Ron! 5,200.
Himematsu's Suehara
immediately plays into Miyamori's Anetai's chasing riichi!
Riichi, ippatsu, one dora: that will cost her 5,200 points.
And that's it for the first half!
Her chasing riichi beat me again.
This is just too...
The Nationals
Hand 10: Friends
We've had our break, and now it's time for the second half.
Himematsu's Suehara, who started in first,
had a great opening with three consecutive wins,
but after having to make a payment and
playing into other players' hands four times,
she has lost 21,600 points in the first half.
She is only 900 points ahead of second place Kiyosumi.
This isn't good.
I've got to rethink my strategy.
Kiyosumi's Miyanaga remains in second,
where she started, gaining 5,500 points in the first half.
However, Himematsu's first place is well within reach.
We can expect an exciting second half!
Moving from last to third is Miyamori's Anetai.
She raked in 12,100 points, the highest gain in the first half.
In the second half, she'll be aiming for a top two position,
qualifying her team for the semifinals.
It's stopped raining.
Sae will be okay, probably.
That's good!
I'll avenge her!
Yeah.
Nighttime in Tokyo is so pretty.
You can't see any stars, though.
Yeah, but... all these lights look like a starry sky!
Toyone, are you having fun?
Huh?
I am!
I'm so glad I was able to come here with all of you.
I'm going to do my best in the second half, too.
Falling from third to last place is,
surprisingly, the seed school, Eisui.
However, they had still gained points in the first half.
They'll be aiming for a comeback in the second half.
How are you feeling?
Neither of us got a chance to play in the first round match.
It's been a while since we played an official game.
Yeah.
That's Nationals for you.
It doesn't always go as desired.
Plus, I feel like someone's still hiding something.
The second half will begin shortly.
All participating players, please report to the stage.
It's almost time.
All right. Here I go.
Okay!
Saki-san!
Huh?
Um...
Let's go to the semifinals together!
Yes.
There's Saki-chan!
This will be the last East-South match in round two's third game!
Which schools will make it to the semifinals?
Miyamori Girls' (Iwate) 3rd Year Anetai Toyone
Himematsu High School (South Osaka) 3rd Year Suehara Kyouko
Kiyosumi High School (Nagano) 1st Year Miyanaga Saki
Eisui Girls' (Kagoshima) 3rd Year Iwato Kasumi
And the second half has begun!
Fifth Players' Match, Second Half
East Hand 1 Dealer - Anetai Toyone
If anyone declares a riichi, she'll chase them down,
but if nobody does, Anetai can't declare one herself.
Then we're on even footing.
No, I'm at an advantage because I can call tiles and declare riichi faster!
Anetai can't call any tiles!
Pon!
In order to make her chasing riichi work,
she must keep her hand closed...
Why did she just call?
Does she have something up her sleeve
besides her chasing riichi?
Chi!
This is probably still okay, right?
Pon!
Chi!
This is...
a naked wait!
It's not alone!
It's East Hand 1 of the match's second half.
Miyamori's Anetai
suddenly made four calls and is now in a naked wait!
Toyone!
Tomobiki?
[Tomobiki, from the calendar of lucky and unlucky days, written as "attract friends"]
So she's finally revealing that one?
Sae's feeling better...
What is this?
Even if it's a bluff to prove she can do more than just
chase riichis, this is too risky!
I wanted that to stay hidden until the finals,
but against Kiyosumi, I guess we can't afford that luxury.
Here comes a friend!
Tsumo!
2,000 from all.
No way...
That was Anetai, with a tsumo worth 2,000 from all!
This moves her into second place.
You did it, Toyone!
Wow!
Toyone...
In the beginning, nobody even made a decent match for her.
Has it only been half a year since then?
Half a Year Ago Miyamori Girls' High School
Ah!
I thought you'd be here!
Kosegawa-san! Want to go to the cafeteria?
I'm tired right now. Ask me some other time.
No dice again today? Too bad!
Huh?
You're the exchange student.
I didn't know you sat behind me.
Growl
Are you... hungry?
Yeah.
Want... some bread?
Yeah.
Oh, there you are.
Shiro!
Kumakura-sensei brought that girl she was talking about.
I'm coming.
Thanks for the food.
Want to come, too?
Yes!
That took a while.
Sorry for the wait.
Can you introduce yourself?
Yes.
I'm from Iwate.
My name is Anetai Toyone.
I'm from Iwate.
My name is Anetai Toyone.
This is Iwate...
Wow, she's tall!
