Back in the Batoto days, I wrote long posts about shogi, sports, and music and how difficult it was to be a prodigy, and argued and agreed with PLG about all of those things. Now, I am just thinking about how wonderful and adorable Hina-chan is. It's almost as though I have been sucked into Rei's mind frame and fallen in love with her myself. Although I'm an old geezer and don't condone anything disgusting like what some may think, I like to remember the times I fell in love as a teenager and what made it special. Hina's character is so well defined by Umino Sensei's words and art, that it's really hard not to fall in love with her. She's the girl that any decent man worth his salt would want to meet as a teenager. Aside from romantic love, the whole family: Grandfather, Akari, Hina, and Momo-chan are pretty much ideal people. Aside from enjoying the shogi playing, I really, really enjoy the author's genius for creating characters and how much she makes them real and fascinating. I would love it if this manga went on for years until a 30 year old Kiriyama Rei crushed the shogi world as Meijin.