Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A (anime)

The Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A anime is perhaps best described as Saki season 1.5. It is both an adaption of the Achiga-hen manga written by Ritz Kobayashi and illustrated by Aguri Igarashi, and a partially original work by Studio Gokumi. The anime is 16 episodes long. The Achiga-hen manga began serialization in the Monthly Shōnen Gangan on August 12, 2011, while the anime began airing on TV Tokyo on early Monday morning, April 09, 2012 in the 1:05 AM time slot JST. Crunchyroll starts streaming new episodes with English subtitles 30 minutes later on Sunday morning, 9:35 AM PDT.

Achiga-hen contains a new cast of characters and an early Saki crossover character. There is more crossover in further episodes as the Achiga-hen story heads towards a merger with the Saki main story. The setting for most of the 16 episodes will be the same time and place as Saki and the story begins about four years earlier than the timeline of Saki.


 * Genres: drama, action/sport, comedy
 * Themes: mahjong, school life, tournament, bishoujo, supernatural, moe, camp (style), light yuri
 * Demographics: shounen

Plot preview
Children gather to play at a school's mahjong club that is bustling with activity, but when their coach leaves to join a professional team, the club shuts down and the childhood friends drift apart. Two years later, Shizuno Takakamo sees her childhood friend, Nodoka Haramura, win the Middle School Mahjong Individual National Championship. Shizuno resolves to go to the mahjong nationals to compete against her again. She soon reunites with the remarkable Kuro Matsumi and the skilled Ako Atarashi. Together they go about reestablishing their beloved mahjong club. The final piece falls into place when their coach, still regretting how she performed in the nationals several years earlier, returns to Achiga Girls' Academy seeking to further redeem herself by helping the girls fulfill their wishes.

Along the way, the Achiga girls practice against Ryuumonbuchi High School and against some of the girls from Tsuruga Academy and Kazekoshi Girls' High School before competiting against Teru Miyanaga and the rest of Shiraitodai High School. The Achiga girls also come to respect Nodoka's teammates, especially Saki Miyanaga.

Music

 * Opening Themes


 * "Miracle Rush" by StylipS (episodes 2-12)
 * "Tsu. Ba. Sa" by StylipS (episode 14-16)


 * Ending Themes


 * "Miracle Rush" by StylipS (episode 1)
 * "Square Panic Serenade" by Aoi Yūki, Nao Tōyama, Kana Hanazawa, MAKO, and Yumi Uchiyama (episodes 2, 5-7)
 * "Futuristic Player" by Miyuki Hashimoto (episode 3, 4, 8-11, 14-16)
 * "Tsu. Ba. Sa" by StylipS (episode 13)

Production staff
The following are returning staff members from the producers of the Saki anime. Manabu Ono is the director, Kenji Satou is the assistant director, Tatsuhiko Urahata will be doing series composition and scenario, and Masatsu Sasaki is the character designer and is also be the general animation supervisor. Music is provided by Lantis.

Animation production is done by Studio Gokumi, formerly known as Gonzo Studio #5, the studio that animated the first fourteen episodes of the Saki anime, and Lantis.

Japanese voice actresses

 * Achiga Girls Academy
 * Kuro Matsumi is voiced by Kana Hanazawa
 * Yū Matsumi is voiced by MAKO
 * Ako Atarashi is voiced by Nao Tōyama
 * Arata Sagimori is voiced by Yumi Uchiyama
 * Shizuno Takakamo is voiced by Aoi Yūki
 * Harue Akado is voiced by Naomi Shindo


 * Senriyama Girls' High School
 * Toki Onjōji is voiced by Yui Ogura
 * Izumi Nijō is voiced by Maho Matsunaga
 * Cela/Sera Eguchi is voiced by Arisa Noto
 * Hiroko Funakubo is voiced by Manami / (Misawa Sachika ep 13 onwards)
 * Ryuuka Shimizudani is voiced by Kaori Ishihara


 * Shiraitodai High School
 * Miyanaga Teru is voiced by Mai Nakahara (returning)
 * Sumire Hirose is voiced by Mitsuki Saiga (returning)
 * Awai Oohoshi is voiced by Chiwa Saito
 * Takami Shibuya is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi
 * Seiko Matano is voiced by Kaori Shimizu


