History Characters / Saki

* TheRedBaron: "The Gunpowder".

* MissingMom: She disappears without any explanation, causing Shino to compete in mahjong tournaments in the hopes of getting into the papers, causing her mother to notice her and come back.

** [[spoiler:In the same match Teru did this again with declaring kan, which freaked her opponents out with expecting it would result in Rinshan Kaihou. Much to their relief, while Teru did get her needed tile from the dead wall her hand was still one tile away from completion. Their relief didn't last long when they realized Teru opened more kan dora which wreck Kuro's hand a big time and the poor girl is manipulated to play to Teru's hand as the result.]]

* DracoInLeatherPants: InUniverse -- Saki's flashbacks to Teru are highly idealized (from appearance to voice), and even when it's clear that Teru publicly disowned her, she still holds out hope that she can change her sister's mind through mahjong even after words have failed. In ''Achiga-hen'', she also has a lot of fangirls cheering for her everytime she scores, her ruthless playing style be damned. Her underclassmen are especially smitten by her, almost to an OneeSama degree. The only ones who see her true nastiness are her teammates.

* EvilSoundsDeep: In the anime, where her voice in the present is notably deeper than in Saki's flashbacks. In ''Achiga-hen'', Teru keeps a light tone of voice throughout her screen time, particularly in the post-Vanguard match episodes where she's just in the waiting room watching with the rest of Shiraitodai.

* KickTheDog: Inadvertently, but the reaction Saki has to her saying that she doesn't have a sister is quite...Well, troubling, even if Teru most likely never expected that Saki would hear of it.

* SlasherSmile: On the cover of the Eighth DVD. And HOW!

A professional player and color commentator for the Nationals, she's also an idol and well-known television personality. It is she that foreshadows that Team Usuzan is a school to reckon.

* AllThereInTheManual: As will all the other pros, many details on Hayari are only found in the cards that were included as bonuses to the ''Achiga-hen'' blu-rays.

Another player of Team Usuzan, who makes clothes for Yukiko to wear during mahjong matches.

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'''Position:''' Captain\\

* CannotSpitItOut: Towards Saki. In Season 1 Episode 25, [[spoiler:after praying at a shrine, Nodoka tells Saki that she wishes to to stay by her side forever]].

* PhotographicMemory: Mako has memorized nearly every match she's seen played at her grandpa's mahjong parlor. [[spoiler:In practice, though, this tends to yield mixed results -- it failed her against Kaori, a newcomer, but helped her win against the more orthodox-minded Aislinn.]]

!!Kariju Tomoe

* JerkAss: She's incredibly cold and condescending toward Shino in their first meeting, and makes it clear that they not only have no room for her in the club, but that she doesn't want her there due to her enjoying mahjong.

* BadassNormal: According to Hisa, in a team of normals that is ranked fifth in a competition stuffed to the rafters with mahjong monsters, she could epitomise this trope.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Hiroe minces no words, whether she's gloating, taunting or calling names. And she's also a very kind teammate. In fact, Hisa interprets her taunts as her way of goading her opponents into playing better.

One of the professional players called in by Ikuno to help her girls prepare for their semifinals, despite the fact that North Osaka isn't her hometown, and her alma mater -- Oojouin Girls' High School -- is actually in Ehime Prefecture. Kainou is the cousin of Team Eisui's Haru Takimi. And for the purpose of the practice matches, she emulates Saki's signature playstyle.

Yoshiko appears slightly earlier in the anime, where she becomes the color commentator for the quarterlies between Kiyosumi, Eisui, Himematsu and Miyamori.

A Georgian transferee and one of the three newcomers to Team Rinkai.

->'''Year:''' 3rd

* MustMakeAmends: As she confides to Satoha, she regrets having ran away from Cold Touka, and wants a second crack at facing her. Unfortunately for her, since she's in her final year of high school, and with Team Ryuumonbuchi out of the Nationals, that chance will likely never come.

!!Choi Myeng-hwa

->'''Year:''' 1st\\\

One of the three newcomers to Team Rinkai, as well as a champion in Chinese mahjong back in her grade-school days and silver medalist in last year's Korean tournament. She also played in the Asian tournament, but due to differences in rule she has had a hard time playing, much less winning, in it, and so she accepts Rinkai's scholarship offer so she can prepare for another try at the Asian tourney, as Japanese riichi-style mahjong is close enough to the rules used in that competition.

Leader of Team Eisui and scion of the main family of the branches which make up the team. A year prior to the events of the story, she has achieved fame as a new nationals "monster", but pushed herself too hard, and now has her teammates watching out for her. Kyouko claims that part of Eisui's strategy is to let Komaki go for the big hands and that she will play multiple styles, but is a little shaky sometimes. Her teammates call her "Princess".

Her powers seem to stem from being a vessel of eight goddesses (out of nine -- the other is handled by her cousin Kasumi), and becomes a dangerous board-clear when asleep. The drawback is that she doesn’t know the sequence of her deities' appearance.

Kasumi's abilities stem from her close relationship with Komaki -- since she couldn't be the vessel for all nine of her goddesses, Kasumi serves as the vessel for the odd one out, using its powers to collect honor tiles and one random suit per hand. However, she can't switch back to her usual defensive style until she is purified.

* GagBoobs: It beats ''any'' of the ''Saki'' girls by a landslide. Some people say they can feel the weight of Kasumi's chest and the pain of her back just by looking at it. Kyouko even refers to her as the "booby monster of Eisui". In the second Zenkoku-hend ending credits, her large breasts stop Kinue's soccer ball and Kasumi doesn't even seem to notice the ball coming to rest in her cleavage.

Like to Yuuki, Hatsumi's game is extremely powerful when she is seated on the north. Her ability, called "Gates of Evil" by Kumakura, makes it easy for her to gather north and east tiles, and to a lesser extent, south and west tiles as well. Attracting this tiles will guarantee a ‘Big Four Winds’ Yakuman if not stopped. [[spoiler:She doesn’t believe that Sae had the power to block her and would go through great lengths just to keep her North position, which made her lose points and an easy target for Sae.]]

* GoingCommando: Expected for the franchise, but Hatsumi is a blatant example. Observe [[http://www.batoto.net/read/_/63294/saki_ch84_by_u-scanlations/8]].

* SiblingYinYang: Hiroe's a loud, outspoken and confident JerkWithAHeartOfGold, while Kinue's more [[NiceGirl mild-mannered]], but [[WellDoneSonGuy also more in need of recognition]].

Originally a three-girl club without any kind of aspirations for the Nationals, this all changed when Toshi Kumakura became their adviser. Bringing Toyone with her, Toshi made the girls aspire for greater things -- such as representing Iwate Prefecture in the Inter-High. When Aislinn after watching them play with Toyone, they finally form a team which finally enters the second round of 71st Inter-High, gaining its spot after knocking off high-ranking Makabi High.

Yuuki is Nodoka's good friend since ninth grade and her diminutive, energetic antithesis, having enrolled at Kiyosumi solely because its cafeteria sells tacos.

* NiceHat

* DirtyCoward: A year prior to the story, Megan became so terrified when [[spoiler:Cold Touka unleashed her fury during a match against her]] that she targeted a weak player and ended the match -- causing Rinkai to advance instead of Ryuumonbuchi.
* MyGreatestFailure: She, says, with [[TearsOfRemorse tears in her eyes]], that she regrets her running away from [[spoiler:Cold Touka]], and wants a second chance at facing her. Unfortunately for her, since she's in her final year of high school, [[spoiler:and Ryuumonbuchi was eliminated]], that chance will likely never come.

!!'''Okahashi Hatsuse''' (MinamiTsuda)

Ako's friend and classmate from middle school, unlike Ako she enrolls in Bansei in the hopes of joining their prestigious mahjong club. She is surprised that Ako would go to Achiga on what seemed to be a whim, and what's more dare to try at the nationals with an untested team. Naturally, when Achiga goes on to defeat Bansei, she's stunned.

!!'''Kei Arakawa''' (MarieMiyake)

Second-ranked in the country in the Individuals after Teru, Kei is one of the players that the Achiga team plays against in their effort to become better. Hailing from North Osaka, her school Sangamaki only placed second in their area (losing its slot to Himematsu), but it should be noted that she was the only other player aside from the Ryuumonbuchi team that Shizuno and her friends could not defeat during their practice matches.

She later appears again in Tokyo, this time with a few other Individuals-only players, to help prepare the Achiga team some more for their match against Shiraitodai. She is the one who foreshadows just how terrifying Teru's skill really is, by describing the elder Miyanaga as "not human".

* AllThereInTheManual: Her ability, which was only revealed in the ''Achiga-hen'' PSP game. [[spoiler:Kei gets an exponential chance to get good-scoring hands if she doesn't win for a few turns. In hindsight this synchronizes VERY well with Teru's snowballing win streak ability.]]
* BadAss: Assumed. She's second in rank only to ''Teru''. Let that idea sink in for a bit.
* CosplayOtakuGirl: Certainly gives the impression, especially when the Achiga girls meet her again in Tokyo, and she shows up dressed as a nurse. Doubly so when all the other players she brought with her- some of whom are competing in the individual tournament and some of whom aren't in the tournament at all- also happened to be dressed... ''uniquely'', to say the least.

!!'''Rise Fujiwara'''
-->''"I don't want Jindai Komaki to lose to anyone but myself."''

!!'''Uta Mihirogi''' (YukiMatsuoka)
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A color commentator for Inter-High Radio, and a professional player from Yokohama. Known for giving quick insights on a player's play style, before quickly taking back what she said and claiming that she's really got no idea what's happening.

* AllThereInTheManual: Like Fujita's case, many details on Uta are only made known through the Saki Pro collectible card series, like the professional team she plays in (the Yokohama Lodestars) and other personal information.
* CatchPhrase: "Wakane!" or "I don't know!"
* CombatCommentator
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Though she certainly doesn't look like it, Uta is actually the Vanguard of the All-Japan team, and apparently has a reputation of playing with overwhelming power.

* PintsizedPowerhouse: Standing at a mere 145cm and weighing 37 kilos, Uta is ''very'' petite. She's also apparently a powerful mahjong player with a "game-breaking" ability. It's not always apparent due to her often being shown seated, but one panel in Chapter 106, while sitting in a chair, her feet don't seem to reach the ground.
* TheRedBaron: Cat Chamber. Seems to be a reference to Schroedinger's Cat, and Uta's propensity to both know and ''not'' know what's happening during a match she's commenting on.

!!'''Eri Hariu''' (YumikoFujita)
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A play-by-play commentator for Inter-High Radio. She alternates with Fukuyo Kouko.

* CombatCommentator

* TheChessmaster: Everybody who has played her deeply fears her ability to manipulate scores and still go around smiling like it's nobody's business. During the Nagano semifinals, she helped Kana get past ±0, but because she formed a basic yaku, she couldn't just win with ron, so the only way for her to score is to draw a 6-dotted tile, to which Saki called pon, meaning there's only one of the 6 dots left. While Kana panicked over the last one, Saki ''knew'' it's on the dead wall which was untouched unless by kan, and drew said 6-pin for her. She then declared kan, so Kana could steal it with a chankan -- except earlier Saki opened her point sticks drawer ''before'' Kana can declare ron, in the process opening more kan dora that helped raised Kana's point by 3 han and earn 16,900 points. Which was more like a HopeSpot, because Saki's quick play ruined Kana's chances. And during the Nagano finals [[spoiler:Koromo was forced to discard the i-pin tile she drew to keep her yaku, knowing very well this will play right into Saki's hand]]. Another example is during the [[spoiler:National quarterfinals, breaking Kasumi's winning streak with discarding 8-sou for Kyouko's call. She also declared kan simply to shift drawing order to her favor; whether or not Kyouko's win of that hand is orchestrated, Saki quickly wrapped that match up with a cheap hand to take the lead.]]

