Shion no Ou: The Flowers of Hard Blood

[Munsu]

First episode out by Live-eviL:
http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-evil%5D_Shion_no_Ou_-_01_%5B5FC6D740%5D.avi.torrent

This is a review I wrote for tha manga a while back:


Shion no Ou: The Flowers of Hard Blood

I just found a very interesting manga, that I think many of you will like since many of you liked Hikaru no Go. This time around is about Shogi, Japanese Chess, instead of Go. At the moment I find the story much more interesting than that of Hikaru no Go, and the characters are better also. It has a very nice art too, and the story seems much deeper than Hikaru no Go ever was. It's a story about a girl named Shion, who 7 years ago not only did she lose her ability to speak, but her whole family was murdered. Since then she has been raised by her next door neighbor, a Shogi master. Since very little, Shion has always shown great talent and skill to play the game, and the world is about to learn this as she takes her first steps towards becoming a pro. Playing Shogi because she loves the game is not her only reason for playing, it's also the only clue towards finding her family's murderer, who apparently was a Shogi player. So I'm really recommending that you guys take a look at this, Hikaru no Go is very well liked and I think this manga has the elements to surpass it.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8652/covershionv01bsot3.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=covershionv01bsot3.jpg) http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/6747/shionv01p006dv5.th.jpg (http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionv01p006dv5.jpg)http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7841/shionv01p019lg4.th.png (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionv01p019lg4.png)http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/4673/shionv01p035ri2.th.png (http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionv01p035ri2.png)http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5170/shionc03p095hq4.th.png (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shionc03p095hq4.png)

http://www.shion-oh.com/
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=5223

[Munsu]

Here's episode 2:
http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_02_%5BF55D739F%5D.avi.torrent

None of you watching this?

[SamuraiOdin]

Downloading first two episodes now, sounds like it'll be good, and I liked Hikaru no Go.

[hitokiriender]

i've been watching it and its really good. I am having a hard time convincing my friends to watch it though. They seem to 'experienced' the bug of Hikaru no Go a little too much and now 'hate' shogi like the characters of the anime did.

[DDBen]

The thing is I've been watching this series and so far its interesting if not a little sick and twisted. The other thing is at this point at least its nothing like Hikaru No Go. The only things similar so far are they both involve a board game everything else is completely different. First the main has been trained by a pro since the age of 4 so there isn't really a underdog becoming a master in this series but rather a young pro getting better. Second I've yet to see any real comic relief in this show instead it goes from brutal violence to kinda cutesy. Third Its mainly about woman or at the very least cross dressers.

So I think it would be wrong at least at 2 episodes in to recommend this to anyone who likes something like Hikaru no go on the merits of being similar in any way. Instead I'd recommend it because its interesting and seems like it will be a twist on the underdog based sports anime at the very least although I still don't get what the violent murders have to really do with anything..

[FelixZeroAlastor]

Seems interesting. I've never watched Hikaru No Go so I'll try it out.

[Honoko]

I'm watching because I read the first couple of volumes of the manga but it seemed like the first episode covered both volumes but I can't be sure since it's been a while since I touched it. I find that stalker guy creepy and annoyed that the anime is going out of its way to not show his identity.

Anyways, I'm going to keep watching because I want to know how the murder mystery fits into Shion playing shogi. So weird. And yes, aside from it being based on a board game, this series is nothing like Hikaru no Go.

[Munsu]

Of course it has nothing to do with Hikaru no Go, this are different stories with a different plots. But it still have many similar settings and elements. We have young kids becoming pro's, their rivalries, and the drama as they progress through the tournaments and through they proffesional careers.

It's like not recommending someone who likes Naruto, Hunter X Hunter and say that they have nothing in common because one has to do with Ninjas and another has to do with Hunters. The fact is that the basics are the same, a shounen series with powers and techniques, fighting, etc.; it's the same between Hikaru no Go and Shion no Ou.

[DDBen]

Munsu first off your example is just wrong in this case being that Naruto and Hunter X Hunter are nearly identical in the framework that exists because its a very general framework for a boys action anime those two shows really don't differ at all on the basics of them assuming you ignore the filler which Hunter X Hunter just doesn't have.

As for this vs Hikaru no Go they don't have any similarities at all in the starting premise. Hikaru was a kid who had never played go and its overall a tutorial on the game with a ton of comic relief and he has a guiding spirit its a basic sports anime and examples of shows like it are Slam Dunk and Hajime No Ippo. This show 2 episodes in and without having read the manga lacks ANY of the comedy and biplay found in most sports anime. Instead it starts with a murder and a main character who's already at pro level not a novice learning they are gifted in something they have never tried before. In other words instead of the focus being to introduce the viewer to a game and show someone excel at that game the focus of this series is on Shion and the murder of her parents. The show overall has different goals entirely from a regular sports anime.

