Anime Review: Akagi Legend of Mahjong

Review Akagi Legend of MahjongWritten by WarpshadowRating good/ very good

Akagi is an anime show with a very good but very narrow hook, namely it’s a show about a man who is great at mahjong because he is fearless.

One stormy night a man named Nangou was playing a game of high stakes Mahjoing as a way of clearing his debts. Only the plan is backfiring and losing will mean his debt will double. Then, as if answering Nangou's desperation a teenager named Akagi stepped out of the storm. he offers to play for him in exchange for an Alabi from the police. Akagi is unfamiliar with the rules of Mahjong but has a wicked sense of insight and a complete lack of fear that more than makes up for it. Indeed Akagi has the makings of a genius in the field of gambling but gambling by it's very nature is cruel even to geniuses.I first learned of Akagi when i was following Saigar, the contest to decide the manliest anime character. After watching the show I have come to agree with those that voted for him. Akagi is an interesting if two dimensional character being that he is not only truly fearless but also an excellent study of character, being that he most often wins by psychologically destroying his opponent. However that appeal is the only one the show has as if his character does not appeal to you there is virtually no other reason to watch the show. This is a show with a narrow but interesting appeal that is at worth at least checking out.