Ritz Kobayashi's ongoing 2006
Saki manga series was so popular that it spawned a spinoff series in 2011 which saw Kobayashi write the story with Aguri Igarashi handling art duties. It was thought that the spinoff series,
Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A, had concluded in 2013 at 6 volumes but it seems the manga was merely on hiatus. Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan has announced that
side-A will be returning in the next issue of the magazine which hits newsstands on March 25. Artwork for the series will appear on the cover of the magazine and the first few pages of the new issue will be in color.
With the
side-A manga continuing, perhaps an anime continuation is not far behind? In addition to the anime series from Studio Gokumi, the spinoff manga also receive a live-action television adaptation in 2012 and a two-film adaptation that was released in 2018 and 2019 repsectively.
In the main
Saki manga series, the titular character is invited to join the mahjong club by Nodoku Hamura, the previous year's national middle school champion. The
side-A spinoff manga recounts Nodoku's past and how she was first introduced into the world of mahjong by her middle scool friends Shizuno and Ako.
Shizuno Takakamo and Ako Atarashi, members of the Achiga Girl's Academy Kid's Mahjong Club, invite the new transfer student from Tokyo, Nodoka Haramura, to come play with them. Kuro Matsumi, a student one year above them, and Harue Akado, a university student who is their coach, are there as well, and together they spend their days having fun and playing Mahjong.
But when it's time to go to middle school, Harue leaves for a pro team, and Ako ends up going to a different school. And then Nodoka transfers, and the group is torn apart. Time passes, and one day in her last year of middle school, Shizuno is watching TV when she sees Nodoka winning the national middle school Mah-jong tournament. "I want to play Mahjong with Nodoka again."
Shizuno and Ako both decide to go to Achiga Girl's Academy High.
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