18 - The Cursed Tiles

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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[01:12] nar
    The genius from the
    darkness, Akagi Shigeru,
[01:14] nar
    and the monster of the
    Showa Era, Washizu Iwao.
[01:17] nar
    Akagi's wager is a fatal amount of blood.
[01:19] nar
    Washizu's is the entirety
    of his remaining fortune.
[01:21] nar
    A deathmatch with the aim to
    completely annihilate the opponent.
[01:25] nar
    South Hand 1.
[01:27] nar
    Akagi outsmarts Washizu and draws closer.
[01:33] Was
    Pretty good.
[01:34] Was
    Any other kind of play would be boring.
[01:37] Was
    Come back at me with
    everything you've got.
[01:42] Was
    Show me that very last
    shred of resistance
[01:45] Was
    when I've got you backed into the corner.
[01:48] Was
    That, for me, is the ultimate pleasure!
SIGN    Episode 18
SIGN    The Cursed Tiles
[02:00] nar
    South Hand 2.
[02:02] nar
    Washizu is the dealer.
[02:03] nar
    Washizu currently has 37,400 points.
[02:07] nar
    Akagi has 28,600 points.
[02:10] nar
    The difference has shrunk to 8,800.
[02:15] was
    You probably think you
    got a good blow in,
[02:18] was
    but that doesn't change the fact
    that I'm still ahead of you.
[02:22] nar
    That is correct.
[02:23] nar
    It might have shrunk, but the
    difference is still 8,800 points.
[02:26] nar
    Unless Akagi can overturn
    this difference before
[02:29] nar
    this East-South match ends,
    he will not survive.
[02:32] oug
    If he loses by rank,
[02:34] oug
    he'll lose over 2,000 CCs the
    moment the East-South match ends.
[02:38] oug
    Akagi will not survive.
[02:41] oug
    He's in danger.
[02:42] oug
    The fact that he's in an overwhelmingly
    dangerous situation hasn't changed.
[02:46] aka
    Pon.
[02:47] oug
    And yet...
[02:51] oug
    How can he be so calm?
[02:54] oug
    He's on the verge of dying.
[02:55] oug
    He'll die if he doesn't get back on top.
[02:57] oug
    That's the situation he's in, and yet...
[03:00] nar
    It goes without saying
    that this South Hand 2
[03:03] nar
    with Washizu as the dealer
    is very important.
[03:05] nar
    If he is able to safely
    work his way to a win,
[03:08] nar
    winning the entire East-South
    match becomes a possibility.
[03:10] oug
    But if Washizu is the one who wins,
    Akagi's win from the
[03:14] oug
    previous hand will essentially be void.
[03:17] oug
    The difference will exceed 10,000 again,
    and Washizu will still be the dealer.
[03:20] oug
    That's something that needs
    to be avoided at all costs.
[03:23] oug
    He has to bump Washizu from his
    dealer seat, no matter the cost.
[03:28] oug
    I can't imagine that he wouldn't know
    how crucial that will be for this match.
[03:33] oug
    And yet...
[03:34] oug
    How can he remain so calm?
[03:39] nar
    It's almost as if his
    indifference attracted it,
[03:43] nar
    as Akagi draws the key to
    his hand, the red dragon.
[03:47] nar
    With the transparent tiles that
    are used in Washizu Mahjong,
[03:51] nar
    calling a red dragon from an
    opponent is essentially impossible.
[03:54] nar
    If he wanted to call it, he'd have
    to call it from his partner, Yasuoka.
[03:57] nar
    On the flip side, it's also extremely
    hard to get rid of these tiles.
[04:01] oug
    And he already got a triplet
    of them this early in the game.
[04:05] nar
    The wind was starting to pick up.
[04:08] nar
    The tailwind that had faded
    before had returned once more.
[04:13] oug
    He's got two dora as his pair,
    and is one away from tenpai.
[04:17] oug
    But it looks like Washizu's
    hand is quite fast, too.