I'm not saying this won't change and your obviously arguing this as someone who has read the manga and with that perhaps the focus will change to this series. Unfortunately for now as someone who has only seen two episodes of the show I can't agree with your statement to recommend this based on liking Hikaru no Go. In fact this seems much more like a mystery based anime then in any way sports based. Heck It seems closer to Monster then Hikaru no go to me atleast.

[FelixZeroAlastor]

Episode 3 is out for anyone still watching.
http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_-_03_%5BD9DD6354%5D.avi.torrent

[shinta|hikari]

This show is very much like Hikaru no Go. Just take out the murder mystery and add a bit of comedy then it is practically Hikaru no Go. It doesnt matter if Shion starts at pro level, since the rivalries are still there, and it still focuses on her getting better. If you watch the matches, they have the exact same feel as the matches in Hikaru no Go, where much of the excitement in that show comes from. I have to agree that this differs from normal sports anime, which is actually a good sign, as "normal" generally equals mediocre.

EDIT: I think Munsu's hunterxhunter and naruto comparison fits perfectly.

[TheBladeChild]

Here episode 4:

http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_-_04_%5B0CEA4D30%5D.avi.torrent

[kooshi]

Just wondering if one has to know how to play Shogi to better understand this anime.

[Styles]

Just wondering if one has to know how to play Shogi to better understand this anime.

I was wondering the same thing.

[shinta|hikari]

Better understand, yes. Sufficiently enjoy, no.

[DDBen]

Just wondering if one has to know how to play Shogi to better understand this anime.

Well as they are not translating what the pieces are there is a large chance you will have zero idea whats going on in the short game clips we see. On the other hand the Shogi hasn't been the main focus just yet its simply what Shion is playing so you should have no problem enjoying the murder mystery and character development just the actual game states.

I don't really know the rules of Shogi and I'm enjoying the series so far.

[AbstractTheorem]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogi

I have tried playing it on the computer, I need to find a decent computer version tho.....wish there was like... SHOGIMASTER 10k*

the game play is very similar to chess at its core (checkmate the king to win the game, how pieces are captured etc etc)

the most interesting difference between Shougi and Chess is that, in Shougi captured pieces may be redeployed onto the board, so you can steal someone's piece then beat them with it :P










(*if you like chess chessmaster 10k is great, the puzzles and the lessons in it are actually pretty good.. playing the personalities in the game can kinda get boring if you figure out patterns to quickly though)

[kooshi]

Yuppers, you definitely don't need to know the game to watch this series. 3 episodes in and I'm pretty drawn in. Here's to hoping to stay in the game!

[Xrlderek]

EP 5 - Live-eviL (http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_-_05_%5BB98A8E51%5D.avi.torrent)

[Nai]

Episode 6 (http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-EviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_-_06_%5B8A79F48C%5D.avi.torrent) by Live-EviL is out. Am I the only one still watching this?

[DDBen]

I'm still watching this but a lot of nothing is happening right now it just seems like buildup to an event I'm not sure why I care about. I mean is co-ed shogi really that big a deal?

[Xrlderek]

Ep 9 is out.

EP 9 - Live-eviL (http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_-_09_%5B5AD7A584%5D.avi.torrent)

[Death13a]

Ep 10 (http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_-_10_%5B90D4668B%5D.avi.torrent)

Well plot gets major boost this episode so don't miss out.

[fireheart]

I don't know the shows pretty interesting while at the same time it's kinda meh, like something missing to really propel it forward. I liked the way Hikaru no Go did things compared to this show, it's got it's own merits and all but it feels like it plunges more straight into the story without the usual build up and the characters feel kinda shifting not to mention the time shift of 6 months in two episodes. Don't know it just feels... forced somehow like it's jumping forward at a fast speed while at the same time it's not. Ohh and the cops are indeed weird do they normally keep a piece of evidence around to look at so often like that. But overall it's interesting enough to watch, just wish there were more character built and background to the story but that probably comes along later

[Munsu]

So, any of you guys continued watching the series? Live-eviL released episode 22 a couple of days ago... the final episode. Here's the full series, including episodes 11-22 that weren't posted before:
http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_1-12_%5BHD_1280x720_x264%5D.torrent
http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/%5BLive-eviL%5D_Shion_no_Ou_13-22_%5BHD_1280x720_x264%5D.torrent

Well, I just finished the series. I had stopped around episode 7, watched the rest between yesterday and today. Really good series in my opion, good ending too. There was a good mixture of the normal shounen-sports variety and suspense/murder mystery plot... series was quite unique in that regard.

So, anyone watched everything yet? Or is about to finish it?