Saki 225: Stray Arrow

Last time, in Saki... Sergeant match. Mako was in the middle of a dealer repeat. In a flashback, we saw her memorize several of her opponents' "unusual discard situations" from photographs taken by the Kiyosumi students. Chapter continues from there. But first, have some Shindouji...

 

Saki ch225 (Mega)

Saki ch225 (Mediafire)

 

Toki 46: Three Different Styles

There must be a connection between Nacchan and Nanami but they can't be the same person, can they?

Anyway, Toki troubles and that character finally makes an appearance!

Toki ch46 (Mega) 

Toki ch46 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 84: Faith & Achiga 27: Smile

The 15th anniversary of the Saki series is coming up early next year and the publisher is preparing to commemorate the event in a few ways. For example, there will be a Saki-related exhibition in Tokyo for several days in January and February. New volumes for all series will also be released in January, including the first volumes for MakoMeshi and Saki:re. There's also the book with Ritz's illustrations mentioned in an earlier post. Anyway, probably nothing too interesting for most of you but just to let you know this is a thing. Also, the reason the spinoffs are skipping an issue next month. On the other hand, Saki returns December 18th. Toki should be up in a few days.

Shinohayu ch84 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch84 (Mediafire)

Achiga ch27 (Mega) 

Achiga ch27 (Mediafire)

 

The picture below is the promo art for the 15th anniversary commemoration exhibit. Neither chapter has a proper cover so let's use this. Besides, school-age Hayari drawn by Ritz is super rare.

 

Saki Achiga-hen 26: Mother

Saki Achiga-hen returns with mostly original content this time. Not just a retelling of the main story but some background on a minor character that only rarely appeared before.

Also, chibi Kuro...

Achiga ch26 (Mega)

Achiga ch26 (Mediafire)

 

 

Toki 45: Handmaid

Toki and the bike. Last chapter ended with a splat! You never know what's gonna happen in this arc, every chapter brings a new development. What next?

Toki ch45 (Mega) 

Toki ch45 (Mediafire)

 

Background is bus stop for Sekirenji Elementary (Toki's old school).

Shinohayu 83: Variety

No breaks for any of the spin-off series at least. We get a chapter this month and next month, for all three series. Chapters will be released as soon as they're done. Toki in 2 or 3 days, Achiga 2 or 3 days after that.

That said, this is mainly a slice of life chapter.

Shinohayu ch83 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch83 (Mediafire)

 

Saki Picture Book to be Released in January

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Saki series (started in 2006), a book with illustrations drawn by Ritz Kobayashi will be released next year on the 22nd of January 2021. This is Kobayashi's first picture book. It will contain more than 250 color illustrations, including new drawings commissioned specifically for this book. This may explain, at least in part, the current break in the series until December.

Promotional art for the book

Saki 224: Cumulative Effect & Toki 44: Outset

That's young Shino and Kokoro on Saki's title page by the way. The background is the Kinjo Stone Road in Naha, Okinawa. Kokoro is from Okinawa but when did Shino get there!? A little vacation after the InterElementary tournament?

Saki ch224 (Mega)

Saki ch224 (Mediafire)

 

Operation Defeat Fujishiro Nanami has officially begun but can Sera and friends really do it?

Toki ch44 (Mega) 

Toki ch44 (Mediafire)

 

 

EDIT: And MakoMeshi ch16 by Spectacular Scanlations:

MakoMeshi ch16 (Mangadex) 

Shinohayu 82: A Visit to Her Mother's Home

This chapter's original title kinei means 'for a woman who no longer lives with her parents (due to marriage or other reasons), to go back to her parents' home to see if they are doing well'. It's one of those cases where the Japanese have a simple two-kanji word for a complex and very specific meaning. A nightmare to translate but I think "a visit to her mother's home" seems fitting.

I may have said this before but the name of the mahjong world champion is always written in katakana like this ニーマン (pronounced neeman). It could be Niemann but it could also be Neaman, Neiman, Nyman or any other similar names. Ritz used the name Niemann in her previous work so I think that supports the Niemann theory.

EDIT: changed it to 'heart' in the last pages.

