Having reached professional status in middle school, Rei Kiriyama is one of the few elite in the world of shogi. Due to this, he faces an enormous amount of pressure, both from the shogi community and his adoptive family. Seeking independence from his tense home life, he moves into an apartment in Tokyo. As a 17-year-old living on his own, Rei tends to take poor care of himself, and his reclusive personality ostracizes him from his peers in school and at the shogi hall. However, not long after his arrival in Tokyo, Rei meets Akari, Hinata, and Momo Kawamoto, a trio of sisters living with their grandfather who owns a traditional wagashi shop. Akari, the oldest of the three girls, is determined to combat Rei's loneliness and poorly sustained lifestyle with motherly hospitality. The Kawamoto sisters, coping with past tragedies, also share with Rei a unique familial bond that he has lacked for most of his life. As he struggles to maintain himself physically and mentally through his shogi career, Rei must learn how to interact with others and understand his own complex emotions. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Orphaned shogi prodigy, Rei Kiriyama, navigates professional life and emotional trauma.
Portrayed by Lee Wendee
Hinata, a loyal & caring middle schooler, is Rei's friend and later girlfriend, aspiring to be like her mature sister.
Portrayed by Hanazawa Kana
Akari Kawamoto, a 23-year-old who works tirelessly to support her family, balancing her confectionery shop duties with her hostess job.
Portrayed by Post Laura
Preschooler Momo, youngest Kawamoto sister, is pure but selfish; Rei-chan's playful friend.
Portrayed by Kuno Misaki
Verified Ratingthe writing remains exceptionally strong. conceptualizing shogi as a desperate ticket for human interaction reframes his childhood isolation brilliantly. merging the afterburner and shogi clubs provides a highly logical narrative solution for his socialization.
expanding on shimada's hometown provides excellent context for his communal motivations and kindness. transitioning from that into the domestic warmth of the kawamoto household, specifically highlighting the ideation of traditional sweets, is wonderfully done.
Verified Ratingi just want to jump through the screen and give young rei the biggest hug, no child deserves to feel that alone. his metaphor about shogi being a ticket to tomorrow was so incredibly beautiful but heartbreaking.
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