Saki 283: Break

This chapter... is in pretty rough shape sadly. Several pages with missing ink and tones and all that. We hadn't had a chapter like this in a while now. Looks like Ritz desperately needed a "break", like the title says.

Saki ch283 (Mega) 

Saki ch283 (Mediafire)

 

Saki Biyori - Omake Chapters

Every volume of Saki Biyori contains one extra chapter at the end with new stories that did not appear in the magazine issues. This is a collection of all of them, 32 pages in total.

I was a bit reluctant to do this at first but after I started reading, I was smiling all the way through. Some of the stories at least are pretty funny. On top of that, it's been fun doing some Biyori again after all this time and maybe you will enjoy reading it as well.

Saki Biyori Omake Chapters (Mega) 

Saki Biyori Omake Chapters (Mediafire)

 

Saki 282: 3 People

The results of the character contest were announced. You will find the page with the results in the zip file at the end of the chapter. The page is not translated but you can easily see the ranking by looking at the numbers. Only the top 10 characters were announced.

Also, the translation for the Saki Biyori omake chapters will be released next weekend.

Saki. There are monsters and then... monsters!

Saki ch282 (Mega) 

Saki ch282 (Mediafire)

 

 

Toki 81: Return

After a short trip to a timeless dimension, it's time to return to the mahjong match...

Toki ch81 (Mega) 

Toki ch81 (Mediafire)

Shinohayu 122: A little bird told me

A very short chapter where not much happens. The only unusual thing about it is that the title is an English idiom (a little bird told me). It appears like that in the original, no translation needed.

Toki will be next and then perhaps the Saki Biyori omake chapters...

Shinohayu ch122 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch122 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 281: Deep in the mountains

A long-awaited face-off is finally here...

Saki ch281 (Mega) 

Saki ch281 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 280: Retaking & Toki 80: Loop

Saki. The battle for control of the deep wall has begun...

Saki ch280 (Mega) 

Saki ch280 (Mediafire)

 

Toki. I'm sure Toki won't do anything reckless...

 

Toki ch80 (Mega) 

Toki ch80 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 121: Mass

Someone asked me if I could translate the Saki Biyori omake chapters. That's the extra chapters published in the tankobons. They are not too long and it seemed like a fun little project so I decided to do it. I expect it will be ready some time in November. Anyway, something else to look forward to.

In the mean time, Shinohayu...

Shinohayu ch121 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch121 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 279: Under the Stars & Toki 79: Good Opportunity

Saki. The original title for this chapter (星行 seikou) is one of those poetic words with a very specific meaning that are never used in normal conversation. Ritz often uses these kind of words for chapter titles. In this case, it means something like "to leave the house very early in the morning when it's still dark and the stars shine overhead". The only thing that matters here is the word "star" since, in case you didn't know, Oohoshi means "big star" and Ritz usually uses star-related words for anything Awai-related.

Also, Ritz pointed out a scoring mistake which was corrected in the translation.

Saki ch279 (Mega) 

Saki ch279 (Mediafire)

 

Toki. Mekimeki did their best coloring Toki's eye in page 4 (it's an important eye...). On the other hand, you'll notice that in Saki's color pages, the coloring is too plain (Ritz admitted to that and promised to fix it for the volume release).

 

Toki ch79 (Mega) 

Toki ch79 (Mediafire)

 

 

Shinohayu 120: Like a Sparrow that Turned into a Clam

The Saki characters poll has ended. The final results are not out yet but halfway through the voting, Toki (not Saki) was leading. The halfway results were like this: 1st Toki, 2nd Saki, 3rd Nodoka, 4th Hisa, 5th Teru, 6th Hiroe, 7th Ako, 8th Koromo, 9th Shino, 10th Kasumi.

