5 - The Treacherous Tse Ii Men

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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 Kawada yakuza group and Akagi
    are about to hold a Mahjong rematch.
[01:18] Nar
    Today's rematch for eight
    million will take place here.
[01:23] Nar
    Akagi's opponent is the
    blind master Ichikawa.
[01:27] Nar
    However, Akagi has still not
    arrived at the match location.
[01:33] Nan
    He's late.
[01:34] Nan
    It's already past the agreed time.
[01:37] Nan
    Why isn't he here?
[01:40] Cop
    We'll just have to start without him.
[01:41] Nan
    We can't do that!
[01:43] Nan
    Can't we get them to postpone?
[01:45] Cop
    No, we can't.
[01:47] Cop
    Everything has been set up,
[01:48] Cop
    and Boss Miyauchi himself
    has come all the way here.
[01:51] Cop
    We can't put it off.
[01:53] Nan
    But there's no way I can beat him!
[01:57] Cop
    We may be no match for him,
    but there is a way.
SIGN    Episode 5
SIGN    The Treacherous Tse Ii Men
[02:07] Nar
    Two new rules were added to this battle.
[02:11] Nan
    1 of bamboo!
[02:13] Nar
    In consideration for Ichikawa's blindness,
[02:16] Nar
    the other three players must call
    out whatever tile they are discarding.
[02:21] Nar
    And at the end of each East-South match,
[02:23] Nar
    if either Ichikawa or Akagi
    still have points left,
[02:24] Nar
    the game will continue into
    the West and North rounds.
[02:28] Nar
    That's right.
[02:29] Nar
    This is a death match that will
    continue until one of them goes bust.
SIGN    - East Hand 1 -
[02:33] Nar
    East Hand 1.
[02:34] Nar
    Nangou is the North player.
[02:36] (Flashback) Cop
    Nangou-san, let's lay
    down our ground rules.
[02:40] (Flashback) Cop
    Basically, just play it straight,
[02:42] (Flashback) Cop
    and as soon as you have a
    two-way wait, declare riichi.
[02:47] (Flashback) Cop
    A tactic that mostly aims
    for self-drawn wins.
[02:49] (Flashback) Cop
    Don't count on other players
    to deal into your hand.
[02:52] Nan
    8 of circles!
[02:53] (Flashback) Cop
    As long as you don't waver,
    we still have a shot at winning.
[03:00] Nan
    It's still a closed wait.
[03:01] Nan
    I've got to make it a two-way wait.
[03:03] Nan
    8 of characters!
[03:06] Nan
    I've got a two-way wait!
[03:08] Nan
    3 of circles!
[03:08] Nan
    Riichi!
[03:14] Nan
    Pinfu tsumo, 7 of circles!
[03:18] Nar
    At the very beginning,
    Nangou was blessed with luck.
[03:21] Nar
    Tsumo!
[03:22] Nar
    Tanpin, one dora!
[03:24] Nar
    He wins twice in a row.
[03:25] Nar
    At this point, Nangou has 38,200 points.
[03:29] Nar
    Ichikawa has 20,400.
[03:31] Nar
    An amateur like Nangou
[03:33] Nar
    overtaking a pro like Ichikawa
    is an unexpected development.
[03:35] Nar
    But it only lasted until East Hand 2.
[03:39] Nar
    Ichikawa had already seen
    through this strategy.
SIGN    - Next Hand -
[03:46] Nan
    I have to get a two-way wait.
[03:50] Nan
    1 of characters!
[03:51] Ichi
    Ron.
[03:55] Nan
    He had a single 1 of characters wait?
[03:58] Nan
    That's crazy.
[04:00] Nan
    With his discards,
[04:02] Nan
    he'd have had an ideal tanpin sanshoku
    if he'd kept the 4 of characters.
[04:05] Nan
    But he deliberately threw that away
    for a single 1 of characters wait?
[04:08] Nan
    He can foresee which tiles I'll discard
[04:10] Nan
    to get out of my closed wait,
    and he's gunning for those.
[04:12] Nan
    He's going after the tiles that'll
    be left over after midgame...
