A shogi player complains about how he has no friends.

This had its good moments. It also had its moments of drudgery.

I guess I just can’t really feel bad for this guy? He knows what he wants to do with his life and he’s really good at it. He whines all the time about how he has no friends, but he has the best fucking best friend in the entire world, Nikaidou. While he whines about how he has no friends I’m kind of jealous of his friends? Plus he already has a girl he’s clearly going to marry when they grow up. Dude, your life is pretty good, just stop being so emo and give your sister a punch in the face, you’ll be fine.

I can see how this would work better in manga form. But for an anime, it tries to do too much, and is of course forced to stop at what is presumably the very beginning of the story.

At least the SHAFT aesthetic was toned down to the extent it didn’t distract too much from the story.

• Storytelling – C – Doesn’t feel like it got very far.
• Voice – C – Woe is me life is suffering.
• Characters – B – Strong characterizations.
• Attention Grab – D – Never eager to watch the next episode.
• Production – B – Looks pretty good.
• Overall – C+

Recommendations – Shion no Ou (a much better shogi anime)