Shion no Ou (The Flowers of Hard Blood)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Shion no Oh

Japanese: しおんの王 - The Flowers of Hard Blood

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Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 22

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 14, 2007 to Mar 23, 2008

Premiered: Fall 2007

Broadcast: Unknown

Producers: Yomiko Advertising, Pony Canyon, Fuji TV, DAX Production

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: Studio Deen

Source: Manga

Genres: Drama, Mystery, Suspense

Theme: Strategy Game

Duration: 23 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.54¹ (scored by 11,187 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1753²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #3920

Members: 32,375

Favorites: 93

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Synopsis

Defying the odds, middle school student Shion Yasuoka is becoming a rising star of the professional shogi world. Despite losing her family at a young age and being unable to speak due to the trauma, in her loving adoptive family and at the shogi association, she has found the necessary emotional support to move on with her life and very demanding career.

Her talent attracts the attention of Satoru Hani, a successful businessman and brother of the current "Meijin"—the title given to the defending champion of Japan's most prestigious shogi tournament. He decides to organize a tournament open to both men and women, including professional and amateur players, and urges Shion to participate in the competition. However, Satoru seems to know a lot about Shion's troubled past, and his actions bring suspicion from Shion's friend Ayumi Saitou and the police—who are still investigating the death of Shion's loved ones.

As the end of Satoru's tournament approaches, Shion starts remembering events related to the night when she lost everything and will have to show her mental fortitude to defeat her opponents and foil the plans of the culprits who ruined her life.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:

Shion no Ou: The Flowers of Hard Blood.

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Yasuoka, Shion

Main

Kawasumi, Ayako
Japanese

Saitou, Ayumi

Main

Park, Romi
Japanese

Nikaidou, Saori

Main

Mizuno, Risa
Japanese

Hani, Makoto

Supporting

Gouda, Hozumi
Japanese

Hani, Satoru

Supporting

Matsukaze, Masaya
Japanese

Kamizono, Osamu

Supporting

Nakao, Ryusei
Japanese

Saitou, Fumiko

Supporting

Shimamura, Yuu
Japanese

Watanabe

Supporting

Densaka, Tsutomu
Japanese

Kyoudo

Supporting

Maruyama, Eiji
Japanese

Seto, Kazumi

Supporting

Kawaragi, Shiho
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Yamamoto, Kouji

Producer

Matsuda, Keiichi

Producer

Takahata, Yuuichirou

Producer

Kawase, Toshifumi

Director

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Opening Theme

"LADY LOVE" by RIZE

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Ending Theme

"My dear friend" by Teruma Aoyama

Reviews

Jul 30, 2008

Ranivus

Recommended

::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 9 (Shougi connected to a crime mystery is impressive)
Art: 7 (Good quality for today's standards)
Sound: 9 (The way Shion moves Shougi pieces is sexy)
Character: 8 (If you find a way to hate Shion, you're going to hell)
Enjoyment: 8 (Very good from beginning to end)
Overall: 41/50 = 8.2 (Serious sports anime are a rare find )

... ::FULL REVIEW::
Shion no Ou was a fairly fun take on the game of Shougi. It could easily have taken the tired and true route by just making this a shounen sports title with an emphasis on comedy. But instead, they manage to make this quite an involving story concerning dead parents, corporate undermining, a mute loli, and a sexy trap. Sounds pretty ridiculous for a show centered around Shougi.

But I'll be damned if I didn't love every minute of this show. A great draw to this show is that if you know anything about Shougi or not, you can still have a very inquisitive experience with all the mystery and drama stored in this lovely little 22 episode show. It paces itself perfectly and keeps the Shougi games very intense and thought provoking. Granted many things get left out during the games but once you're used to the terminology, you'll feel like you're right there watching the match. Also, for an anime about shougi, its pretty G-darn bloody.

The high definition aspect the the art and animation wasn't used to its full potential but what can you expect. Everything looks crisp and clear, but at the same time it has a feel of simple and plain. Don't get me wrong, there are amazing details thanks to the high definition aspect, but it looked like they preferred to keep most things simple and settings limited. I mean theres only so many changes you can do to a shouji room and some matches last longer than one episode. The only things that changed constantly were the characters.

It's hard to talk about sound effects in this day and age considering its pretty tough to critique such a simple (yet essential) part of anime. All I'm going to say is that I was shocked when I actually appreciated the crisp sound of shougi pieces slamming on to the board. Something so simple, yet you can literally feel the emotion relayed through the pieces (also a recurring theme in the show).

The characters are a mix of 'pretty boy' men and 'cute loli' girls, there are also a mix of middle/old aged adults that really look their age and all have their own unique look and personality. Well not so much in personality since most of the shogi players are either passive or aggressive. Thankfully, The main characters are the big draw for this show. Each has their own play style and matching personality to how they play. But enough about the personalities, the my favorite of this show is definitely the lovable, Shion Yasuoka. Theres something about a cute little girl that cant speak and only communicates through written messages in her sketch book that makes her very, VERY moe. Her facial expressions are simply classic, and even her non spoken words feel like they have more character and power compared to most anime characters WITH voices. And don't get me started with Shion's fashion sense. Ever since she was a baby she's been wearing omega cute clothing and it definitely works for her and her character.

