Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru

When middle school kendo champion Ayumu Tanaka begins his first year in high school, he does not take the expected route of joining the Kendo Club; he signs up for the unofficial Shogi Club instead. His sole motive is falling in love at first sight with Urushi Yaotome—the club's president and only member—and will do anything to get closer to her. However, Ayumu decides not to confess to Urushi until he can beat her in a match of shogi fair and square.

Naturally, this self-imposed hurdle is a formidable challenge for Ayumu to overcome, as Urushi is far more experienced at the game and sees through his every strategy. Nevertheless, this does not stop him from praising her looks, her skill, or even her smile, which, coupled with Ayumu's expressionless face and direct approach, makes Urushi constantly blush beet red. Learning more about shogi and the charming player sitting across from him, Ayumu inches toward making his confession with each exciting round they play together—even if it is one pawn at a time!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yaotome, Urushi Main

Nakamura, Kanna Japanese

Tanaka, Ayumu Main

Azakami, Youhei Japanese

Mikage, Sakurako Supporting

Youmiya, Hina Japanese

Maki Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Kagawa, Rin Supporting

Mikawa, Haruna Japanese

Kakuryuu, Takeru Supporting

Gouden, Tsubasa Japanese

Urushi's Mother Supporting

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Hinano Supporting

Kudou, Yuuki Japanese

Urushi's Grandfather Supporting

Ihara, Masaaki Japanese

Store Manager Supporting

Terasoma, Masaki Japanese

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Kaneko, Hayato Producer, Planning

Shioya, Yoshiyuki Producer

Itou, Masahiko Producer

Reviews

May 4, 2025

---Hyouka---

Recommended

Let’s start with a brief summary:

Animation: 7/10 – Delivers what you'd expect from an anime of this genre. That said, it's good.

Characters: 7/10 – I like the characters, but I feel like they don’t really have much depth. They are who they are from start to finish.

Comedy: 7/10 – I enjoyed Takagi-san, so naturally, I like Ayumu as well.

Romance: 2/10 and also 8/10 – It manages to be both really good and really bad at the same time. If it had a better conclusion, it would be a clear 8. But since it ends the same way it starts... yeah.

... Soundtrack: 7/10 – Pleasant enough.

Now, onto the more complex part:

From the very beginning, the anime is exactly what it sets out to be: a romantic comedy where the lack of progress is the main punchline. Just like Takagi-san, it’s enjoyable for what it is. Watching Ayumu and Urushi interact is nice. I really appreciate the protagonist’s honesty – I can’t stand dumb or slow characters – but at the same time, his honesty never seems to lead to any real development in the story. It always ends in small conclusions and that’s it.

As for the romance, it’s obvious they love each other. They both know it from the very first episode. But it never goes anywhere. And as someone who loves love stories, that’s incredibly frustrating. The romance is cute and pleasant, and in a way, everything is pretty clear between them – but nothing ever actually happens. It always stays in the realm of suggestion.

Honestly, I think Japanese media has a real issue when it comes to progressing romantic storylines. Sometimes I wonder if that’s one of the reasons behind the country’s declining birthrate over the years.

With all that said, it’s a solid 7.




Comecemos com um breve resumo

Animação: 7/10 cumpre o que um anime do gênero promete dito isso bom.

Personagens: 7/10 gosto dos personagens, sinto que não tem nuances, eles são o que são do começo ao fim

Comedia: 7/10 gostei de takagi-san, por consequência ayumu também me agrada.

Romance: 2/10 e ao mesmo tempo 8/10, consegue ser muito bom e muito ruim ao mesmo tempo, se tivesse uma melhor conclusão era um 8 sem duvidas, mas acabou como começou.

Trilha sonora: 7/10 agradável

Tendo resumido, vamos dar inicio a parte mais complexa.

Bom desde o inicio o anime é o que se propõe a ser, uma comedia romântica cujo a falta de desenvolvimento é o plot principal da comedia. Assim como takagi-san, consegue ser bem agradável ao que se propõe, é legal ver o Ayumu e a Urushi interagindo, a sinceridade do protagonista é algo que me agrada, pois odeio personagens burros ou lerdos, no entanto, essa sinceridade nunca aparenta em resultar em algo realmente decisivo para a trama, sempre leva a pequenas conclusões e assim se encerra.

Quando ao romance, fica claro que se amam, eles mesmos já sabem dos sentimentos que tem um pelo outro desde o primeiro ep. Mas isso nunca anda, é extremamente frustrante pra mim que sou um amante do amor, passar por isso, e essa parte na minha opinião é o ponto negativo mais forte da obra. O romance é agradável e fofo, tudo a certo modo é deixado claro, mas nunca anda de forma significativa, sempre fica na sugestão.... japoneses tem um serio problema em avançar romances, fico imaginando se esse é um dos motivos pelo declínio populacional do pais ao longos dos anos.

Dito isso, um solido 7.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Nov 19, 2022

BigTimeTalks

Mixed Feelings

+ The art and animation are cute!
+ Very catchy ending theme
~ It's severely lacking in novelty; the show needs a hook or selling point to separate it from other slice-of-life anime
~ The story has no real conflict; characters are in love but don't ask out their crush for artificial reasons
~ The show doesn't really go anywhere and ends on a cop-out

= It's a mediocre, run-of-the-mill high school rom-com with a tiny bit of shogi sprinkled in. It's not awful, but it is unoriginal, even by slice-of-life standards. Cuteness factor aside, the anime isn't very dramatic or absorbing. By Episode 7, I found it hard to ... sit through more episodes.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Oct 28, 2022

DmAnimeguy

Not Recommended

Informative

This anime was good but it was a let down when it came to the end of the series.... I thought the story was progressing really beautifully there were many moments that both characters were developing and trying to be better versions of them selves but when it came to the end of the series it felt like a let down.

I really am not a big fan of anime that really end on a cliff hanger like that. A season should be contained and while its fine to have unanswered questions, i am not ok with a story reaching its climax and never getting ... there at all...

This was a let down for me because unless we have a season 2 we dont know if this will end or start something new.... For that reason I will have to say that I do not recommend this anime to anyone who is looking for a story that has a start middle and end.

(Yes I know there is a manga and i can get all my answers there but i dont base any anime on how good the manga is or how the manga story ark plays out).

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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	Poll: Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru Episode 6 Discussion Stark700 - Aug 11, 2022	47 replies	by xiaoni »» Oct 18, 6:22 PM
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