She's a second year student, just like you guys.
I was walking around taking a look at things before I came here.
That's when I found this outstanding talent.
You should all play a game with her.
Good luck.
Thanks! Good luck!
This girl comes from a village
with very few young people.
Without a computer, she learned to play mahjong
by setting up the tiles herself and watching games on TV.
So does that mean you haven't played against others much?
Yeah.
But she comes with my seal of approval.
That's pretty scary.
Who's this girl?
This is Aislinn-san, the exchange student.
Pleased to meet you.
Do you know how to play mahjong?
That's really too bad.
Well, should we start?
Yeah!
Start with your Shakkou play.
[Shakkou, from the calendar of lucky and unlucky days, written as "red mouth"]
Okay.
Tsumo!
2,000 all.
It's over.
I can't win!
Why are you crying?!
I was having so much fun... and now I have to go home!
If I don't get on the next train, I won't make the last bus!
Oh, I see. That's too bad.
I couldn't win, but I still had a lot of fun.
So...
Yeah?
When will you transfer here?
Huh?
We thought Kumakura-sensei
brought you here as a potential team member.
Are we wrong?
I... I didn't hear about that...
Well, I hadn't told anyone, but yes.
I thought you'd never want someone like me
on your team... and... well...
We'd welcome you any time.
Yeah!
Yup!
I've already gotten permission from the necessary parties,
and all the arrangements are made.
All that was left was seeing whether you all fit together.
Whether... we all fit?
Huh?
Why are you crying again?!
I'm so happy!
Oh, that's all?
That surprised me!
Don't scare us!
Yeah, really!
On paper, her transfer is already complete.
It has been since the time Toyone and I met, last fall.
Huh?
Oh!
That was an admission exam?
That's right.
Regional regulations made it difficult to get you here...
But we finally did it.
So you've been making arrangements since fall last year.
Why'd you start so long ago?
Oh!
I see.
You don't mean... the inter-high?!
Inter... high?
It's the national high school mahjong tournament!
They have it every summer!
Huh? So then... what?
We've never played in a team tournament, either.
But don't you need five people for a team?
We're short one...
Me!
Aislinn-san...
She's drawing something?
What is that supposed to be?!
"Let's enter the regional tournament and take first place."
You understood that?!
Yes!
Well, let's have her sit down before we talk about the rules.
Yes!
So that means...
We've got our team.
One!
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
M-Me?!
Before then, I'd never left our mountain village.
The only enjoyment I had in life was the TV.
But Kumakura-sensei brought me here,
and they all became my friends.
The world I dreamed about back then has opened up to me here.
I want to keep going further and further, so I can't lose now!
Bonus Hand 1!
Pon!
Again?
She's calling right from the beginning again.
Chi!
Huh?
She just discarded that tile on her last turn.
Now she's calling it to get it back?
Normally, that would be pointless.
So maybe it's the calling in itself that is the point.
Pon!
Four calls... Another naked wait?
Don't tell me...
It's not alone!
Tsumo!
2,700 from all.
Himematsu has finally been dethroned!
Himematsu High School (South Osaka) 3rd Year Suehara Kyouko
Miyamori Girls' is in the lead!
Miyamori Girls' (Iwate) 3rd Year Anetai Toyone
All right!
Suehara-senpai...
We're not too far from third, either.
How will Kiyosumi and Eisui,
in third and fourth place, respond to that?
Saki-san...
In this second half of the fifth players' match,
Miyamori's Anetai has won continuously since the start,
making a big move for her team.
She's got a much more varied skill set than I imagined.
More varied?
Iwate... the team from Touno.
I thought none of them would be scary except the Mayoiga girl,
but then their fourth player
almost locked down Hatsumi-chan completely.
Now this girl comes out of nowhere in the fifth players' match.
Her team had quite the ace up their sleeve.
If you press into the mountains, you will find a beautiful woman,
a woman of tall growth,
her unbound black hair even longer than her height.
Bonus Hand 2!
Two naked waits in a row, and she won both hands with a tsumo!
So she's got multiple skills... There might be more coming.
Can I adjust for it in time?
I'm good at defense, but it looks like that won't work this time.
This is not my specialty,
but I'll give it a try!
Next time:
Threat
Sanma (3 player mahjong) is most enjoyed in
the Kansai region, and there are lots of different rules.
Nodoka-chan, you sure know a lot.
I know a lot, too!
For Tokyo's finest grilled sanma (mackerel pike), go to Meguro!
In Tokyo, that would be Akasaka.
Watch Again!