Overall, the way this story was constructed perfectly. From the beginning to the middle to the end, it will constantly keep you guessing on many aspects. It's kind of embarrassing when a show like this can write a better crime drama than most anime out there. Don't let the shougi fool you!! I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good mystery anime. You wont be disappointed, this is definitely a diamond in the rough.

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Dec 22, 2008

Kitycatgirl

Recommended

Shion no Ou is the story of a young girl with a past full of tragedy and a present full of love.
This anime made me redesign my entire scoring process...

Story: Unique, genius, suspenseful, and even funny at times. I barely knew what Shougi was before I watched this, and while I was watching it, but I still enjoyed it. There are several twists and turns, but they all follow the main story line, and are extremely well thought out. It is easy to keep up with this show, but at the same time you have to think a lot.

Art: Near the end it got ...

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Apr 4, 2012

ggultra2764

Mixed Feelings

*SPOILER WARNING*

One has to wonder what the makers of Shion no Ou were thinking in mixing aspects of mystery and board game developments into a title that quite often goes overboard with its plot and characters. The series covers Shion's rise in the game of shogi and slowly unveiling facts that reveal the killer of her parents from years earlier. The series does do fairly good at setting up reasonable character depth with a number of its major characters and they have enough personality where they don't feel tacked on with a random character archetype, with Ayumi's character having the best development of the characters ... in this series with his personal issues and the conflicts he has for his reasons of playing shogi. On a basic level, it also does well at setting up suspense with its mystery as the series drops hints to keep one guessing over who may be threatening Shion and had killed her parents. Also expect a good number of cliffhangers at the end of many episodes of the series that make for effective hooks to suck you into seeing the next episode.

However beyond all this, a good amount of Shion no Ou got quite a bit ridiculous with its developments thanks to its board game/ mystery mix. While Shion makes for somewhat of a likeable character with her strong determination and resolve to avoid intimidation in heated shogi matches, the levels in which she is committed, despite issues affecting her like harassment and health problems, gets quite ridiculous in attempts of forced drama. Elements to the plot also get their absurd moments with the amateur/ pros tournament organized later in the series with the heavy amount of media coverage and how the games are promoted, as well as the reasons for why its lead sponsor even organized it considering the likelihood of how the whole thing would go. The mystery element also runs into its flaws thanks to the depictions of Shion's killer. When they are in cognito during early episodes to threaten Shion, the killer's attire sticks out so much that it makes them look more silly than threatening. Then when you come to learn who it is and why they pulled off the murders, their personality takes a sudden change that wasn't consistent with their personality in earlier episodes and their reason for killing makes no sense at all.

This series also might alienate Western viewers not familiar with shogi as Shion no Ou is made in mind for Eastern viewers familiar with the game as characters frequently toss out different terms and scenarios of the game. Unless you are either familiar with the game or are watching a fansub with notes on the various terms discussed, you could get lost following what is being discussed or understanding what is going on in current competitions. Also with the series being a game based one focused on Shion's efforts, the outcomes to games can get quite predictable at many points which kills much of the suspense one has from anticipating who they think could win them.

On the visual end, Shion no Ou does get a bit inconsistent with its animation quality. The first few episodes and scenes throughout the show at points feature character designs and scenery with clean details and lush color that make the series look like an above-average work. However, later episodes have a number of scenes where the quality of design details take a hit either looking rough or being simplified and the color applied within scenes look washed up.

I wouldn't recommend watching this series if you are looking for a worthwhile game-focused title. While Shion no Ou is fairly engaging with its character developments and having some surprises with seemingly hostile characters, the blurring of its mystery and gaming genres creates enough of a mess with creating believable situations and developments facing its major characters and plot. You'd be better off checking out Hikaru no Go as the series retains believable developments with its exploration of Go without attempting a mish-mash of different genres.

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Poll: Shion no Ou Episode 22 Discussion ( 1 2 ) cyruz - Jul 4, 2008	62 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 16, 2023 6:30 PM
Poll: Shion no Ou Episode 21 Discussion Zel - Jun 29, 2008	21 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 16, 2023 5:41 PM
Poll: Shion no Ou Episode 20 Discussion cyruz - May 20, 2008	25 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 16, 2023 5:03 PM
Poll: Shion no Ou Episode 19 Discussion FireReaverX - Apr 18, 2008	24 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 16, 2023 4:36 PM
Poll: Shion no Ou Episode 18 Discussion cyruz - Mar 10, 2008	36 replies	by Archean-Return »» Nov 16, 2023 4:04 PM

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Yasuoka, Shion

Saitou, Ayumi

Nikaidou, Saori

Hani, Makoto

Hani, Satoru

Kamizono, Osamu

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Kyoudo

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