[04:15] Nan
    He's onto our strategy.
[04:19] Nan
    And it only took him two hands!
[04:22] Nar
    And then, it was East Hand 4.
SIGN    - East Hand 4 -
[04:27] Nan
    What should I do?
[04:29] Cop
    Nangou!
[04:30] Cop
    If you waver now,
    you're playing into his hand!
[04:33] Ichi
    This man is like every other
    man I've killed up until now.
[04:38] Ichi
    He is the same species.
[04:40] Ichi
    When amateurs play against us,
[04:42] Ichi
    they usually follow one of two strategies.
[04:46] Ichi
    They declare riichi the
    moment they're in tenpai,
[04:47] Ichi
    or they go for a two-way wait,
    relying on self-drawn wins.
[04:51] Ichi
    He chose the latter.
[04:54] Ichi
    So all I have to do is pick off
    the tiles he gets rid of
[04:57] Ichi
    from his closed waits.
[05:01] Nar
    The tenth turn.
[05:02] Nar
    If Nangou discards the 9 of
    characters, he'll be in tenpai.
[05:06] Nan
    Ichikawa is aiming for
    numbered tiles on the edges.
[05:09] Nan
    I can't discard this 9 of characters.
[05:11] Nan
    So what?
[05:13] Nan
    I have no choice.
[05:15] Nan
    West wind!
[05:16] Ichi
    Ron.
[05:21] Ichi
    Chiitoitsu, with a single west wind wait!
[05:24] Ichi
    It can't be!
[05:25] Nar
    It's a game neither Nangou nor
    Yasuoka can afford to lose.
[05:31] Nar
    But now they are in the
    worst possible position.
[05:37] Nar
    They only have 2,000 points left.
[05:40] Nar
    If they lose them, it's all over.
[05:45] Nan
    I'm up against the wall.
[05:47] man
    Green dragon!
[05:48] man
    Pon!
[05:51] man
    7 of circles!
[05:52] man
    Chi!
[05:55] nan
    Now or never!
[05:58] Ichi
    On the offensive again?
[06:00] Ichi
    A noble effort, but too little too late.
[06:04] Ichi
    If you wanted to win,
[06:05] Ichi
    you should've played like that
    from the very first hand.
[06:11] nar
    Nangou is also aware that
    his efforts are futile.
[06:14] nar
    However, regardless of this knowledge,
[06:17] nar
    he has no choice but to press on.
[06:20] Man
    1 of circles.
[06:21] Nan
    Pon!
[06:22] Nar
    The eleventh turn.
[06:23] Nar
    Nangou has called three
    times and is now in tenpai.
[06:26] Nar
    He's waiting on the red dragon.
[06:28] Nar
    His tenpai is like a beam of light
    momentarily penetrating the clouds.
[06:31] Nan
    4 of circles!
[06:32] man
    Chi!
[06:35] nan
    He's in tenpai, huh?
[06:39] Ichi
    Riichi.
[06:43] Man
    Riichi!
[06:46] Nar
    All this happened in one turn.
[06:50] Nar
    The momentary beam of light disappeared,
[06:52] Nar
    suffocated by the dark clouds.
[06:55] Nan
    They're both in riichi...
[06:56] Nan
    And the guy after me is
    probably going for a honitsu.
[06:59] Nan
    I've only got these four tiles...
    Not enough to dodge their bullets.
[07:04] Nan
    All I have left is to win.
[07:07] Nan
    If I draw my winning tile now, I'll be fine!
[07:11] Nar
    Nangou prays with all his might.
[07:14] Nar
    He reaches towards the wall
[07:15] Nar
    as if to ask the goddess of
    victory to shake his hand.
[07:20] Nar
    However...
[07:22] Nar
    The hand he ends up grabbing
    is that of the Grim Reaper.
[07:24] Nar
    The dora, the white dragon.
[07:27] Nar
    Now every tile in his hand is risky.
[07:34] Nar
    The white and red dragons are risky
[07:35] Nar
    because Ichikawa is going for honor tiles,
[07:37] Nar
    and the player after him is going for a honitsu.
