Top Shogi Manga Recommendations

3-gatsu no Lion

Also known as March Comes in Like a Lion.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Rei Kiriyama is a child prodigy. Rei Kiriyama is also an orphan who lives alone in an empty apartment. Rei Kiriyama is a teen working in an adult's world. Life is complicated for Rei. He's an up-and-coming shogi player on the verge of turning pro, but he has no homelife, or much of a life period,outside his board game, but thankfully with the help of some life-long friends he has an opportunity start all over again.

Note: Won the Grand Prize at the 4th Manga Taishou Award in 2011, the 35th Kodansha Manga Award in 2011, the Grand Prize at the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2014 and the Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2021.

Tags: Coming of Age , Philosophy , Family Life , Seinen , Rehabilitation , Shogi , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Iyashikei , Bullying , Food , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Age Gap , Adoption , School Club , Love Triangle , Board Game

Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru

Also known as When Will Ayumu Make His Move?.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

Ayumu is in love with his senpai Yaotome, but he's sworn not to confess his feelings until he can beat her at the board game shogi… The problem is, his love is obvious to Yaotome, and she can't stop trying to trick him into breaking his vow!



Notes:
- Includes 15 extra chapters.
- The manga is based on a series of comics the author previously released on Twitter.
- Ranked third place in the 2020 Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Awards comic category.

Tags: Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , School Club , Shounen , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Shogi , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast , Tsundere , School , Love Triangle , Board Game

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

Also known as The Apothecary Diaries.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Mystery

In the East is a land ruled by an emperor, whose consorts and serving women live in a sprawling complex known as the hougong, the rear palace. Maomao, an unassuming girl raised in an unassuming town by her apothecary father, never imagined the rear palace would have anything to do with her—until she was kidnapped and sold into service there.
Though she looks ordinary, Maomao has a quick wit, a sharp mind, and an extensive knowledge of medicine. That's her secret, until she encounters a resident of the palace at least as perceptive as she is: the head eunuch, Jinshi. He sees through Maomao's façade and makes her a lady-in-waiting to none other than the Emperor's favorite consort... so she can taste the lady's food for poison!



Tags: Female Protagonist , Foreign , Detective , Medicine , Historical , Maids , Adoption , Royal Affairs , Politics , Economics , Asexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Conspiracy , Agriculture , Episodic , Heterosexual , Primarily Female Cast , Religion , Drugs , Ancient China , Tragedy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Meta , Go , Age Gap , Crossdressing , Shogi

Gunjou no Subete

Also known as My Ultramarine Sky.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

From their first year of middle school to their second year of high school, Kai and Ren have not only always been in the same class - they've also always sat next to each other. But in their last year of high school, the boys are assigned to two separate classes, and with each passing day, Kai feels as if he's slipping further and further away from Ren... One day, when Kai find Ren sleeping in a classroom after school, he whispers the feelings that he can't bring himself to say out loud...and Ren hears him. Will Kai's confession push them further and further apart, or will it be the spark that brings them back to each other?



Tags: Boys' Love , Heterosexual , School , Shogi , Bisexual , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist

Koukousei Kazoku

Also known as High School Family: Kokosei Kazoku.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy

Spring is in the air, and Kotaro is about to begin his first year of high school. He's full of hope and anticipation of a wonderful life at his new school, only to have his dreams crushed by... his family?! Isobe Isobee Monogatari ~ Ukiyo wa Tsuraiyo creator Ryo Nakama's latest series combines family and school life gags, making it feel familiar but also fresh and new. This new genre of comedy will be sure to make the grade!



Tags: School , Surreal Comedy , Family Life , Baseball , Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Tennis , Delinquents , Shogi , Volleyball , Animals , Male Protagonist

Ryuuou no Oshigoto!

Also known as The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done!.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life

The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done! is a story about a teenage boy named Yaichi Kuzuryu who happens to be the strongest shogi player in history, holding the top title of “Ryuo”(Dragon King).
One fateful day, shogi-loving elementary student, Ai Hinatsuru, appears before him claiming that he promised to be her master. But was such a promise really ever made? Thus began their master and disciple relationship!



Tags: Shogi , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Female Harem , Time Skip , Educational , Work , Board Game

Shogi Senpai

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

The story of a two-person shogi club: the senpai is obsessed with shogi and making her expressionless kouhai confess.

Note: The author didn't plan to continue the manga at first, but he decided to continue it. Since he draws the manga in his free time, the update schedule is not stable.

Tags: Primarily Child Cast , School Club , Shogi , School , Primarily Teen Cast

81 Diver

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Ecchi , Romance

Kentarou failed at entering the professional league of shogi board game competition. However, he continues to play the game for a living by gambling at amateur shogi clubs. His encounter and defeat by the shogi player known as Akihabara's "Ukeshi" shocks him and, combined with his financial crisis, reinvigorates him to take shogi more seriously. He also finds out by chance that the Ukeshi offers a part-time maid cosplay house cleaning service, another side of her which further intrigues him.



