#takehiro irokawa

[anamon-book]

話の特集 1979年9月号 表紙＝和田誠「色川武大」

[alln64games]

Mahjong Drifters Chronicles Classic

JP release: 1st August 1997

NA release: N/A

PAL release: N/A

Developer: Alpha Unit

Publisher: Imagineer

N64 Magazine Score: N/A

Original name: Mahjong Horoki Classic

Right after Mahjong Road 64 is yet another Mahjong Game. However, this one is a little bit more interesting as it’s a visual novel as well as a Mahjong game. For the core UI, it’s nice that the tiles are more 3D, and it’s the second best interface after Mahjong Masters. You can play matches on their own or as part of the story.

When I first booted up the game, I was quite baffled. The music on the menu, as well as the sepia-tone drawing of a woman made me think of old, seedy bars. Turns out that they managed to nail the atmosphere of the game with just the simple menu because that’s exactly where the game it set: in gambling dens in Japan just after WWII.

Surprisingly, the game starts with a content warning saying that the game is set in the “chaotic period of the war” and that “there may be some areas in which the methods of copying and expression do not fit in with modern conventional wisdom”. Mahjong Drifters Chronicles is based on a novel (which previously had a film adaptation) by Takehiro Irokawa, and is based on his own past.

The short version: After struggling to make ends meet working in a factory post-WWII, Boyatetsu (a fictional name, but based on Irokawa) ends up getting involved in Mahjong gambling dens and getting addicted to meth. It’s a brutal story as he tries to quit and make a life for himself (the real person eventually straightened out after getting a job for a newspaper). Throughout the story, you have to play mahjong, ensuring you don’t run out of money.

There is also a “cheaters” mode. Here you learn specific tricks as you play and unlock passcodes for certain tricks which can be used in the story more. This mimics a way of cheating in Mahjong done by stacking the tiles in a certain way to ensure you have a strong starting hand, but now this issue is solved by shorting machines.

As far as the Mahjong games on the N64, this is quite fascinating due to being based on a novel and featuring a grim story.

Remake or Remaster?

Out of all the Mahjong games, this one is probably worth a re-release in Japan for the unique story. It probably wouldn’t sell well enough for an official translation.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Mahjong Drifter Chronicles Classic

[straycatboogie]

2022/04/25 English

This morning I checked the temperature of my body. It was 36.1 and I feel fine because it shows my normal status. It seems that I can get recovered from a bad state even if I have not recovered completely. I could read letters normally, so I went to Aeon and started reading Saburo Kawamoto's "Literature in a suburbia". But I couldn't get any good feeling and also read nothing. So I gave up and went back to my group home, and spent my time with the music like Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter. I had not recovered completely so I wouldn't overwork anymore.

In the afternoon I took my lunch as Calorie mate. After that, I went to a room that an Indonesian friend of mine Judith had opened on Clubhouse. I had thought that I could enjoy only listening to members' conversations, but I finally talked to them. I read my journal as usual. Judith suggested that "Why don't you open your reading to the world? It's just an idea". TBH, a Japanese friend of mine who is an amateur musician once said to me that "You have a nice low voice". I thought about this for a while, but finally, I recorded my reading aloud on my smartphone.

And I thought about where I opened this recording. When I talked about this on Discord, a person recommended me Soundcloud and Bandcamp. I thought about that and found the creators' service 'note' has the function of showing expressions by sound so I uploaded it there. After uploading, I told Judith about this on WhatsApp and she was really glad about this. From now, I will keep on reading my journals. Is this the kind of thing I can get better by practicing? My challenge has started now so I should not be hurried up.

At night I spent my time doing nothing. Listening to Jazz or surf music such as Jack Johnson I had listened to this morning, I did chatting on Discord. No reading books and watching movies. Life is long so can have such low days. As Takehiro Irokawa says, I should follow the state which is based on the victories for a long time, not following the instant victories connection. If I can read books again, I want to read Saburo Kawamoto again, or I also want to read books about gambling addiction. With them, I want to get recovered step by step.

[tsun-zaku]

阿佐田哲也のＡクラス麻雀 http://anamon.net/?pid=73917406

[exigere]

잠문학 50선 (2) 아사다 데츠야 「조는 마작왕」

남자는 탁자로 향하자마자 바로 꾸벅꾸벅 졸기 시작했다.

「- 저기, 당신 차례에요.」

「- 어, 응.」

손을 내미는 도중에 패를 툭 떨어트리기도 한다. 이렇다 보니 한 번도 이기지 못한다. 고오지가 선일 때 하네만을 쯔모해서 어떻게든 수위를 지켰기에 망정이지, 끝났을 때에는, 선생, 쯔모당한 만큼 졌다.

「아아, 잘 잤다.」

하고 말하면서 그는 일어나, 패한 몫을 내지도 않고 돌아갔다.

「���야, 저건.」

고오지는 힘껏 큰 소리를 내며 감탄했다.

나르콜렙시가 지병이었던 「마지막 무뢰한」의 자전적 요소가 짙은 단편. 단골손님과의 마작에서 연전연패하던 고오지는 신문에 「마작선생 구함」이라는 광고를 낸다. 유일하게 응모해온 건강해 뵈지 않는 수염투성이 남자는 마작을 하면서 졸기만 한다. 자기 순번이 와도 패를 떨어트리거나, 코를 골고, 콧물을 흘리기도 한다. 그러나 이상하게도 패를 내주지 않는다. 그의 졸음은 고오지가 이기도록 교묘하게 패를 버리는 기술이란 걸 알게 된다. 능청스럽고 웃음을 유발하는 작품이지만, 작가인 이로카와 다케히로 자신의 졸음 마작은 전패였다고 한다(아사다 데츠야는 이로카와 다케히로의 필명). 지금 가장 원하는 건? 이라고 물어보자, 「영구차를 자가용으로 갖고 싶다. 그거라면 옆으로 누워서 탈 수 있지.」라고 대답하는(「영구차가 갖고 싶다」), 아사다/이로카와의 졸음에 관한 조크는, 「폭력 수면」과 함께 살아야 했던 그만의 깊음이 있어서인지, 잔잔한 감동을 준다.

(오자와 에이미)

[anamon-book]

食前にたっぷり 色川武大・選、日本ペンクラブ編 集英社文庫 カバー＝横山泰三

[anamon-book]

虫けら太平記　色川武大 文藝春秋 装幀＝和田誠

[anamon-book]

街は気まぐれヘソまがり　色川武大 徳間書店 カバー画＝黒田征太郎、装幀＝長友啓典＋K2

[anamon-book]

寄席放浪記－なつかしい芸人たち 色川武大 廣済堂 装幀＝長尾みのる

[anamon-book]

喰いたい放題　色川武大 集英社文庫 カバー＝千葉督太郎

[anamon-book]

小説 阿佐田哲也　色川武大 角川文庫 カバー＝黒田征太郎

[anamon-book]

ギャンブル人生論　阿佐田哲也 けいせい 装幀＝磯目雅裕

[anamon-book]

宿六・色川武大　色川孝子 文藝春秋 装幀＝和田誠

[anamon-book]

雀鬼五十番勝負　阿佐田哲也 双葉新書 双葉社 装幀＝成瀬一富

[anamon-book]

新麻雀放浪記－申年生まれのフレンズ 阿佐田哲也 文藝春秋 装幀＝灘本唯人

[anamon-book]

競輪痛快丸かじり　阿佐田哲也＝編著 徳間書店 カバー・本文装幀＝熊沢正人