Readers’ Pick: Saki Achiga-hen – Episode of Side-A – Episode 2

Also known as the episode with an excessive lack of both mahjong and monocles. Not sure if I’m joking when I say the quality of this show in my eyes is dependent on how often that monocle character appears.

But anyways, another episode of Saki, and another day of wondering if I was lucky or cursed that this show was the winner. I can’t decide if I don’t like the show but am trying to like it, or if I like the show but feel like I shouldn’t. Or perhaps it’s some insane middle ground I can’t even begin to fathom. Saki may be a mindset of its own.

This episode had the appearance of the inevitable moe character. Hurray?

I’m sure everyone saw this character and saw yet another moe anthropomorphization, but wait. Is she really? Lets take a second to examine her character.

She’s always cold and shivering, which is why she seeks warmth. Even in the hottest of seasons, she’s freezing. Also, she’s very quiet. She seems to use as little energy as possible while speaking, which is why she always somewhat mumbles everything.

Now, I can already tell you’re thinking, “Well, obviously she’s always shivering and cold to make her appear weak, and therefore moe. The mumbling is also for the same reasons. So she must be a moe character!” Good observations, but nay, you are quite mistaken.

Ladies and gentlemen, she is clearly a zombie.

Think about it: the characters are confused that she’s always cold, but then it gets immediately dropped, and is never addressed again. Her sister is even supportive of this, and rather than being confused and making fun of her or something, she helps her stay warm as best as she can. This is obviously because zombies cannot generate body heat, which is why she’s always cold and seeks warmth.
And the mumbling? Well just like how zombies cannot generate body heat, they also lack the human function of creating energy, so she uses as little of it as possible. This is why she mumbles.

So let’s see, so far our cast consists of: a spunky, “FRIENDSHIP IS POWER” lead; a returning childhood friend; a lesbian voice by Kana Hanazawa; a zombie; and a girl who has parents that think she’s a boy. I have to admit, this is a pretty sweet cast.

But damn, mahjong is some serious business. They completely decimated their opponents in the tournament, but then they lose one match and not only does the team disband, but the company goes bankrupt?

There must be bets going on behind the scenes where the losing team’s manager has to forfeit over all of their personal possessions. Actually, probably not since the losing teams all seem to be fine. Maybe the manager used up all of her money buying that oversized monocle, and gambled the entire company on this tournament in order to get some cash.

Now, normally I’d complain that the story moved way too fast since they already have a team ready to go, but instead I’m incredibly thankful I didn’t have to sit through multiple episodes of little girls wandering around town. Hey, some shows need to move fast, and this part of the story is the perfect example. As amusing as it’d be to see Zombie shivering around town, I’d rather get to some actual mahjong matches.

So hopefully we can get to those next episode, right?

…Right?

P.S.

That has to be the most inefficient hair style I’ve ever seen in my life.

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