Shinohayu 88: True Taste & Achiga 31: Offshoot

Shinohayu. I have the theory that Chiyoko, Naoko, Kokoro, Chihiro and Yuzuha could be all part of the same team in high school. And they are all strong players but clearly some are much stronger than others. Some of them will never be a match for Shino but they could still be a worthy opponent for someone like Kanna or Yue. I could be wrong though...

 

Short chapter but story progress, yeah!

Shinohayu ch88 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch88 (Mediafire)

 

Achiga. After Teru's Chuuren Poutou... Roughly equivalent to Saki chapter 201.

Achiga ch31 (Mega) 

Achiga ch31 (Mediafire)

 

 

As usual, Toki will be up in a few days or so.

Saki 231: Compassionate Heart

For this chapter, it's important to remember that 'riichi' is exclusive to the Japanese version of mahjong, so non-Japanese players like Hao and Myeonghwa would need to adapt when playing in Japan. Of course, playing without riichi could also be an advantage when everyone expects you to play with it.

Bikini shots in color but, for Ritz standards, this is a mild one:

Saki ch231 (Mega) v2

Saki ch231 (Mediafire) v2

v2: fixed a sentence in page 7.

 

Toki 49: Unrecognized Talent

This chapter's title has a double meaning: 1) a dragon lying dormant at the bottom of a lake waiting to ascend into heaven or 2) a metaphor for a person of great talent who remains unknown to the world. Both meanings seem to apply here. The first kanji in Ryuuka's name means 'dragon' and her mahjong ability stays hidden or dormant until she "ascends". Since she doesn't play in tournaments, her talent remains unknown to most people (in the Toki series, at least).

In page 20, the girl to the left of FunaQ looks a bit like Tsubakino Miyuki from Kentani High School. Both Hiroko and Kentani HS are from Hyogo prefecture and the big kanji behind Hiroko says 'Hyogo'. The one with the flower in her head could then be Yasufuku Riko. By that logic, the girls to the right of Sera should be from Osaka but no idea who might they be.

v2: small correction in page 27.

Toki ch49 (Mega)

Toki ch49 (Mediafire)

 

Shinohayu 87: Sweet and Sour

There was no Shinohayu last month, so this time we get an extra long chapter, 49 pages! It was no easy task apparently and Igarashi Aguri thanked all those who contributed drawing backgrounds. Translation also took a bit longer than usual but it would be wonderful if all non-mahjong chapters were like this.

Shinohayu ch87 (Mega)

Shinohayu ch87 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 230: Furious Advance

It's this thing Ritz does that we end up cheering for almost every character at one point or another, even the supposed "antagonists"...

Sumire!!

Saki ch230 (Mega)

Saki ch230 (Mediafire)

 

Saki 229: Target Shooting

Ritz apologizes for the mishap with the screentone in this chapter. You'll notice that the dark surfaces in some pages look odd and some kind of Moiré pattern is visible in the sky of the title page.

 

Also, in page 7, Awai is wearing something that look like panties but probably aren't. Most likely, those are short pants. It would make no sense if they were panties.

Saki ch229 (Mega)

Saki ch229 (Mediafire)

 

Shino and Hayari in their high school uniform.

Achiga 30: Nine Gates

Unfortunately, this month's chapter of Shinohayu was not published. According to both Igarashi Aguri and Kobayashi Ritz, due to a combination of factors it was impossible to complete the chapter in time. The reasons being: an unexpected increase in the number of Achiga pages (24 to 36), a huge load on the amount of drawing involved and Igarashi falling sick shortly before the deadline. Since Toki was already expected to be taking a break, it's only Achiga this month. Epic chapter though.

Let's wish Igarashi a swift recovery and let's look forward to next month's Shinohayu which should be a little longer than usual, according to Ritz.

This chapter covers material from Saki 198 to the very beginning of chapter 201:

Achiga ch30 (Mega) 

Achiga ch30 (Mediafire)