[07:40] Nar
    The 3, 4, and 5 of circles are dangerous
    because of the player after him
[07:42] Nar
    and the one before him, who's declared riichi.
[07:50] Nan
    What should I discard?
[07:53] Nan
    Discarding any of these is akin to suicide.
[07:56] Nan
    It's basically the same
    as jumping off of a cliff.
[08:00] Nan
    It's no use... I can't choose.
[08:11] Nan
    Could that be....
[08:17] Nan
    Akagi!
[08:19] Man
    That's him, Boss.
[08:26] Cop
    What took you so long, Akagi?
[08:29] Aka
    Nangou-san, want to switch?
[08:31] Nan
    Yes!
[08:39] Aka
    2,000 points left.
[08:41] Aka
    Two people are in riichi
    and these are your tiles.
[08:44] Aka
    Talk about being in a
    tight spot, Nangou-san.
[08:47] Nan
    Yeah...
[08:48] Aka
    Well, in this situation, this is all we can do.
[08:53] Nan
    Akagi, that's really...
[08:56] Aka
    It's fine, just be quiet.
[08:58] Aka
    I'm going to make this tile pass.
[09:02] Aka
    Definitely.
[09:09] Nar
    Just then, Ichikawa was
    in a double pon wait
[09:13] Nar
    for a white or a red dragon.
[09:17] Ichi
    What did you discard, Akagi?
[09:21] Man
    It's a west wind.
[09:25] Nan
    That's impossible!
[09:26] Nan
    A west wind?
[09:29] Cop
    What happened to that red dragon?
[09:32] Cop
    I could've sworn he discarded the red dragon.
[09:35] Cop
    This brat bumped it!
[09:38] Cop
    He sensed that both the white and
    red dragons were winning tiles,
[09:42] Cop
    so at the last moment,
    with everybody's eyes on him,
[09:45] Nar
    he bumped the west wind down
    while discarding the red dragon!
[09:49] Nar
    This is a sleight-of-hand that makes it
    appear as if the west wind is discarded
[09:54] Nar
    by pushing it down with the
    red dragon tile as he discards it.
[09:59] Nar
    What is so useful about this
    cheat is that it also allows one
[10:02] Nar
    to get rid of the dreaded
    red dragon at the same time.
[10:05] Nar
    The tricks kills two birds
    with one stone instantly.
[10:09] Cop
    Unbelievable.
[10:10] Cop
    This is the first thing he does
    in such a major match.
[10:12] Cop
    He's pure evil!
[10:18] Aka
    Looks like it passed.
[10:21] Aka
    I will do whatever it takes.
[10:23] Aka
    Let's take a little trip
    down to Hell, Nangou-san.
[10:27] Aka
    The goddess of luck lies
    in wait beyond there.
[10:36] Aka
    Here it comes.
[10:38] Aka
    It's time for our counterattack.
[10:41] Aka
    Tsumo.
[10:43] Cop
    It came!
[10:44] Cop
    Akagi!
[10:50] Nar
    Akagi's back from the
    dead with a dora tsumo.
[10:52] Nar
    In one shot, he's managed to get
    his point box back to 16,000.
[10:56] Nar
    And now, he has a dealer streak.
[10:58] Aka
    We're playing until either Ichikawa
    or I completely run out of points?
[11:01] Cop
    Yeah.
[11:02] Cop
    So you're the last dealer of South Hand 4,
[11:05] Cop
    but that doesn't mean it's the last hand.
[11:09] Aka
    Which means I can't win unless
    I get a direct hit on Ichikawa.
[11:16] Aka
    Still, for now I should focus
    on getting some points.
[11:19] Aka
    Easy points to start.
[11:21] Nar
    As expected, the players before and
    after him do not take any risks.
[11:26] Nar
    They're only taking part in this
    high-stake match to fill the table,
[11:29] Nar
    and their mindset is easy to discern.
[11:31] Nar
    Their only concern is to stay inconspicuous.
[11:34] Nar
    They do all they can to avoid
    dealing into anyone's hand
[11:36] Nar
    and stay out of the conflict.
[11:38] Nar
    Akagi takes advantage of this
    mindset with extreme ease.