Shinohayu ch82 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch82 (Mediafire) 

 

Saki 223: Cooking

It's like MakoMeshi but with mahjong instead of food. And Saki, not Mako, is the main character. Sounds weird, I know, but If you like MakoMeshi, you may like this too. 😜

 

Except the real main character is Hisa:

Saki ch223 (Mega) 

Saki ch223 (Mediafire) 

 

 

Saki 222: Wound

In the first pages of this chapter, Ritz went full power with no-pan shots and the like (in color!) so just a fair warning before you open page 1 and find Kunihiro's body part in your face. The rest of the chapter is just a normal chapter.

 

Anyway, this chapter's title is just a different word for 'injury/wound'. In chapter 220, I used 'injury' so this time it's 'wound'.

Saki ch222 (Mega) 

Saki ch222 (Mediafire) 

 

 I'll skip putting the cover this time or the warning above would be pointless.

 

Also, MakoMeshi ch15 by Spectacular Scanlations:

MakoMeshi ch15 (Mangadex) 

Toki 43: Breakup & Achiga 25: True Dragon

This month, it's Toki and Achiga-hen. Shinohayu will continue next month. Magazine cover included in the Achiga file.

Is Fujishiro Nanami truly evil inside or is she just shaking up the Sera-Hiroe-Izumi relationships so they can be more honest with each other? Very few, if any, evil characters in Saki, so that's a first. Well, maybe Niemann in Shinohayu but she's an adult and we hardly know her.

Toki ch43 (Mega) 

Toki ch43 (Mediafire)

 

The new Achiga-hen is like the manga adaptation of a future anime that may never exist. Same story but extended scenes, additional shots and normal-sized boobs!

Achiga ch25 (Mega)

Achiga ch25 (Mediafire) 

 

 

Saki 221: Nightmare

 As a general rule, when speaking of a new unknown character, if the gender is not mentioned, the neutral "they" will be used. Even though they are almost certainly female. But if the information is not given in the original version, then it's probably best to keep it that way, just in case.

The Hisa Crisis and the sergeant match:

Saki ch221 (Mega)

Saki ch221 (Mediafire)

 

And MakoMeshi chapter 14 (by Spectacular Scanlations):

 MakoMeshi ch14 (mangadex)

Shinohayu 81: Huddle

Chapter trivia: the hotel where Kokoro is staying seems to be the same hotel where Senriyama stays in Achiga-hen. It could even be the same room. Check Achiga's chapter 4 for a good comparison.

Shinohayu ch81 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch81 (Mediafire)

Just a reminder that there is no Toki or Achiga-hen this month. Next month it will be the other way around apparently. Next release should be Saki 221 in early August.

Saki 220: Injury

If the next chapter is released as scheduled, it will make 6 consecutive YG issues with a Saki chapter. Not the first time it happens but still pretty rare. The record is 7 by the way, but it only happened once.

Saki ch220 (Mega)

Saki ch220 (Mediafire)

Saki 219: Returning to Tokyo & Achiga-hen 24: Heaven's Blessing

The vanguard match just ended!

Saki ch219 (Mega)

Saki ch219 (Mediafire)

The vanguard match just started! Feel the experience of being stuck in a time loop.

Achiga-hen ch24 (Mega)

Achiga-hen ch24 (Mediafire)

Also, Makomeshi ch13 (by Spectacular Scanlations)

MakoMeshi ch13 (Mangadex)

Toki 42: Stupor

Sera's gang vs Fujishiro Nanami. What is Nanami really after? And did something that was foreshadowed more two years ago finally happen?

Toki ch42 (Mega)

Toki ch42 (Mediafire)

Shinohayu 80: Voyage

This chapter's original title uses an obscure word that means "to sleep on a boat while on a sea voyage" or simply "sea voyage" or just "voyage". However, there are no boats or sea trips in this chapter. But, we know Shino is on a trip to Tokyo for the Intermiddle and she made a stop at Yokohama, a famous port city, to visit her friends. Most likely, Ritz wanted to use something a bit less common and a bit more poetic than just "trip" for the title.

Notice that next chapter will come out a few days earlier than usual (on the 22 instead of the 25). Probably something to do with the 23 and 24 being holidays in Japan.

Shinohayu ch80 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch80 (Mediafire)

Saki 218: Unyielding

At the bottom of page 9, Satoha's right hand suffered a space-time distortion due to proximity with Teru's gravitational field. Either that or a little drawing slip, but the first one seems more likely. 😶

Saki ch218 (Mega)

Saki ch218 (Mediafire)

Saki 217: Combined Efforts

If you would like to review what Saki previously said about Teru's 9th win, that was in chapter 199. She didn't give much details at the time though.

