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The 3rd season of Saki is a part of a live action adaptation project transforming this mahjong comic into a drama and film, and it will air at 12:50 am on Dec. 19 on MBS and at 1:43 am on Dec. 21 on TBS.
First serialized in 2006 in Young Gangan (Square Enix), Saki is a manga by Kobayashi Ritz based on the world of mahjong, with more than 100 million competitors and even large-scale competitions in Japan. It follows a group of high school girls aiming to compete in a national tournament, and is loved for its new style of youth sports manga. It was adapted into a 4-part drama on MBS and TBS with 1 special episode, and the film will open on Feb. 3, 2017.
Protagonist Miyanaga Saki will be played by Hamabe Minami, who drew much attention for her performance as Honma Meiko (Menma) in the live-action drama adaptation of Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. The members of the mahjong club at Saki's school Seichou High, as well as the national competitors from Ryuumonbuchi High School, Kazekoshi Girls’ High School, and Tsuruga Academy will be played by Asakawa Nana of SUPER☆GiRLS, Hirota Aika of Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku, model Takeda Rena, Nagao Mariya, Okamoto Natsumi, and Ano of Yurumerumo!, completing the cast of 20 girls with a number of actresses, artists, idols, and models.
The 2nd episode of Saki from the other day was an emotional one, diving into the complex feelings of Haramura Nodoka (Asakawa) towards Saki after she said, “I don’t really like mahjong all that much,” as well as worries about returning to mahjong because of trouble at home. The mahjong team head Takei Hisa (played by Furuhata Seika) also sets forth a plan for Saki as a way to compete in the nationals. Episodes 1 and 2 are both available on Amazon Prime Video, so if you missed them, go watch them now!
Episode 3 will feature Saki, Nodoka, and Someya Mako playing mahjong in maid outfits, just like in the original manga. Before the episode airs, photos have been released of Hamabe, Asakawa, and Mako (Yamada Anna) each in their blue, pink, and black maid outfits. Fujita Yasuko (played by Natsuna) also appears wearing bondage. We're still waiting for Fujita's "katsudon" scene and her game with the girls, so who knows how that will turn out!
The 3rd episode of the Saki drama will air at 12:50 am on Dec. 19 on MBS, and at 1:43 am on Dec. 21 on TBS.
The special episode of the Saki drama will air on Jan. 9 at 1:05 am on MBS, and at 1:43 am on Jan. 11 on TBS.
The Saki live-action film opens nationwide from Feb. 2017.
Source: Spice
