Aside from murder, there are a few additional differences between Shion no Ou and Hikaru no Go that I left out of the title:
- They play Shougi instead of Go
- Shion gets stalked by a human instead of an ambiguously gay ghost
- The pimp in a white suit doesn’t wear a tie
I don’t get why some people insist the shows are substantially different. They’re just like the pedophiles who think that Mamiko Noto sounds unusually mature in Mnemosyne. No, becoming a sadistic immortal lesbian hasn’t changed her voice a bit. So what? Uniqueness is overrated. What’s wrong with reusing the same reliable building blocks?
| Well developed minor characters |  |
| Simultaneous subplots | |
| Unforeseeable plot twists | |
| Comical victimization | |
| Recurring random character(s) |  |
| Badass mid-episode transitions | |
| Soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura | |
| Frequently updated intro/ending visuals | |
| Fade into intro/ending | |
| Catchy dance sequence | |
| Themes of Hatred/Suffering/Revenge | |
| Lesbians | |
| Hilarious ambiguously gay dude | |
| Stylish visual effects | |
| Dinosaurs | |
| Tournament Competition | |
| Rivalry | |
| Graphic violence | |
| A character vaguely resembling myself | |
| Failed confessions | |
| Misunderstandings | |
| Amusing facial distortions | |
| Pimp in a white suit | |
| Bitch-Slut-Pussy | |
| Disheveled journalist/photographer | |
| Soft-spoken girl voiced by Mamiko Noto | |
| Time Travel | |
| Catch phrases | |
| Ghosts | |
| Guy who never says anything | |
| Girl who never says anything | |
Mute characters kick ass. Shion lost her ability to speak as a child, leaving her to express herself only through crappy sketches and amusing facial distortions.
Suspect is hatless! Repeat, hatless!
Shion tracks down her parents’ murderer by playing Shougi. How, you ask? I have no clue.
I’ll give it a try, but the slowness of the fansubbers is making me sad 🙁
Me too. It’s only got 4 eps to go, so waiting it out might be your best option. Then again, the subbing is lightning fast compared to Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Eyeshield 21. Aria is also pretty slow these days.
I think it’s one of the most underrated (and underwatched) shows for 2007/8. It’s been interesting to see how things progress, and I’m kinda surprised that I’m still very interested in wondering what happens next as everything begins to fit together.
I still want to punch Satoru in the face though. 😛
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