Nodoka plays in a careful, analytical way, and is quick to discount any aspect of the gay that is [[StrawVulcan not "logical"]]. [[spoiler:This helped negate occult abilities Momoko’s Stealth Mode, but is also harmful, as shown in the National quarterfinals, when she didn’t believe Hatsumi’s ability and put a halt on Sae and Kinue’s attempt to seal Hatsumi.]]

* IdiotHair

The original incarnation of Team Ryuumonbuchi was not considered a strong contender in the Nagano prefecturals. Then came Touka, who ascended her way by defeating her future teammates, before leading them to a prominent place during last year's nationals.

Club president of Team Ryuumonbuchi and scion of the namesake owners of her own ''alma mater''. Haughty and craving for attention, she nevertheless shows concern for her teammates in her own way. As club president, she used her connections and research to assemble an all-star team.

Her playing style is similar to Nodoka, whom she treats as her rival, but in an unnecessarily flashy way. When she gets serious, she enters "Cold" state, where she suddenly becomes an emotionless board-clearer.

* ClubPresident

* {{Determinator}}: When she tries to do something seriously, she really means it, such as when scouting Tomoki -- wanting to personally test her skills, Touka actually played the RTS of which Tomoki was a high-ranking player for six straight days to reach the top and challenge her.

* InformedAbility[=/=][[spoiler:TheWorfEffect]]: As a former winner of the prefectural tournament, she seems to lose rather badly during both the team and individual events. Partially had something to do with how she never entered Cold Touka mode during those events.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Quite arrogant, but also caring for her friends and her cousin, which leads to quite a few PetTheDog moments.

* TheAtoner: For cheating in a mahjong game ''in elementary school''.

* ReformedButRejected: She implies she felt this is her punishment for cheating years ago, as she is still having flashbacks of her old friends walking away from her.

Koromo is Touka's cousin and a fellow member of Team Ryuumonbuchi. Despite her childlike stature, she is the oldest member of the team, as well as one of the most feared players in Japan, having brought an end to Team Kazekoshi's six-year domination of the Nagano leaderboards last year.

* HypocriticalHumor: A slightly more depressing than usual example when you think about it. She's had difficulty making friends for much of her life, to the point at which she doesn't initially recognize Touka and her teammates from Ryuumonbuchi as such. When Saki says that she decided not to join Nodoka in watching the semifinals, Koromo responds as following.
-->'''Koromo''': Saki, you're bad at socializing as usual.

-->"It's not Ko''do''mo, it's Ko''ro''mo"!

* MeaningfulName: "Koromo" [[PunnyName sounds similar to]] "kodomo" ("child"), highlighting her childish appearance and (sometimes) personality. Her surname also means "Dependent on others' kindness".

* PunnyName

** TheBusCameBack: ...though she reappears with Touka in Tokyo while Team Kiyosumi is in the nationals, and and also gave crucial advice to Yuuki at the training camp.

* ThirdPersonPerson

* ZettaiRyouiki

'''Voiced by:''' YukoKaida

* {{Meganekko}}

Kazekoshi is a known as a mahjong powerhouse in Nagano Prefecture, boasting a membership of over 80 girls. Team Kazekoshi's six-year winning streak in the prefectural qualifiers was snapped last year by Team Ryuumonbuchi and Koromo, and the two schools have since developed a fierce rivalry.

Mihoko is the captain of Team Kazekoshi as well as its ace in the hole. She has had a past history of rivalry with Hisa Takei, a girl of her age and currently of Team Kiyosumi, back in their middle-school years, and both have since entered a far friendlier rivalry come high school. Besides this, she is also known to be incredibly affectionate and caring towards her teammates, never minding her habit of keeping her right eye closed at all times due to her self-consciousness with her heterochromia (it's bright blue, in contrast to her more naturally Japanese-looking brown left eye).

* BadassBoast: After hearing about the other three schools that advanced to the prefectural finals with her (soon after the coach berated her and Kana), Mihoko says she's glad Ryuumonbuchi made it, since they can now avenge their loss last year.

* ClubPresident

Considered the second-best player of Team Kazekoshi, Kana is Mihoko's best friend and protectorate, with a bit of a CatGirl theme going on with her. Despite being only the second-best, Mihoko entrusted her the position as Captain so she can take revenge on Koromo after last year's loss.

* BlushSticker
* CatGirl: Often gives off this image, especially when she gets excited and her hair forms cat ears.
** CatSmile
** CuteLittleFangs
** HyperspaceEars
* TheChewToy

* HotBlood: Versus Koromo, ''oh yes.''

A member of Kana's clique and Team Kazekoshi, as well their representative in the bespectacled players' round.

* BoringButPractical: The PSP game implies she has an ability to determine which tiles will be ronned, helping her avoid playing into others' hands. It's possibly why she was able to get through her round in the prefectural finals while losing very few points (1200), even after Kaori's Yakuman.

* StatingTheSimpleSolution: In ''Saki Biyori'', when the Kazekoshi girls have to do book reports, they go to the library and find all the books have been checked out. When Kana proposes two different methods for faking the report, Miharu cheerfully but decisively says '''"Read a book"'''.

Seika is a newcomer to Team Kazekoshi, who managed to climb her way into its frontlines in a mere two months. She also collects Pro-Mahjong cards.

* BadassBoast: From the manga, during a call from her club adviser: "We're definitely going next year!"

* {{Determinator}}

* HiddenDepths: Seika is an avid collector of Mahjong player trading cards. When she finds out that Tsuruga's Mutsuki does the same, they become fast friends.

* TookALevelInBadass: She was once ranked ''dead last'' in Kazekoshi's 78-girl team, but after Mihoko told her that she did chores in the hopes of getting her teammates to love mahjong more, she worked her way up to fifth-place, thus earning her a spot in Kazekoshi's A-team.

->'''Year:'' 2nd\\

* [[TheBigGuy The Big Girl]]

* PetTheDog: After the team prefectural finals, just as she's set up and expected to beat the living hell out of Kana... [[spoiler:she just tells her to go kick ass next time]].

* SayMyName: See her quote, after the last match of the prefecturals.

-->Kubo here. I know it's on short notice, but there will be no club activities today. Get yourself a nice relaxing day off. ^_^

-->"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have a weird ability like Onjouji of Senriyama."

* GracefulLoser: After losing to Team Kiyosumi, she provides them with extensive research about the styles of their likely nationals opponents, all of which she spent months collecting. This gesture even impresses Hisa.

* TheLancer: Her skill, recruitment tactics, and no-nonsense maturity make her the logical boss, right? Instead, she's the compliment to Tsuruga's ClubPresident, Satomi.

* LastSecondWordSwap: When discussing with Momo why she chose to go to the training camp.

* SoProudOfYou: Says this to Momo after pointing out that in the vice-captain match, she had the largest net point gain, which was an impressive feat considering her competition.

A freshman whose poor sense of social presence made her constantly ignored throughout her childhood, until an online mahjong match catches Yumi's attention, and she "appears" when Yumi calls her out during a class break to acknowledge her skills. Both girls became very close friends, so much so she gets jealous of others Yumi shows interest in, as well as becoming very anxious of what will happen after Yumi graduates. Her speech includes an accent which often adds the ending "su" and "s" any to her sentences.

* FriendlessBackground

Satomi's friend, who joined Team Tsuruga so they could enter the five-girl tournament. Kaori barely knows anything about mahjong before she's thrust into a major tournament.

She plays as Sergeant because here it's least likely to be occupied by aces. She has an unbelievable amount of beginner’s luck, and she had the most amount of yakuman scored by the players in the series. Because of her beginner’s luck, she is forbidden from practicing and playing mahjong.

* ChildhoodFriend: With Satomi, a large part of the reason why she was recruited to the club.

* FailedASpotCheck: Normally, this trope wouldn't be anything unusual as far as [[{{Invisibility}} Momo]] is concerned, but Kaori only met Momo around the time the tournament started, despite her being in the club room at the same time, and once actually being in Satomi's van with her (in the latter case, Kaori even heard Momo's voice at a few points).

* ChildhoodFriend: With Kaori.
* CloudCuckoolander

* DrivesLikeCrazy: ''Achiga-hen'' shows just ''how'' crazy Satomi drives that van of hers. It's also showcased in a picture drama, in which her driving has various reactions on her teammates; Mutsuki is nauseated, Kaori is horrified, Yumi desperately yells for Satomi to slow down, and Momo actually ''enjoys'' it because it gives her a chance to glomp Yumi.

* SignatureLaugh: "Wa-ha-ha!"

Saki's estranged older sister and leader of Team Shiraitodai. Teru is a mahjong superstar, and ranked #1 in the nationals. Since her parent's separation, she has lived with her mother in Tokyo. She and Sumire makes up the [=ToraHime=] combination.

She plays vanguard this year due to her winning streak, in order to lower her opponent's score severely to the point of deciding some matches by herself when she plummets her opponents' points below zero. Her ability has a giant snow-balling effect. Specifically, she spends the first hand analyzing her opponent's abilities. Afterwards, she is capable of going on long streaks with the value of each successful hand worth more than the last. This manifests itself in a tornado on her right arm.

However, her ability does lead to problems. First of all, since the values of her hands must increase with each win, she must find ways to increase the yaku of her hand, which can lead to unusual plays. Second, in analyzing her opponent's abilities she has reached the point where she assumes the players character to be static and unchanging. [[spoiler:: These issues were made evident in the national semifinals as first she was unable to increase the value of her hands thanks to Kuro's ability to collect dora and thus had to resort to even more drastic measures to achieve her goal. And in the final hand of the hanchan, Kuro's ability to evolve and discard a dora without fear meant that she was unable to win and instead played into Kuro's hand ending the hanchan.]]

* SignatureMove: ''[[Manga/{{SakiAchiga-hen}} Achiga-hen]]'' finally reveals the truth of the matter, and boy it's a doozy: [[spoiler:She sees through her opponents' cores after a single hand, letting her counter their styles and supernatural abilities. She then goes on winning streaks where each hand is more valuable than the last. Her only weakness is that her point-ramping gets reset if someone manages to interrupt her streak.]] This would make Saki's ±0 style even more impressive, as even national players working together have trouble [[spoiler:interrupting her streaks]]. Saki always made back all the points she lost, and if Teru was [[spoiler:pulling off streaks long enough to ramp up to high-point hands, Saki would have to make all her points back with a few, massive hands, and she'd ''never'' won a hand with a yakuman. That means she could break Teru's hold frequently and consistently]]... and she used this talent to ''[[WillfullyWeak throw every match]]''. She's also the ''only'' player known to have beaten Teru, and apparently she did it often enough for her family to get upset when she won.

As sergeant, she helps further wither down her opponent’s already low score. While Teru prefers to win via tsumo, Sumire's style is called "Piercing Arrow", which involves getting a direct hit on her target by changing her hand to target her a certain discard. Before she does that, she needs to aim first and adjust her hand which takes a lot of time.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: Her playstyle revolves around adjusting her hand to target the discards of her targetted player. [[spoiler:This trope is also her greatest weakness: when aiming, her hand twitches and she goes into a hypnotized state for a second while looking at her target. Achiga's Yuu exploited this to avoid her arrows, irritating Sumire. Sumire also cannot play a fast game due to a lot of time needed for her hands to adjust so Shindouji's Yoshiko, who also exploited her weakness by playing low-scoring but fast hands.]]

* HimeCut

* {{Meganekko}}

* LoopholeAbuse: She prevents Awai from using her ability, which is based around the corners, by arranging all the tiles in a corner-less circle.

