Shogi is a strategy board game that many know as Japanese chess. The battlefield is an 81-square board with 40 pieces in total, 20 per player.
The goal of the game is to checkmate your opponent’s king, so it’s like its Western counterpart.
There aren’t many shows about it, so today we talk about the top 5 Shogi Anime to watch, either if you know the game or want to learn it.
Table of Contents
5. Susume, Karolina
Susume, Karolina is a 3-minute episode (or tribute) about Karolina Styczyńska, a Polish shogi professional player and the first female foreign one.
Since it’s super short, you will only watch her life and fantasies as she plays shogi and travels around the globe.
The animation is directed by Makoto Shinkai and directed by Mateusz Urbanowicz, who worked on Your Name’s background art.
One of the first things you can notice is the watery style that highlights melancholy and the fantasy themes present throughout this short adventure.
While 3 minutes don’t actually tell much, it can be a great idea to start with this anime to discover the other projects of Studio Colorido.
4. The Flowers of Hard Blood
The story follows Yasuoka Shion, a 13-year-old professional shogi player with a dark and unusual past.
She saw the death of her parents when she was 5 and the murderer told her to stay mute and forget about what happened.
Then, he challenged her to play shogi if she wanted to be alive.
The Flowers of Hard Blood manages to blend mystery and shogi in a combination that many people won’t expect. The character development is OK, all the shogi players match their character with their playing style.
This anime is perfect if you know the game and want to watch something where the matches have actual sense.
3. The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done!
The story follows Yaichi Kuzuryuu as he becomes his country’s Ryuuou (dragon king). This title is awarded to people who reach the peak of competitive shogi and Yaichi gets it after winning the grand championship.
However, people don’t like Yaichi and think he is the weakest Ryuuou so far.
Ai Hinatsuru, Yaichi’s new disciple, will help him to show everyone that his master is worthy of this title.
This anime is recommended to learn some shogi, as you don’t really need to know the game to understand the plot. The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done features a lot of cute moments and explains the importance of the master-disciple bond.
Plus, it gets a lot of fanservice if you are into that stuff.
2. When Will Ayumu Make His Move?
When Will Ayumu Make His Move follows and interesting story that uses shogi as a way to progress the romance plot inside the anime.
Ayumu Tanaka is in love with his senpai Urushi Yaotome and they both join the shogi school club.
The goal of Ayumu is to beat Urushi in a shogi game so that she can finally declare her love for him.
It’s a chill show where the awkward character is the female protagonist, trying to win the heart of her beloved.
If you love romcom and high school romance, this can be the opportunity to learn some shogi in the meanwhile. Don’t expect matches to be 100% accurate, though.
1. March Comes in Like Lion
This anime tells the story of Rei Kiriyama, a 17-year-old shogi master who decides to live alone in a Tokyo apartment.
Rei is depressed and isolated from the rest of the world, and his status in the shogi world contributes to increasing the pressure he receives.
After meeting a trio of sisters, his life will radically change as they will help him fight his personal battle.
March Comes in Like Lion isn’t an anime about shogi, rather it uses this game as a means of story progression.
In fact, this anime is psychological and focused on the feelings and thoughts of the main character, so you can say it’s a coming-of-age series.
