Akagi (manga)

Akagi
Cover of the first manga volume
アカギ 〜闇に降り立った天才〜
Genre	Drama, gambling
Manga
Written by	Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Published by	Takeshobo
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Kindai Mahjong
Original run	1992 – present
Volumes	33
Anime television series
Tōhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai
Directed by	Yuzo Sato
Written by	Hideo Takayashiki
Music by	Hideki Taniuchi
Studio	Madhouse
Original network	Nippon Television
Original run	October 5, 2005 – March 29, 2006
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Television drama
Directed by	Hitoshi Iwamoto Mutsuru Kubota
Produced by	Hitoshi Iwamoto Mutsuru Kubota
Written by	Mitsuru Tanabe
Original network	BS SKY PerfecTV!
Original run	July 17, 2015 – September 18, 2015
Episodes	10

Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai (Japanese: アカギ 〜闇に降り立った天才〜^?, lit. "Akagi: The Genius Who Descended into Darkness") is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Fukumoto. First published in 1992 in the weekly magazine Kindai Mahjong, it is a spin-off 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.

In Japan, Akagi has sold over 10 million copies. It was adapted as two V-Cinema live action films in 1995 and 1997. A 26-episode anime television series was produced by Madhouse and broadcast on Japanese television network Nippon Television from October 2005 to March 2006. A live-action television drama aired on BS SKY PerfecTV! between July and September 2015. The series has also spawned several companion books, spin-off manga, video games, and other merchandise.

The story revolves around the mahjong gambling exploits of Shigeru Akagi (赤木しげる, Akagi Shigeru^?). 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, Nangou (南郷), 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, Yasuoka (安岡). However, Akagi manages to defeat Keiji Yagi (矢木圭次, Yagi Keiji)—despite Yagi's cheating during the game—and impresses the members of the gambling house.