Fan of Kaiji? Then here's a treat for you which you probably didn't know even exists. 'Shoubushi Densetsu Tetsuya' AKA 'Legendary Gambler Tetsuya' is a mahjong series. If we compare it to other mahjong series such as 'Akagi', 'Saki' and the world famous 'Tenhou-doori no Kaidanji' -- these shows focused on the technicality of mahjong, but also came with huge asspull level "convinient blackout created a chance to cheat" twists. 'Shoubushi Densetsu Tetsuta' does not do this. Instead, it focuses on creating thriller with player's skills and constantly challenging itself by cornering itself with situations which can only be overcome by surpassing other players. Our story isled by a man who met a great mentor who influenced him with his superior luck, making him belief that there is nothing else to the world of gambling. Just so happens to be, our mc gets into a game with the big boys and loses because they are all cheats who rely on their wicked skills and experience. This introduces us and our main bro to the new world of mahjong, and turns out this world has quite a lot to offer.

During these 20 episodes, we get to see quite variety of different type of games. The skill levels constantly develop, and all the matches come with different approach and introduce different aspects of mahjong. These varie from casual all-vs-all to 1 vs.3 / 2 vs. 2 games. We constantly meet new people and see new mahjong places. Because of this, the show never feels repetitive.

One of the strongest points of the series are the characters who have quite big and admirable personalities. All the best players acknowledge their own superior skills, but never brag about it. The series constantly creates provoking situations were lesser men would lose their temper, but our niggas keep their act together. Only to afterwards explain their philosophies which they have acquired with life experience. Content such as these keep developing our main bro into a manly man.

All in all, Tetsuya is quite a mature and thrilling series which I came to appreciate and enjoy way more than expected. It's not exactly Kaiji in terms of moe faces, but somewhat even surpasses it in terms of realism.