Akagi: The Genius Who Descended Into Darkness and the anime Akagi: Mahjong Legend are Fukumoto's masterpieces that focus on gambling and especially on psychological portrayal. The story is about a genius who descended into the underworld, Akagi Shigeru, who uses his talent and madness to compete in the underworld. I would like to explain the story of the first match between Ryuzaki and Yagi, which is the beginning of the legend.
What I wanted... was change...
Nangou was cornered after losing gambling and taking on a large debt from stocks. He lost a series of mahjong games against the yakuza Ryuzaki to settle his debts, and now he has no choice. Anyone will do! Just change this stagnant atmosphere! Just as he was thinking this, a certain person appeared at the mahjong parlor. It was none other than Akagi Shigeru, who was only 13 years old at the time and would later be called the Man of the Divine Realm.
If he died, he would be saved
Akagi was a complete stranger to Nangou, but he invites Akagi to the mahjong parlor in order to change this unpleasant situation. In the next South 4th round, Nangou has a chance to get a Haneman, but to do so he is forced to discard the extremely dangerous tile Wu Ping. Nangou tries to discard Liang Ping to avoid being forced to pay out, but Akagi calls out to him, saying, "You'd be better off if you died."
If you're going to die anyway...
Akagi tells Nango, "You had no presence. There was no strength behind you to win, you were just trying to save yourself. This is the last thought process that people who lose a lot in gambling fall into... You're just scared." Nango calms down and thinks that he has no choice but to play even a dangerous tile. "If you're going to die anyway, play hard... die!" With that thought in mind, he plays Woo Ping and it goes through, but the player to the right of him on the next round throws in an Yi Ping, and Nango wins. If he had escaped with a Liang Ping, the player to the right would have moved up.
You can overcome the brink of death...!
Nangou, sensing something different about Akagi, asks Akagi, who doesn't even know the rules, to substitute. After being taught the simple rules, there is no winning or losing, and there is movement in the second round of the south. It is a winning move with three seeds of Daisangen, but Akagi ignores it. Immediately after, the police arrive at the mahjong parlor. In the midst of the confusion, Akagi pulls a tile from the river, makes a yakuman, and uses the yakuman to demand that Nangou cover up.
This brat...! He's pissed...
The reason the police came in was because Akagi was a survivor of the chicken run. However, the game continued thanks to Nangou's cover-up. Immediately after, Akagi wins with a yakuman. It was obvious to everyone that he was cheating, but with the police there, he couldn't resort to violence. Akagi made the cheating work by having the police as witnesses.
Three types of discarded tile sounds
Then, the remaining Yasuoka joins in and the match continues. Akagi reaches out smoothly without throwing in any tiles. Sometimes he throws out surprisingly dangerous tiles but doesn't throw them in. Akagi has already grasped the true nature of the discarded tiles, and his insight into his opponent's habits has awakened him. Ryuzaki is no match for him now, so he decides to throw away his pride and call in Yagi as a pinch hitter.
Pinch hitter Yagi Keiji appears
Yagi appears in the middle of the seventh round. However, Yagi has no interest in Akagi, who is still a middle school student. However, that underestimation is soon corrected. Starting with Ryuzaki's missed Daisangen, Yagi witnesses his ability to sense danger and his quick decision-making, and in the next round, he does not enter the table and just "watches".
An electric current runs through Yagi!
Yagi, who was concentrating on "watching", saw Akagi's unfathomable strength, but found an opening due to his lack of mahjong experience, and an electric current ran through him. When Yasuoka and Akagi found out that they were cheating, Yagi put pressure on them by giving up one arm, and holding Akagi in a single hand, saying that if he lost, he would lose a finger, but this did not work on Akagi, and he offered the condition that he would not mind losing a finger in the same way.
Demon
The match between Akagi and Yagi begins, and Yagi makes a preemptive reach, waiting for a kanchan. Akagi reaches out to avoid the winning tile, but Yagi draws the winning tile. However, Yagi kicks the winning tile to make Akagi hesitate. Akagi then draws the winning tile, but kicks it to confirm his own thoughts. Yagi's plan fails, and Yagi completely abandons his contempt for Akagi.
Reach turns geniuses into ordinary people
After that, Akagi keeps up his good form and steadily earns points. Meanwhile, Yagi is also waiting for an opportunity. Then, Yagi gets a winning move and uses a trick called Caterpillar to turn an ordinary hand into a monster hand with Dora 8. Then, by manipulating Akagi's reach and Yagi's tenpai, he makes Akagi draw a Ron tile by manipulating him with a combination of plays. Akagi allows Akagi to turn the tables with a direct hit of Baiman.
He's like an idiot...
The next round, the score difference is 4000. Akagi's hand was a sure sign of a Sei-ichishiki. Akagi quickly calls twice and takes out the other two players except for Yagi. Akagi then calls three times, hinting at a tenpai, but at that point he is not in a tenpai. However, Akagi makes an unpredictable ankan, leaving him waiting for a single tile, and then makes the mistake of knocking down the remaining tile by mistake. However, that was Akagi's trap, hiding the Susou in the Kan and intentionally showing it to make Akagi give up the shot. Yagi discards the Dora as planned, and Akagi takes the lead.
Double Push...!
Akagi wins and Nango's debt is cleared. Although it seemed like the game was over, Akagi demands a double push with Nango's debt now cleared. The yakuza had no choice but to accept, even though they knew they were going to lose. After that, Yagi was broken and his mind was controlled by Akagi, and he was in a terrible state. Akagi wins the match after the double push with a landslide victory.
Another double push...!
Akagi demands another double push, but with the rate rising this much, it's doubtful the yakuza will pay. Thinking this, Yasuoka suggests they start over. This match is postponed to a later date, and Akagi's first match ends with a complete victory.
Akagi Ryuzaki - Yagi Match Summary
Akagi's first fight ended with Akagi's overwhelming talent blossoming despite never having played mahjong. Although it was the first match, I think it was very rich and worth watching. If you watch this, you will definitely want to know the next story!
