Shoubushi Densetsu Tetsuya

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya is an anime series that’s hard for me to recommend. Not because it’s bad mind you, it’s very, very, good; the problem lies in what it’s about; this show is about mahjong. No, not that solitaire game you have preinstalled on your pc, the real mahjong, an ancient Chinese game for four players, which resembles modern rummy or gin. The Japanese variant, often known as Riichi Mahjong; takes this game to a whole new level of complexity, establishing a large list of hand combinations and situations you MUST make at least one of in order to win at all. All of asudden this is a massively deep, intricate game, like poker on steroids. Why am I saying any of this, it’s very simple really, this anime won’t make any sense if you can’t play Mahjong on at least a low level, you need to know the rules, the tile names, the hands, ect in order to follow this show. Because you see, this anime is written for someone who already understands the game, as such it never gets bogged down trying to explain the rules it assumes you already know. If you know the rules or are willing to take time to learn them, you’ll be greatly rewarded, now if you’ve made it this far, onto the actual review! At the point of my writing this, I have seen three shows dedicated to mahjong, This, Akagi, and Saki. This show is by far the best of the three. This is a somewhat controversial statement I feel, since Akagi is quite well received on this site, but allow me to explain why this is the best show about mahjong I’ve seen. It’s because this show cheats. Everything this anime does is about cheating; some of the most well thought out, genius cheating I’ve ever seen. Akagi sometimes focuses on cheating at the game as well, but more often then not the game is resolved due to Akagi’s “monstrous luck” In Akagi, and even more-so in Saki, I feel a disconnect from the game and the characters, these shows are about the characters and their insane luck that almost always makes games go their way, things that are statistically impossible are the more here, and for no good reason. Tetsuya makes his own luck. You not only see why he gets the hands he does, you see how he forces the games to go his way, from skilled dice throws that always get your desired number to boldly switching tiles from your hand with those on the table. Where Akagi’s narrator would simple tell us that he’s doing something crazy, it never feels justified, he’s just lucky, this leads to a problem many anime have, the protagonist can’t lose. Not so in this fine example here, Tetsuya loses and he loses hard, making his victories all the more gratifying when he finally wins. This is not a show for anybody; the art is dated for one, and features none of modern Anime’s “moe” sensibilities, if you’re looking for that, try Saki. Characters are never off model and every character has a distinct design, since it focuses on characters sitting and playing a game most of the time there’s minimal motion, but what is there is well executed. The sound is nothing to write home about, the OST is unmemorable, but the character voices all fit well. As I can’t speak Japanese I can’t pass judgment on the acting level but it seemed to par with shows of the time. But where this show shines is its story and characters, every character we meet is either likable or satisfyingly detestable, Tetsuya himself is a great character, who unlike Akagi actually grows and changes as it goes on. The story is fairly straight forward and mostly involves escalating battles in gambling between our main characters and an assortment of colorful “villains”, with each game essentially being standalone. That’s not to say there are no twists, there are a decent many turns in this story that all lead up to an emotional, satisfying conclusion despite being an incomplete adaptation of a manga that as of now has no translation I can find anywhere, which is somewhat disappointing as I hear this anime only covered a small amount of it. If you haven’t the faintest idea what mahjong is, you probably won’t like this show, but if you love mahjong or even just understand it on a beginner level, this is a hell of a hidden gem.

Fan of Kaiji? Then here's a treat for you which you probably didn't know even exists. 'Shoubushi Densetsu Tetsuya' AKA 'Legendary Gambler Tetsuya' is a mahjong series. If we compare it to other mahjong series such as 'Akagi', 'Saki' and the world famous 'Tenhou-doori no Kaidanji' -- these shows focused on the technicality of mahjong, but also came with huge asspull level "convinient blackout created a chance to cheat" twists. 'Shoubushi Densetsu Tetsuta' does not do this. Instead, it focuses on creating thriller with player's skills and constantly challenging itself by cornering itself with situations which can only be overcome by surpassing other players. Our story isled by a man who met a great mentor who influenced him with his superior luck, making him belief that there is nothing else to the world of gambling. Just so happens to be, our mc gets into a game with the big boys and loses because they are all cheats who rely on their wicked skills and experience. This introduces us and our main bro to the new world of mahjong, and turns out this world has quite a lot to offer. During these 20 episodes, we get to see quite variety of different type of games. The skill levels constantly develop, and all the matches come with different approach and introduce different aspects of mahjong. These varie from casual all-vs-all to 1 vs.3 / 2 vs. 2 games. We constantly meet new people and see new mahjong places. Because of this, the show never feels repetitive. One of the strongest points of the series are the characters who have quite big and admirable personalities. All the best players acknowledge their own superior skills, but never brag about it. The series constantly creates provoking situations were lesser men would lose their temper, but our niggas keep their act together. Only to afterwards explain their philosophies which they have acquired with life experience. Content such as these keep developing our main bro into a manly man. All in all, Tetsuya is quite a mature and thrilling series which I came to appreciate and enjoy way more than expected. It's not exactly Kaiji in terms of moe faces, but somewhat even surpasses it in terms of realism.

Shoubushi Densetsu Tetsuya is a great old school style anime and is highly underrated. The show creator's take on the scenarios during the time in which the story is set are well planned and realistic. The story begins with the titular character tetsuya visiting mahjong parlors and feels he is skilled and lucky enough to win the game. During a game he incidentally meets a player named Boshu, after this the story takes you on a roller coaster ride of blissful experience. The characters are well developed and I rarely felt any character as unncessary, almost all the character had an importance and contribution towardsthe story. The pacing of the story is a great plus point which keeps you hooked in each episode. The music direction was also exceptional which made sure to provide you the right emotional touch at the right time. The OP and ED of this anime is also apt with the tone of the show. Overall, this anime is a great experience and its not just about gambling and mahjong, its much more than that.

If you're somehow stumbling on this anime, chances are, you're a fan of Kaiji and gambling anime all along. But let me tell you, if you're expecting a real gamble game where people actually outsmarting each other, especially in Mahjong game like Akagi. I'm sorry to disappoint you, it's not. There are certain type of people who can not live outside the world of gambling and our main protagonist Tetsuya is one of those poor souls. What's saving him is that he's an extremely good gambler, someone who can always cheat his way out of danger. As we follow along the story witnessing the excitinglife of the legendary gambler Kid Tetsu. I'm actually very upset with the fact that this show's main appeal in gambling is very lackluster. They made gamblers look like completely cheaters with no honors and love. But most importantly, the thrilling I got while watching something like Kaiji is not there. It's not a true gambling game where lives are put on the line. And most of the time, Mahjong is treated as a side element to embrace the point they tried to achieve since the beginning so watching them playing the game is not anything fun like for examples: Saki. As this is mostly a plot-driven anime. The characters are developed that much, most of them are treated as plot devices to keep the story progressing. Except for the fact that they're likable, there's really not much to talk about. The animation is average, both the quality and the art style. The style you would consider something great in the 80s in the likes of Ashita no Joe or Ippo. If you really wanna watch an gambling anime about Mahjong, watch Akagi. If you want a more modern one, watch Saki. If you want a pure gambling show, watch Kaiji or Kakegurui. Do not watch this anime.

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Студия

Продюсеры

Темы