Dear god this is pathetic.
The story started out very good. A showcase of a traditional Japanese game, with two people battling it out. Ayumu wants to confess to his senpai, but only after beating her, that's respectable. This worked for the first seventy chapters, until Rin was introduced.
I don't know why she became a love interest. It just soured the end where she would be rejected, worse still that she didn't move on, which in a romcom is tantamount to self-death. She should have been only a supportive friend like Takeru was.
By chapter 100 or so when Urushi realized her feelings, I wondered why she wouldn't confess? She didnt have any commitment that Ayumu had and as a senpai could have taken the lead. Say, confession at chapter 150 and another 70 chapters of dating, really that would have made this an 8/10 or 9/10. Instead, we got a dragged out story that doesn't even end with a kiss, really the shogi ending makes it seem as if nothing happened.
Now, two logical inconsistencies. One, how did Ayumu catch up in the first place? Urushi was established to be a talent at the game from a young age. She was continually practicing during high school. She should've kept winning to reflect how she is more than a moe stereotype. Except, she is a moe stereotype. She was always put into embarrassing situations for the reader to fond over her cute face, while Ayumu remained expressionless thus denying him personality. I was strongly dissapointed to see this dynamic stay for the entire story. It denied the personality growth that both characters deserved. Isntead, I got two stereotypes.
Sakuraku & Takeru was the only thing keeping the story going. They actually confessed and dated, sure without much kissing but that's fine since they both still have one more year of high school. By contrast Ayumu and Urushi are done, this long distance relationship probably won't last.
As for art it was good, if repetitive.
I genuinely believe, based on the prominent featuring of shogi moves and the start and end that the author didn't intend for much romance at all. Rather the main focus would be shogi, with the two going on various competitions and recruiting new members interested in shogi. However some external pressure forced him to make a romcom instead, with the shogi aspects being hollowed out. At this explanation would give the author an excuse for this drek.
5/10, certainly not going on by bookshelf anytime soon.
