Japanese title: しおんの王
Number of episodes: 22
Some info
1) ANN
2) Wiki
3) Official Site (Japanese)
What attracted me to this show is probably the integration (not that integration hor!!!) of Shogi in its story. Although the wiki article for this show claims that Shogi is a Japanese strategy game that is similar to Chess, I would want to think it’s virtually a different type of game since Shogi isn’t as “fixed” as Chess. The fact captured pieces can be re-used makes thinking a lot less “trivial” since the possibilities are now so much more, and this makes it more difficult even for the AI to compute the moves effectively (as compared to Chess).
Haha, I did try looking at the rules and gameplay for a better understanding of the show, but I realise it’s not such a simple game that I can digest that easily, especially I want to learn it quick without trying the actual game, and hoping to understand some of the tactics used in the show. Lol, missing out on this probably lowers the level of enjoyment, but while Shogi is the main theme of the show, there’s also a mystery revolving around the main character, about her past and the incident in which both her parents were killed.
Well, the mystery only unveils bit by bit in the earlier eps, as people try to find clues to the murderer. It’s only rather obvious in the ending few eps (like duh). Seriously, the final showdown probably requires some decent knowledge of Shogi to be able to appreciate the art behind the moves which the characters seem to exclaim about so much. Haha.
Overall, I think knowledge of Shogi is somewhat important to enjoy this fully, though I think it’s not all that critical. Haha. Do give it a try if you’re interested.
I have this series on my “Actively Following” list. Great animation quality - not exactly cutting edge, but very crisp and clean (and remarkably consistent). The voice acting is pretty good, although I haven’t spotted any stand-out performances.
Beyond the production values, it’s the catch-the-killer theme that keeps my eyes glued to the monitor whenever a new episode comes along. (NB: My Japanese skills are pretty basic so I can only watch this series subbed, and they haven’t finished translating anything after Ep19.) Shougi’s a big part of it all, of course, but it doesn’t seem as critical to the plot as, say, igo was in Hikaru no Go. My impression is that the “I need to get stronger at this game” theme plays a lowly second fiddle to the mystery thread that really pulls the series forward.
I’m probably wrong, though. The last few episodes might reveal just how central shougi was to the plot - or they may not. In any case, I’m glad you didn’t drop any major spoilers in this post; I’d really love to find out for myself.
Cheerio.
it’s probably not that critical to have a good knowledge of shogi, but i’m guessing it serves as an added dimension to appreciation and enjoyment of this show.
yeah well, who’s-the-killer thing bugged me for most of the series, but it’ll become clear soon enough… hope L-E finishes the job soon so you can watch it too :P
If you would like to play a quick game of shogi, there is a webtop flash game called Hamster Shogi where you can play against the hamster(program). If you are interested, you can give it a try through the instruction page in English at
http://shogi-shack.net/playhamshogi.aspx