Akagi

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. First published in 1991 in Takeshobo's weekly magazine Kindai Mahjong, it is a spin-off prequel of the author's previous work, Ten. It revolves around Shigeru Akagi, a boy who defeats yakuza members well versed in mahjong at 13. He returns to the game six years later, carrying a mythical status and still impresses his opponents. It was adapted as two V-Cinema live-action films directed by Kenzō Maihara in 1995 and 1997. A 26-episode anime television series directed by Yūzō Satō was broadcast on Nippon Television from October 2005 to March 2006. Two live-action television dramas directed by Mitsuru Kubota aired on BS SKY PerfecTV! between July 2015 and June 2018. The series has also spawned several companion books, spin-off manga, video games, and other merchandise. By February 2017, the Akagi manga series had over 12 million copies in circulation. Plot The story revolves around the mahjong gambling exploits of (voiced by Masato Hagiwara in the anime adaptation). After a death-defying game of chicken one evening in 1958, Akagi nonchalantly enters a yakuza mahjong parlor to shake the police's trail. Although he is unfamiliar with the rules of mahjong, his gambling intuition saves a small-time gambler, (voiced by Rikiya Koyama), and grants him a seat at the gambling table. As the night progresses, the stakes are raised both within the game and for Akagi, who is under the suspicion of the local policeman, (voiced by Tessho Genda). However, Akagi manages to defeat (voiced by Wataru Takagi)—despite Yagi's cheating during the game—and impresses the members of the gambling house. Yasuoka arranges a new match against other yakuza members, in which Akagi defeats (voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka), a blind professional mahjong player with very accurate hearing. After defeating him, Akagi gains mythical status at 13 but then disappears, becoming a legendary figure all over Japan.