The Way of Pon

Pon no Michi, a typical CGDCT 1 cour show. Being someone who doesn't normally watch this genre, I found myself wholeheartedly enjoying it more than some of the bigger titles this season. It's not everyone's cup of tea, or even close to it, but at the same time, it's lighthearted and enjoyable. There have been some reviews complaining about how most of the girls have similar personalities, but it's a 1 cour show (12 episodes), and that doesn't leave much time for background or much development. The characters are likable despite their lack of development (besides them all becoming friends),and the designs are honestly, great. While the CGI is a bit uncanny, the animation itself is great. A good show to watch in the background, or even to focus on completely whether you're new to the CGDCT genre or you've seen many related shows before. This show's been my gateway into that genre, and now I'm thinking about watching other CGDCT shows. Once again, it's not everyone's thing, as the plot is well...slice of life worthy, and somewhat slow, though excellent if you want to zone out. Definitely give the first few episodes a try and see how you feel.

This is more beginner friendly than stepping into other Mahjong anime such as Akagi or Saki, but that's only because often the girls won't even bother playing it anyways, Instead of the Mahjong Club they could just as well be the big boobers club (Except for Emi the Scene Goth looking girl) Basically, knowledge of game rules isn't that big of a deal and you won't benefit that much more from it here. If you are an experienced person of culture, then the fan subs by [Mahjong Soulless] make it a much more enjoyable watch than what it would be by default. BGM is minimal; the OP themeis memorable but not in a fond way of recollection. The quality of everything else is good enough. What the anime does do well is that the character designs are pretty good and unique; all the girls have themed names even. I particularly like that when they do actually bother to play Mahjong the girls keep it real with the casual cheating they all do which is something you would never see in Saki, and even in Akagi it is a bit uncommon. Should you watch this? Generally no there's better stuff out there. If you're really into Mahjong and are stuck frustrated in some tier of Elo Hell in MajSoul playing into obvious rons, maybe tuning out for a while to see this will improve your mood.

The Way of Pon - Is this a lesson about Japanese mahjong, or is this the plot for a promotional campaign for a lesser-known city in Japan? Hmm... It is often said that niche things are the hardest to teach to foreigners, and in the case of Japanese Mahjong, we've had series that span back years trying to relay this information to people to various successes. Shows like Fall 2005's Akagi or even Spring-Summer 2009's Saki, these are the classics when it comes to the niche topic. And once again, even in 2024, we are presented with one more series: an original show that's part-Mahjong, part-promotion,and a full-on CGDCT show, called Pon no Michi a.k.a The Way of Pon. The show...is really nothing special, though it's the usual gathering of girls through a rather eccentric girl named Nashiko Jippensha, who got chased out of her house because she's been fooling around with her obsession of idols, therefore making her a lazy and unproductive daughter. What she has got left is an old mahjong parlor that her father seemingly left her with, and that becomes her hangout place while learning all about Mahjong. She is soon joined with her friends of Pai Kawahigashi and Izumi Tokutomi, who are more adept at the sport being beginner and advanced players respectively. And also...a mahjong spirit in the form of a sparrow taken off the design of the 1 Bamboo (bird) tile? Ok...at least he's named Chonbo for a reason. The leftovers with Riche Hayashi, who hung out at Nashiko's parlor thanks to her parents in its past active days, as well as the competitive Haneru Emi who always tries to desperately win games over the girls with a very deep obsession for Mahjong, rounds up the "5 girls plus a talking bird" gang, having their time of fun in a once-used space that's left for their taking in the city of Onomichi, Hiroshima. Just about the only thing worth of note is how the girls all look like with their rather big bodies of boobs and thighs, and this is not a coincidence as the creator of Gotoubun no Hanayome a.k.a The Quintessential Quintuplets, mangaka Negi Haruba himself contributes as character designer of the series. So, if you're thinking that Nashiko's liveliness and Izumi's character design is a lot like Yotsuba, you have your answer. Both the production and music leave a lot to be desired in this original series. OLM, especially on Team Inoue that's targeted more towards the kids' category, as mentioned at the beginning of the review, the producers must've had an inkling to promote the city of which the series got its footing on, and promote the hell out of it, which is not the first series to do so (see other shows like Yuru Camp). But otherwise, it's just fairly decent with some occurrent 3DCG in the mahjong scenes, and that's it. The music, while also just all over the place, evokes the feeling of happy memories of hanging out with friends, and if that's the goal, the anime certainly has Riichi-ed it. I do like the OP song by Rika Nakada and the entire VA cast, which is actually quite catchy, while halca's ED, is the usual halca standard of decent to good. But then again, for Crunchyroll to not pick this up, leaving the doors open for Bilibili and French's ADN a.k.a Animation Digital Network to get the rights for the series, you're practically not missing much by watching a rather niche product that's catered to those who already knew how to play Japanese Mahjong, or simply for a lack of better words, a planned act of a promotional campaign to visit Onomichi, Hiroshima. If you're any interested at all, just try an episode to see if it's your thing.

First off, Pon no Michi, or Way of Pon, is a show that a lot of people on the first watch would be confused for, but if you stick with it to the end, it's not bad. The show itself is ummmm, obvious about mahjong, but not really. While Mahjong is the main thing about this show, it's more of a refrence that appears one or twice within each episode. The beginning is a little slow, with introductions for the main cast, but once Haneru (black red hair girl/ qq nino clone) joins in, the show becomes much more enjoyable and fastpace, with a lot of fun parts here and there. The refrences to Kaiji and One Piece was a nice nod, along with the Death Note style monolgues that happen within the last few episodes. However, the Mahjong Soul ad was kind of, yet not expected. OP and ED is bop. Overall, this show is a slice of life, so a laid back experience is expected, but there are some hints of emotion that definitely made the show a better watch than expected. Don't let my score fool you from not watching it, and don't let people say the show's horrible because it doesn't teach you how to play Mahjong. It's better known as a Slice a Life with Mahjong on the side, not the otherway around. SLICE OF LIFE WATCHERS REJOICE!