Much like many "monster"-level participants, Awai features several special abilities, of which the most obvious comes into play at the beginning of every hand -- and this involves intimidating opponents into yielding very poor starters, with a low probability of completion (by way of projecting a vision of darkness), after which their hands are reset, forcing them to declare chi, pon or kan to advance. The drawback is that this is very difficult to pull off and can be worked around by savvy opponents. Her other abilities are relatively low-key, but possess a certain energy that make her a terror to the unprepared: a double riichi explosion (where she's guaranteed a tenpai after declaring riichi on the discard of her first tile), a guaranteed kan from the dead wall (where said kan tile can always be drawn from around the first corner) which almost always precedes a winning hand; said kan allows her to turn around the dora marker. The guaranteed win from her riichi then allows her to turn the ura dora marker, which will ''then'' allows Awai to get the tile she kans as a dora.

* BadassBoast: Before the national semifinal, after [[spoiler:Seiko has all but destroyed Shiraitodai's lead]].

** After [[spoiler:she lost to Shizu, and badly so]]:

* BigOlEyebrows

** ComboBreaker: ...But those savvy to the sequence of her skill activation can quickly put a stop to things, as demonstrated by [[TheLoad Seiko]] preventing her guaranteed-kan skill (drawn from the dead wall corner) [[LoopholeAbuse by arranging all the tiles in a circle]] (which removes the corner). [[spoiler:Shizu's ability, which depending on the dice roll also affects where the dead wall is cut, thus also affecting where Awai normally gets the tile she uses to Kan, also stops her ability combo cold.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:When she realizes that this time, she can't win and will have to claw her way to second-place, and again after she tried to declare the score from her hand, only for Shizuno to tell her to look at the ura dora. She does, and is shocked to find out that her play is invalidated.]]
* TheWorfEffect: Years prior to ''Achiga-hen'', [[WordOfGod Ritz]] hyped Awai up to be a formidable opponent to Saki. Come the spinoff however... well, let's just say that Awai's ''actual'' performance during the Captains' match pretty much dispelled that notion. While her abilities would ''theoretically'' make her a menace to any normal player, her propensity to go all-out rendered her largely ineffective. This is exacerbated by the fact that, due to her massive ego, she doesn't even bother putting up a defense, which leaves her open for any kind of counter from savvier players.

Aside from her uncanny ±0 play style, she has affinity to get a rare yaku Rinshan Kaihou of the dead wall. After the prefectural quarterfinals, it is revealed Saki still uses her old ±0 style, except that instead of settling down with that score, she actually manipulates everyone else's scores in her favor.

* CharacterTitle: Of course she is.
** AntagonistTitle: In ''[[Manga/{{Saki Achiga-Hen}} Achiga-hen]]''.

* TheChessmaster: Everybody who has played her deeply fears her ability to manipulate scores and still go around smiling like it's nobody's business. During the Nagano semifinals, she helped Kana get past ±0, but because she formed a basic yaku, she couldn't just win with ron, so the only way for her to score is to draw a 6-dotted tile, to which Saki called pon, meaning there's only one of the 6 dots left. While Kana panicked over the last one, Saki ''knew'' it's on the dead wall which was untouched unless by kan, and drew said 6-pin for Kana. She then declared kan, so Kana could steal it with a chankan -- except earlier Saki opened her point sticks drawer ''before'' Kana can declare ron, in the process opening more kan dora that helped raised Kana's point by 3 han and earn 16,900 points. Which was more like a HopeSpot, because Saki's quick play ruined Kana's chances. And during the finals [[spoiler:Koromo was forced to discard the i-pin tile she drew to keep her yaku, knowing very well this will play right into Saki's hand]]. Another example is [[spoiler:the quarterfinals, breaking Kasumi's winning streak with discarding 8-sou for Kyouko's call. She also declared kan simply to shift drawing order to her favor; whether or not Kyouko's win of that hand is orchestrated, Saki quickly wrapped that match up with a cheap hand to take the lead.]]

** During her match against Yumi, who stopped her Rinshan, Saki started to worry that she can do this ''all the time'', while Yumi herself muses that she has likely used up her luck for the year in that single move.
** [[spoiler:Another case is the Captains' match in the quarterfinals, where Saki panics and sees ''Kyouko'', the only normal player in the match, to be the biggest threat on the table (and the last person she wants to continue to the semifinals), and ''not'' the currently goddess-possessed Kasumi. Even as ''everyone else on the table'' starts to fear Saki as though she was the Devil incarnate, complete with intimidating BattleAura and supernatural manifestations (in this case, a localized earthquake).]]

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Ever since beating Koromo in the Nagano team finals (and subsequently helping Team Kiyosumi advance to the Nationals), national media began to hype her up as one of the newest "mahjong monsters" on the block, able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Team Shiraitodai's Awai and Team Eisui's Komaki.

* {{Expy}}: Of Min Yuri, the deuteragonist of Ritz' previous manga, ''Fatalizer'', being a timid girl with a fearsome power.

* {{Foil}}: To Nodoka. While the Miyanagas' lack of sportsmanship fostered in Saki a dislike of mahjong for a long time, Nodoka greatly likes it, especially since she made friends through it, though her father thinks little of it.

* HyperAwareness: According to Hisa, Saki is very good with hand-on mahjong because of this. In many of occasions it's implied she could sense the presence of tile, or even see it before she draws it. Showcased wonderfully when she played online for the first time, where she complains that she cannot use her hidden abilities.
* ImpossibleTask: Her ±0 playstyle. As said in Season 1 Episode 1, even a pro's winning percentage is 30% average, and breaking even like Saki did is even harder when done on purpose. Not to mention it's implied Saki started this [[TakeAThirdOption ±0 style]] when she was around six years old.

* LetsGetDangerous: Whenever she plays seriously. Just try to pull off what she does all the time even once. One extreme case is finishing her second game in the club with four concealed triplets, on a draw after a tsumo, and thinking that would make her score ±0. The TournamentArc of course tops this. Come the Prefectural Finals, [[spoiler:Koromo plays into three consecutive kan, and by the tournament rules, had to pay for all the points Saki would've earned, thus ending in Saki's comeback victory.]][[hottip:Note:For those who want the exact combo, it was "An all-circles all pons/kans three concealed pons/kans three kans 1 red dora tsumo after a kan" worth 32,000 points. Don't forget about that rule, either...]]

* OpenSecret: [[spoiler:Played with. While it's never blatantly kept secret, neither Teru nor Saki, or anyone who knows their connection, reveal it to public, Teru having only denied having a sister twice in the anime to Sumire and Junko, but so far the manga follows the anime and vice versa, so it's probably the same in manga and skipped. It's never outright mentioned to be public knowledge. However it didn't stop players with good analysis skills like Mihoko and Hiroko to guess there's a relationship between them. And in ''Achiga-hen'', all three players Teru faced looked really shocked at her declaring kan, having expected a Rinshan Kaihou.]]
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Saki is this to media as they care more about Nodoka, last year's Inter-Middle High Champion. They didn't even mention Saki in the introductions to the second semis match. This is in contrast to many of Saki's rivals, who seem more interested in her than Nodoka. Lampshaded in ''[[Manga/{{SakiAchiga-hen}} Achiga-hen]]'' by Team Senriyama's Hiroko and Izumi, when they discussed a certain first-year who can beat even the most seasoned third-year.

* SpiritedCompetitor: At the regional qualifiers, she is quite excited by the prospect of being able to play against so many other strong players.
* [[spoiler:SuperMode: "Awakened" Saki, which manifests during the match against Teams Eisui, Miyamori and Himematsu, causing a ''minor earthquake to shake the venue''. Except this was actually the manifestation of her ''fear'' over Himematsu, causing her to revert to her ±0 style... even as Himematsu starts to learn why Saki is a force to reckon. Whether this is a true Super Mode or actually her ''default state'' prior to her parents' breakup is still under debate.]]

* [[WellDoneSonGuy "Well Done, Sis!" Girl]]: She desperately wants to reconcile with Teru and get her approval, no matter how distant Teru seems. In the anime, she even has a dream about a younger Teru congratulating her younger self.

Nodoka plays in a careful, analytical way, and is quick to discount any aspect of the gay that is [[StrawVulcan not "logical"]]. [[spoiler:This helped negate occult abilities Momoko’s Stealth Mode, but is also harmful, as shown in the Quarterfinals, when she didn’t believe Hatsumi’s ability and put a halt on Sae and Kinue’s attempt to seal Hatsumi.]]

* {{Expy}}: Of Sigrid Aoyama, the main character of Kobayashi's previous manga, ''Fatalizer''.

* {{Foil}}: To Saki. Her slightly disapproving father aside, Nodoka actually enjoyed the sport and has made lots of friends with it, in stark contrast to Saki, whose bad experiences playing it with her family gave her a negative impression of mahjong.

* MsFanservice: [[RoseHairedGirl Pink hair]], [[GirlishPigtails pigtails]], [[ZettaiRyouiki thigh-high stockings]] and even [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail huge tracts of land]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:While Nodoka's logic usually helps her most of the time, in a world where everyone can summon goddesses and cause localized earthquakes, it is still bound to fail her at some point. During her quarterlies match, she kept foiling Kinue and Sae's plan to stop Hatsumi's power because it's just a coincidence to her. And even after she saw Hatsumi's open hand she chalked it up as a big coincidence. Sae is so annoyed she let Hatsumi complete her yakuman in Nodoka's dealer turn as revenge. The sad thing is that Nodoka is unperturbed and chalked it up again as another coincidence, much to Sae's and Kinue's shock.]]
* OvershadowedByAwesome: She is the only player of Kiyousumi the media cares about because of her prestigious ranking, so she overshadowed everyone else in her team, including Saki. However it's the other way around to their fellow players in Inter-High.

* RoseHairedGirl
* SayingTooMuch: When playing against Kuro, she mentions offhand that she hasn't seen any dora tiles, inadvertently revealing that she doesn't have any. She then learns about Kuro's dora ability.

* ZettaiRyouiki

Yuuki is Nodoka's long-time friend since their middle-school days and her energetic antithesis. Her personality is generally childish, in line with her [[OlderThanTheyLook appearance]]. She enrolled at Kiyosumi solely because its cafeteria sells tacos, at which point Nodoka notices her resemblance to Ako, back during her Achiga days, and becomes her first friend.

* BiTheWay: While she seems to want Kyoutaro to check her out, Yuuki's really quite fond of Nodoka's bosom, much to the latter's discomfort.

* GenkiGirl
* GirlishPigtails

* MsFanservice: Just watch any of the training camp episodes.

* OvershadowedByAwesome: Many regard her as a weakling despite her ability to rack up up high scores in East Round. [[spoiler:She would've gotten away with the high-score lead during the quarterlies too had Jindai not fell asleep and got a direct sanbaiman hit on Yuuki.]]

Hisa is the StudentCouncilPresident (or "[[InsistentTerminology Student Congress President]]", as she'd rather have it) as well as the leader of Team Kiyosumi, now in her final playing year.

* AgentMulder

* EnemyMine: In the semi-finals, [[spoiler:she realizes that if Usuzan falls under 0, both they and Kiyosumi will be eliminated. She then decides to prevent that from happening while trying to gain points against Rinkai and Himematsu. Unfortunately for her, Usuzan is aware that they'll need to win off anyone, including Hisa]].

* HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:Before her match in the second round of the Nationals, she becomes stricken with fear and convinces herself that her opponents are too strong, and ends up screwing up the early portion of her match and falls to last place, before she regains her composure and Kiyosumi's duals manage to make it to second place.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: In her last match in the individuals, she trusted her ability at the very end. It allowed her to win the hand but it lowered her score that she couldn't overtake Saki.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In the second round of the Nationals, Saki is worried that Hisa is not playing like her usual self, but Nodoka believes it's a good thing that she isn't doing her "hell waits" style like usual, and Mako notices the abrupt change and restored confidence in herself, wondering if she's really alright.

Mako is the sole junior in Team Kiyosumi, as well as Hisa's best friend and confidante. Her peculiar manner of speech appears to be a result of being raised by her grandfather -- she uses the [[JapanesePronouns pronoun]] "washi", which is usually used only by old men. Her family owns a mahjong parlor (maid cafe in the anime).