[11:43] Aka
    Riichi.
[11:45] Nar
    Against these people,
    hinting at a tanpin,
[11:48] Nar
    while actually having a
    hell wait, is quite effective.
[11:51] Nar
    From there, they'll step
    into the trap themselves.
[11:56] Shimo
    Green dragon!
[11:57] Aka
    Ron.
[11:59] Aka
    Riichi, ippatsu, iipeikou.
SIGN    Ippatsu - Winning in the turn after declaring riichi.  Iipeikou - Double sequence in the same suit, e.g. 223344.
[12:01] Aka
    There's an ura dora, too,
    so that's a dealer mangan.
[12:05] Aka
    Now I've got 28,300.
[12:07] Aka
    I'm safe for now.
[12:09] Nar
    Then, in the next hand...
[12:10] Aka
    Chi.
[12:13] Aka
    Pon.
[12:14] Aka
    Kan.
[12:16] Shimo
    Four dora!
[12:22] Man
    Damn, he's lucky.
[12:24] Guy
    8 of bamboo.
[12:25] Aka
    Kan.
[12:29] Aka
    Kan.
[12:31] Aka
    1 of bamboo.
[12:32] Man
    What kind of game is he playing?!
[12:35] Man
    No one could've expected him
    to get so many yaku!
[12:38] Man2
    What is this?
[12:39] Man2
    He's been calling tiles like crazy,
    and now, he's up to a haneman.
[12:43] Man2
    6 of bamboo.
[12:45] Man
    Safe tile.
[12:47] Aka
    As expected, he's given up on winning.
[12:50] Aka
    Can't wait to see what he does
    when the safe tiles run out.
[12:54] Man
    What's this kid waiting for?
[12:58] Man
    The 1 of bamboo is a live tile.
SIGN    Live tile - Tile that has not yet been discarded this hand.
[13:00] Man
    It's the perfect tile to keep for a tsumo win.
[13:02] Man
    But if he discarded it, does that
    mean he wants a ron win?
[13:06] Man
    But then, that means I can't discard
    any of these character or honor tiles.
[13:11] Man
    These bamboo or circle tiles
    might be a better choice.
[13:15] Nar
    The more he agonizes, the more
    he plays into Akagi's plan.
[13:18] Nar
    Assuming from the discarded 1 of
    bamboo that Akagi wants a ron win,
[13:21] Nar
    he can't discard the character or honor
    tiles that Akagi knows he's holding.
[13:25] Nar
    Which leaves the bamboo or circle tiles.
[13:28] Nar
    But in this situation, their strategy
[13:30] Nar
    is to discard from a pair or a triplet.
SIGN    Pair                            Triplet
[13:33] Nar
    Then, if they survive one discard,
    they'll have two or three safe turns.
[13:36] Nar
    So, what tiles have they accumulated?
[13:39] Nar
    With the 4 of circles tiles used up,
[13:40] Nar
    tiles like the 3 of circles can no
    longer be used for sequences.
[13:42] Nar
    The same goes for the tiles around
    the 8 of bamboo, namely the 7 and 9.
[13:47] Nar
    In any case, there is no surefire
    way to avoid a single wait.
[13:53] Aka
    Come on.
[13:54] Aka
    I'll take it.
[13:57] Nar
    Is Akagi's insight actually
    pulling the tile towards him?
[14:00] Nar
    Or is this the work of something
    entirely different, something demonic?
[14:04] Nar
    He will discard it.
[14:07] Nar
    As if possessed...
[14:09] Man
    3 of circles.
[14:13] Aka
    Ron.
[14:14] Aka
    San kantsu, four dora.
SIGN    San kantsu - A hand of three kans.
[14:15] Aka
    Haneman.
[14:17] Nan
    He did it!
[14:19] Nan
    He's at 46,900.
[14:21] Cop
    You did it, Akagi!
[14:23] Cop
    You're truly a genius.
[14:25] Cop
    We can always count on you.
[14:27] Aka
    There's still one big nuisance
    sitting across from me.
[14:31] Aka
    We can celebrate once I've
    properly crushed him.
