Nana-Chan Scrambles! + Death Pie Volume Release

All right, this is it, we're absolutely 100% done with Death Pie now. There were a few parts of the translation that I got mixed up, so I had Kazuhiko go back and do them over again. I'll detail those changes in a bit, but first, we have for you a fun little Oneshot by Shimamoto that was included in the same volume as Death Pie! I really thought it was quite funny, though like Death Pie it left a lot of questions unanswered. A nice little short to whet your whistle while you're waiting for more Tetsuya or Akagi or whatever it is you want.

So yeah, as I said, I thought this was a funny little short, and you can find it on the mediafire separated out from the other chapters of Death Pie. It does involve some of the same elements, like a Yakuza group that has mahjong rep players, but it's clearly not a manga to be taken very seriously. Nana-Chan is looking for her father, who was taken away by some Yakuza, so she goes to a mahjong parlor to gather clues using the last piece of evidence she has, a black mahjong tile. The Yakuza there refuse to tell her up front, so she challenges them to a Mahjong match.

There were many moments in the short that made me crack up, such as how Nana gasped when the Yakuza guy riichi'd, only to show a moment later that it was because she'd won. Also, the yakuza smiling and having a good time simply because Nana had been having so much luck by doing it was really hilarious. Also, if you're going to go for one yaku and one yaku only in mahjong, it seems that Niko-Niko (Chii Toitsu) is the way to go, as it's good at both offense and defense, though still quite lacking in the defense department.

So, there were a lot of questions that were asked and never answered, like why Nana's dad was taken away, who the detective was, stuff like that. My theory is that Shimamoto left it open like that in case people wanted more, but unfortunately it didn't get popular enough to warrant any more chapters. A shame. I would've liked to see more of Nana-Chan the genki girl owning souls with her Niko-Niko.

Below the cut are the changes made in the volume release of Death Pie.

Tetsuya 6 + Volume 1 Batch

http://www.mediafire.com/?sxvxa90cfazacsr
And here we have the end of Tetsuya volume 1. It's good. The last two chapters really made this manga worth it, even if the first couple were a tad questionable.

-Spoilers-

What luck. Or not, because he gets shot in the head 2 pages later. ;_;
Ultimately, this chapters forms a clear cut ending of the arc with no real cliff hangers. Tetsuya and Kondou part ways, and the gambling parlor is closed, What next, you ask? Spoilers: nothing you haven't already seen in the anime. Hate to disappoint, but from Volume 2 onward, the manga seems to follow the anime very closely, at least for a few volumes.

Speaking of the next few volumes, if I keep going at this current pace it will take me 20 years to complete the entire manga. So I better hurry up. For all we know, apocalypse happens in December of 2012 and then we'll never get to read the whole thing!

As always, Crump and Kazu have done wonderfully, even with their busy schedules. Kazu in particular does like a million other series at the same time and often does hundreds of pages per day. Now that's dedication.

Tetsuya 5

I present to you Tetsuya chapter 5. It is now on Mediafire. Also, Here's a Batoto link

Cleaned and typeset by Crump and Kazu, respectively.

Death Pie: The Finale

Here we are, at last... the last chapter of Death Pie, and boy, is it a doozy. Explosions, Fist fighting, Sacrifice, and of course a little bit of Mahjong. This chapter is why this manga is the most action-packed, hardcore mahjong manga; what other series could blend Mahjong and Action Sequences together so seamlessly. It's been fantastic working on this, and I'm glad to have helped another mahjong manga see the light of day.

Oh, and we're not done, yet! There's still the bonus one-shot chapter (Nana-Chan the Scramble Girl) that was shoehorned into the volume, and we intend to re-release the entire volume with it, enhancing Death Pie with better translations! Thanks to our friends at HappyScans! for a great addition to the Mahjong and Shimamoto libraries!