There was also a blog post by Ritz saying she's not too fond of popularity rankings but could not refuse a request from SquareEnix. And if it helps with sales and publicity and such then one can only be grateful. Ritz asked that ALL characters be included, which is why there were as many as 300 different characters to vote for. Ritz apologizes to the staff for the trouble it must have been to set this up with so many characters. Still, Ritz notes that about 50 characters or so were left out including, most notably, the mysterious Hikari-chan. Ritz will also strive to make special illustrations, not just for the top 9, but for any character in the top 50, to be distributed for free with the volume releases.

P.S.: Mekimeki refrained from voting for any Toki-related characters and voted for Yoshiko Kainou and the MaiHime combo (Mairu & Himeko).

Shinohayu. The chapter's title is an expression used when talking about something or someone that experienced a significant change. It comes from an ancient believe that said when the cold arrives and sparrows are less numerous is because they jump into the sea and become clams.

Shinohayu ch120 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch120 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 278: Killer Move

A "killer move" indeed...

Saki ch278 (Mega) 

Saki ch278 (Mediafire)

 

Toki 78: Pair Wait

I hadn't listened to it in years but as the chapter ends, Futuristic Player begins to play...

Toki ch78 (Mega) 

Toki ch78 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 119: Strengthening

This month, we have both Shinohayu and Toki. As usual, Shino comes first and Toki will be ready some time next week.

Shinohayu ch119 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch119 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 277: Counterattack

The first direct confrontation of this captains match: Saki vs Awai!

But don't miss the even greater struggle in page 11: those tiles sure are strong... (Ritz had some fun).

Saki ch277 (Mega) 

Saki ch277 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 118: Trap

As expected, the "character contest" that was recently announced will be a popularity poll to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Young Gangan magazine where Saki is published. Additionally, the 9 most voted characters will enter some kind of lottery to receive special art drawn by Ritz. Nine characters is because of the Nine Gates yakuman. Voting is in September so the results won't be known until at least October.

Also, no Toki chapter this month. Mekimeki might be busy with Comiket or something...

Shinohayu ch118 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch118 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 276: Head Start & Toki 77: Beginning

Saki. The end of the chapter has an announcement about a "character contest". It's not exactly clear what that's going to be but a character popularity poll, maybe? But in that case, I wonder why they didn't just say popularity poll. More details on the next issue, but unfortunately next issue doesn't have a chapter. Anyway, if it's something like a character poll, we'll probably provide a translation when it gets published.

Saki ch276 (Mega) 

Saki ch276 (Mediafire)

 

Toki. How will Toki react to Ryuuka's merciless attack...?

Toki ch77 (Mega) 

Toki ch77 (Mediafire)

 

 

Shinohayu 117: Breeze from the Flapping of Wings

Shino's skills are being tested at the match of the three champions. What kind of player is last year's Interhigh winner Muguruma Sui?

Shinohayu ch117 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch117 (Mediafire)

EDIT: caught a mistake in page 13 as soon as I posted it. It's fixed now.

 

Saki 275: Delay

I hope no one gets confused by the title lol. The chapter is not delayed. "Delay" is the chapter's title.

Anyway, the captains match begins!!

Saki ch275 (Mega) 

Saki ch275 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 274: Summit

The captains gather for the final match of the final. It's all up to them now.

Saki ch274 (Mega) 

Saki ch274 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 116: Gap

This is a very short chapter but that's what we have. Ritz assumed responsibility for not submitting the draft sooner but also, every series had new volume releases this month, so it's not entirely unexpected.

On top of that, there is no Toki chapter this month. It seems that the Mekimeki duo have been very busy with other works lately (not related to Saki) so Toki is skipping this issue.

Finally, this chapter's original title is buranku, which is a borrowed word from the English 'blank'. In Japanese, this is often used to mean 'time without doing something'. So 'gap' would be a better translation, in this case, than the literal 'blank'.

Shinohayu ch116 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch116 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 273: Captains

It's all been leading up to this moment. The captains match is finally here. Shizuno, Awai, Nelly, Saki... Who will come out on top in the end?