* AwesomenessByAnalysis
* [[DramaticNecklaceRemoval Dramatic Glasses Removal]]

* IDontKnowMortalKombat: She often loses to raw or inexperienced players because they play in a method outside of the scope of her ability. This was apparently remedied via Mako [[spoiler:studying Maho's style at the training camp.]]

** After realizing that [[spoiler:Hao is playing ''Chinese'' mahjong, something with which Mako has no familiarity]].
** Earlier, after Kaori gets a Yakuman on her during Mako's dealer turn, which Kaori, in her inexperience, had claimed was a cheaper hand.
* PhotographicMemory: Mako has memorized nearly every match she's seen played at her grandpa's mahjong parlor. [[spoiler:In practice, though, this tends to yield mixed results -- it failed her against Kaori, a newcomer, but helped her win against Aislinn.]]

TheOneGuy of Team Kiyosumi, who mostly serves as comic relief and errand boy, as well as Saki's middle-school classmate. Between his mediocre skills, his unrequited crush on Nodoka (and later Mihoko) and being tasked by Hisa with heavy work, Kyoutaro generally has a hard time. His relative lack of familiarity with mahjong allows him to act as TheWatson, giving Hisa and Yuuki the opportunity to explain things for the benefit of the audience. During the tournament, he becomes their errand boy and is currently serving as Yuuki’s... taco delivery boy.

* DaydreamSurprise: The story will occasionally segue into his {{Fanservice}}-laden fantasies of Nodoka and/or Mihoko.
* HeroicBSOD: A relatively lighthearted one in the individuals tournament, in which he loses badly against several unnamed characters, and is eliminated by lunch time (albeit partly because the male tournament had more participants and an earlier elimination).

* TheWatson: His relative inexperience at mahjong allows Hisa and Yuuki to play MrExposition.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saki_hayarin02_1933.png

* {{Joshikousei}}: In the epilogue for the first season of the anime.

* InsufferableGenius

* InformedAbility: Apparently noted for her spectral playstyle. What this ''actually'' means is anyone's guess.

* [[MrExposition Ms. Exposition]]

* BeQuietNudge: Gives one to her cameram

* BeQuietNudge: Gives one to her cameraman when he says people are interested in Nodoka because of her large breasts, and says that it's because she's beautiful.
* BigNo: Gives one in the last chapter of Achiga-hen, after trying to find Nodoka only to learn that she already left.
* TheDitz: Apparently has a bad habit of forgetting to turn her tape recorder on.
* {{Meganekko}}

!!Nazuna, Shirona and Hina Ikeda

Kana's younger sisters and triplets.

* [[AlwaysIdenticalTwins Always Identical Triplets]]: They're apparently identical triplets, and they look almost exactly alike.
* AscendedExtra: Despite only appearing in a side chapter, they appear fairly regularly in Saki Biyori, and have entire chapters dedicated to the time they spend with Kana.
* CheerfulChild: They're perhaps the youngest characters in the series, as pre-schoolers, and are good-natured and cheerful.
* JapaneseSiblingTerminology: They use "Onee-chan" on Kana, and she tells them to call Bundou "Seika-onee-chan" instead of by her last name.

! Mysterious Girl

A girl who appears in a montage of images in Chapter 102, and in a flashback in Chapter 104. It is strongly implied that [[spoiler:she is somehow related to the Miyanaga family, and that whatever happened to her- which may have included her being hospitalized and/or dying- caused the Miyanaga family to break apart]].

* JapaneseSiblingTerminology: Appends "-onee-chan" to [[spoiler:Teru]]'s first name.
* NoNameGiven: Has not been named or referred to as such yet. The Saki Wiki calls her "[[http://saki.wikia.com/wiki/Mysterious_Girl Mysterious Girl]]"
* ThePollyanna: In spite of believing that she will never swim again, enjoys watching the fish do it for her, and hopes to own an aquarium one day.
* [[spoiler:PosthumousCharacter]]: Strongly implied but not yet confirmed.
* WalkingSpoiler: Shaping up to be one.

[[/folder]]

[[WMG:Characters introduced in the spinoff ''[[Manga/{{Saki Achiga-hen}} Saki: Achiga-hen]]'']]

[[folder:Achiga All-Girls' Academy (Main Characters of ''Achiga-hen'')]]

Not considered a powerhouse unlike neighboring Bansei, Team Achiga once upset the balance of power in Nara ten years ago when it eliminated Team Bansei in the Nara qualifiers and sent a team to the Nationals. Its resurgence after a decade of inactivity, as well as the fact that it qualified once more for the Nationals, has surprised some observers.

!!Shizuno Takakamo
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiShizuno_5159.png
->''"Nodoka! We will definitely make it to the finals! So Nodoka, join us! In the finals!"''
->'''Year:''' 1st\\
'''Position:''' Captain\\
'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AoiYuuki

The daughter of a sweets store owner, Shizuno is one of the first girls her age that Nodoka befriended during her stay in Nara. Energetic and excitable, she is the driving force behind the revival of Team Achiga, as well as its unprecedented return to the Nationals after ten years. Outside of school, she is never seen without her trademark track jacket and... [[GoingCommando nothing else, actually]]. While an above-average orthodox player, Shizuno is noted for her determination and [[spoiler:her hidden power: "The Lord of the Mountain Depths". Born of her love for long walks along the mountains around her hometown, this ability lets her intuitively sense possible draws from the dead wall (which can be read as "mountain"). Coupled with the dice roll results, she can use this to counter or outright negate her opponents' abilities]].
----
* ACupAngst: Not in-series, but Shizu has voiced her insecurities regarding her bust size (compared to her friends) during a post-credit skit in ''Achiga-hen''. A manga omake has her distressed after noticing that Ako's height and chest size have increased since they were in elementary school, while hers have largely remained the same.
* AGlassInTheHand: In Zenkoku-hen, does this with a rice ball while taking a break from practice to eat lunch with Kei and her friends.
* [[spoiler:AntiMagic: What Shizu's ability effectively is, as it shuts down both Ryuuka's Toki-fueled futuresight and Awai's double-riichi explosion.]]
* ArchEnemy: Surprise! A ''very'' disgruntled Awai has labeled Shizu as this. [[UnknownRival The feeling is not mutual.]]
* BadassBoast
-->"Senriyama are strong. Shiratodai are strong. We know that...! But we're strong too! And compared to this morning, right now, we are much stronger!"
* BadassNormal: Even commented on by Team Senriyama's Hiroko, when she notes how Achiga's juniors and seniors show weird draw patterns. As a freshman, Shizuno is obviously not included.
* [[spoiler:BattleAura: Shizu has ''two'', as revealed in the final chapter: a halo of fire, like the ones seen with Japanese temple guardians, and a gigantic Brocken spectre, the latter of which only Awai can see. Might be an unintentional ShoutOut, given an [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica earlier series]] [[Creator/AoiYuuki Shizu]] and [[Creator/ChiwaSaito Awai's]] voice actresses were part of.]]
* BluntYes: Gives one to Nodoka when they were in Achiga together. Keep in mind that the two are in elementary school at the time.
-->'''Nodoka''': ''(struggling to keep up)'' Shizu, Ako...! ''gulp'' You're going too fast... There's no need for running. Why sprint away all of a sudden? Are you kids?
-->'''Shizuno''': YES, WE ARE!
* ChildhoodFriends: With Ako.
* {{Determinator}}: If there's anything sure about Shizu (aside from not wearing pants) it's that she will ''never give up'', no matter how stacked the odds.
* [[spoiler:EleventhHourSuperpower: The "Lord of the Mountain" stance. Koromo says that Shizuno, while using it, thwarted her latter two attempts at Haitei Raoyue, but it only fully manifests in the captain match of the semi-finals.]]
* GenkiGirl: Shizuno is such a big bag of cheerful energy that, in an extra chapter, she spontaenously decides to take a mountain hike (missing Kuro and Nodoka in the process) ''because it looked fun''.
* GilliganCut: She declares that she's "got this" before her quarterfinals match, before the camera cuts to her in dire straits.
* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: She has a tendency to do this at times.
* GoingCommando: Par for course for the franchise, but Shizu's a glaring example for ''Achiga-hen'', as she runs around with just the jacket of a tracksuit, without the pants, which makes it ''painfully'' obvious that she's not wearing anything underneath. Ironically her concept art has her wearing spats.
* [[TheHero The Heroine]]: Of ''Achiga-hen''.
** [[spoiler:NatureHero: Spending long hours like a mountain monkey have awakened in her an intrinsic mahjong power.]]
** [[spoiler:EnlightenmentSuperpowers: And the way she realize it is not unlike Japanese ''yamabushi'' monks in the ancient ages. Or perhaps a taoist.]]
* MissingStepsPlan: Since Shizuno is [[GenkiGirl highly enthusiastic but not much for thinking things through]], this happens with her plan to see Nodoka again. Thankfully, some of her friends, such as Ako, help her fill in the missing steps.
-->1. Go to Achiga\\
2. ?\\
3. Go to the Nationals\\
4. Face Nodoka again!
* PluckyGirl: Especially evident in the last match of the quarterfinals, where, after a difficult beginning, she perseveres and gets just the draw she needs to win.
* TomboyishPonytail
* WorthyOpponent: She sees Saki as this, lampshaded in episode 3 of anime when Saki scared her off with BattleAura while walking away casually. For a while Shizu was UnknownRival to Saki, until Koromo warn her about Shizuno's hidden ability. Considering Saki's surprisingly mild reaction to Koromo's warning, whether the rivalry feeling is mutual or not yet is still under debate.

!!Ako Atarashi
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiAko_4578.png
->'''Year:''' 1st\\
'''Position:''' Lieutenant\\
'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NaoTouyama

Another girl Nodoka befriended while in Nara, Ako is Shizuno's neighbor and childhood friend. The younger sister of Harue's old teammate Nozomi, Ako was the second-best player of the children's club that Harue oversaw. She attended a different middle school than Shizuno and Nodoka, and actually planned to enroll in Bansei, but after she hears about Shizuno's plans she gladly enters Achiga instead, where she serves as Team Achiga's ace in the hole, being the only girl with some experience in a national tournament, having placed sixteenth overall during the Nara tourney back in middle school.

Ako's style seems to revolve around scoring via quick hands with small point totals.
----
* AlliterativeName
* BadassNormal
* BoringButPractical: Ako's way of playing is not flashy at all, but it does its job, allowing gains without the massive risks that could be found in some of her teammates' playstyles.
* ChildhoodFriends: With Shizu.
* GilliganCut: While discussing her strategy against Takami
-->'''Shizuno:''' "So what's the plan? [[spoiler:Try to avoid dealer repeats and when you are in tenpai as dealer, say you aren't?]]"\\
'''Ako:''' "That's right. [[TemptingFate A pretty simple counter strategy]]."\\
''(Cut to the match)''\\
'''Ako:''' "[[OhCrap Or so I thought! This is bad!]]"
* IdenticalStranger: When she was younger, she resembled Yuuki. When Nishida is interviewing Nodoka about her friends on the Achiga team, she even mistakes Ako for Yuuki in an old photo.
* JapaneseSiblingTerminology: Uses "Onee-chan" on her older sister Nozomi, and "Yuu-nee" on her friend Kuro's older sister Yuu.
* OhCrap: After realizing that she [[spoiler:won with a cheap hand]] against Takami. She enters a minor HeroicBSOD and Hitomi, her opponent from Shindouji, has to get her attention.
* TheLancer: To Shizuno.
* TemptingFate: She thinks it's simple to [[spoiler:avoid dealer repeats]] against Takami, but when she gets down to it, she can't manage to do so.
* UndesirablePrize: [[spoiler:Ako knows she shouldn't win as a dealer when Shibuya is on the table, but does so nonetheless.]]
* YankTheDogsChain: In ''Saki Biyori'', she plays online mahjong and gets into a yakuman tenpai, only to lose her connection.

