History Manga / Saki

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: An analysis, based on the study of a calendar (shown only in a single frame, so its easy to miss) and on the possible dates of a full moon during the prefecturals, concludes that the only possible year for the series to take place in is '''2050'''. It's no wonder why Nodoka's so interested in IPS reproduction...

* [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours My Mahjong Is Stronger than Yours]]: Why of course.

* PerpetuallyShinyBodies

* MundaneUtility: Many of the characters have what can only be called superhuman abilities, some of which could be easily applied to far more important tasks.[[note]]Examples include channeling spirits and ''seeing into the future.''[[/note]] They use them to ~~play~~ [[spoiler:cheat at]] mahjong.

* MundaneUtility: Many of the characters have what can only be called superhuman abilities, some of which could be easily applied to far more important tasks.[[note]]Examples include channeling spirits and ''seeing into the future.''[[/note]] They use them to play mahjong.

Besides the main manga, ''Saki'' also has four spinoff comics -- ''[[Manga/SakiAchigaHen Achiga-hen -episode of Side A-]]'' ("Achiga's Story" / 2011-2013, illustrated by Aguri Igarashi, mangaka of ''Manga/BambooBlade''), which focuses on Nodoka's childhood friends from Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara Prefecture who are gunning for the Nationals for the first time in ten years, hoping to play with Nodoka again; ''Biyori'' (2011-present, illustrated by Saya Kiyoshi) and its follow-up ''Biyori -- Otona no Maki'' ("Adults' Story"), a pair of 4-koma gag strips focused on the hijinks of the various major teams; and ''[[Manga/SakiShinohayuDawnOfAge Shinohayu -the dawn of age-]]'' (2013-present, also illustrated by Igarashi), which focuses on the generation that produced some of the pros of the current timeline -- playing idol Hayari Mizuhara, color commentator Risa Noyori, Team Achiga adviser (and alumna) Harue Akado, and multiple-time national champion Sukoya Kokaji, as well as Hayari's old teammates Shino Shiratsuki and Kanna Ishitobi.

* CynicismCatalyst: [[spoiler:Though her ''actual'' fate is unclear as of this point, whatever happened to the other girl in the Miyanaga family picture [[http://www.batoto.net/read/_/132343/saki_ch102_by_u-scanlations/14]] had a profound effect on both Miyanaga sisters, and likely also played a factor in how their family broke apart.]]

** And [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/saki/v09/c081/14.html this]] happen in the manga.

** Team Kiyosumi's Yuuki fell victim to this four times now -- against Jun and Mihoko, against Nanpo, against Komaki (when she was ''a hand away'' from victory), and now against [[spoiler:Satoha and Suzu]]. This is largely the result of most teams putting their aces up as Vanguards (to the point at which the otherwise skilled Team Shindouji focuses on survival), and Yuuki [[CripplingOverspecialization overspecializes in point-farming at the East Wind]]. [[DavidVersusGoliath From a story perspective, this ensures that Team Kiyosumi will always have to scrape back to victory come the later rounds.]]

* GenderBentAllternateUniverse: ''Saki RE: King's Tile Draw'' is set in a universe where nearly all of the main cast goes from female to male, with some personality differences here and there. We say nearly, because [[InSpiteOfANail Kyotaro is still a boy]], making this ChromosomeCasting at its most blatant.

* PuniPlush: Everything except for the [[ConspicuousCG boards]].

** In the anime, many to Akagi (much of the "camera work" and motions during a game are straight Akagi, and the ConspicuousCG happens to look identical).

* ConspicuousCG: The mahjong tiles and table.

* BarbieDollAnatomy: In both manga and anime.

** Mihoko helps Yuuki from losing too many points against Jun in the Nagano finals' vanguard match, making Yuuki think she's looking out for her. MIhoko then surprises everyone by repeatedly scoring big and running away with the lead.

** Ensui;s Hatsumi wears her shine maiden outfit very loosely, showing a bare chest with tan lines.

* OneWordTitle: About [=2/3s=] of the episode titles fit this.

* OvertookTheManga: The last match of the Nagano finals ended in the manga some time after Season 1 of the anime.

[[caption-width-right:350:A mahjong about manga.]]

* ISenseADisturbanceInTheForce: "Monster class" mahjong players can feel the presence of other "monster class" players.
* {{Joshikousei}}: But of course.

* TheMagicPokerEquation: Being good at mahjong in this series means drawing better tiles or having other bizarre superpowers that let you win.