[04:21] oug
    And the underling to his right
    is also getting ready to deal
[04:26] oug
    into Washizu's hand right away.
[04:30] oug
    Who will it be?
[04:31] oug
    Who will be in tenpai first?
[04:33] oug
    Akagi?
[04:35] oug
    Or Washizu?
[04:39] oug
    All right!
[04:40] oug
    Akagi got there first.
[04:42] oug
    He has a 5 or 8 of circles wait.
[04:45] nar
    This is what Akagi's hand
    looks like to Washizu.
[04:49] nar
    It's almost certain that Akagi's waits
[04:51] nar
    are for the 5, 8 of circles,
    or 2, 5 of bamboo.
[04:54] oug
    None of his opponents will
    ever deal into his hand.
[04:56] oug
    He can only count on his
    own draws or Yasuoka.
[04:59] nar
    However, Yasuoka does not have
    either of those tiles in his hand.
[05:05] yas
    Perfect!
[05:09] oug
    There it is!
[05:11] nar
    A priceless draw!
[05:12] nar
    The tile that can bump
[05:14] nar
    Washizu out of his dealer seat,
    and give Akagi a mangan hand.
[05:17] nar
    The 8 of circles is a
    veritable deus ex machina!
[05:21] oug
    What?!
[05:22] oug
    Why doesn't he take it?
[05:24] oug
    What are you thinking, Akagi?!
[05:28] nar
    At this moment, Ougi is too
    fixated on winning to see it.
[05:33] nar
    The trap that is built into Akagi's hand...
[05:36] nar
    The curse that Akagi's tiles cast
    on Washizu, binding him in place.
[05:42] nar
    That's right.
[05:43] nar
    Akagi's wait can either be a 5,
    8 of circles, or 2, 5 of bamboo.
[05:46] nar
    That's what the tiles reveal.
[05:49] nar
    If one of the options,
    the 8 of circles, passes,
[05:52] nar
    it becomes likely that Akagi's actually
    waiting for the 2, 5 of bamboo.
[05:55] nar
    It's almost certain.
[05:56] oug
    I see.
[05:58] oug
    This 2, 5 of bamboo wait is nothing
    but an illusion for Washizu.
[06:03] nar
    But this illusion actually binds him.
[06:07] nar
    At this time, Washizu is also in tenpai.
[06:09] nar
    If he can discard either
    the 2 or 5 of bamboo,
[06:11] nar
    his underling can deal
    into his hand right away.
[06:13] nar
    But he can't take the necessary step.
[06:18] nar
    Those are not tiles he can discard.
[06:21] nar
    He's forced to be defensive.
[06:24] oug
    An absolute and decisive way
    of slowing your opponent down
[06:26] oug
    that's only possible with these glass tiles.
[06:29] oug
    So Akagi didn't have to rush to win,
    he still had time to spare.
[06:35] nar
    Then, on the 10th turn...
[06:36] nar
    His patience is rewarded.
[06:40] aka
    Red dragon, west wind, two dora. Mangan.
[06:44] nar
    He draws it himself.
[06:45] nar
    The mangan causes the upset!
[06:48] nar
    If he had taken Yasuoka's tile,
    it wouldn't have caused an upset.
[06:51] nar
    But if he draws it himself,
[06:52] nar
    the 4,000 coming from Washizu
    are enough to tip the scales.
[06:56] nar
    Akagi is now the one on top
    again, with a lead of 3,200.
[07:02] nar
    He was able to draw the 8 of circles
    himself by ignoring Yasuoka's.
[07:07] was
    You bastard, you'll pay for that!
[07:14] oug
    He can overcome it...
[07:15] oug
    If he survives two more hands,
    he can overcome this East-South match.
[07:19] oug
    At that point, the rules say that
    the intermediate payouts are done,
[07:23] oug
    so he can get back the blood he lost.