!!Kuro Matsumi
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiKuro_139.png
->''"Even if you don't come back... I'll be waiting."''
->'''Year:''' 2nd\\
'''Position:''' Vanguard\\
'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KanaHanazawa

The youngest daughter of the owner of Achiga's local inn, Kuro was the star of Achiga children's mahjong club, of which Shizuno, Nodoka and Ako were members. Although the club disbanded when Harue went pro, Kuro patiently continued to look after their clubroom, hoping her friends would return one day. All her hard work paid off when, years later, Shizuno and Ako return to share her goal of going to the Nationals, so they could play with Nodoka again.

Kuro has a special ability that helps increase the points of her hands: ''all'' dora tiles sooner or later get drawn to her. This means that when she scores, she usually scores big, but limits the kinds of hands she can make. There is another downside to this -- she cannot discard dora tiles, lest she lose the ability to gather doras for a few games afterward.
----
* FailedASpotCheck: PlayedForDrama -- [[spoiler:Kuro never noticed that her win against Teru was only made possible by the sacrifices done by both Toki and Kirame. She only learns about it when her friends point it out to her after the Vanguard match.]]
* GlassCannon: Kuro's style can be compared to this, where she's capable of scoring huge hands when the situation is right due to her dora magnet ability. However her defense is terrible, and an opponent who knows about her ability can literally play around her -- as shown by Toki during the quarterlies of Side-A, where she ran away with a 90,000 point lead.
* InvisibleParents: Kuro and Yuu's father is apparently alive and runs their family's inn, but has never been seen.
* TheLoad: For a good chunk of the Vanguards' match against Teru, all Kuro could do was flinch and whimper while Kirame and Toki did most of the work fending away the champion's win streaks.
* MissingMom: Mrs. Matsumi died while Kuro and her sister were very young, and her passing really affected the girl. It's also the reason why Kuro is unable to let go of any dora tiles, as she feels it would mean saying goodbye to her mother again. [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Nodoka, normally dismissive of the supernatural, can't bring herself to dismiss Kuro's beliefs regarding dora tiles to her face]].
** IMissMom
* MyGreatestFailure: Constantly losing team points during her turn at the table during the Nationals -- when the group is debating whether Harue has lost hope in their chances of victory, she blames herself for losing so many points. Also, during the semis, failing to realize that the two other Vanguards on the table (Toki and Kirame) had formed an impromptu alliance, and as a result was not able to ''actively'' help them in taking down Teru.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: As with Yuuki, she often ends up facing some of the best players in Japan, unless they have a different approach ([[spoiler:such as deliberately aiming to survive the round, rather than win, like Shindoji does]]). It's best indicated in how her sister Yuu, who's about her skill level, tends to win the Sergeant match, in which there is less likely to be strong players.
* RedBaron: "The Dragon [[SheIsTheKing Lord]] of Achiga"
* SkinshipGrope: Gives one to her sister in the brief shot of the girls on the beach in the PSP game's opening.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Surprise! For all her passivity during her match against Teru, it is eventually Kuro who puts a stop to Teru's rampage in the semifinals Vanguards' match (with indirect help from Toki and Kirame). Even before that, Toki, noticing how upset Kuro appears, thinks that she has proven helpful so far by attracting all the dora tiles, making it more difficult for Teru to increase the value of her hand.
* ThanksForTheMammary: When taking a step back on the street, she accidentally puts her hand on the invisible Momoko's breasts, and for a moment, mistakes her for her sister, based on touch.
* TheWorfEffect: Kuro is supposedly one of the best players of Team Achiga; however, come the Nationals, her dora-focused playstyle, as well as going up against some of the best players (including Toki and Teru herself) made her lose the most points per match. By contrast, Yuu, who is approximately Kuro's skill level and has a relatively easier time in the Sergeants' match, has gotten positive scores throughout the tournament.
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: In the match against Teru, she has an internal monologue about all the people she's parted from, before preparing to discard her dora tiles, declaring that even if those she parts from won't come back, she will still wait.
* ZettaiRyouiki: A black pair.

!!Yuu Matsumi
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiYuu2_6954.png
->''"Kuro-chan has always been the one to save me... But today, it's [[JapaneseSiblingTerminology Onee]]-[[ThirdPersonPerson chan]]'s turn to fight!"''
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Sergeant\\
'''Voiced by:''' MAKO

Kuro's older sister, Yuu is the only third-year in Team Achiga, and one of two (besides Arata) without a direct connection to Nodoka. Sickly ever since she was young and easily chilled, Yuu is always seen wearing layers upon layers of thick clothing, complete with mufflers and mittens, even during summer. Like her younger sister, Yuu is a competent player, but her skill is complemented by a special ability to draw "warm" tiles (any tile with a red component to its face) to her hand. Unlike Kuro's ability, though, it doesn't have an associated drawback.
----
* [[spoiler:AttackItsWeakPoint: Does this to Sumire. As she effectively avoids Sumire's arrows, she then scores against Sumire when her defense is at its weakest.]]
* BigSisterInstinct: Inverted; Kuro ends up being the one to protect Yuu from bullies while the two are young. Yuu, however, decides to return the favor after Kuro loses many points in the quarterfinals, thinking it's her turn to stand up for her little sister.
* BlankWhiteEyes: Fairly common when she gets flustered.
* DeclarationOfProtection: Her quote.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In her first scene, she's shown relaxing under a kotatsu in summer when she greets her sister, then displays her shyness when she's surprised to see Ako (whom she knows) and Shizu with Kuro. After she gets over her shock at hearing that they want her for the revived Achiga mahjong club, she says she's very happy, having wanted to be in the children's club with her sister.
* {{Foil}}: The Matsumis can be seen as one to the Miyanagas. Kuro and Yuu are very close (even after their mother's death), in sharp contrast to how a tragedy tore Saki and Teru apart.
* GreenEyes
* HiddenBuxom: It's not obvious from how she dresses, but Kuro is correct, and her breasts are comparable to Nodoka's.
* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: After realizing Izumi has her figured out in the quarter-finals, she remembers that she's played against her sister and her other friends, who know her even better than Izumi does. Thanks to this strategy, and the fact that Hiroko mis-identified Yuu's drawing pattern, Yuu manages to win the sergeant round.
* IllGirl: It's unclear why exactly she has to dress in layers to stay warm even in summer, but her condition has been present since she was a small child.
* {{Meganekko}}: Much to the surprise of many readers, although Kuro says she often wears glasses while going out.
* MissingMom: Half of the reason why she works in the school greenhouse is because it's warm, and the other half is because it has many of her mother's favorite flowers.
* NiceGirl: In spite of her shyness, she's kind, good-natured and polite.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Her muffler, while usually making Yuu look more cuddle-worthy, can also turn into this, as shown in her match with Sumire.
* ShrinkingViolet: She has some problems with social awkwardness, especially when she says that she had wanted to join the mahjong club, but didn't feel as though she could.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Yuu looks almost exactly like her mother, except for the color of her hair.

!!Arata Sagimori
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiArata_6453.png
->''"I didn't want to see her surrounded by kids. I wanted to keep watching her in her dignified and strong phase."''
->'''Year:''' 2nd\\
'''Position:''' Vice-Captain\\
'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YumiUchiyama

The granddaughter of the owner of Achiga's bowling alley, Arata is probably Harue's biggest fan. While an avid player since grade-school, she stopped after Harue's team lost during the national semifinals. After some convincing by Kuro, she finally joins Team Achiga as club president, finally rounding off their roster.

Arata's main play style is very much influenced by bowling, especially with how she prefers waits using "pin" tiles. As Hiroko quickly notes, the tiles she ends up playing usually looks like the (bowling) pin arrangement one gets after the first roll in bowling (or ryanmen waits). [[spoiler:This ''not'' her only way of playing however, as she also has another "outdated" style that is inspired by how Harue played ten years prior.]]

----
* BrokenPedestal: Arata pretty much lost all faith in the game after she found out that Harue quit mahjong, even casually. It caused her to stop playing for ''years'' as a result, and she initially refused to join Team Achiga because she wanted to see Harue as a pro, rather than teaching children mahjong.
** RebuiltPedestal: ...But Harue returning to mentor Team Achiga brings her back to the game as well, especially after hearing about Harue playing for a corporate team.
* ClubPresident: Harue chose Arata for the position in spite of Yuu being a third-year, because she is composed and reliable.
* CustomUniform: She wears Harue's necktie instead of the ribbon for her uniform.
* CynicismCatalyst: After Harue stopped playing mahjong, Arata becomes somewhat more gloomy and cynical than when she was as younger, even after Harue returns to coach her and the others.
* {{Expy}}: She's pretty much a carbon copy of Ritz Kobayashi, the mangaka, as [[TheCameo she appears]] in ''TheLegendOfKoizumi''.
** EarlyBirdCameo: Thus, her appearance in that manga is this trope.
* HeroWorshipper: A massive one for Harue.
* NumberOneDime: Let's just say that Arata ''really'' treasures the necktie that Harue gave her ten years before.
* TheReliableOne: Arata is chosen as ClubPresident for this reason.

!!Harue Akado
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiHarue_8270.png
->''"I left something behind at those semi-finals back then. But if I can personally experience that tournament again, I might be able to get it back."''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NaomiShindo

Harue is the adviser of Team Achiga and herself an alumna of a past incarnation of the team that shocked Nara Prefecture by defeating high-ranking Team Bansei ten years ago and qualifying for the nationals. Unfortunatley, one brutal loss to Sukoya later, and Harue was traumatized after losing too many points beyond repair. She stopped playing mahjong for years after that, and for a while was content to teach mahjong to the kids of her hometown's children's club. She is eventually scouted by Kumakura, and spends the next few years playing professionally for a corporate team.

When financial woes forced the team to disband, Harue returns to her ''alma mater'' to think about what to do next, only to be surprised by the revival of her old high-school team, gunning anew for the Nationals. Seeing it as a chance to redeem herself, she decides to appoint herself as club adviser, intent to see if her protegees can succeed where she failed.
----
* BreakTheCutie: Losing her team too many points during her match against Sukoya, which in turn cost Achiga the chance to advance further in the Nationals, really did a number on Harue.
* HyperAwareness: Harue has a surprising knack of noticing things that others, including pros, commentators and coaches, would miss, like [[spoiler:Sumire's tell or the trigger of Awai's other abilities]]. While it might come off as a surprise, especially since she's never shown any of this prior to the semis, the way it's presented actually makes sense since while other coaches look only at the players' records (see Team Kiyosumi's Hisa or Team Himematsu's Funakubo), Harue actually watches the videos of the accompanying match. It's alluded that she does this ''repeatedly'' too.
* HypocriticalHumor: Giving Kuro a bop on the head and scolding her for sexually harassing Nodoka in their first meeting, when she herself was fascinated by Nodoka's breasts.
* InformedAbility: Surprisingly, Harue's coaching skill, as she is never shown actually giving her wards ''any'' kind of playing advice. Whether or not this is a sign of a hands-off coaching style begs to be seen, although she does have them play many games with each other, and arranges for matches with other schools. Then we're finally shown several instances of her doing ''actual'' coaching in the aftermath of Kuro's match with Teru. Apparently all the coaching she did prior to this was done off-screen.
* MyGreatestFailure: Losing her team too many points, which led to its elimination in the Nationals. As such, she sympathizes with Kuro after she loses many points in the semifinals.
-->"If you lose big, keep moving forward even if you lose again."
** MyGreatestSecondChance: As such, she treats tutoring the first reincarnation of Team Achiga in a decade to be her one last chance to redeem herself.
* PoorCommunicationKills: In a case that was largely the result of bad timing, she tells Team Achiga in no uncertain terms that they're unlikely to get through the semifinals with both Teams Senriyama and Shiratodai. Later that night, the girls happen to overhear a conversation between her and Kumakura regarding her going pro, which causes some of them to believe that she had given up on them.
* RedBaron: "Legend", though only to the girls of Team Achiga and the Children's Mahjong Club.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Senriyama Girls' Academy]]
The second-ranking school overall in Japan as of the summer Inter-High season, this year marks Senriyama's 35th appearance in the Nationals as well as eleventh straight year representing North Osaka for the competition. While its current lineup is composed of veterans from last season, it also features both a freshman and a new Vanguard to round off the team.