Saki ch273 (Mega) 

Saki ch273 (Mediafire)

 

Toki 76 & MakoMeshi 30 END

Well, this is it. This is the last chapter of MakoMeshi. The series is now fully translated. It was fun doing something that's a bit different from the other series.

 

MakoMeshi ch30 End (Mega) 

MakoMeshi ch30 End (Mediafire)

And here's Toki. Double release because it's not a long chapter.

Toki ch76 (Mega) 

Toki ch76 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 115: Okinawa

Last chapter, I didn't think of making a note of Kokoro's message in page 23. The text is barely readable and mostly hidden behind a speech bubble so it's just disconnected bits, but it appears to say that Kokoro repeatedly talking about Shino in front of the prefectural governor is what led to Shino's invitation. It also mentions someone from a TV channel. None of that is really important but it gives a bit more context.

Shinohayu ch115 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch115 (Mediafire)

 

MakoMeshi 29: Aspara Bacon of Youth

Only one chapter left now. To be released either later this month or early the next, perhaps jointly with one of the other series.

Mako, the popular girl...

MakoMeshi ch29 (Mega) 

MakoMeshi ch29 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 114 & MakoMeshi 28

As expected, Toki is skipping an issue this month so normally it would be just Shinohayu, but another MakoMeshi chapter has been completed so it's a double release. Next will probably be more MakoMeshi around mid-April.

Shinohayu ch114 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch114 (Mediafire)

MakoMeshi ch28 (Mega) 

MakoMeshi ch28 (Mediafire)

 

Toki 75: Sign

Toki is facing an uphill battle against Ryuuka at the district individuals. And that memory... Is that a sign of "reawakening"...?

Toki ch75 (Mega) 

Toki ch75 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 272: Obstruction

Like it says at the end of the chapter, Saki is taking a short break and will resume in May. Nothing special about this. It usually means new volumes to be released in April or May.

For those following MakoMeshi, we'll try to finish the remaining chapters during this break (only 3 chapters left). Before that, Toki, most likely next weekend.

 

Saki ch272 (Mega) 

Saki ch272 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 113: Preening

Toki is a bit long this time, no time to finish before the weekend so next release most likely will be Saki and then Toki next week. Meanwhile, enjoy Shinohayu...

Shinohayu ch113 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch113 (Mediafire)

 

MakoMeshi 27: A Feast!

It's been a while since the last one but finally found the time to do another chapter of MakoMeshi. This one is about Hisa and Mako and The Niku!

MakoMeshi ch27 (Mega) 

MakoMeshi ch27 (Mediafire)

 

Toki 74: Pile

The individual tournament begins! How far can Toki go? Or is she already doomed?

As already said, there will be a new MakoMeshi next week, probably on the weekend, maybe sooner if I have time.

Toki ch74 (Mega) 

Toki ch74 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 271: Hot-blooded

Getting closer and closer to the captain match! Or at least to some story events in between matches...

Saki ch271 (Mega) 

Saki ch271 (Mediafire)

 

Toki is nearly done and will be released probably on Wednesday and MakoMeshi the week after.

 

Shinohayu 112: Waterfall Meditation

A very short chapter of just 10 pages. Apparently, Ritz was very late in submitting the rough draft. Toki isn't too long either so there might be time for a MakoMeshi chapter sometime in February.

Shinohayu ch112 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch112 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 270: Scuffle

When drawing Saki characters, the one Ritz likes to play around with the most is definitely Awai. Definitely, definitely Awai. And there are lots and lots of characters in Saki but for some reason Ritz has a thing for Awai in particular. Sometimes other characters too a little bit, but none like Awai.

Saki ch270 (Mega) 

Saki ch270 (Mediafire)

 

Toki 73: Deal

Happy New Year!

First chapter of the year, it's Toki!

Ryuuka wants to have an honest conversation with Nanami but...

Toki ch73 (Mega) 

Toki ch73 (Mediafire)