* [[TheMagicPokerEquation The Magic Mahjong Equation]]
* [[RugbyIsSlaughter Mahjong Is Slaughter]]: During Team Shiraitodai's first appearance, after Awai finishes her match, her opponents are seen dazed, heads hung, and completely lifeless.

* DidYouJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Koromo returning Etopen to Nodoka, as Koromo [[spoiler:tries to ask Nodoka to be her friend]].

* FlashBack

* [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours My Mahjong is Stronger Than Yours]]: Why of course.

* PantyShot: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] -- female underwear doesn't even ''exist'' in this setting.

* PowerOfLove [[PowerOfTrust And Trust]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Nodoka's father thinks "Mahjong Pro" isn't the most secure career aspiration for his daughter, but lets her keep at it as long as she keeps winning. On the other hand, he derides mahjong as a game purely based on luck, scoffs at Nodoka mentioning that she was able to make friends through it ("just what use would any friends you make be in a hick town like this be?"), and halfheartedly decides to "consider" letting her stay if she wins the nationals. He might be giving her a chance, but it could be [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpreted]] that he does so because he doesn't think she can manage the improbable task of winning the nationals.

* XMeetsY: ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' Meets ''Manga/{{Hitohira}}''. Saki can be seen as a CaptainErsatz of Mugi, for one.
** ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' meets mahjong.
** Also, retroactively, ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' has been called "Saki on tanks".

** Shots of Nodoka's [[SexySoakedShirt wet uniform scene]] from Season 1 Episode 1 bore wild theories that Nodoka, and maybe the other girls, did not wear any underwear.

** The episode previews all have references to mahjong manga of varying obscurity, most of which are lost on English-speaking audiences. In particular, the last preview references five series, the last of which is Hideki Oowada's ''Ritz''.

''Saki'' (咲 -Saki-) is an ongoing 2006 manga written and illustrated by Ritz Kobayashi under Creator/SquareEnix's ''Young Gangan'' compilation, based around the game of {{TabletopGame/mahjong}}, with two anime adaptations by Creator/{{GONZO}} and Creator/StudioGokumi (the latter as ''Saki: Zenkoku-hen'' ["The Nationals"]). The anime has been licensed by Crunchyroll and can be viewed for free on [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/saki their site]] (unless you're in Japan). There is also a live-action adaptation consisting of four episodes and a TV special, plus a follow-up live-action film.

** Mihoko helps Yuuki from losing too many points against Jun in the Nagano finals' vanguard match, making Yuuki think she's looking out for her. She then surprises everyone by repeatedly scoring big and running away with the lead.
** Kana, whose points were reduced to 0 by Koromo, gets a 16,900 point grace from Saki during the Nagano finals' captains match. It turns out Saki purposely did this so Kana doesn't go in the negative should anyone get a winning hand to give her enough time to pull off a comeback win

* EnemyMine: In one of the matches of the individual tournament, ''everyone'' gangs up on Saki. [[spoiler:Needless to say, it doesn't work.]]

* FanserviceWithASmile: Mako's family's maid cafe (retconned from a mahjong parlor in the manga) is a nice reason to see Saki and Nodoka dress up. And play more mahjong.

* ISenseADisturbanceInTheForce

* LampshadeHanging: At the beginning of the Nationals, Saki admits that she accidentally wore Mako's skirt (which is longer than hers) at the opening ceremony, apparently to make up for the mangaka's error of drawing Saki with a long skirt in the previous chapter. Since then, Saki has more or less seen an increase in her skirt length (Some might say it actually looks better.)

''Saki'' (咲 -Saki-) is an ongoing 2006 manga written and illustrated by Ritz Kobayashi under Creator/SquareEnix's ''Young Gangan'' compilation, based around the game of {{TabletopGame/mahjong}}, with two anime adaptations by Creator/{{GONZO}} and Creator/StudioGokumi (the latter as ''Saki: Zenkoku-hen'' ["The Nationals"]). The anime has been licensed by Crunchyroll and can be viewed for free on [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/saki their site]] (unless you're in Japan).

* ConspicuousCG: The mahjong tiles.

* ExpressiveAccessory: [[GenkiGirl Yuuki's]] cat-belt.

* HufflepuffHouse: The Nagano tournament features two plucky underdog teams who come outta nowhere to make it into the finals. One of them is Team Kiyosumi. Sorry, Team Tsuruga, but until you get your own show, you have no chance of winning.