!!Toki Onjouji
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiToki_1849.png
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Vanguard\\
'''Voiced by:''' YuiOgura

Toki is a frail and sickly girl who, until last year, wasn't even a candidate for her school's Nationals Team, being a middling player in Senriyama's C-Team. This all changed when, while recovering from a near-fatal illness that left her bedridden for a long time, she discovers that she can see into the future for a limited time, equivalent to a single turn in a mahjong match. With this ability, as well as the support of her friends Ryuuka and Sara, she improves her game and works her way up the ranks, eventually joining Team Senriyama's frontliners. As she is prone to fainting spells, Toki is never seen far from Ryuuka's side, and seems to enjoy resting or sleeping on the latter's lap.
----
* BadassAdorable: Combine her undying determination with her cute looks and you have the perfect example of this.
* CameBackStrong: In a way.
* DeadpanSnarker: Unlike most IllGirl characters, she can be downright snarky if she sees an opening to do so. It's probably just the side effect of regularly tiptoeing the line of death. In fact, half her lines in ''Saki Biyori'' is some kind of snark!
* {{Determinator}}: One of the biggest determinators in the entire series.
* DiscardAndDraw: She implies that she had an ability vaguely referred to as "of the three armies" before her hospitalization, which she thinks would have been more useful against Teru.
* EnemyMine: With Kirame. Invoked, as it's the only real way for anyone on the table to survive against Teru.
* HeroicResolve
* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice: Overexerts herself by looking ''three turns'' ahead just to stop Teru's streak despite knowing that her body will not take it.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: Related to the entry above; instead of playing safe and defensively, she's pushing her body to the brink to, in her own words, "...knock the champion down a peg." This is despite the fact that being second place is good enough to advance.
* IllGirl: Despite recovering from a near-fatal illness, Toki is still not in the best of health. When she points out her similarities with Yuu, Ryuuka immediately teasingly asks if she is referring to the two of them having weak constitutions.
* KansaiRegionalAccent
* [[CombatClairvoyance Mahjong Clairvoyance]]
* MeaningfulName: If no kanji is given, 'toki' usually means 'time'.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: With Ryuuka. The dynamic is reversed, though: the smaller and frail-er girl wears the pants in the relationship.
* SympathyForTheHero: Upon seeing Kuro despairing against Teru, Toki thinks that Kuro may be beating herself up, but she has proven helpful against Teru by hoarding all the dora tiles. When Kuro [[spoiler:discards a dora tile for the sake of stopping Teru's winning streaks]], Toki appears quite impressed and pleased with Kuro.
* TookALevelInBadass: She's come a long way from when she started at Senriyama, and this is not wholly due to her acquired ability.

!!Ryuuka Shimizudani
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiRyuuka_9490.png
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Captain\\
'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KaoriIshihara

Toki's close friend, who pushed for her inclusion into Team Senriyama's Nationals team, despite the latter's doubts. Ryuuka seems to have taken up the role of Toki's unofficial caretaker (and personal lap pillow), and is never far from her side, to the point of spoling her friend, but given Toki's condition she seems to feel that it's merited.

As one of those who knew about Toki's foresight and its toll on her already-frail health, she constantly worries that Toki might one day overexert herself in the middle of a match.
----
* [[spoiler:CombinationAttack: With Toki. During the Captain's battle, she was able to see a fairy Toki that can tell her the tiles she will be given and the highest points she can win. Fairy Toki will only be able summoned three times]]
* [[spoiler:EleventhHourSuperpower: Ryuuka receives a much more limited version of Toki's foresight... due to Toki rubbing off her face on Ryuuka's thighs so often. Unbelievably, the anime adds ''one more'': a type of heat vision, where Ryuuka can sense the temperature variances of her opponents, and uses this to predict how opponents would react to her moves. While this is active, Ryuuka's eyes gain neon purple rings inside of them, making them glow with the same eerie color. Added likely to lend her ''some'' independence from Toki's loaned ability (since she was able to get on the team before Toki without having an ability), as in the manga she was totally dependent on it.]]
* [[spoiler:EmpoweredBadassNormal: She made it on Team Senriyama with her own merits, while it took Toki being hospitalized and improving her game to land a spot in her third year. And then, in the finals, she starts using foresight borrowed from Toki]].
* FriendlyEnemy: To Achiga. After recognizing Kuro as one of the people she met at the rest stop, she starts cheering for her, and is pleased when Achiga gets through the quarter-finals.
* GirlsAreReallyScaredOfHorrorMovies: In ''Saki Biyori'' she admits that she's bad with scary stuff, and chooses to watch the film in English, because it would be scary enough even if they don't understand the plot. By contrast, [[DeadpanSnarker Toki]] has a much more understated reaction to when the zombies finally arrive.
* InformedAbility: Ryuuka is Osaka's highest net point gainer, beating Sera, Hiroe, Kyouko and Kei.
* KansaiRegionalAccent
* LapPillow: Serves as this for Toki, [[spoiler:which is also why she got some of Toki's foresight]].
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: With Toki.
* SayMyName: [[spoiler:Screams Toki's name when she was over exerting herself.]]
* UnbrokenVigil: [[spoiler:She stays with Toki after she's hospitalized, until Izumi makes her come back for her match, literally having to pry her away from Toki's bedside. Toki wakes up after Ryuuka has left]].
* WorfHadTheFlu: Possible; Hiroko worries that Ryuuka [[spoiler:worrying about Toki's condition, especially since she had to leave for the finals before Toki came to]], means that Ryuuka isn't playing at her best.
* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade A.

!!Sera Eguchi
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiSara_4068.png
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Lieutenant\\
'''Voiced by:''' Arisa Noto

Sera is another of Ryuuka and Toki's friends. An unabashed tomboy, Sera would rather walk around in shorts than wear her school's default uniform, which is why she is embarassed when Hiroko forces her to wear it for her matches in the Nationals. Like Ryuuka, Sera is one of the first to learn of Toki's hidden ability, and is obviously concerned whenever her friend uses it, fully aware of the toll it takes on Toki's already weak body.

Sera prefers scoring with big hands built up over several turns, which makes her the opposite of Ako, whose playstyle focuses on scoring quickly with relatively small points.
----
* CustomUniform: Sara wears the top of a ''gyakuran'' and shorts instead of the usual blouse and skirt combination. Apparently, she's exempt from the dress code in most circumstances, but Funakubo makes her wear the uniform for matches.
* FriendlyEnemy: With Ako.
* KansaiRegionalAccent
* LadyLooksLikeADude
* LuminescentBlush: Often has one when she's forced to wear the uniform.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Cera, Sara and Cela are the three main spellings of her first name.

!!Izumi Nijou
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiIzumi_3357.png
->'''Year:''' 1st\\
'''Position:''' Sergeant\\
'''Voiced by:''' Maho Matsunaga

Izumi is the youngest girl in Team Senriyama, which, given its relative size, is a big deal. She has self-declared that she's the strongest freshman, although she lost to Nodoka during last year's Inter-Middle School Championship.
----
* BluntYes
-->'''Funakubo:''' "This year brought some amazing first-years like that, too, but... do you really rank yourself among them, Izumi?"\\
'''Izumi:''' "That's what I keep telling myself."
* HeroicBSOD: After her match, she's reduced to mindlessly repeating "Thanks for the game," while in shock over how things turned out, unnerving her opponents.
* KansaiRegionalAccent
* NonUniformUniform: Izumi wears a sleeveless version of her school's usual serafuku.
* [[spoiler:OhCrap: When she realizes she's the only freshman in the Sergeants' match against three strong players, all in their third year. And again upon realizing that they're attacking at full force, disallowing her to win any hands.]]
** [[spoiler: On a lesser scale, when she realizes that Funakubo's conclusions about Yuu were wrong, and that she attracts any tile with red on it, resulting in Yuu winning a large hand]].
* PrideBeforeAFall: After her defeat in her semifinals match, Funakubo said to her that she shouldn't get too full of herself in calling herself one of the best first year players, because she's far from matching the likes of Awai and Saki.
* TemptingFate: Her announcement that she's the Number 1 Freshman currently in the finals. Guess who gets sniped by Sumire immediately afterward?
* UnknownRival: To Nodoka (sense a pattern here?). Brought about by her previous run-in with her during the middle-school Nationals last year.
** Whenever there's a mention of a strong player in Kiyosumi, she immediately thinks of Nodoka.

!!Hiroko Funakubo
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiHiroko_8985.png
->'''Year:''' 2nd\\
'''Position:''' Vice-Captain\\
'''Voiced by:''' Sachika Misawa

Hiroko is Atago Masae's niece, cousin to Team Himematsu's Hiroe and Kinue, and Team Senriyama's planner and researcher. She routinely collects information on potential opponents throughout the Nationals, and formulates strategies to counter or neutralize their particular playstyles. This includes opponents that have "unusual" draw patterns, like Kuro's propensity for drawing dora tiles. In the anime, she becomes interested in Arata, "for the sake of research", due to the unusual distribution of her draws, and she wants to study it further.

Hiroko usually uses the data she gathers before and tests it out on other players. While she may be flexible, she’s limited to only those data she had successfully gather and has a hard time going against people with flexible styles (like Mairu) or people with insufficient data (like Arata).
----
* AttackItsWeakPoint: Does this to Seiko. She analyzes Seiko's play and Seiko's habit of discarding 1 and 9 tiles, as well as honor tiles when defending and uses that to her advantage.
* BrutalHonesty: She doesn't mince words when telling Izumi that she messed up in her semi-finals match, or that she's not in the same league as the first-year monsters.
* InSeriesNickname: [=FunaQ=]. Seems to overlap with being an ''official'' nickname as well, as the ''Achiga-hen'' artist has also referred to her this way.
* KansaiRegionalAccent
* {{Meganekko}}
* [[MrExposition Ms. Exposition]]
* NotSoDifferent: After Hiroko advises Izumi to not think too much about comparing herself with others, especially not overestimating her own abilities, Izumi asks Hiroko if she's speaking from personal experience.
* OneSteveLimit: There's also a Hiroko from Nodoka's middle school, although this one is in an entirely different age group.
* PerpetualFrowner: Her default expression is a slight frown.
* RightBehindMe: In ''Saki Biyori'', she delivers a New Year's card to her cousin Hiroe, announcing her intention to drop by at 10 a.m.; Hiroe opens the card at 10 a.m., and Hiroko announces her presence immediately afterward.
* SlasherSmile: Hiroko gets some seriously messed-up smiles during her match, particularly every time Seiko of Shiraitodai makes a move.

