Mahjong is really a bet on skill and luck that required the planet by storm after it originated from China. Because it spread, many new variations and rulesets were produced, making mahjong hard to learn even while a family group game. Because of its stealthily simple goal and sophisticated game play, mahjong is an ideal gambling game for money along with other high-stakes bets.
RELATED: Best Anime About Games
The tile-based game seems in lots of well-known anime and gaming series, for example Great Pretender and Yakuza. However, despite its recognition, only a number of anime and manga allow it to be the main focus of the plots. Of these series, mahjong isn’t just a game title but a means of existence.
Contents
7 Tetsunaki No Kirinji

Tetsunaki no Kirinji is really a manga series by Nagahisa Tsukawaki that follows a web-based mahjong player named Kiriya Rinji that has to start playing personally to aid themself after being divorced because of not dedicating lots of time to his family. Soon after divorce, his ex-wife falls ill and slips right into a coma following a existence-saving procedure. Rinji consumes his daughter as they waits for his ex-wife to awaken, but his winnings aren’t enough to provide little Koume the existence she deserves. To step-up as just one father, Rinji taps into his passion of Mahjong and aims to become professional player.
Rinji’s story is really a touching tale about professional and personal growth. Besides he become somebody that can offer for his family, but he really wants to exist on their behalf. Feelings and bets are full of Tetsunaki no Kirinji, which makes it an engaging choice for mahjong fans who would also like a classical narrative.
6 Mahjong Hishouden: Naki No Ryuu

Ryuu is really a mahjong player with ties towards the yakuza and tremendous luck. He wins all the games one of his opponents’ discarded tiles to accomplish his mahjong. Since overtaking the mahjong world, Ryuu is becoming symbolic of the finishing technique, earning him the nickname “Crying Dragon.”
The Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu manga series by Junichi Nojo follows an easy plot, however it has detailed art along with a fantastic aesthetic. In 1988, a 3-episode original video animation (OVA) arrived on the scene, and also the series ongoing to increase in recognition through the 1990s. At its peak recognition, the series announced three mahjong game titles, including two for that SNES.
5 Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku

World leaders and historic figures settle political debates and conflicts with intense mahjong games within the satirical series Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku by Hideki Ohwada. The result is Pm of Japan Junichrio Koizumi through numerous games against North Korea, Russia, and also the U . s . States before he retires. Fortunately, despite his retirement, Koizumi is constantly on the play and save Earth from all sorts of disasters.
RELATED: Best Historic Anime, Rated
Mudazumo Naki Kaikaku designed a reputation for itself by including figures for example George W. Plant, Vladimir Putin, and also the Pope. Because of its recognition, the manga also received a brief OVA series that both recapped Koizumi’s earliest games and added new matches to his repertoire.
4 Legendary Gambler Tetsuya

Occur 1947, Legendary Gambler Tetsuya shows how The Second World War impacted Japan and brought to hard economic occasions. While some find it difficult to buy enough food, Tetsuya believes his luck and skill to trace the tiles during shuffling is going to be enough to assist him benefit from the finer things in existence. However, as he travels through Shinjuku to brush in the town’s winnings, he realizes he’s much left to discover mahjong. Tetsuya’s matches against true mahjong experts and spineless cheaters result in the series welcoming and interesting for mahjong fans of abilities.
Legendary Gambler Tetsuya started like a manga series compiled by Fūmei Sai and highlighted by Yasushi Hoshino. In 2000, it won the 24th Kodansha Manga Award because of its success like a shonen manga, and also the anime’s first episode arrived on the scene later that year.
3 Saki

Unlike a number of other mahjong anime, Saki isn’t concerning the game’s link with gambling. Rather, it concentrates on a youthful student named Saki Miyanagawho learned how you can keep her mahjong score at zero to prevent angering her family together with her constant victories. Since she always feels she’s to restrain herself, Saki no more enjoys playing mahjong, however when her buddies make her join the mahjong club, your competition revives her passion for the sport.
RELATED: School Anime Everybody Should Watch
At occasions, Saki may appear a lot more like a sports anime in comparison with other popular mahjong anime and manga, but in so doing, it can make mahjong a game title about enjoyment rather of survival.
2 Akagi

With different manga by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, the anime Akagi follows a 13-year-old boy named Akagi Shigeru, who results in a mahjong game between yakuza people along with a man attempting to settle his financial obligations. Despite getting no training with mahjong, Akagi concurs to experience around the man’s account. After obtaining the sport effortlessly, Akagi wins round after round because of his never-ending confidence and skill to see the board. However, regardless of how high the stakes are, Akagi always strives for any greater wager.
With every move, the unskilled yet callous Akagi creates a deliberate fight of wits between players that captivates audiences unlike any other mahjong anime. For mahjong fans who love an underdog, Akagi is essential-watch.
1 Ten: Tenhō-dōri no Kaidanji

While Akagi is an excellent and cohesive work, the youthful Akagi Shigeru’s story is really a spin-from Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s manga series Ten: Tenhō-dōri no Kaidanji, generally referred to as Ten. Ten includes a couple of other spin-off series apart from Akagi, with each having been well-received. However, Ten deserves recognition as Fukumoto’s original story about mahjong, especially because it designed a reputation for itself with no anime adaptation.
Ten follows Takashi Ten, an expert mahjong player, and the pupil, Hiroyuki Igawa, because they make an effort to beat every mahjong players. Ten’s kindness within the otherwise intense realm of professional mahjong frequently makes him the prospective of yakuza attacks. Still, he voluntarily accepts their assaults to avoid other players from being taken from the game they like. Using its kind protagonist, Ten represents the fun and horrors of mahjong in a manner that couple of other series around the subject can.
MORE: Niche Sports Anime Which Are Underappreciated