Tags: Shogi , Gambling , Seinen , Cosplay , Board Game

Futari no Taisei

Also known as Double Taisei.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sports

Genius shogi player Taisei Amado has a secret...Kentaro Fukuda, the creator of Devilyman and Shinigiwa, brings his beautiful art to a shogi story that you won't be able to put down!



Tags: Shogi , Dissociative Identities , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Board Game

Shion no Ou

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery

Yasuoka Shion lost her parents, and her voice, when she was young...in a murder.

She was found amidst a blood-soaked room, and the only hint for the suspect was a Shougi board and one piece: the King. Now, Shion steps into the world of female professional Shougi players. As her popularity and fame slowly rises, so do the questions about her past, particularly the murder case that was never solved.

Tags: Shogi , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Adoption , Disability , Board Game

Ryuuou no Oshigoto!

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

16 year old Kuzuryuu Yaichi has fallen into a slump after winning the major shogi title "Dragon King", the pressure of his losses continue until an elementary schooler called Hinatsuru Ai, with an extraordinary shogi talent, arrives at his doorstep.

Tags: Shogi , Coming of Age , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Board Game

Mononofu

Status: Finished
Genres: Sports

The "hot-blooded youth shogi manga" follows an impractical boy named Shinobu who accidentally moves into share-house for aspiring shogi professionals.



Tags: Shogi , Shounen , Primarily Teen Cast , Board Game

3-gatsu no Lion Shouwa Ibun: Shakunetsu no Toki

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life , Sports

The story is set in the year Showa 44 (1969), and it centers around Takanori Jinguuji, the 27-year-old man who eventually become the head of the Japan Shogi Association in the main 3-gatsu no Lion series.

Tags: Seinen , Shogi , Historical

Me no Mae no Kami-sama

Also known as The God Before Me.

Status: Releasing
Genres:

Lately, Odachi has been struggling with a lack of confidence in his play. Since his debut match, where he faced off against the “God” of shogi, something has changed within him. Will the day come when he can surpass the God of his generation? A tale of a self-proclaimed average shogi player, his friends, peers, and rivals, and the God before him.

Tags: Male Protagonist , Shogi , Shounen , Board Game

Rakugaki Manga

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

A short Twitter series by Souichirou Yamamoto.

Tags: Yuri , School , Shogi

Koi ni Wazurai

Also known as Koi ni Wazurai.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

1. Koi-iro Cocktail (恋色カクテル; Love-colored Cocktail)
2. SCANDAL
3. Kateikyoushi to Imouto-chan (家庭教師と妹ちゃん; A Tutor and a Little Sister)
4. Mousou Diary (妄想ダイアリー; Delusion Diary)
5. Renai Wars (恋愛ウォーズ; Love Wars)
6. Missing Link Side: Rina
7. Missing Link Side: Syuri


Tags: Yuri , Age Gap , Bar , Nudity , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Idol , Tomboy , Yandere , Shogi , School , School Club

Ban-ou

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Supernatural

Tags: Shogi , Vampire , Shounen

Banjou no Orion

Also known as Orion's Board.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Romance , Sports

Losing one match after another, shogi prodigy Yuhi Ninomiya became a shadow of his former glorious self. It was then that he faced his old rival Kanata Kuji in an official match. However, the record-setting match ended with Kanata winning his 27th consecutive game, and Yuhi losing his 17th consecutive game. Feeling frustrated and depressed, Yuhi stops by a bar, when he has a fateful encounter with a certain girl! Her name is Tsuki Kayamori. Although she is overbearing, self-centered, and eccentric, her sharp and unorthodox playstyle is as if she was chosen by the shogi God!


Tags: Shogi , Shounen , School , Male Protagonist , Board Game

Gekka no Kishi

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sports

One day, a young man named Himuro Shousuke shows up out of nowhere, claiming he wants to become a shogi master. When he is told that he must follow the appropriate channels to become a pro shogi player, he produces a recommendation from a highly respected master, Mikami Sankichi. Shousuke claims he trained with Sankichi in Kochi, and now he's ready to skip the early steps of becoming one of the elite. People are understandably skeptical, but Shousuke begins to beat the skilled players they match him up with. Some are unhappy about an outsider coming into their hierarchy at a high level, but will they be able to stop his rise? The future is full of the internal politics of the shogi world and exciting shogi matches!



Tags: Seinen , Shogi , Board Game

Eisei Otome no Tatakai Kata

Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

A manga about a 17 year-old high school girl who battles in the Ladies Professional Shogi League.



Tags: Seinen , Shogi , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Board Game