Well, this chapter certainly did its job. Most of the plot threads got wrapped up, Tobioka accomplished his mission, and it even managed to pack a punch to the entire procedure. God Facer was in charge of the Dog Facer Foundation, which sought to sell illegal, harmful drugs to all corners of the world for massive profit. That's what Tobioka was doing with Heroin in the first chapter; it was his reward for winning the life-or-death Mahjong game, and he could have probably sold it for massive profit, as well. But Tobioka is a good guy; even though he's just a former cop, he put his life on the line to stop the Dog Facer Foundation. It was also explained that Takikawa died trying to do exactly what Tobioka succeeded in doing, but not before leaving bomb after bomb after bomb on the premises to aid the next attempt. Finally, it was explained that the mahjong tournament on the island was in fact for ownership of those acres and acres of poppy flowers, which is why so many people fought and died to get a chance at becoming as wealthy as God Facer. But the big man knew that no one could ever defeat him as long as he had them hypnotized... except Tobioka, who would have won on the very next discard if not for Matsudai and Kathy blowing the island to kingdom come. Matsudai assumes Tobioka died in the avalanche of debris, but the bloody riichi stick on Takikawa's grave might suggest otherwise...!

So while this chapter did explain a ton, there's still a lot of plot threads left hanging. How do Matsudai and Kathy know each other? Why was Kathy on the island to begin with? Who were those people in chapter 6 that explained what was going on on the island, and who was the guy who shot them up? I'm sure if this manga was a volume, or maybe even a chapter longer, we'd get all of these plot points explained. But alas, my one qualm with the series is that it simply isn't long enough. Oh well.

Death Pie Chapter 7

All right, we're finally at the final confrontation, and there's two whole chapters dedicated to it! You know what that means? Lots and lots of Mahjong Action! Yessir, we had to put in 3 whole pages of mahjong notes for all the stuff that goes on in this chapter. It's pretty epic, I must say.

As always, thanks to our friends at HappyScans! for another great chapter. Only one more chapter left!

Yeah, um, where to begin. This is what we've all been waiting for, Mahjong Action, espionage, cheating, it has it all. I loved Juuyou's cheating technique that was so specifically designed to thwart Tobioka, and how much it got to him. I loved how Ron's name was used for a double meaning. I loved how God Facer just sat back and let everyone look into his eyes and do his work for him. And I loved how Matsudai just came in and snapped Tobioka out of it by shooting him in the fucking side. And that Tobioka just kept on playing. How can it possibly get any better than this, I ask you.

Death Pie Chapter 6

Not too terribly long between chapters this time. Thanks as always go to our friends at HappyScans! for helping translate another great chapter. In this chapter, Tobioka works his way up the tournament ladder to face the menacing God Facer at the summit!

So it would appear that there is an organized Yakuza tournament taking place on this island, much like the life-and-death gambles that have been taking place throughout the whole series. 4 people go into the match, one comes out alive. Did I ever mention that this series needs more attention? Because it does. I just wish it was longer. But yeah, God Facer discusses how believing unwaveringly that you will win makes winning happen naturally, because it's really that easy. But in the Death Pie universe, apparently it is. A new character is introduced, Jakku Juuyou, who will apparently be facing God Facer with Tobioka in the final round. Well, probably not WITH him, but against him. Juuyou and Tobioka take out their guide, and then go off to find out if the rumors are true that Opium is being produced on the island. The rumors are in fact true, so perhaps this is what Tobioka infiltrated the Yakuza meeting groups in order to stop? I imagine there's more to it, but he did seem to have prior knowledge about it.

I think one of the most awesome things in this chapter is how Juuyou stopped his opponent's Tsubame Gaeshi; it's usually an all-or-nothing technique that can only be stopped by someone grabbing your hand or the tiles in the middle of the trick to prove that you were cheating. Once the trick has been carried out, the match is usually over then and there. But that's too cheap for Juuyou, so he does something of a reverse Tsubame Gaeshi, changing out his 13 tiles with the tiles on the bottom row of his opponent's wall, making his Tsubame useless. Which is absolutely badass. So yeah, looking forward to the God Facer battle, it's looking to be a showdown of epic proportions.

