Headscratchers / Saki

• Saki plays the captain position. Teru plays the vanguard position. How does Saki hope to reach out to Teru through Mahjong if they aren't playing directly against each other, barring a last-minute lineup switch by Kiyosumi and/or Shiratodai?
  • The individuals, probably
• Did Shiraitodai change its uniform since the last academic year, from a blazer, skirt, dress shirt and necktie like Tsuruga to a sailor fuku? I wondered if it was a retcon of sorts, but when Harue shows Yuu footage of Sumire's match during the last year, Sumire is wearing the same uniform Teru wears in the magazine photograph.
  • I believe that Japanese schools have two uniforms - one set for summer and another set for winter. The blazer, skirt, dress shirt and necktie is probably Shiraitodai's winter uniform while the all white uniform they have on now is their summer uniform.
    • That's a possibility, but I've noticed that most winter uniforms tend to be similar to the summer ones; instead of a cardigan, girls might wear a blazer, and might have long sleeves instead of short sleeves. One alternate theory I have is that, as one cover shows Teru and Sumire with the former uniform while Awai wears another one, possibly her middle school uniform, was that it was retired at the last year, although it seems less than likely.
• Am I the only one who noticed that most of characters' birthdays are in September?
  • Mid-December in a country without central heating is a great opportunity to, uh, play some two-player mahjong.
• Why did the Kiyosumi team took Kyoutaro with them when this seems to be a female tournament? (Which by the way, it's never announced as such)
  • He entered the men's individual tournament, and was eliminated in the first round.
  • They brought him to the team tourney because they needed an errand boy.
• It's somewhat often mentioned that Satoha, the sole Japanese player in Rinkai, has to be the vanguard under the rules. What exactly is the significance of that? Is the implication that she wouldn't be the vanguard otherwise?
  • Well, actually, the significance of that is that most people will tend to assume that Satoha wouldn't have the position if it weren't for that rule, which would cause them to underestimate her when she's actually the third-ranked high school player in the nation.

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