TV-Series
Description
Ai Hinatsuru is a primary character in the shogi-themed story. She is a nine-year-old girl from Nanao City in Ishikawa Prefecture, born on October 7. She is the only daughter of Takashi and Akina Hinatsuru, who manage a prestigious and popular traditional Japanese inn known as Hinatsuru. As the heir to this first-class ryokan, she has been trained in hospitality and etiquette from a young age, making her remarkably mature and skilled at housework for her age, with a posture and manner of speech that are exceptionally proper.
Her life changes when she first sees Yaichi Kuzuryu, the youngest Ryuo title holder, competing in a shogi title match held at her family's inn. During the match, she witnesses Yaichi staggering under pressure and near collapse in a hallway, and she brings him a glass of water to help him regain his composure. Grateful for her kindness, Yaichi promises to grant her any one wish if he wins the title. After he succeeds, Ai, who had begun secretly teaching herself shogi by memorizing puzzles left by her grandfather and playing online, runs away from home three months later to find Yaichi and ask to become his disciple.
Initially, Yaichi plans to defeat her easily and send her home, believing he has no time to teach a child. However, after playing a match with her, he is astonished by her incredible natural talent and ability to read moves far in advance, especially in complex tsume shogi endgame puzzles, and accepts her as his first disciple and live-in student. Her parents, particularly her mother, are deeply opposed to her entering the unstable and competitive world of female professional shogi, especially when she has a wealthy and secure future managing the family inn. To persuade them, Yaichi agrees to a strict condition: if Ai does not win at least one women's shogi title by the time she graduates middle school, he will take responsibility by marrying her and becoming the inn's heir.
Ai is a cheerful, energetic, and deeply passionate girl whose love for shogi is matched only by her admiration for her master. She is extremely hardworking and determined, refusing to give up even under great pressure, as shown during her entrance exam match against Ginko Sora. Her personality also has a notably jealous and possessive side, especially when other girls show interest in Yaichi, which can make her appear intense or even intimidating. In shogi, her style is aggressively offensive, with a focus on the late game, where her exceptional memory and analytical skills allow her to dominate and secure a victory. She often mutters to herself and rocks back and forth while thinking deeply during a match.
Throughout the story, her key relationships include her master Yaichi, whom she greatly respects and toward whom she has a precocious crush; her parents, who eventually support her path under the unique marriage condition; and her fellow disciple and rival, Ai Yashajin, who is also taken in by Yaichi. She also has a close friendship with Mio Mizukoshi, a classmate after she transfers to an elementary school in Osaka to live with Yaichi. Ai's development is marked by her rapid improvement in shogi, overcoming the emotional hurdles of competition, and her progression to earn qualifications such as Women's 3-dan and to hold the Women's Meijin title.
Her life changes when she first sees Yaichi Kuzuryu, the youngest Ryuo title holder, competing in a shogi title match held at her family's inn. During the match, she witnesses Yaichi staggering under pressure and near collapse in a hallway, and she brings him a glass of water to help him regain his composure. Grateful for her kindness, Yaichi promises to grant her any one wish if he wins the title. After he succeeds, Ai, who had begun secretly teaching herself shogi by memorizing puzzles left by her grandfather and playing online, runs away from home three months later to find Yaichi and ask to become his disciple.
Initially, Yaichi plans to defeat her easily and send her home, believing he has no time to teach a child. However, after playing a match with her, he is astonished by her incredible natural talent and ability to read moves far in advance, especially in complex tsume shogi endgame puzzles, and accepts her as his first disciple and live-in student. Her parents, particularly her mother, are deeply opposed to her entering the unstable and competitive world of female professional shogi, especially when she has a wealthy and secure future managing the family inn. To persuade them, Yaichi agrees to a strict condition: if Ai does not win at least one women's shogi title by the time she graduates middle school, he will take responsibility by marrying her and becoming the inn's heir.
Ai is a cheerful, energetic, and deeply passionate girl whose love for shogi is matched only by her admiration for her master. She is extremely hardworking and determined, refusing to give up even under great pressure, as shown during her entrance exam match against Ginko Sora. Her personality also has a notably jealous and possessive side, especially when other girls show interest in Yaichi, which can make her appear intense or even intimidating. In shogi, her style is aggressively offensive, with a focus on the late game, where her exceptional memory and analytical skills allow her to dominate and secure a victory. She often mutters to herself and rocks back and forth while thinking deeply during a match.
Throughout the story, her key relationships include her master Yaichi, whom she greatly respects and toward whom she has a precocious crush; her parents, who eventually support her path under the unique marriage condition; and her fellow disciple and rival, Ai Yashajin, who is also taken in by Yaichi. She also has a close friendship with Mio Mizukoshi, a classmate after she transfers to an elementary school in Osaka to live with Yaichi. Ai's development is marked by her rapid improvement in shogi, overcoming the emotional hurdles of competition, and her progression to earn qualifications such as Women's 3-dan and to hold the Women's Meijin title.