Death Pie Chapter 5

After quite a long break, we're back with more Death Pie. And in this chapter, we learn the meaning behind the name "Death Pie", and the story enters the final confrontation! Thanks to our friends at HappyScans! for another great chapter.

Oh, Kagemaru, we barely knew ye. Well, a lot of stuff happened in this chapter, but the gist of it is that, apparently, Kagemaru was a government agent in the Narcotics Division who was trying to get Tobioka into the Yakuza meeting places. Why, we don't know, but it would seem it has to do with Takikawa, Tobioka's old friend. The reason this chapter took so long was because of that long description of Death Pie over Kagemaru's death scene; I had to do a lot of research and the like to get through it, particularly the whole "Death Pipe" thing.

The mahjong battle on the ship kind of seemed like a way of making sure there was Mahjong in every single chapter; it didn't really do much for the story. But we know that the Brother isn't actually Takikawa unless he was using an alias; his real name is Matsudai Yousaku. The whole God Facer scene got me interested to see if all the pieces will eventually fall together neatly; the ship in Chapter 2 was from the Dog Facer Foundation, just like the island where the final confrontation will take place, but the man we see at the end is actually called *God* Facer. I wonder if there's a connection between the two words being reverses of each other.

Tetsuya 4

http://www.mediafire.com/?9rkhh32wvphz8a3
Edited by everyone's favorite duo of photoshop masterminds, Mr. Biggums Crump–the prophet who "sees the lines"–and Kazuhiko, also known as David, the God of the Fonts. (Join our cult today.)

-Spoilers-

I'm enjoying this arc. Jefferson's instability really serves to up the ante on this whole gamble. As we have found out, this guy really takes human life lightly, and seems to have no problem with gunning down a few "japs" here and there when it suits his needs. I don't know how Tetsuya is getting out of this one. What was he thinking?

Tetsuya 3

Back in record time (see: still ridiculously slow) with Tetsuya chapter 3. Enjoy your racism.
http://www.mediafire.com/?n6pmpestbdno71p

-Spoilers-
Jefferson is quite a formidable foe, if he's just going to kill anyone who pisses him off. If you think about it, what stops him from just killing everyone in the room and taking all their money? Why gamble if he has proven he can get away with murder? Then again, I suppose he can't outright murder Tetsuya. What would happen in the other 42 volumes? 42 volume arc of Danchi facing off against the old couple? YEAAAHHHH

Anyways, yeah. Here we have a perfectly accurate portrait of a World War II age American soldier. By the way, I have no idea whether I'm being sarcastic or not. I don't know what American soldiers were like. For all we know, Jefferson is a completely accurate representation!

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya Chapter 2

Hello. http://www.mediafire.com/?8881r1tb8kcs944

Sorry this took so long… I took my sweet time translating it, and to top it off, our typesetter, Kazuhiko, fell of the face of the internet for a period of time. Please enjoy Legendary Gambler Tetsuya Chapter 2, compliments of MahjongKrazy. Cleaned by the photoshop wizard, Mr. Crump Biggums, typeset by the man who rocks the fonts, Kazuhiko, and translated by yours truly. Honorable mention to Sonickrazy for translation assistance on a couple complicated lines, even while he had better things to do! 

-Spoilers Below-

Tetsuya’s Law #1, Conservation of Luck: Luck cannot be created nor destroyed.   

:P 

Let’s talk luck. At this point, Tetsuya seems to believe that luck is a force which can be gained or lost. He believes the flow of luck can be manipulated, by cheating, or by grasping “the flow.” Most of this is reasonable. Sometimes you’re lucky, and sometimes you’re unlucky. Sometimes you can bend the rules and get away with it; a simple “method of winning.” But, what is the flow? 

“As I figured, I'm already in 1 shan ten. I've got the flow, after all.”

Do the lucky tend to remain lucky? Or does it simply come down to coincidence?