!!Masae Atago
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiMasae2_3951.png
->''"[[BadassCreed It is not Senriyama's goal to stand in the finals. It is to always be on top]]!"''
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AyaHisakawa

The faculty adviser for Senriyama's mahjong club, mother of Team Himematsu's Hiroe and Kinue, and aunt to Hiroko.
----
* AccidentalMisnaming: The Crunchyroll subs have her introducing herself as "Atagoma Sae".
* BadassCreed: Her quote.
* CanonImmigrant: First appears (and is named) in the finale of the anime, before she's even shown or named in the manga (chapter 13 to be precise). Prior to it, all mentions of the Senriyama adviser has always been as "that woman".
* DareToBeBadass: In one of Toki's flashbacks, when addressing the new members of the mahjong club, she tells them that it's entirely possible for new members to become team regulars in their first year, so they should be proactive.
* ImplausibleDeniability: In ''Saki Biyori'', she tries to get out of admitting that she didn't write her New Year's cards, first by hiding them behind her back, then by making excuses.
* KansaiRegionalAccent
* LameExcuse: In ''Saki Biyori'', after her daughters realize that she forgot to send her New Year's cards, she tries to say that she deliberately put them out in the new year, so that she could convey her "new feelings."
* {{Meganekko}}
* {{Nepotism}}: She hopes to avoid any rumors of this regarding her niece Hiroko's presence on the team, but Sera tells her that people will make those rumors anyway.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Hiroe got her looks, while Kinue apparently inherited her hair color and figure.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shindouji All-Girls]]

!!Kirame Hanada
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiKirame_5926.png
->''"Subara!"''
->'''Year:''' 2nd\\
'''Position:''' Vanguard\\
'''Voiced by:''' SatomiArai

If there's a word to describe Kirame, it would be "unflappable" -- even in the face of such opposition as Teru, she will never back down from a good fight, despite earlier firsthand experience as to Teru's sheer power. She also used to be Nodoka and Yuuki's upperclassman and teammate during their middle-school days, but moved out of Nagano before the school makes its disastrous try for the Nationals.

As Vanguard, she counteracts her opponents' strategy. Her special ability is [[spoiler:to avoid hitting negative scores during games. Even though she's not strong enough to be in Shindouji's A-Team, they still chose her over its fifth-strongest player on account of her sheer luck]].
----
* AwfulTruth: [[spoiler:Mairu didn't put Kirame on the team because she thought Kirame was good enough, but because no matter how badly she was outmatched, she would be able to survive the Vanguard round without going under 0. Subverted in that she doesn't let it bother her, and is glad that she's proven useful in a way]].
* CatchPhrase: "Subara!", a shortened version of "subarashii" or "Wonderful/Marvelous!" A joke in ''Saki Biyori'' has her filling this in on a Mad Libs-style script for an advertisement for the club, prompting Mairu to think, "Catch-phrases are unfair..."
* CheerfulChild: [[spoiler:She overheard her seniors talking about why she was chosen on the team, and despite that, she says that she'll be the best damn sacrifice to them.]]
* EnemyMine: With Toki. Not that anyone had any choice, as it's the only real way for her to ensure no one drops below zero in the match against Teru.
* GirlishPigtails
* [[spoiler:GoThroughMe: She was chosen to be the Vanguard over Shindouji's fifth-strongest player despite not being good enough because of her ability. Historically, Team Shindouji fared poorly in the nationals because their aces always lost, with last year's being the worst loss they absorbed. So this year, to counteract the other teams' strategies, they changed their lineup from weakest to strongest and put Kirame so that Team Shindouji would at least survive for one round.]]
* [[spoiler:GracefulLoser: As the rest of the team cries over their loss, she remains cheerful, and offers them some tacos from her old school.]]
* PluckyGirl: Has to be this, to be able to face Teru again despite experiencing what Teru is fully capable of. Even when Toki and Kuro begin to despair, Kirame remains in high spirits.
* ThePollyanna: [[spoiler:She knows she shouldn't even be in the A-Team but for her ability to avoid hitting negatives, and it doesn't bother her one bit.]]
* [[spoiler:SacrificialLion: Her entire purpose as Team Shindouji's Vanguard for the 71st Inter-High.]]
* SempaiKouhai: She was the sempai to Nodoka and Yuuki's kouhai.

!!Yoshiko Yasukouchi
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiYoshiko_6051.png
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Sergeant\\
'''Voiced by:''' MegumiTakamoto

The ever-nervous Sergeant and fourth-strongest player of Team Shindouji
----
* AnimeHair: A rare example in this series, which compared to its [[Manga/{{Saki}} parent]] actually uses realistic hairstyles for the majority of its introduced characters.
* [[spoiler:AttackItsWeakPoint: While Yuu's strategy is to counteract and attack Sumire directly, Yoshiko's strategy is to disable Sumire from using her "Piercing Arrow" playstyle.]]
* {{Meganekko}}
* OneSteveLimit: Shares a name with pro player Yoshiko Kainou.
* TaughtByExperience: Facing Sumire once, she adjusted her playstyle into getting and forming a quick and easy to get hands, even though the hand itself is quite cheap.

!!Hitomi Ezaki
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saki_hitomi_8511.png
->''"It's all the government's fault!"''
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Lieutenant\\
'''Voiced by:''' Yuiko Tatsumi

A senior player for Team Shindouji who always seems to sip a drink, and their third-strongest player. She thinks everything bad is the government’s fault.
----
* AllThereInTheManual: Her name wasn't revealed until a scan of the anime's production note was appeared.
* AnimeHair
* ClassRepresentative: In ''Saki Biyori'', it's implied that she is one, since it's mentioned that she ended up missing half the club meeting because she was in a meeting with the class reps.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}[=/=]ConspiracyTheorist: Hitomi thinks that the reason why Shindouji went back from 3rd to 4th place in the Lieutenant match was because of the government.
* {{Padding}}: [[InvokedTrope In Saki Biyori, she does this]] when she runs out of things to write in the journal when it's her turn, putting in "Mister Shindou" when she's frustrated about how to fill all the white space, a move that ends up taking on a life of its own.
-->'''Mairu''': ''(while reading the journal)'' '''[[LampshadeHanging I would've preferred blank space]].'''
* TerribleArtist: In ''Saki Biyori'', "Mister Shindou's" parents are set apart by [[TertiarySexualCharacteristics the father having a bowtie and the mother having a ribbon]], but it's hard to tell which accessory is which, or even where the neck is.

!!Mairu Shirouzu
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiMairu_1511.png
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Vice-Captain\\
'''Voiced by:''' Yui Kano

Last year's ace and Captain, who failed Team Shindouji last year due to her inability to measure up with the other aces. It was she who suggested [[spoiler:the plan to use Kirame as a sacrificial pawn, in hopes of surviving the Vanguards' match and then using their four strongest players to retake the lead]].

Currently the second-strongest in the team, her and Himeko's ability is called the "Tsuru no Ongaeshi" ("Return Of Gratitude of The White Crane"); hers is individually called "Reservation" -- if Mairu binds herself and win a han, on the next match Himeko is guaranteed to win it with twice the hand. The downside is that she had to rely on Mairu, so if the latter loses, Himeko will have a more difficult time winning, and at 1 han at best. of them were a terror in the Inter Middle.
----
* BrokenAce: She's a skilled player, but she blames herself for losing last year, resulting in them [[spoiler:dropping the Vanguards' match]].
* BrutalHonesty: Bluntly told Hitomi that it's her fault for losing so many points in the semifinals. During Kirame's round, she tells Himeko that no matter how they look at it, she's not in a good situation.
* CasualKink: Her power includes being bind up by chains... suggestively. She also blushes when she's bound up.
* ClubPresident: Her title in the club. Even Himeko, her best friend, refers to her by her title rather than her name.
* CombinationAttack: Mairu and Himeko's ability is very threatening that the only reason Team Shiraitodai only found out their ability is when Teru faced on against Mairu during a match on a previous year.
* {{Determinator}}: She's dominating the Vice-Captains' match to the point that Funakubo was stating that she's "winning too much". It's because even if she wins with low hands, the low hands doubles in Himeko's match.
* HairDecorations: A hairpin and two orange ribbons.
* GirlishPigtails
* MeaningfulName: Mairu's name means white.
* MyGreatestFailure: It's implied that she blames herself for Shindouji's poor performance last year, forcing her to [[spoiler:pawn away Kirame as a sacrifice]].
* NotSoAboveItAll: In ''Saki Biyori'', particularly when she turns an entire page of her round-robin journal red in an attempt to decorate it.
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue oni to Himeko. The two are nicely contrasted in their appearance in the second Achiga-hen opening, when they are back to back and arm-in-arm, with Mairu having a more placid expression and Himeko having an energetic grin.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: With Himeko. More apparent with Himeko, though.
* TheStoic: She's fairly calm and level-headed, even when things look bad for her team.
* TheWorfEffect: Her ability is said to be fearsome on its own. When pitted against the likes of Teru, however, she proved to be a pushover.
* WritersBlock: Suffers this in Saki Biyori regarding Kirame's "Mister Shindou" comic in the round robin journal.

!!Himeko Tsuruta
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiHimeko_5187.png
->''"We have built something together... something that you alone can't match!"''
->'''Year:''' 3rd\\
'''Position:''' Captain\\
'''Voiced by:''' Asuka Oogame

Himeko is Mairu's best friend since middle-school, strongest player and Captain of Team Shindouji, known for wearing a uniform that has a sleeve too long for her.

She and Mairu specialize in combination moves -- when Mairu successfully binds a han, a key appears before her during the round in her turn, and if she uses it, she’ll be able to win it double the han. Hers and Mairu’s linked ability is so powerful that it was able to override Awai’s 5-6 shanten ability.
----
* AffectionateNickname: In some translations, she calls Mairu "[[ClubPresident Prez]]".
* CombinationAttack: With Mairu.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When Mairu binds herself, Himeko would "feel" it, and whenever she does, she'd blush hard and her legs will quiver... like how a girl would be like if she climaxes.
* HairDecorations: A pair of hairpins.
* HandHidingSleeves: Not as much as some of the examples, but they go up onto her hands, and you can barely see her fingers out of her sleeves when she curls them or makes a fist.
* MeaningfulName: Himeko's name means crane.
* RedOniBlueOni: Red oni to Mairu.
* RightBehindMe: She says that Kirame would be upset to hear about [[spoiler:being chosen only as a sacrifice for the team]] while passing under an overpass that Kirame is sitting on. Kirame, however, doesn't reveal herself or get upset.
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: With Mairu. They have been together since middle school.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Others]]
!!'''Okahashi Hatsuse''' (MinamiTsuda)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiHatsuse_2502.png
Ako's friend and classmate from middle school, unlike Ako she enrolls in Bansei in the hopes of joining their prestigious mahjong club. She is surprised that Ako would go to Achiga on what seemed to be a whim, and what's more dare to try at the nationals with an untested team. Naturally, when Achiga goes on to defeat Bansei, she's stunned.

Despite this she throws her support behind her friend's team, and can be seen later watching Achiga's matches at Kuro's home later on, along with all the kids from the old Children's mahjong club.
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* CantCatchUp: She and Ako were about the same level when they went to Bansei and Achiga, and reasons that as she can't even get a spot on Bansei's bench, Ako has no chance of defeating Bansei. Ako's team's winning against Bansei can be seen as an indication that she has surpassed Hatsuse.
* DramaticDrop: After Bansei is eliminated, she drops her megaphone.

!!'''Kei Arakawa''' (MarieMiyake)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiKei_3949.png
Second-ranked in the country in the Individuals after Teru, Kei is one of the players that the Achiga team plays against in their effort to become better. Hailing from North Osaka, her school Sangamaki only placed second in their area (losing its slot to Himematsu), but it should be noted that she was the only other player aside from the Ryuumonbuchi team that Shizuno and her friends could not defeat during their practice matches.

She later appears again in Tokyo, this time with a few other Individuals-only players, to help prepare the Achiga team some more for their match against Shiraitodai. She is the one who foreshadows just how terrifying Teru's skill really is, by describing the elder Miyanaga as "not human".
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* AllThereInTheManual: Her ability, which was only revealed in the ''Achiga-hen'' PSP game. [[spoiler:Kei gets an exponential chance to get good-scoring hands if she doesn't win for a few turns. In hindsight this synchronizes VERY well with Teru's snowballing win streak ability.]]
* BadAss: Assumed. She's second in rank only to ''Teru''. Let that idea sink in for a bit.
* CosplayOtakuGirl: Certainly gives the impression, especially when the Achiga girls meet her again in Tokyo, and she shows up dressed as a nurse. Doubly so when all the other players she brought with her- some of whom are competing in the individual tournament and some of whom aren't in the tournament at all- also happened to be dressed... ''uniquely'', to say the least.
* OneSteveLimit: It's not very well known, but Nodoka's father (interestingly enough, someone who doesn't even like mahjong) is also called Kei.

