Shion no Ō

:anime voices|Ayako Kawasumi:Shion is the main protagonist of the story. When she was five years old, Shion's parents were slaughtered in their own home, though the murderer was never found. Shion, being a young girl at the time, was tramuatized by bearing witness to the aftermath and since then has not spoken one word. To communicate, she writes down everything via notes. At the murder scene, Shion found a king shogi piece and later comes to suspect that the culprit plays the game.

:When the story begins, Shion is eleven and is in junior-high school. She loves sweets, though chocolate is her favorite. Due to her foster father's influence, Shion eventually starts to play shogi which she hopes will give her clues about the murder of her parents.

;Nihongo|Makoto Hani|羽仁 真|Hani Makoto:anime voices|Hozumi Gōda:Makoto is a professional shogi player and is referred to by many as Nihongo|Meijin|名人, the highest and most prestigious professional shogi rank in Japan (similar to a chess Grandmaster). A keen and perceptive man who abandoned his brother after their mother's death to become a professional player himself.

;Nihongo|Satoru Hani|羽仁 悟|Hani Satoru:anime voices|Masaya Matsukaze:Satoru is Makoto's younger brother and works as a businessman. Aside from that, he is also a gifted shogi player himself, who dreams to one day defeat his brother in an official match. His girlfriend was working with Shion's dead parents, and mysteriously died one day after them.

;Nihongo|Ayumi Saitō|斉藤 歩|Saitō Ayumi:anime voices|Romi Paku:Ayumi is a fifteen-year-old male shogi player. Due to his sickly mother, he had to leave high school to take care of her and pay for her hospital bills. When playing shogi, he pretends to be a girl in order to earn money for competing; due to the male league taking two years to qualify. In the anime, after episode sixteen, he plays as a boy. Progressively through the series, he seems to care very much about Shion, saying that he wants to protect her.

;Nihongo|Saori Nikaidō|二階堂 沙織|Nikaidō Saori:anime voices|Risa Mizuno:Saori is a female shogi player and apprentice to Makoto. She is eighteen years old, and a fan of Shion. As befitting the daughter of a high-class family, her type of shougi is usually dignified. She deeply seeks recognition from Makoto, who she looks up to. [cite book|first=Katori|last=Masaru| title=Shion no Ō manga volume 3|page=2|publisher=Kodansha]

;Nihongo|Shinji Yasuoka|安岡 信次|Yasuoka Shinji:anime voices|Yasunori Matsumoto:Shinji is Shion's foster father and is a professional shogi player. His rank is 8 dan.

;Nihongo|Sachiko Yasuoka|安岡 幸子|Yasuoka Sachiko :anime voices|Mariko Kouda:Sachiko is Shion's foster mother. A strict but caring woman who ever supports her daughter and husband, despite not always agreeing with them.

;Nihongo|Osamu Kamizono|神園 修|Kamizono Osamu:anime voices|Ryusei Nakao :A secluded 9-dan shogi player. Despite his grumpy exterior earning him the nickname "demon," Kamizono seems to have a kind spirit, as he not only accepted Ayumi as his apprentice, even after discovering his secret, but also lent some money to Shinji when he decided to adopt Shion.

Media

Manga

The manga of "Shion no Ō" is written by Katori Masaru and illustrated by Jiro Ando. It started serialization on March 25 2004 in the Japanese seinen manga magazine "Afternoon" published by Kodansha.cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=8134 | title=Shion no Oh (manga) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2008-02-18] As of May 2008, it has been collected in eight bound volumes, with the series ongoing.

Graphic novel list/header
OneLanguage = yes
Width=50%Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 1
RelDate = October 22 2004
ISBN = 978-4-06-314360-7Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 2
RelDate = May 23 2005
ISBN = 978-4-06-314378-2Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 3
RelDate = January 23 2006
ISBN = 978-4-06-314403-1Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 4
RelDate = July 21 2006
ISBN = 978-4-06-314418-5Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 5
RelDate = May 23 2007
ISBN = 978-4-06-314445-1Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 6
RelDate = October 23 2007
ISBN = 978-4-06-314472-7Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 7
RelDate = January 23 2008
ISBN = 978-4-06-314485-7Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 8
RelDate = May 23 2008
ISBN = 978-4-06-314505-2

Anime

The anime adaptation of "Shion no Ō", produced by Studio Deen, started airing in Japan on October 13 2007 on the Fuji TV television network.

Episodes

Video game

An adventure video game based on the series will be released by Mainichi Communications for the Nintendo DS on April 10 2008. [citeweb|url=http://www.shion-oh.com/products/game.html|title=Game section at Shion no Ō's official website|accessdate=2008-02-18|language=Japanese]

References

External links

* [http://www.shion-oh.com/ Official anime website] jp icon
*ann anime|id=8138