Clearly the latter, I think we all can agree. I don’t believe in, as lapetus refers to it, “occult nonsense.” But I can speak for most mahjong players when I say that I’ve noticed on many, many occasions that my luck has either been perpetually bad or perpetually good for an entire game. It’s still coincidence, but… could we label that sensation of perpetual luck, or lack thereof, “the flow”? Most of us are non-believers, so just to kind of make sense of Tetsuya’s current view of luck, you can choose to see it the way I see it, or in any way you see fit. 

But… come on, conservation of luck? I can’t wait until Tetsuya meets Boshu so he can get these ideas out of his head.  Tetsuya’s still a kid at this point, so that’s something to consider.

Death Pie Chapter 4

The title of the chapter is "Climax". And it's very fitting, because after this chapter, nothing will ever be the same. Thanks to our friends at HappyScans! for helping us release this chapter.

So, everything happened in this chapter. Tobioka beat the Ganpai girl, who turned out to be Ruriko, Takikawa's sister, and right after he did, helicopters came to either kill Ruriko for losing or to capture Tobioka for being a "Government Dog". Tobioka saves Ruriko, so obviously she was in danger, but we don't exactly see what happens to Tobioka or how he makes it out. But regardless, this was a pretty epic chapter, and it feels like we'll be learning a lot about Tobioka and Ruriko's Brother over the next few chapters, as well as what Maibara has caught onto about Tobioka.

Death Pie Chapter 3

Hey, it's Sonickrazy here. Figured it'd be better to move the Death Pie posts over to this side so as not to clutter up the FKMTkrazy blog. But yeah, Death Pie 3 is now up, and in it, we get a shockingly large amount of backstory...!

Thanks as always to our friends at HappyScans for teaming up with us to do this! http://happyscans.blogspot.com/2012/07/death-pie-chapter-3.html

Kazu and I were both surprised to see so much of Tobioka's backstory explained at the start of this chapter; based on the first 2 chapters, it seemed like pure Mahjong and nothing else. But there's all sorts of other stuff that goes on, making this a very worthy pick-up and a shockingly good manga all-in-all. If you're only here because of Tetsuya, I suggest you read Death Pie, posthaste.

Also, it seems Tobioka and his female opponent in this chapter have quite a bit of history... I'd hazard a guess that the woman is Ruriko (Takikawa's little sister in the flashback), and part of the reason Tobioka is here is to get revenge on her for killing Takikawa. But it also seems like she challenged him somewhat, as per the Yakuza Boss's request. Her use of her nail paint to mark the tiles ("Ganpai" for those familiar with Ten and the like) is also a very nice touch; she's pretty much the only female Mahjong player in manga outside of Saki, and she puts her feminine traits to very good use. God, it's only been 3 chapters, and already I feel totally hooked on this manga and finding out what Tobioka's past was like... not to mention that there's a story arc already. Amazing.

Legendary Gambler Tetsuya Chapter 1

Hello folks, this is your friendly neighborhood skutieos. I am writing this post to announce the 2^nd MahjongKrazy project, and first project exclusive to the group – Legendary Gambler Tetsuya! This is my debut as a translator, and considering that fact, I believe the result is quite satisfactory! Many thanks, of course, to Biggums for cleaning and Kazu for typesetting. You guys did a beautiful job, as always.

Mediafire Link - http://www.mediafire.com/?lx7jger7k7u6crn

I think you guys will find this manga to be a breath of fresh air compared to the anime. I can say for sure that Volume 1 contains much content that was never covered by the anime, and the series as a whole, at a whopping 42 volumes, contains much more content than the anime. I think I'll go out on a limb and say my long term goal for this series is completion.

I don't have a whole lot to say about the story or anything. I think I'll let the chapter speak for itself. Please enjoy!

Just as a side note, chapter 2 will take a while. I'm quite slow as it is, but on top of that I'm having computer issues. I'll be getting a new computer soon, but at the moment no work is getting done. Just a heads up.