[07:26] oug
    The crazy rate of 20,000 points
    for 2,000 CCs of blood...
[07:30] oug
    It's not impossible for Akagi.
[07:32] oug
    He just has to repeat this six times.
[07:37] oug
    He might not take all of Washizu's
    fortune, the entire 500 million,
[07:41] oug
    but he might be able to take 200
[07:44] oug
    or 300 million and leave
    this mansion alive.
[07:47] oug
    He can do it.
[07:48] oug
    It would be impossible for others,
    but you can do it, Akagi!
[07:54] nar
    South Hand 3.
[07:56] nar
    Washizu's underling, Suzuki, is the dealer.
[08:00] nar
    The last two hands on
    the edge of death begin,
[08:03] nar
    both parties with daggers at their throats.
[08:07] was
    I see, he's got some skill.
[08:11] was
    He's not just some trash.
[08:15] was
    He's not a common idiot who rushes
    blindly to his own death, either.
[08:22] was
    He might seem like one, but he isn't.
[08:24] was
    This man is able to throw
    away his own advantage.
[08:27] was
    An ordinary daredevil isn't
    capable of doing that.
[08:30] was
    They might be able to ignore
    disadvantages and rush in blindly,
[08:36] was
    but they can't throw away tangible
    advantages once they have them.
[08:38] was
    Advantages are just that tempting.
[08:44] was
    But this man can throw
    away those advantages.
[08:47] was
    Without any hesitation, too.
[08:50] was
    Normal predictions won't work with him.
[08:54] was
    He's obviously different
    from the ordinary losers
[08:57] was
    who acted all tough before I killed them.
[09:02] was
    But sometimes,
    even talent is meaningless.
[09:05] was
    That's the essence of Mahjong.
[09:07] was
    Die!
[09:11] was
    This is interesting.
[09:13] was
    I could take this to a multi-sided wait,
[09:17] was
    but it looks like that 1 of circles
    in Akagi's hand might come out.
[09:20] was
    If he goes into tenpai,
    he'll discard it.
[09:22] was
    Until then, it'll be fun to do a
    single wait on this 1 of circles.
[09:30] nar
    Akagi is in tenpai.
[09:32] nar
    By discarding the 1 of circles, he'll have a
    multi-sided wait for 1, 4, 7 of characters.
[09:35] oug
    What are you going to do?
[09:36] oug
    If you can make the 1 of circles pass,
[09:38] oug
    Yasuoka can immediately deal the
    4 of characters into your hand.
[09:41] oug
    But it's entirely possible that
    Washizu is waiting for that very tile.
[09:46] oug
    Of course, he could also have
    the 1 of circles as his pair
[09:49] oug
    and have a closed wait
    for the 4 of circles,
[09:51] oug
    or a double-sided wait
    for 3, 6 of circles.
[09:53] oug
    Alternatively, he could
    also not be in tenpai yet.
[10:01] oug
    Should he take his chances here and
    discard the tile we all know is risky?
[10:07] oug
    He went around it.
[10:08] oug
    He's playing it safe.
[10:11] was
    That's right.
[10:12] was
    That's the kind of man you are.
[10:14] was
    You will see through this kind of ruse.
[10:16] was
    But don't forget...
[10:19] was
    Even if you see what's going on,
    still losing is what Mahjong is all about.
[10:24] was
    Riichi!
[10:28] nar
    Washizu changes his wait.
[10:30] nar
    He drew the perfect tile,
    the 6 of circles.
[10:32] nar
    He now has the ideal multi-sided
    wait for 2, 5, 8 or 3, 6 of circles.
[10:37] nar
    As Akagi had to break up his hand
    to avoid discarding the 1 of circles,
[10:40] nar
    he's now one tile away from tenpai.
[10:44] was
    Do you get it now?
[10:46] was
    To have the right instincts and courage
[10:48] was
    to play perfectly and still lose
    is what Mahjong is all about.
[10:54] was
    It's only natural.