 * Shindouji Girls' High School
 * Kirame Hinada is voiced by Satomi Arai
 * Yoshiko Yasukouchi is voiced by Megumi Takamoto
 * Mairu Shiramizu is voiced by Yui Kano
 * Himeko Tsuruta is voiced by Asuka Oogame
 * Hitomi Ezaki is voiced by Yuiko Tatsumi


 * Kentani High School
 * Miyuki Tsubakino is voiced by Shion Hirota
 * Sumiko Yorifuji is voiced by Yuko Mori
 * Kozue Furuzuka is voiced by Natsumi Takamori
 * Yuuka Morigaki is voiced by Naomi Shindou
 * Riko Yasufuku is voiced by Yuiko Tatsumi


 * Bansei High School
 * Yae Kobashiri is voiced by Hiromi Konno
 * Noriko Maruse
 * Hina Kimura
 * Ryouko Ueda
 * Yuka Tatsumi
 * Hatsuse Okahashi is voiced by Minami Tsuda


 * Koshigaya Girls' High School
 * Sophia Arai is voiced by Megumi Nakajima
 * Hanako Asami is voiced by Marika Honda
 * Shiori Mizumura is voiced by Rie Yamaguchi
 * Tamago Utsugi is voiced by Kei Shindou
 * Keiko Yagihara is voiced by Megumi Takamoto


 * Urabandai High School
 * Manami Moriai is voiced by Sayuri Hara


 * Announcing teams
 * Eri Hariu is voiced by Yumiko Fujita
 * Uta Mihirogi is voiced by Yuki Matsuoka
 * Kōko Fukuyo is voiced by Ai Nonaka
 * Sukoya Kokaji is voiced by Saori Goto
 * Nara announcer (episode 3) is voiced by Ayumi Yonemaru
 * Nara commentator (episode 3) is voiced by Megumi Takamoto


 * Individual players
 * Arakawa Kei is voiced by Marie Miyake
 * Narration by Jouji Nakata
 * Nozomi Atarashi is voiced by Rio Natsuki
 * Sakurako Gibbard is voiced by Asuka Ōgame
 * Rin Kirita is voiced by Natsumi Takamori
 * Toshi Kumakura is voiced by Kaoru Morota
 * Aya Shizaki is voiced by Yuiko Tatsumi
 * Mrs. Takakamo/Shizuno's mother is voiced by Ayumi Yonemaru
 * Hina Yamatani is voiced by Megumi Takamoto
 * Club member (episode 2) is voiced by Yuuko Mori
 * Club member (episode 2) is voiced by Natsumi Takamori
 * Female high school student (episode 1) is voiced by Shion Hirota
 * Female high school student (episode 2) is voiced by Yuuko Mori

Returning from the Saki anime

 * Kiyosumi High School
 * Yūki Kataoka is voiced by Rie Kugimiya
 * Mako Someya is voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi
 * Hisa Takei is voiced by Shizuka Itou
 * Nodoka Haramura is voiced by Ami Koshimizu
 * Saki Miyanaga is voiced by Kana Ueda
 * Kyōtarō Suga is voiced by Jun Fukuyama


 * Ryuumonbuchi High School
 * Jun Inoue is voiced by Yuko Kaida
 * Tomoki Sawamura is voiced by Ayuru Ōhashi
 * Hajime Kunihiro is voiced by Ai Shimizu
 * Tōka Ryūmonbuchi is voiced by Minori Chihara
 * Koromo Amae is voiced by Kaori Fukuhara
 * Hagiyoshi is voiced by Daisuke Ono


 * Kazekoshi Girls' High School
 * Mihoko Fukuji is voiced by Yui Horie
 * Kana Ikeda is voiced by Rika Morinaga
 * Miharu Yoshitome is voiced by Chiro Kanzaki


 * Tsuruga Academy
 * Satomi Kanbara is voiced by Natsuko Kuwatani
 * Momoko Touyoko is voiced by Momoko Saitou
 * Yumi Kajiki is voiced by Yuu Kobayashi
 * Kaori Senoo is voiced by Ryoko Shintani