Well I really struggled through that chapter… No idea what half of what 二海堂 is saying means but I feel like he’s kinda supposed to be that way? Enjoyed it though.
Loved the でかいおにぎり! 
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He certainly is very melodramatic about his self confidence.
I decided to give some context/spoilers for 二海堂 's
台詞
桐山５段 and 2KD (abbreviation for 二海堂 that shows up in the manga sometimes) played shougi at public shougi event (s) for kids–before either of them went pro.
To be a professional shougi player, you first have to reach the rank of ４段. 桐山５段 reached that rank about 2 years ago, and 2KD just reached it.
Now that 2KD is a pro, he can play against 桐山五段 in public professional matches. (This one is a special title tournament specifically for new, young professional shougi players)
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Chapter 3 Discussion starts here!
Here’s a link to the top of the main feed (with the schedule)
And here is a link to the vocabulary sheet.
How are you doing?
- I’m reading along
- I’ve already read this part, but I’m here for discussion
- I’ll catch up later
- I’m dropping this book
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This is the first chapter that has a significant amount of shougi in it. You could skip over it without missing much plot…or…your could lean into the shougi. After all, you never know when impressing a Japanese grandfather with your ability to play shougi might save your life.
If you know the basics of chess, you are at an advantage because shougi is like chess, with a couple of major differences:
2) There are a few unfamiliar pieces, and even the familiar pieces move a little differently. I am making a chart to summarize the pieces, because the pronunciations, text references and pictures are hard to match together.
3) Almost all pieces can be “promoted” when they cross enemy lines, which changes their movement pattern.
4) When you capture an en enemy’s piece, it becomes yours, and you can drop it back into the game.
Here is a basic moves tutorial I found helpful.
I printed this paper shougi set to help me follow along with games in the manga. If anyone is interested in discussing the actual shougi, I’d love to!
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I’m trying to catch up; still at chapter 1 though. First chapter was a fairly easy read (many thanks to the vocab sheet too!).
Questions!
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When Hina was going to offer a bowl of the curry to the deceased, why was Akari hesitant about it? Is there something with offering curry to the deceased or is it like curry is too extravagant as an offering? Just a sidenote: I was confused at first as to why she would offer curry to Buddha then segue to talking about mom and grandma, but a dictionary search said 仏様 also means deceased, which makes much more sense lol
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Was the man Rei played with at the start of the chapter his father?
I also just wanted to say, I love how the first few pages were so quiet and calm then bam chaos in the girls’ household (and the cats too) 
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Sort of an adopted father. Rei was his live-in apprentice.
I see. Then he’s also the “father” referred to in Rei’s internal monologue / flashbacks when he was listening to the news? (sorry I can’t provide the page numbers; I just realized there’s none in the ebook copy on Bookwalker D:)
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I’ve read a bit ahead and I got more and more interested in shougi, so yesterday I read the rules, downloaded an app and played my first “game” 
The moves of the different pieces are still quite confusing for me (especially after promotion) but with some practice, and after reading an intro to strategies, it should be fine. I already like the fact that many of the pieces can only move to (some of the) adjacent tiles, this feels more manageable than in chess where there are so many lines of movement across the board that need to be constantly traced… 
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Not sure I have enough time to analyze the 将棋 sections in detail (too many book clubs at the moment ), but how exactly does the move notation work?
9 is the column and 一 the row? Starting from the top or the bottom? Left or right? The last kanji is the piece that gets moved, I suppose, but how would it look like if two pieces of the same name can reach the same spot?
Also, from the rule set I see that promotion is sometimes optional. How would the notation look like to specify if the player has or not decided to promote?
Also, I wonder how does the move of placing of a previously captured piece looks like… ?
I’m so glad you asked! This all took me forever to figure out, and it’s still hard to remember, which is why I made the chart.
The black or white shape tells you whose move it is–their name is written in there. It also tells you who is
先手 (black) and who is 後手(white). The 先手 is the person who moves first.
The two numbers tell you the position the pieces was moved TO, according to the numbering shown above. (Which is how the 先手(black) sees it). Since you don’t know where it was moved or dropped* from, you kind of have to figure it out. Drops are not noted if that’s the only way to get that piece in that spot. If there are moves or drops that would look the same, a drop is noted with 打. If two of the same type of pieces can move to the same spot, it will be specified left(左) or right(右), retreat (引) or advance (進)
*Drop = play a captured piece.
Each promoted piece had a new name, so if it’s not promoted, you just keep using the old name. If they decide to promote, you specify 成 (なり)。
The kanji character is the abbreviation for the piece that was moved or dropped. I included the abbreviation in my handy one-page guide to shougi pieces chart.
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Very helpful, thank you!
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I played through the game on page 59-60, and it was fun! I was definitely there with 一砂, I kept being surprised by how 零 's moves had a double meaning–making me retreat and also threatening my castle (the collection of defensive pieces around the king) with yet another strong piece. I had to keep playing after 一砂, because he gives up before he’s actually checkmated or even checked (this seems pretty common), and it took me a couple of moves to convince myself that it could not end well.
I recommend it if you have the time!
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I didn’t go in-depth with the shogi panels, but the chart you made helped me get through it, hehe.
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I have finally caught up with chapter 2
What is グーリン体暇 ? I figure it translates to something like “green/eco vacation,” so is it like traveling to nature destinations or so? And is it a common term in Japan? (sorry a lot of questions but I’m genuinely curious because my background is in tourism haha)
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It’s basically vacationing someplace rural, like in the 田舎 and so on. Not sure why he uses this term specifically when the very next panel seems to show the old man about to board a boat, though. It comes from グリーンツーリズム.
(Just a headsup, it’s グリーン, not グーリン)
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はげましながら, from 励ます. You probably thought the は was the topic particle.
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