Saki ch217 (Mega)

Saki ch217 (Mediafire)

MakoMeshi ch12 by Spectacular Scanlations:

MakoMeshi ch12 (Mangadex)

Toki 41: Mysterious Person & Achiga 23: Impulse

Some background info about a certain character has been added below. If you haven't been spoiled already, I suggest you first read the (Toki) chapter.

Mega is working again, so both links are available.

Toki ch41 (Mega)

Toki ch41 (Mediafire)

With this chapter, we are back to "round" instead of "chapter", like with the old Achiga-hen.

Achiga ch23 (Mega)

Achiga ch23 (Mediafire)

Shinohayu 79: Gathering

NiwaChoko combo was best part, I think. Still looking forward to the InterMiddle. Toki & Achiga should be ready by the end of the week, if everything goes well.

Shinohayu ch79 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch79 (Mediafire)

Oh and Saki re chapter 2 was translated a couple of days ago (by Spectacular Scanlations):

Saki re ch2 (Mangadex)

Saki 216: Big Gap

I'm gonna guess we'll get some backstory between matches? That'd be nice. When the vanguard's match ends...

Saki ch216 (Mega)

Saki ch216 (Mediafire)

Toki 40: Bribe

The middle school arc has just begun!

Toki ch40 (Mega)

Toki ch40 (Mediafire)

Everyone will probably recognize those characters on the double page but in case you forgot which character comes from where:

- Kyushu girl: Mairu (originally from Saga, later moves to Fukuoka, both in Kyushu).

- Hiroshima girl: Chachanon.

- Not mentioned but Yae is of course from Nara.

And MakoMeshi chapter 11 (by Spectacular Scanlations)

MakoMeshi (mangadex)

Shinohayu 78: To the Capital 2 & Achiga-hen 22: Entrance

Depending on chapter's length or how much editing work is required, Achiga-hen may be released together with Shinohayu, together with Toki or as a separate release. If it's a separate release, it will probably be the last to be translated, but sometimes it's more convenient to work on two chapters at once if they are easy to edit.

To the capital, at last. I expect lots of old faces and maybe some new ones too on the next chapter.

Shinohayu ch78 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch78 (Mediafire)

This scene was a couple of pages in Saki chapter 190. Here we get the full version in all its glory, which is always nice. Plus some of these characters have never or very rarely been drawn by Aguri. And finally, that character holding the phone on the first page... it's her, right? She has to be her.

Achiga ch22 (Mega) 

Achiga ch22 (Mediafire)

Saki 215: Encirclement

Remember when Saki and Teru passed each other in the hallway and Teru didn't know what to say? Maybe Teru finally found a way to "talk" to her little sister with that Rinshan Kaihou. I feel this is what Ritz is trying to convey here, very subtly. Sumire seems to think that too with her unfinished sentence in this chapter.

Saki ch215 (Mega)
Saki ch215 (Mediafire)

Saki 214: Pair Wait

Lots of double pages make it look like a short chapter but it has the usual 16 pages. No delay before next chapter either.

Saki ch214 (Mega)

Saki ch214 (Mediafire)

Update: The first chapter of Saki-re (male Saki) has been translated.
Read it here: Saki-re (Mangadex) by Spectacular Scanlations.

Shinohayu 77: To the Capital & Toki 39: Reunion

Although this chapter of Shinohayu is called "To the Capital", there's no sign of them going to Tokyo yet. According to Ritz, we'll have to wait until next chapter (To the Capital 2) for that. I don't see why they couldn't have chosen a different title but whatever. At least we know the Middle School Nationals should be close.

Shinohayu ch77 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch77 (Mediafire)

Unfortunately, this chapter of Toki is very short, only 10 pages. Pretty funny though. I guess the release of Toki's newest volume and work on MakoMeshi have kept Mekimeki very busy.

Toki ch39 (Mega) 

Toki ch39 (Mediafire)

Saki Achiga-hen 21: Revival

I was really curious about the new Achiga-hen so I did this one first. According to Ritz, roughly 70 pages of Achiga-hen have been drawn already but it was divided in two chapters, this one and the one from next month. The magazine cover and a couple of pages with character "intros" are included in the file but have not been translated. We all know these characters already and new readers should begin from chapter 1 which can be found elsewhere.