[10:56] was
    We're in completely
    different leagues anyway.
[10:59] was
    By using tricks, you were finally
    able to approach my realm.
[11:04] was
    But I don't need any of that to stop you...
[11:13] was
    And win.
[11:16] was
    I didn't get any reverse dora,
    but it's a riichi,
[11:18] was
    ippatsu, tsumo, south wind,
    one dora hand. Mangan.
[11:21] was
    Looks like I overtook you.
[11:24] was
    Only one hand left.
[11:29] was
    I've got you cornered, Akagi!
[11:36] nar
    Because Washizu got a tsumo,
[11:38] nar
    Akagi has to pay 2,000 points
    and 200 CCs of blood.
[11:43] nar
    In total, Akagi has lost
    600 CCs of blood so far,
[11:46] nar
    a third of the fatal amount.
[11:49] nar
    After this upset,
    there's only one hand left.
[11:52] nar
    If Akagi doesn't win South Hand 4,
    he'll lose the entire game.
[11:56] nar
    If he loses by rank,
    including the ranking bonus,
[11:58] nar
    there'll be a difference of
    over 50,000 points to Washizu.
[12:01] nar
    That corresponds to 5,000 CCs of blood.
[12:04] nar
    Instant death.
[12:07] nar
    His life is literally riding on this one hand.
[12:10] oug
    So far, Akagi made it this
    far by managing to avoid
[12:14] oug
    dealing into Washizu's hand.
[12:17] oug
    The defensive play in East Hand 1.
[12:19] oug
    The quick win in East Hand 2.
[12:21] oug
    Waiting for the tile that
    he knew would flow out
[12:23] oug
    of Washizu's hand in South Hand 1.
[12:26] oug
    Basically, he neatly
    avoids traps and attacks
[12:29] oug
    to score wins whenever
    Washizu has an opening.
[12:33] nar
    This is no ordinary game.
[12:36] nar
    He is constantly aware of Washizu
    and plays accordingly with restraint.
[12:40] nar
    But occasionally, playing Mahjong like that
[12:42] nar
    will distort the flow of the game.
[12:44] nar
    Like rotten wood gathers in the
    stagnant part of the river,
[12:50] nar
    Akagi's hand only has tiles that
    seem to have no coherence at all.
[12:54] nar
    On the other hand,
    Washizu gets an easy hand.
[12:58] nar
    A starting hand with a clear direction.
[13:00] nar
    Unconstrained draws.
[13:02] nar
    It's not just a matter
    of the point difference.
[13:05] nar
    Akagi is suffering.
[13:07] nar
    In this upstream battle,
    Akagi is the dealer for the last hand.
[13:13] nar
    This is Akagi's starting hand.
[13:15] oug
    I can't say it's completely terrible...
[13:18] oug
    but it's a pretty harsh starting hand.
[13:20] oug
    Luckily, he has pairs of honor tiles
[13:22] oug
    and Yasuoka has both the
    east wind and the red dragon.
[13:26] oug
    He could call them any time he wants.
[13:29] oug
    So in reality, Akagi already
    has half his hand complete.
[13:34] nar
    But with only the east
    wind and the red dragon,
[13:37] nar
    he'd only get as far as
    3,900 or 4,800 points.
[13:39] nar
    It won't be enough to close
    the gap of 6,800 to Washizu.
[13:42] oug
    He'll have to get a direct
    hit to cause an upset.
[13:45] oug
    But I can't imagine
    that Washizu would make
[13:49] oug
    such a mistake in this last hand.
[13:51] ---
    So then...
[13:52] oug
    He has to go for a
    honitsu or a toitoi hand.
[13:55] oug
    Or draw a dora and incorporate
    it into his hand somehow...
[14:00] oug
    Either way, he can't afford
    to drag his feet for long.
[14:04] oug
    From what I can see,
    Washizu's got a good hand.
[14:08] oug
    He's probably two or three tiles from tenpai.
