When Will Ayumu Make His Move?[a][b] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sōichirō Yamamoto. A webcomic version, titled Shōgi no Yatsu, was posted in 2018. The manga has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since March 2019. An anime television series adaptation by Silver Link will premiere in July 2022.
Ayumu Tanaka, a first-year high school student, and Urushi Yaotome, a second-year student, are members of the shogi club. Ayumu vows to confess his feelings to Urushi, his senpai, after he manages to defeat her in a game of shogi, but he is a beginner at the game and Urushi always beats him. Meanwhile, Urushi keeps trying to get Ayumu to admit that he likes her, but Ayumu never allows his poker face to slip.
A first-year high school student, Ayumu is a member of the shogi club. In love with Urushi Yaotome, he has vowed that he will not confess his feelings until he beats her at shogi. However, the relationship between the two has not progressed because he has never won. When he was a middle school student, he belonged to the kendo club, and his tactics to break through his opponent's defense were excellent, so his reputation in the club was high. Even in shogi, his defense tactics have become more prominent, but Urushi continues to read his moves.
A second-year student, Urushi is Ayumu's senpai in the shogi club. Although Urushi herself claims to be the president of the shogi club, it is not recognized as an official club because there are not enough members. While Urushi believes that Ayumu likes her, she has yet got him to admit it.
Sakurako (桜子)
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Manga[]
When Will Ayumu Make His Move? is written and illustrated by Sōichirō Yamamoto. Yamamoto first posted an irregular prototype webcomic on his Twitter account, titled Shōgi no Yatsu (将棋のやつ, lit. "Shogi Guy"), from April 22 to November 19, 2018.[5][6]When Will Ayumu Make His Move? started in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on March 6, 2019.[7][8] Kodansha has compiled its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on July 4, 2019.[9] As of July 16, 2021, eight volumes have been released.[10]
In March 2021, Kodansha USA announced that they licensed the manga for English release in North America.[11][12]
An anime television series adaptation was announced on January 8, 2021.[2] The series will be animated by Silver Link and directed by Mirai Minato, with Deko Akao overseeing the series' scripts, and Kazuya Hirata designing the characters. It will premiere in July 2022 on TBS and other channels.[24]
Reception[]
In 2020, the manga was nominated for the 6th Next Manga Awards and placed 3rd out of the 50 nominees with 19,182 votes.[25]
Notes[]
^Japanese: それでも歩は寄せてくる, Hepburn: Sore de mo Ayumu wa Yosete Kuru, lit. "Even So, Ayumu Approaches"
^Ayumu is written with the character 歩 (also read as fu), abbreviation for the shogi piece [ja] (歩兵, "infantry"), equivalent to pawn in chess.