We've known this for a long time but Achiga's greatest advantage over the other schools is Harue.

Achiga ch21 (Mega)
Achiga ch21 (Mediafire)

Regarding the new Saki-re, which also started publication this month, Ritz had to say:

- The Saki manga and all previous spin-offs take place in the same world, but Saki-re takes place in a different world. A world where boys are generally strong at mahjong.

- This world was created by the author (Sakurako Gokurakuin) using Saki's "Nagano-hen" as a basis.

- Characters relationships and the flow of the games should stay mostly the same.

- Ritz worried that simply changing the character's gender would make it nothing more than a parody, but some things have been removed and others have been arranged to give it a more natural feeling.

- Ritz says we should think of it as a shounen manga with boys doing club activities.

A translation can be found on mangadex.

New spinoff: A male version of Saki?

And yet another Saki spinoff has been announced. This time, it appears to be a male genderswap of the Saki characters under the title of 咲-Saki- re：KING’S TILE DRAW. The art is provided by female mangaka Sakurako Gokurakuin (author of Sekirei). It will be published through the Gangan Online App starting on the 25th of March (coinciding with the restart of Achiga-hen). King's Tile Draw is the English name for Rinshan Kaihou.
 

From left to right: male versions of Nodoka, Saki, Hisa, Yuuki and Mako, I think...

A comment from Kobayashi Ritz about the picture above reads:

These are the Kiyosumi five!

Can you tell who is who? I can!

Names and such have been changed a bit

so they are in fact different characters!

It may follow the same pattern as the Toki manga, where the author creates both story and art with maybe just a few guidelines from Ritz. Anyway, it seems Saki's popularity is still high so new spinoffs are popping up like mushrooms, each one weirder than the last.

It seems Spectacular Scanlations are ready to provide a translation which you'll probably find on mangadex (when it's released) but I'll also add a link to it here, just like with MakoMeshi.

Saki 213: Noble Siblings

So, where were we? It's been so long. Ah, yes. The last round of the vanguard's match. Teru is dealer, a new series of dealer repeats has begun, each hand's score higher than the last. Can anyone stop her?

Saki ch213 (Mega)

Saki ch213 (Mediafire)

Makomeshi is now up to chapter 10! (by Spectacular Scanlations)

Makomeshi (mangadex)

Kobayashi Ritz's blog post 20.02.25

Kobayashi Ritz has just updated her blog with more information about the return of Achiga-hen. Ritz seems rather optimistic about the monthly page production but perhaps the pressure of having to keep up with Aguri will push her to draw more pages than ever before.

Ritz's blog 20.02.25

As announced in this month's issue of Big Gangan, the serialization of Achiga-hen will resume.

Starting from the final match as Volume 7.

Roughly ten years ago, during meetings with the anime staff, we talked some nonsense about how it would be nice to draw the final match from the point of view of both Kiyosumi and Achiga at the same time. But since my progress with the main story is rather slow and the final was still far, it could not be implemented until now.

Since there is no need to think about new scores or new story developments, this should not take as much time. I can produce roughly 24 pages a month, even if we add the excess production intended for Aguri-sensei for a total of roughly 30 pages a month, I should be able to stay ahead or at least that's the plan.

Saki Achiga-hen New Series!!

The continuation of Saki Achiga-hen (manga) has been announced. The new series should begin next month (March 25th) in Big Gangan magazine (same as Shinohayu and Toki). The authors are the same, Kobayashi Ritz and Igarashi Aguri.

It seems the story will pick up where it ended, after Achiga Girls' qualified for the final of the Interhigh. Wait a sec, wouldn't that overlap with the Saki main story? Yes, that's what everyone is wondering. How exactly is that going to play out, no one knows.

Anyway, I'll try to keep you posted if more information is revealed.

Toki 38: Sincerity

This chapter should be called "Fast Forward". It's good we are moving on though. I wonder what will be next.

Toki ch38 (Mega)
Toki ch38 (Mediafire)

Shinohayu 76: Guidepost

Longer-than-average chapter (yeah!) but next month Shinohayu and Toki take a break (nooo!) to prepare for the release of new volumes for all three series in March.

Shinohayu ch76 (Mega)
Shinohayu ch76 (Mediafire)