Shion no Ou

[itis]

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

Actually, we can't be sure of the timing. We see him upstairs before we see the phone taken, but we cannot be sure that he was still upstairs while the phone was taken because he might have come downstairs. As for the gloves, he could have put those gloves on just to avoid leaving fingerprints. Whomever the culprit was, I'm sure he put on the gloves just to avoid fingerprints.

That's what makes it such a "Myself; Yourself"-level twist. I can be certain people would be overjoyed simply to be surprised, while others would be cursing the lack of foreshadowing.

Conspiracy. Using that theory, we can't be sure of anything. Let's put Hisatani back into the suspect list. How do we know Hisatani did not purposefully leave his cell phone on the desk and then 2 minutes later went behind the anime camera crew, put on gloves, and pick it back up again. How do we know Hisatani didn't make the phone call while he was walking out of Shion's home just when the scene switched to an innocent bystander in a parked car who was just making a phone call to his mother whose name is also Shion.

I say it is the reporter.

[NoSanninWa]

Originally Posted by itis

I say it is the reporter.

The male reporter or the female reporter?

[itis]

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

Actually, we can't be sure of the timing. We see him upstairs before we see the phone taken, but we cannot be sure that he was still upstairs while the phone was taken because he might have come downstairs. As for the gloves, he could have put those gloves on just to avoid leaving fingerprints. Whomever the culprit was, I'm sure he put on the gloves just to avoid fingerprints.

That's what makes it such a "Myself; Yourself"-level twist. I can be certain people would be overjoyed simply to be surprised, while others would be cursing the lack of foreshadowing.

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

The male reporter or the female reporter?

Conspiracy! I almost fell for your trick. You wanted me to say the male but how can we be sure that the male isn't female and is just cross dressing. It's shion no ou, we can't be sure.

Let's just wait till the show finishes. We can't risk making bold assumptions here.

[NoSanninWa]

Darn, you saw right through my little joke before I could close it on you!

Yeah, unfortunately without having even an inkling of the murderer's motive it is pointless to even guess at his identity.

[SeijiSensei]

I was re-watching the past couple of episodes with my daughter the other day and saw this shot of the guy in the car at the end of episode 10.



Kamizono? Certainly has his wild-eyed look and unruly hair. Even with my color-blindness it looks more like Kamizono's hair coloring than either of Hani's.

[NoSanninWa]

Because of the darkness the hair color could be anything. All we really know is that his hair gets in his eyes, which I will admit lets out the old guy behind the counter, but he could have been wearing a wig.

[Seiryuu]

Originally Posted by Likely

i think the merits of this show is that it has good character relationships and character interaction, perfect for a slice of life or romance. but why they would want to throw these qualities into a murder/psycopath genre is beyond me. thus, this show comes off as mostly strange. also, what middle-aged man would hold a grudge or otherwise enjoy tormenting a 10 year old orphaned girl? its so unbelievable that it's almost corny.

First off, Shion's 12. She was about 4 when she started shougi(and already had shown incredible potential) and I'm pretty sure they said she WAS 4 when the murder happened. The caller said it'd been 8 years. So she's at least very close to 12yo.
Second, these qualities are common and vital for a good mystery or psychological thriller. You're surrounded by people who all seem so nice, who all seem to love and want to protect this girl, yet we know that among them is a sadistic madman who is, for some reason, either trying to crush her psyche, keep her silent, or perhaps force her to remember.
Finally, I don't think it's so odd that a man in his late twenties or older(we don't really know the age except I doubt he's less than 20 or so in the flashback) would in some situations either hate a child of even 4 years or enjoy torturing her. Perhaps Shion did something that had effects she never knew about, or she heard or saw something she shouldn't have. And the world's full of sadists who take pleasure from delivering pain, fear and despair. Having such a fragile existence to begin with would make Shion an ideal target for someone like that.

[chamelean75]

Isn't Shion older than 12???? She's in junior high school. That's grade 7-9. And she said that has hasn't planned on going to high school. Is that something you have already decided in 7th grade??? But she does look young, but her friends seem older looking than her. That's just the impression I get when I watch the anime.

For those who read the manga, does she grow in this manga like Hikaru in Hikaru no Go?

[NoSanninWa]

Originally Posted by chamelean75

Isn't Shion older than 12???? She's in junior high school. That's grade 7-9. And she said that has hasn't planned on going to high school. Is that something you have already decided in 7th grade???

