearts.)

The End was what caught me. Saki goes into her "sort-of" demonic state. Although she doesn't seem like the demonic type.... And completely hooked me again! I was lacking the motivation on continuing on the last episode but now I'm back!

*Thanks to Hanners for providing a great description and opinion. As always.

Detective Kitty said...

Ok, this episode was starting off as another disappointment to me. I like Koromo and her cute, demonic, kick-ass ways but i was getting really tired of her constantly winning. I mean the anime's called Saki for a reason. I was waiting for this episode hoping that i will find some Saki kick-ass power in the 24 minutes that it runs. I was in disappointment most of the way of course the ending sort of made up for it. I just wish that I could see more Saki powers. But it was extraordinarily intelligent to give kana the points...which is funny because i was mumbling to myself...why doesn't someone let her win then? But I will be awaiting for the next episode hopefully it will satisfy me.

Unknown said...

Koromo's mistake was not leaving Kana at 0 points. Rather, she unexpectedly played into Saki's game - point manipulation.

Now we can watch Koromo drown in her own water. I, for one, will greatly enjoy it.