With the start of M-League 2020 fast approaching, we thought it might be a good idea to just recap what’s changed in the League since the 2019 season ended. Initially we wanted to do one focusing on the 2020 Draft, and all the changes occurring around it, however, all the teams decided to recontract their existing players (Yes, even Kurosawa, despite her being a new mother). So there were no big changes in team line ups.
A New Challenger Approaches
There is however, one NEW M-League joining the fray this year. Kadokawa Sakura Knights have signed Hori Shingo (https://twitter.com/elis0323) from the Nihon Pro Mahjong Association (NPM). Hori has been a pro for 10 years, and has two titles under his belt. He was the winner of the 12th Saikouisen Classic, a cross organisational tournament run by the Saikouisen, and the 18th Janou which is one of NPM’s internal league championships. With his signing, Sakura Knights now has 4 players, leaving only Raiden and EX Furinkazan as the two remaining teams with only three. Both have not signed any new players this season.
Rules are Rules
There is also a rule change coming in from the 2020 Season regarding teams and their members. Starting with the 2020 season, if a team fails to get into the top 4 at the end of the seasons for two seasons in a row, they will be required to drop at least 1 member, or pick up a new member to change up the teams composition. They will still be bound by the existing rules of needing 3-4 members, and at least 1 male and 1 female, so if the member they drop puts them in violation of these rules, they will be required to pick up a new member at the Draft, and it can not be the same member they just dropped.
M-League Runway
New season means new uniforms! And before we take a look at the individual teams, there are a few changes that are common for all the teams. First up, it seems as though M-League has partnered with Mizuno Corporation to produce the uniforms for all the teams this year, and it is their logo you can see on the (wearer’s) right breast. Also it looks like there is a shift from covered button polo shirts, to button down collars and white (except for U-Next Pirates who stick with blue) visible buttons polo shirts.
Akasaka Drivens
Akasaka Drivens have probably the most drastic uniform change, with a major colour pallet change from a light blue and white combination to a navy blue with green and blue chequer pattern on the sleeves and shorts.
EX Furinkazan
EX Furinkazan doesn’t seem to have made many major changes, just some alternations to the patterns on the shoulders. However they seem to have picked up a new sponsor, who’s logo you can see on the left breast, in the restaurant Nayansyuya (https://www.nansyuya.com/), which is located in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward.
Kadokawa Sakura Knights
Kadokawa Sakura Knights seem to have opted mostly for a colour pallet shift this year. Moving away from the almost pure pink, to strike more of an even balance between the white and pink tones. They’ve also darkened the blue on their sleeves, which overall makes the uniform less blinding on the eyes.
Konami Mahjong Fight Club
Konami have also opted for a darker overall tone, using a darker green for their sleeves and collars. They’ve also added the logos of the current Mahjong Fight Club and Mahjong Fight Club SP games to the bottom of the shirts, under the team’s name.
Shibuya Abemas
Darker tones seems to be a bit of a general theme among a lot of the teams, with Abemas also opting to go for the darker look, losing a lot of their white/grey elements for a more uniform navy/grey colour. They’ve also have a minor sponsor shuffle, with 新R25’s logo moving to the right sleeve, and AWA and WinTicket dropping off, and being replaced by Hair salon little.
Sega Sammy Phoenix
Sega Sammy haven’t actually made much in the way of changes, mostly just a logo shuffle around the breast to accommodate the Mizuno logo.
Team Raiden
Team Raiden has muted the brightness of sunburst, going with the darker colour overall theme, but not much else has changed.
U-Next Pirates
The Pirates have made only minor changes. The dark blue stripe directly under the armpit is gone, and there seems to be slightly less dark blue triangles making up the upper half of the shirt.
Overall, a slight shift to darker tones, but the only major rework of the uniform seems to be from Drivens. What are you thoughts about the upcoming season? Do you think Hori will help get Sakura Knights to the top this year? Which of the uniforms is your favourite? Which do you hate?
M-League Watch 