Incorporating 3D animation into 2D animation has always been a tricky thing, but as technology has improved the integration has become better and better. It can be a time and budget saver, and all it takes is using it intelligently.

Enter the modern mahjong anime. The first screenshot is Saki, and the second is Mahjong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended into the Darkness. What they’ve done in each of these shows is designed a full set of mahjong tiles in 3D, and basically use those same tiles throughout, aside from Akagi’s trip through WASHIZU MAHJONG. There’s no need to redraw the delicate details of a mahjong tile every time when you can meticulously etch out the details in Maya or whatever. Maybe YOU should make a mahjong anime with fully rendered tiles!

Go on, I’ll wait.

So you’ve got their mahjong tile set in 3D and you’re wonder, what to do with it? Why, EVERYTHING YOU CAN. Tiles spin around and taunt the players. One tile floats in a player’s head as he contemplates his decisions. Tiles form an unpassable mountain, or perhaps even a golem or giant robot! These are all just representational metaphors for the game of mahjong!

Integrated 2d and 3d which saves time and money! Behold the power of modern animation!