!!'''Rise Fujiwara'''
-->''"I don't want Jindai Komaki to lose to anyone but myself."''

One of Kei's friends in the individual tournament, who played against Komaki Jindai once in the past.

* {{Keigo}}: Speaks very formally and uses the personal pronoun, ''watakushi''.
* KimonoIsTraditional: Her outfit while practicing with the Achiga team.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Expresses this sentiment regarding Komaki.
* WorthyOpponent: Considers Komaki to be this.

!!'''Uta Mihirogi''' (YukiMatsuoka)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiUta_127.png
A color commentator for Inter-High Radio, and a professional player from Yokohama. Known for giving quick insights on a player's play style, before quickly taking back what she said and claiming that she's really got no idea what's happening.
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* AllThereInTheManual: Like Fujita's case, many details on Uta are only made known through the Saki Pro collectible card series, like the professional team she plays in (the Yokohama Lodestars) and other personal information.
* CatchPhrase: "Wakane!" or "I don't know!"
* CombatCommentator
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Though she certainly doesn't look like it, Uta is actually the Vanguard of the All-Japan team, and apparently has a reputation of playing with overwhelming power.
* InformedAbility: Her supposedly game-breaking "Golden Hands", again only mentioned in the collectible cards.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Standing at a mere 145cm and weighing 37 kilos, Uta is ''very'' petite. She's also apparently a powerful mahjong player with a "game-breaking" ability. It's not always apparent due to her often being shown seated, but one panel in Chapter 106, while sitting in a chair, her feet don't seem to reach the ground.
* TheRedBaron: Cat Chamber. Seems to be a reference to Schroedinger's Cat, and Uta's propensity to both know and ''not'' know what's happening during a match she's commenting on.

!!'''Eri Hariu''' (YumikoFujita)
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SakiEri_9538.png
A play-by-play commentator for Inter-High Radio. She alternates with Fukuyo Kouko.
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* CombatCommentator
* [[StraightMan Straight Woman]]: To Uta, even when its not their turn doing commentary (as shown in the main series). Seems to be common among commentator combinations.
[[/folder]]


[[WMG:Characters introduced in the prequel spinoff ''[[Manga/SakiShinohayuDawnOfAge Side story of -Saki- Shinohayu: The dawn of age]]'']]

!!'''Shino Shiratsuki '''
-->''"If I enter this tournament... Mom might come find me... she might come back!!"''

The main protagonist of the prequel spinoff. Her goal is to be reunited with her MissingMom by playing mahjong.
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* AlliterativeName
* AnimalMotifs: Birds, especially the sparrow that is the namesake of Mahjong. (Contrast: Kuro.)
* CrashIntoHello: With Hayarin on the day of the tournament.
* {{Determinator}}: Has some indications of this. When her uncle sells her mahjong set save for one tile she held onto, she sets out to create ''135'' replica tiles out of paper.
** A better example would be how she runs ''twelve and a half kilometers'' just to be able to join the mahjong tournament in chapter 2.
* {{Foil}}: Like Saki, she sees mahjong as a way to reunite with someone she cares about, hoping that it will bring her together with her mother in the same way that Saki hopes to reconcile with her sister. While it has yet to be seen whether Shino will learn that her reunion with her mother is less likely than she expects, she enjoys mahjong in contrast to Kanna hating it despite her competitive attitude, while Saki, who doesn't like Mahjong, initially upsets Nodoka who does enjoy mahjong, with her play style.
* GracefulLoser: She gets third place in the tournament, which she believes is not enough to get in the news and attract her mother's attention, but enjoys the game.
* MissingMom: One day, when she was just in 4th grade, her mom simply disappeared. Her whereabouts are currently unknown. Shino currently lives with her uncle in Shimane.
* NewTransferStudent: After the disappearance of her mom, she moved to Shimane to live with her uncle, where she meets Kanna and Hayarin.
* SupremeChef: It must be seen to be believed-- and she has been one since, at the very least, [[ImprobableAge 4th grade]].
* WhamLine: After a happy game of mahjong with her mother and uncle, she narrates "The next day, my mom disappeared."
* WhatTheHellHero: After she finds out that her uncle sold her mahjong set, she's very unhappy with him.
* ZettaiRyouiki: Not always, but often.


!!'''Kanna Ishitobi'''
-->''"Don't you know? A lot of first-class athletes don't like their own sport. Their competitive spirit comes before their personal feelings. And I'm the same way."''

A member of the mahjong club at Shino's new school in Shimane.
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* ArchEnemy: She's obsessed with taking down Hayarin to an extent that exceeds any of the other players' attitudes toward their rival, to the point of doodling and writing insults on pictures of her, and turning off the TV when Hayarin gets on.
* BerserkButton: Hayarin seems to be a walking one for her. Another is people who [[StopHavingFunGuys play mahjong for fun]].
* BreakTheHaughty: Her loss to Hayari has this effect, causing her to dedicate herself to defeating her. This is taken even further when she also loses to one of her friends at mahjong, despite said friend being similarly inexperienced.
* BrutalHonesty: This exchange when Kanna recruits her friends to form a mahjong club with the goal of defeating Hayari. It also to some extent counts as a BluntYes, as while Kanna's answer is "no", she says it with the same straightforwardness and lack of tact that comes with a typical BluntYes.
-->'''Kyouka''': Are we supposed to beat (Hayari), too?
-->'''Kanna''': Nah. You're just here to be my sparring partners.
-->'''Kyouka''': [[LampshadeHanging Can't you at least try to show some tact]]?
* ClusterFBomb: Drops one after her defeat against Hayari.
-->'''Kanna''': [[DontYouDarePityMe I don't need your sympathy]]! Mahjong is an illogical pile of shit! [[{{Angrish}} Aagh]]! Fuck this shit! Fuck everything!
* DontYouDarePityMe: Has this reaction after being defeated by Hayari.
* ExactEavesdropping: After storming out of the multipurpose room after losing to Kyouka, she returns, but overhears her friends complaining about her attitude.
* HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight: The main reason she hates Hayarin is because she's in the spotlight, while Kanna is not (yet). It has little to do with Mahjong.
* HiddenDepths: She comes off as arrogant and overly competitive at first glance, but her POV chapters show that she is often lonely, feels empty despite winning, and she often regrets how poorly she treats others.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: It's revealed in her third POV chapter that part of the reason why she initially didn't want to include Shino in her club was out of a desire for none of her friends to feel as though they're left out.
* InsufferableGenius: She's quite talented at almost everything she tries, and does quite well at Mahjong at first, before meeting Hayari.
* JerkAss: She's incredibly cold and condescending toward Shino in their first meeting, and makes it clear that they not only have no room for her in the club, but that she doesn't want her there due to her enjoying mahjong.
* NoSocialSkills: After angrily lashing out at her friends, she ends up ''looking up how to apologize online''.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: As she's usually grumpy and abrasive, when she smiles and politely declines Kyouka's offer to hang out together, Kyouka notices that Kanna's more troubled by the others not showing up in the multipurpose room than she lets on.
* PerpetualFrowner: She's almost constantly frowning, except for a somewhat smug and vain grin when she thinks Shino's asking who she is.
* SoreLoser: She takes her first defeat at Hayari's hands quite badly. She's not happy about losing the second time, although Shino suggests that she enjoyed it even though she lost. She even gets upset after losing against one of her comparatively inexperienced friends in mahjong.
* StopHavingFunGuys: InUniverse. She doesn't see find Mahjong fun at all, it's just something she does as a Pro. As such, she doesn't play anyone that she believes is of no use for raising herself in the Pro ladder.
* TemptingFate: She believes she's the only fourth year at the tournament, only to see Hayari soon afterward. She dismisses her as an airhead, and then gets defeated.
* TookALevelInKindness: Gradually takes some over time as she's humbled by defeat and starts learning how to play well with others. She goes from being completely self-absorbed and viewing others as means to an end to wanting to include others.
* {{Tsundere}}: Has some indications of being this, as she appears concerned about Shino after she runs into Hayarin and blushes as she denies being friends with her.
* UnknownRival: To Hayarin, at least at first, as Hayarin merely acts puzzled when seeing Kanna's hostile behavior toward her.
* VictoryIsBoring: She feels this way since, before getting into mahjong, no one could seriously compete with her at games.

!!'''Kyouka Inamura'''

One of Kanna's friends from the mahjong club.

* BeginnersLuck: Not to the level of Kaori, but in a practice match with Kanna (who has never lost a game to anyone except Hayari, and managed to make it to the finals of the mahjong tournament) she gets a San'ankou when she thought it was a Toi Toi, winning the game. [[SoreLoser Kanna doesn't take it well]].
* BrutalHonesty: Returns the favor to Kanna by saying, with a cheeky grin, that she didn't go to the tournament because she assumed that Kanna wouldn't want Kyouka to see her disgraced and defeated.


!!'''Kousuke'''

Shino's uncle and caretaker after the disappearance of her mother.
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* EmbarrassingNickname: "Richardson." He'd rather not be reminded of his time in that band.
* FantasyForbiddingFather: He believes mahjong will only serve to remind Shino of her MissingMom. However, seeing her enjoying herself at the tournament results in him changing his mind.
* OhCrap: After seeing that Shino has run off.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Shino, after her mother, his older sister, disappears.
* [[ParentsAsPeople Parental Substitutes As People]]: He admits that he's been busy with his job and looking for his sister that he didn't pay much attention to Shino, and then tells her that he'll support what she wants to do from here on out.

!!'''Nana Shiratsuki'''
-->''"I like that look you've got. That sparkling look on your face, when you're playing mahjong."''

Shino's mother, who disappeared one day while she was young.
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* MissingMom: She disappears without any explanation, causing Shino to compete in mahjong tournaments in the hopes of getting into the papers, causing her mother to notice her and come back.

* BadassNormal: Says so herself in Chapter 79. [[spoiler:She's challenges herself to see whether or not she can go far against her "monster" opponents which includes Saki, Kasumi and Toyone.]]

** ComboBreaker: ...But those savvy to the sequence of her skill activation can quickly put a stop to things, as demonstrated by [[TheLoad Seiko]] preventing her guaranteed-kan skill (drawn from the dead wall corner) [[InsaneTrollLogic by arranging all the tiles in a circle]] (which removes the corner). [[spoiler:Shizu's ability, which depending on the dice roll also affects where the dead wall is cut, thus also affecting where Awai normally gets the tile she uses to Kan, also stops her ability combo cold.]]

* EyesAlwaysShut

Yoshiko appears slightly earlier in the anime, where she becomes the color commentator for the quarterlies.

* ClusterFBomb: Drops one after her defeat to Hayari.

* SpotOfTea

* LittleMissBadass: She's the oldest member of the Ryuumonbuchi team (if only in appearance), and a second-year in high school, but appearance wise, she fits.

* MilesGloriosus

* LastSecondWordSwap

->'''Voiced by:''' JunkoNoda

** FanNickname: Taco-tan, Tacololi or simply Tacos. Other characters even call her Tacos too.

* TheDanza

* FanNickname: Gardevoir.

* FanNickname[=/=]InSeriesNickname: [=FunaQ=]. Seems to overlap with being an ''official'' nickname as well, as the ''Achiga-hen'' artist has also referred to her this way.

* FanNickname: Sheep. Because of her hairstyle.

* FanNickname: She's also known as "KISS fan" due to makeup under her eyes.