[14:34] Ichi
    You're a ballsy kid.
[14:36] Ichi
    You took out the small fry,
    and you built up a stash of points.
[14:40] Ichi
    I guess it's time for the main event, eh?
[14:44] Aka
    I guess so.
[14:46] Aka
    I'm going to take you out.
[14:50] Nar
    It's a match between Ichikawa and Akagi.
[14:53] Nar
    A death match that will continue
    until one of them loses all of his points.
[14:58] Nar
    He needs to get a direct
    hit off of Ichikawa...
[15:02] Nar
    A near-impossible task.
[15:05] Nar
    This is where the match really begins.
[15:07] Nar
    And this is Akagi's first discard.
[15:10] Aka
    3 of circles.
[15:11] Cop
    Huh?
[15:15] Cop
    He's discarding the 3 of circles
    from a hand like that?
[15:17] Cop
    Why?
[15:18] Nar
    And again, on the second turn.
[15:20] Nar
    And on the third turn.
[15:22] Nar
    Three 3 of circles discards in a row.
[15:26] Nar
    No one can understand
    what he's trying to do.
[15:28] Nar
    But Ichikawa alone understands.
[15:34] Boss
    Hey, hey, what are you doing?
[15:40] Cop
    I get it!
[15:41] Cop
    He determined that it'll be
[15:42] Cop
    too difficult to get direct hits
    off each other in a normal game,
[15:45] Cop
    so he is purging an entire
    suit from his hand on purpose.
[15:50] Cop
    Akagi threw down the gauntlet,
    and Ichikawa accepted his challenge.
SIGN    Tse Ii Men
[15:54] Nar
    Purging an entire suit, Tse Ii Men...
[15:57] Nar
    Known in Japanese as "zetsu ichimon."
[15:59] Nar
    Once both players eliminate
    one suit from their hands,
[16:02] Nar
    the tiles left when one is in tenpai will
    naturally be from the other two suits.
[16:07] Nar
    Usually the players end up
    trading blows until one falls.
[16:10] Nar
    Essentially, it's Mahjong
    where you can't run away.
[16:13] Nar
    Comparatively, regular
    Mahjong is like out-boxing.
[16:18] Nar
    While you fight, you keep
    an escape route ready.
[16:21] Nar
    But a zetsu ichimon game is
    like in-fighting at close range,
[16:26] Nar
    with both your feet planted.
[16:28] Boss
    This is insane.
[16:30] Boss
    Ignoring the circles right from the start...
[16:33] Boss
    They're going to be waiting on
    bamboo or character tiles.
[16:36] Nar
    But on the 13th turn...
[16:39] Aka
    2 of circles.
[16:41] Nar
    Akagi discards a 2 of circles from his hand.
[16:44] Boss
    Why is he discarding a
    2 of circles from his hand now?
[16:46] Boss
    Wait... I see.
[16:50] Boss
    He was trying to play us from the start!
[16:53] Boss
    In a zetsu ichimon game,
    one suit gets purged,
[16:56] Boss
    so that suit inevitably becomes safe.
[17:00] Boss
    But if he uses that principle against us
[17:03] Boss
    and waits long enough,
    there's no better camouflage.
[17:06] Boss
    He was saving his 2 of circles for that.
[17:09] Boss
    But the next player has
    already discarded one,
[17:11] Boss
    and the previous player two,
    eliminating all of them.
[17:15] Boss
    He had no choice but to give up
    on his single 2 of circles wait.
[17:18] Boss
    Now he's probably in a multi-sided
    wait for a bamboo or character tile.
[17:22] Boss
    Man, you can't let your
    guard down with this kid.
[17:32] Aka
    Ron.
[17:33] Aka
    Ittsuu, one dora.
SIGN    Ittsuu - Full straight, 1-9 of one suit.
[17:34] Aka
    Three consecutive wins, so 8,600.
[17:37] Boss
    A single 1 of circles wait?!
[17:39] Boss
    How could he wait on that?!
[17:41] Boss
    He just won't go down.
[17:43] Boss
    He pretended to give up his single
    wait by discarding the 2 of circles,
[17:46] Boss
    but was still concealing another
    single wait for a circle tile!