[14:11] oug
    On top of that, his underling
    has the 5 of characters
[14:13] oug
    and 3 of circles that that will,
    very likely, be Washizu's winning tiles.
[14:19] oug
    How could he draw that tile?
[14:21] oug
    Not only did he advance his hand with that,
[14:23] oug
    he's also managed to turn the
[14:25] oug
    problematic green dragons
    into a triplet already!
[14:28] yas
    Now it's sure that he's two
    tiles away from tenpai.
[14:30] yas
    It would be ideal for Akagi to get
    one tile away from tenpai by himself
[14:33] yas
    so I can give him the east
    wind, red dragon combo...
[14:37] yas
    But we don't have much time.
[14:39] yas
    Right now, one extra turn could be fatal.
[14:43] yas
    Akagi, call it!
[14:48] yas
    You're going to wait?
[14:51] yas
    We don't have any time to waste here!
[14:57] yas
    He got another good tile.
[14:58] oug
    One away from tenpai?
[15:01] nar
    Fifth turn, Yasuoka.
[15:04] yas
    Akagi has a pair of these.
[15:07] yas
    Now I can give him three tiles.
[15:09] yas
    Great!
[15:10] yas
    We can't wait any longer!
[15:11] yas
    Do it, Akagi! Call them!
[15:18] yas
    Not yet?!
[15:20] yas
    You want me to wait longer?!
[15:25] yas
    Akagi, what are you...
[15:27] oug
    What are you thinking?
[15:36] oug
    How can you discard that?
[15:38] oug
    Even if that's a dora, it'll be
    completely isolated in your hand.
[15:45] nar
    The next turn, Akagi...
[15:49] oug
    Is this... a chiitoitsu?
[15:52] yas
    Is he going for a chiitoitsu?
[15:55] nar
    As the dealer, with the two dora,
    Akagi would get 9,600 for his chiitoitsu.
[16:00] nar
    Even if Yasuoka deals into his hand,
    it would be enough to cause an upset.
[16:04] nar
    Also, this is what his hand
    looks like to Washizu.
[16:08] nar
    He could easily assume Akagi's in tenpai.
[16:11] oug
    If it goes well, this could
    force Washizu to slow down.
[16:14] oug
    But...
[16:17] was
    You fool.
[16:18] was
    Are you trying to tie me down?
[16:20] was
    I guess you're trying to pretend
    you're in tenpai with a chiitoitsu hand,
[16:24] was
    but that's absolutely impossible.
[16:28] was
    In order for that to be true, two
    of the three black tiles you have
[16:32] was
    must match the single 7 of
    characters and 4 of bamboo.
[16:36] was
    But that's already not possible.
[16:38] was
    It's impossible... because I
    already have a black 4 of bamboo.
[16:45] was
    His chiitoitsu is one tile
    away from tenpai, at best.
[16:51] was
    You have no luck,
[16:52] was
    no matter how much you struggle
    or scream in this last hand.
[16:58] was
    If I didn't know where the
    black 4 of bamboo was,
[17:01] was
    your fake chiitoitsu might have
    been somewhat of a threat.
[17:06] was
    Not only didn't it turn out that way,
[17:08] was
    but your hand isn't progressing, either.
[17:10] was
    That's obvious, though.
[17:12] was
    If your hand was ready,
    you'd have no reason to hesitate
[17:17] was
    since your life's riding on this one hand.
[17:20] was
    You'd take your partner's east wind and win
[17:22] was
    with the red dragon he's got ready for you.
[17:25] was
    With that one dora, you as
    the dealer would get 5,800
[17:28] was
    for that 30 fu, 3 han hand.
[17:31] was
    You wouldn't cause an upset,
[17:33] was
    but you'd survive to continue the game.
[17:35] was
    If I win this hand, it's all over for you.
[17:38] was
    You're at the end of the line.
[17:40] was
    You can't be so naïve as to think that
[17:42] was
    not being able to overtake
    me is a good enough reason.
