I watched the live action Akagi, which just speeds through the Washizu arc (well, most of it) in a scant ten hours. Bad news: there's no Zawazawa or big freaky noses. Also, Akagi is played by a 19-yr old scrawny teenager, when I'm pretty sure that Akagi was canonically in his late twenties when the Washizu fight began.
You mean he
ended up in his late twenties because the Washizu fight began and is still going, at least in the Akagi manga. Depending on how impatient you feel you could also read the Ten manga, which takes places much later in the Akagi timeline. Akagi was made as a prequel to Ten and to serve as a backstory for certain characters in it. Ten is also complete and fully translated.
Further Fukumoto readings:
CompletedAtsuize Tenma! : pre-Ten, can probably skip
Buraiden Gai : probably his most recent work I'm not a huge fan of, can probably skip
Ikenai Kacchan Love Story : pre-Ten, can probably skip
Confession - this is a good one, read it without knowing anything
Rude 39 : it's about pachinko, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit
Legend of the Strongest Man, Kurosawa : his best series not about gambling, definitely recommend
Seizon - Life : I didn't find this one as interesting as Confessions, can probably skip
Ten - The Blessed Way of the Nice Guy : Fukumoto's first decent work, definitely recommend if you don't mind Akagi spoilers, or just read Akagi first
Gambling Emperor Legend Zero : not as good as Kaiji, but probably worth reading
Gambling Emperor Legend Zero Part 2 : sequel series
Gin to Kin : really good one about gambling, is still being translated as of right now though...
On-GoingMahjong Legend Akagi: The Genius Who Descended Into the Darkness : this is his best mahjong work after Ten, definitely recommend
The New Kurosawa - Legend of the Strongest Man : sequel series to first Kurosawa, definitely recommend
Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji : my favorite of his series, on part 5 now, definitely recommend. The URL is for part 1.