A 12 year old can be in grade 7. That would make her a freshman in Jr High.

While it is highly unlikely for a girl so young to have decided not to go to High School, it makes perfect sense in Shion's case. There are two main factors that decide this. The first is that she has already determined her future career and knows that she has talent for it. As a professional Shougi player she has no need to go to High School. Instead of going to High School she would have more time to perfect her game or play with friends. Schooling can only get in her way.

The second factor is her muteness. It must be hard going to school when she cannot talk. Classes need to be specially organized around her disability. While she likes making friends in school, I suspect she wants to be released from that pressure.

I'm not surprised at all that she has already decided not to go to High School.

[chamelean75]

So does anyone know if Shion grows in this anime/manga? I like animes/mangas where the character grows such as hikaru no go and genshiken.

[Doughnuts]

So far the manga has only taken place around the tournament, it's not much ahead of the anime actually. I don't see it extending further than another volume or so, so my guess is: no, you won't see Shion grow up

[chamelean75]

Originally Posted by Doughnuts

So far the manga has only taken place around the tournament, it's not much ahead of the anime actually. I don't see it extending further than another volume or so, so my guess is: no, you won't see Shion grow up

Aw. Seems like such a waste. Just one tournament and that's it. Seems like the characters are only still forming their skills in the anime.

[tlynnec]

Originally Posted by chamelean75

Aw. Seems like such a waste. Just one tournament and that's it. Seems like the characters are only still forming their skills in the anime.

Ah, but that leaves room for imagination! Once the show/manga ends, I expect there'll be endless speculation about Shion's future.

[Seiryuu]

Originally Posted by chamelean75

Isn't Shion older than 12???? She's in junior high school. That's grade 7-9. And she said that has hasn't planned on going to high school. Is that something you have already decided in 7th grade??? But she does look young, but her friends seem older looking than her. That's just the impression I get when I watch the anime.

For those who read the manga, does she grow in this manga like Hikaru in Hikaru no Go?

As I understood it, 8th-graders are asked to try and choose a high school and focus on studies that will help them get in so that they'll be prepared for entrance tests in the 9th grade. Sort of like Juniors looking at colleges so they can apply to the ones they want early. I think Shion's somewhere near the halfway point on her first year, so the guidance counsellors are starting to suggest students consider these matters and be ready to push for their goals from the 8th grade on.
BTW, as far as passage of time or growth, time does pass in this series, in little jumps, but I don't know if Shion's so far been set up as showing any significant physical development. I do know that six months pass between ep1 and 2. The achievement of professional status comes from a six-month tournament, and she lost to Ayumi in the first ep, so the fact that she'd become pro in the second means at least six months must have passed.

[Kaoru Chujo]

It's fairly certain now that this show will be 22 episodes. The Shoboi Calendar broadcast listings show this for the main channel, FujiTV, and give episode titles up to ep17 for the BSFuji satellite channel and Kansai TV. So even though the plot feels as if it could end sooner, it appears that it will not. Episode 22 will be broadcast on FujiTV on 22 March.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

It's fairly certain now that this show will be 22 episodes. The Shoboi Calendar broadcast listings show this for the main channel, FujiTV, and give episode titles up to ep17 for the BSFuji satellite channel and Kansai TV. So even though the plot feels as if it could end sooner, it appears that it will not. Episode 22 will be broadcast on FujiTV on 22 March.

Hmm, does this mean we'll be going into anime original material?

[ThoHell]

Ep 13 ended with a nice little shocker. Secrete slowly becoming known, more friends being made!

[Shiroth]

After watching episode 12, i'm starting to think more and more that Satoru was not the killer, though there has to be someway he's linked to it --- that or he just knows everything about it. I do love how he played around with Shion in this match though, just how it should have been done.

[tlynnec]

Yeah. At this point I think he's too obvious to be the killer.

I wonder if part of the reason Satoru hates Shion so much is because everyone has sympathy for Shion since her parents died and she turned to Shougi, but no one cared when the same thing happened to him?

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by tlynnec

I wonder if part of the reason Satoru hates Shion so much is because everyone has sympathy for Shion since her parents died and she turned to Shougi, but no one cared when the same thing happened to him?

Yeah that makes a lot more sense. Also we have to remember that this is going on for 22 episodes, so we have time for the real killer to appear, and it wouldn't be any surprise at all that Satoru knows about the murder incident.