[17:45] was
    Once I'm in tenpai, it's over!
[17:54] was
    If you could have made your move,
    you would have done so already!
[17:57] ---
    Since you haven't...
[18:00] was
    You're still not in tenpai,
    even after calling
[18:02] was
    the east wind, red dragon,
    and 1 of characters?
[18:04] was
    That just goes to show
    how bad your hand is.
[18:07] was
    No matter how you look at it,
    I can get my last tile to tenpai faster.
[18:12] was
    On top of that, I can
    choose to go for either
[18:14] was
    the 5 of characters wait or
    the 3, 6 of circles wait.
[18:17] was
    Suzuki will be able to deal
    into my hand either way.
[18:21] was
    Everything is taken care of.
[18:22] was
    Akagi, you will lose.
[18:26] was
    Your downfall was to think your little tricks
[18:29] was
    would affect the flow of the game.
[18:32] was
    You can't recover from that mistake now.
[18:37] was
    Now you'll die.
[18:40] was
    Suzuki also has the 5 of bamboo.
[18:42] was
    That means he can deal into the
    2, 5, 8 of bamboo wait, as well.
[18:47] was
    Then I don't need this closed wait here.
[18:50] was
    Now my hand is even stronger.
[18:52] was
    The game is going in my favor!
[18:57] nar
    This one move...
[18:59] nar
    This was the only time in this last hand
[19:00] nar
    where Washizu showed
    any sign of relaxing.
[19:05] yas
    So you're going to call now?
[19:12] aka
    Pon.
[19:13] nar
    The opportunity arrives.
[19:15] aka
    Pon.
[19:17] aka
    Pon.
[19:20] nar
    Akagi rapidly calls three times.
[19:26] nar
    He's one away from tenpai.
[19:27] nar
    However, to Washizu,
    his hand looks like this.
[19:32] oug
    I get it!
[19:34] oug
    This was Akagi's plan.
[19:36] oug
    The reason he held back
[19:37] oug
    on calling these three tiles
    was to create this opportunity.
[19:40] oug
    There are two reasons.
[19:42] oug
    First, even if he couldn't get into tenpai,
[19:44] oug
    he waited for his hand to
    fill up with character tiles.
[19:47] oug
    In other words, he waited until his hand
    would look like he's in tenpai to Washizu.
[19:54] nar
    And the other,
[19:56] nar
    very important reason is
    this 4 of characters.
[19:59] nar
    If Akagi had called these three tiles
[20:01] nar
    and hinted at a honitsu hand
    before Washizu had discarded it,
[20:06] nar
    Washizu simply would have kept his
    4 and 6 of characters in his hand.
[20:10] nar
    Already in good shape,
    Washizu would not have slowed down.
[20:13] nar
    But once he broke up the closed wait by
[20:15] nar
    discarding the 4 of characters,
    the situation completely changed.
[20:19] nar
    Once the leftover 6 of characters is
    a risky tile, things are not the same.
[20:24] oug
    Only now can he actually
    force Washizu to stop.
[20:28] oug
    This is bad for him.
[20:29] oug
    Now he has to wait for
    something that lets him
[20:33] oug
    incorporate that 6 of
    characters into his hand.
[20:36] oug
    This is precisely the reason
    that Akagi laid low and waited.
[20:41] oug
    He waited until Washizu
    relaxed a tiny bit.
[20:44] oug
    Perfect calls.
[20:47] oug
    He put everything into this bluff.
[20:49] oug
    Now we'll have to see if this
    will actually work on Washizu.
[20:53] wash
    You brat...
[20:57] nar
    The last hand on the verge of death...
[20:59] nar
    The deathmatch of destruction
    continues down the dark tunnel,
[21:02] nar
    and sets an even larger
    wave into motion.
[22:16] nar
    Next time,
    "The Confusion of the Demon."
SIGN    Next episode
SIGN    The Confusion of the Demon