[17:50] Boss
    This is demonic... This isn't
    something a kid could come up with!
[17:55] Nar
    In their first zetsu ichimon match,
    Akagi outfoxes Ichikawa.
[18:01] Nar
    It's an auspicious start.
[18:03] Nar
    This was the start of their
[18:05] Nar
    zetsu ichimon battle that
    had no end in sight...
[18:09] Nar
    Akagi continues to masterfully
[18:10] Nar
    utilize waits that circumvent
    the principles of zetsu ichimon.
[18:14] Nar
    At first, it seems that
    Ichikawa is being played
[18:17] Nar
    by Akagi's varied and
    unpredictable playing style,
[18:20] Nar
    but that is not the case.
[18:23] Ichi
    Tsumo.
[18:24] Nar
    Ichikawa is orthodox.
[18:26] Nar
    He does not insist on a direct hit on Akagi.
[18:30] Nar
    He frequently calls tsumo.
[18:33] Nar
    And then...
[18:35] Nar
    The fate of zetsu ichimon...
[18:37] Nar
    The inevitable outflow of certain tiles...
[18:40] Aka
    2 of circles.
[18:42] Ichi
    Ron.
[18:43] Nar
    He's out to kill.
[18:45] Ichi
    Tanpin, two dora, mangan.
[18:48] Nar
    They were both playing
    zetsu ichimon matches,
[18:51] Nar
    but their playing styles couldn't
    have been more different.
[18:54] Nar
    Akagi favors change, while Ichikawa
    prefers to stay true to the basics.
[19:00] Nar
    But eventually, the gap widens...
[19:07] Aka
    9 of characters.
[19:08] Ichi
    Ron.
[19:11] Ichi
    Pinfu, iipeikou, two dora.
[19:16] Ichi
    Mangan.
[19:18] Nan
    No problem.
[19:20] Nan
    It's no biggie.
[19:22] Nan
    That much is expected in
    a game of zetsu ichimon.
[19:23] Cop
    I don't think so, Nangou-san.
[19:28] Cop
    Akagi is suffering.
[19:31] Cop
    I thought that too, in the beginning,
[19:34] Cop
    but now, Ichikawa is the
    one with the points.
[19:41] Cop
    They've both won the
    same amount of times,
[19:44] Cop
    but the value of each win is different.
[19:46] Cop
    It's only natural, considering that
    Akagi mostly uses irregular waits
[19:48] Cop
    that make his hands worth less.
[19:51] Cop
    Meanwhile, Ichikawa is
    constantly building his hands
[19:54] Cop
    on wins that mean much more in Mahjong.
[19:57] Cop
    True, his style isn't
    exciting, but he wins big.
[20:02] Cop
    In a straight race for points,
    there's no way Akagi can win.
[20:07] Cop
    He's letting Akagi stand in the spotlight,
[20:08] Cop
    while reaping the profits for himself.
[20:11] Aka
    3 of characters.
[20:12] Ichi
    Ron.
[20:13] Ichi
    Tanpin, sanshoku.
[20:16] Ichi
    Mangan.
[20:19] Ichi
    That's right.
[20:21] Ichi
    Have you realized it now, Akagi-kun?
[20:24] Ichi
    It's nonsensical to scheme
    elaborate waits in zetsu ichimon.
[20:27] Ichi
    What needs to flow out
    will flow out regardless.
[20:31] Ichi
    I'll leave the skillful Mahjong to you.
[20:35] Ichi
    I don't mind being unskilled...
[20:37] Ichi
    I'll just win.
[20:39] Ichi
    Since you prefer that kind of
    showy style, you can't beat me.
[20:44] Ichi
    To defeat me, you'd have to
    overturn the most basic rules
[20:48] Ichi
    of Mahjong itself, and not
    even God can do that.
[20:51] Nar
    Ichikawa is unaffected by
    Akagi's aggressive attacks.
[20:56] Nar
    He is truly like an impregnable fortress.
[20:59] Nar
    Akagi seems to be caught
    in his own trap...
[21:03] Nar
    Does he have a plan to get to victory?
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